THE ISRAELI regime claimed yesterday morning that the secretary of Iran’s national security council, Ali Larijani, was murdered in overnight strikes on Tehran.
The Iranian leadership did not respond to this claim by Israel Katz, the Zionist regime’s defence minister, but released a handwritten note by Larijani to coincide with a massive farewell ceremony for the recovered victims of the American terrorist attack on the Iranian vessel, the IRIS Dena.
Huge processions took place yesterday across 34 main squares and locations in the capital Tehran to honour the 84 martyred sailors killed in the cowardly torpedo attack by a US nuclear submarine while sailing in international waters.
Ahead of the grand processions, Larijani wrote emphasising that the ‘martyrdom of these naval heroes in the Dena proves the zealous nation’s sacrifices in this era of fighting international oppressors.’
The note continued: ‘Their memory will always remain in the heart of the Iranian nation and these martyrdoms will make the foundation of the Islamic Republic’s Army firmer in the structure of the armed forces for years.’
The IRIS Dena was brutally targeted on March 4th off the coast of Sri Lanka while returning from multinational naval exercises in India – to which it had been officially invited to attend.
This unprovoked and cowardly attack followed the equally cowardly war launched against Iran by US imperialism and its Zionist ally on February 28.
The war was ignited by the assassination of the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with several high-ranking military commanders.
Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly believed that by murdering Khamenei and leading military officials they could ‘decapitate’ the Iranian government ensuring a swift victory and regime change.
It has since emerged that several US intelligence analysts have said that Trump was given ‘very sobering briefings’ and was told that far from decapitating the Iranian government and military it would probably strengthen them.
In fact, there was no ‘probably’ about it, with one analyst telling the Washington Post: ‘It was predicted. He was told in advance.’
The murder of Khamenei, far from leaving Iran leaderless and at the mercy of US imperialism and Israel, has erupted into a full-scale war throughout the region and caused a massive crisis for global capitalism.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas has sent an economic crisis reverberating across the world, driving up inflation and the cost-of-living for workers in the US, UK and Europe.
Last week, Trump declared the ‘war was won’, yet within days was begging the UK, Australia and NATO countries to come to the aid of the US and send warships to reopen the narrow strip of water that accounts for 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Trump even included China in this plea.
Every country has so far refused Trump’s pleas and threats.
The increasingly unhinged Trump and his bloodthirsty ‘secretary for war’ Pete Hegseth are now threatening a ground invasion to secure the ‘unconditional surrender’ of Iran, with the Wall Street Journal reporting last Friday that approximately 5,000 extra troops have been sent to the Middle East.
The reality is that Trump and the Zionist regime have been unable to destroy and control the Iranian people – just as Israel has failed to crush the resistance of the Palestinian people despite a genocidal war in Gaza.
The working class in the US, UK, Europe and across the world have had enough of imperialist wars and slaughter that they will have to pay the cost of through rocketing inflation and raging unemployment.
Now is the time for the working class to unite all its struggles for jobs and wages with ending imperialist war on Iran and the Palestinians.
The time has come for the working class to force its trade unions to organise mass general strikes to bring down their capitalist governments and go forward to workers governments and socialism.
Join the WRP and Young Socialists, build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country to provide the leadership required to end imperialist war with the victory of the World Socialist Revolution.