23rd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties

20-22 October 2023, Izmir,Türkiye

The political and ideological battles to confront capitalists and imperialism. The tasks of communists to inform and mobilize the working class, youth, women, and intellectuals in the struggle against exploitation, oppression, imperialist lies and historical revisionism; for the social and democratic rights of workers and peoples; against militarism and war, for peace and socialism.

Contribution of the Tudeh Party of Iran

Dear Comrades,

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran, to thank the fraternal Communist Party of Türkiye for hosting the 23^rd International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties in a very complex, challenging and fast changing international conditions.  I would like to thank the Communist Party of Türkiye for the excellent planning, and provision of facilities for holding, of our meeting.  Allow me to also thank all fraternal parties present for their solidarity with the difficult and heroic struggles of peoples of the Middle East in general and the people of Iran in their struggle for peace, democracy, and social justice.

We,in the Tudeh Party of Iran, believe that to understand the concrete conditions of the world and analyse their wide-ranging and general implications, the attention of the forces advocating for freedom, social justice, defending national sovereignty, and peace must be given to the following realities:

1) The continuation of the crisis of the capitalist mode of production and the exacerbation of all its contradictions are among the central characteristics of the present era. The political-ideological crisis of the bourgeoisie accompanied by the bankruptcy of neoliberal directives have directly resulted in the ever-deepening class divide throughout the world; the intensification of class contradictions; the strengthening of dictatorships as well as the restriction of democratic rights and freedoms; the growth of racism and fascism; the intensification of exploitation of the working class; the escalation of antagonism and competition between imperialist powers for the appropriation and re-division of markets, leading to wars in various parts of the world;and the catastrophic degradation of the environment...These all serve to outline the image of global capitalism-imperialism, as the highest stage of capitalism, in the world today.

2) Over the past decade, unlike the imperialist countries that have experienced very lowgrowth, economies like those of China and India have grown tremendously. From an economic perspective,since the post-2008 financial crisis, instead of a unipolar world centered around the US, we have witnessed the emergence and growth of powerful and key alternative poles in the economic arena. Thus, imperialist countriesled by the US have been facingan increasing challenge to maintain and consolidate their desired "world order", of which [control of] the economy is a central pillar.

3)In the case of China, the emergence of this powerful economic hub outside the Washington Consensus naturally jeopardises the continuation of US economic hegemony. Also, the great success of the Communist Party's economic programs, based on systematic national development-oriented planning, has threatened the ideological dominance of economic neoliberalism centred around the Washington Consensus.

4) Initiatives such as the 'Belt and Road', which along with helping the economies of the "Global South" could serve tofurther China's credibility in the international arena, are totally unacceptable for the US. It is noteworthy that China has been working hard to prevent the arising and escalation of belligerent political-military stand-offs with the West, instead insistingupon peace and cooperation. On the contrary, the US is consistently pushing developments towards militarism, the escalation of tensions, the creation of a multipolar military world, and an arms race - essentially another Cold War. As the experience of the Russia-Ukrainian war has shown, a Cold War-type scenario can quickly morph into a catastrophic hot war,even leading to a nuclear war.

5) The global balance of forces against the US economic hegemony is changing and the US' response to this irreversible process is escalation of militarism to the extent of warmongering because, in this regard, at least according to the available statistics, the US and NATO still retain a very strong position. For the ruling class in the US, regardless of which party is in government, it is vital that the US maintains its global hegemony, and,to this end, it is prepared to destroy humanity - with no regard to the risk of war and the worsening climate emergency.

6) The growth of the various right-wing forces, includingthe far-right, as well as fascist and racist outlooks in several Western countries - such as the US, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, wheresuch forces have been able tomake inroads to positions of state power and high office through electoral processes- is yet another dangerous trend that couldposea catastrophic future for humanity.

7) The mutual hostility of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past four decades, including mutual threats, assassinations, and sabotage; the racist, belligerent policies of the state of Israel on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic's adventurous policies in the region on the other; and the efforts of imperialists and their media mouthpieces to suggest Iran's involvement in the current war - accompanied by the dispatch of military aid, warships, and fighter jets to the region - have all put the Middle East in an extremely dangerous situation. The complete disregard of the imperialist countries, especially the US, for the continuation of the occupation of the territories of Palestineas well as other Arab countries [by Israel], and the policy of bloody and inhumane repression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation army, all of which is largely ignored by their media agencies, has meant that the Middle East - and especially Gaza - is once again faced with a humanitarian catastrophe. The Tudeh Party of Iran is gravely concerned that the flames of this war will spread further andencompass Iran and that a catastrophe on a much greater scale will occur.

Dear Comrades,

The current concrete conditions of the world present a very dangerous situation that requires anequally concrete analysis and effective plan of action and cooperation between progressive forces.Through its exploiting of the most advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the capitalist system in its imperialist stagehas posed tremendous risks to the future of human society and life on Earth, just for the benefit of a small minority.

Under these circumstances, the role and function of the communists in creating a strong front against local reactionary forces and imperialist policies is bothcritical and vital. Theaddressing of this important matter on the world stage for the communist and workers' parties canonly be achieved with a solid foundation in thepopular movements being in their own respective countries, which will require different forms of programmes and methods of struggle in each society according to the objective and subjective conditions that prevail there. But the common point in practice for communists in most countries is the mobilisation of progressive forces and cooperation based on a program of action - one that has the power to fulfill the material needs of the working people and the underprivileged while defending freedom, democracy, and peace.

The struggle of the communist parties in defense of the interests of the working class and other popular strata, national sovereignty, and peace in the so-called "Global South" countries, including Iran, which are often under the yoke of dictatorial and repressive regimes, continues under difficult and arduous conditions.  The natural environment in these countries is rapidly being destroyed. The struggle of progressive and patriotic forces in the countries of the Middle East, which have been and remain under fierce aggression from imperialism, is very complex. In countries like Iran, where the political system is based on the retrogressive norms of "Political Islam" and the ruling dictatorship, under the guise of religious laws, has completely blocked the path of any form of political, economic, and social changes to the benefit of the people, this struggle has a particular complexity and is faced with challenges that I will go on to mention briefly…

Dear Comrades,

In assessing Iran's current specific circumstances, it is clear that from the head of the regime, Ali Khamenei, to other powerful factions; none canrely on a significant social and popular base in order to "preserve the regime". Due to unjust economic policies and the suppression of democratic rights and freedoms, the totality of the theocratic regime is embroiled in a series of self-made socio-economic crises and systemic corruption that have pushed the lives and livelihoods of most people, the national interests, and the country's future to a dangerousprecipice.

Although now, one year on from the beginning of the powerful nationwide "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, owing to the wane in its presence on the streets, the outward appearance and projection of the anti-dictatorship protest movement may seem somewhat diminished [when compared with before]; the popular movement is by no means inactive and its overall impact has thrust the theocratic regime into a situation of instability and constant fear.

The continued struggle of the working class and the working people against the regime, the display of which we have witnessed in hundreds of workers' protest movements over the past two years, along with the ongoing protests of the retirees and the country's teachers and educators, show the fact that the majority of the [Iranian] populationcan no longer endure the corrupt and dictatorial rule [of the Islamic Republic regime]. 

More than four decades of oppression and un-countered dominance of "Political Islam”, in every field of life in Iranian society, along with three decades of neoliberal programs, have rendered the country's political economy completely dependent on the economic interests of the imperialist world, and have plunged a large part of our country's people into unprecedented poverty and deprivation - to such an extent that even according to the regime's own statistics, more than 40%of the country's population is living in poverty and unemployment is rampant, especially among the younger generation. In this regard, it is important to note that under the concrete conditions of the present theocratic dictatorship in Iran, the balance of political forces is in favour of the financial-mercantile capitalist class and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie. As a result, in any move by the theocratic regime, whether at home or abroad, the preservation of the interests of these factions of the capitalist class is a priority, because the entire political system of this regime relies on these layers of unproductive parasitic capitalism.

The hopes of the regime leadership, and specifically Khamenei,to find a panacea for the crisis of economic deadlock so as to "save the regime" has been shifted into the arena of foreign policy. This process first began with calculated manoeuvres under the guise of a "Turning towards the East" which fueled the simplistic imagination of some Islamic Republic supporters about the supposedly "strong anti-imperialist position" of the regime and its economic plans -an illusion that objective facts soon revealed to be an absurdity.

In this regard, [president] Raisi's blustery propaganda and exaggerated claims, based on Iran's recent acceptance into the BRICS group, such as the potential for the de-dollarisation of Iran's economy or the positive effects of the accession on Iran's "political capabilities'', are just another manifestation of the deceitful and ultimately futile efforts of the theocratic regime to bolster its standing externally in the desperate hope of finding an antidote that staves-off the ever-present and growing threat of popular protests and a national revolt inside the country.What is expressed in the Islamic Republic of Iran's propaganda about the benefits of Iran's membership in BRICS cannot be realised under this anti-popular theocratic regime and its brutal capitalist political economy.

Our Party has repeatedly and persistently emphasised that during the past decades, with Khamenei's direct support, the regime through its implementation of neoliberal programs to align Iran's economy with the "Washington Consensus" has made the economy ready to establish much wider links with global capitalism.

Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the US government, despite some of their differences in regional issues, will ultimately act and cooperate with eagerness to connect Iran's economy with the global capitalist economy in accordance with the formulas and prescriptions defined in the framework of global imperialist institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

In our opinion, the experience of the 1979 Popular Revolution shows that the anti-dictatorship struggle for freedom and social justice and the struggle against imperialist and capitalist policies and against foreign intervention to defend national sovereignty are two sides of the same coin and serve to complement each other.  Indeed, one fails without the other.

The only way forward in the struggle against the ruling dictatorship is to challenge it on the basis of the people's urgent demands on democratic social rights and freedoms, and to link the protests of workers, public employees, retirees, farmers, and the disadvantaged with the civil rights and freedom-seeking protests of the youth and women as well as those for the protection of the environment.

In advancing this important task we seek the international solidarity of all thecommunist and workers parties and progressive forces across the world.  We are confident that Iranian working people and their political vanguard will be successful in the class struggle for a socially just future, against war and oppression, and for world peace.

Long live the struggle of the Iranian people for peace, democracy, and social justice,

Long live international solidarity,

Long live the struggle for peace and socialism!

The Tudeh Party of Iran

15 October 2023