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While the flames of war raged on all fronts, Trump launched his election campaign with great fanfare, dressed in the guise of a peace-seeker. He promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, resolve the Gaza massacre, and present himself as a champion of peace. He even claimed he was worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. However, Trump’s return to power did not bring an end to the wars; on the contrary, it escalated military tensions. The war in Ukraine continues unabated, Gaza has become the site of a full-scale genocide, and, simultaneously, military tensions in Africa, conflict between India and Pakistan, and an all-out war between Israel and Iran have all flared up. Today, war is no longer merely a military occurrence; more and more, it reflects the nature of capitalism in its barbaric age and the way of life that flows from it.

The war between Iran and Israel is not the result of decisions made by warmongering leaders but it is the expression of the capitalist system today. Regardless of the political façade a state adopts—be it democratic or dictatorial, peace-seeking or openly militaristic—they all share one fundamental trait: sacrificing the working class as cannon fodder in imperialist wars. Without exception, they are all war criminals.

Contrary to the deceptive narrative of the “democratic” gangsters—who claim that Israel’s “precision” strikes are merely aimed at neutralising Iran’s nuclear programme or eliminating political and military commanders of the Islamic Republic—the reality is quite different. In practice, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure, including factories, refineries, residential areas, workplaces, and even hospitals. The truth is this: both parties are complicit in committing war crimes.

All the gangster Democrats, led by the criminal Trump, speak with the language of bandits and even boast about their crimes. Trump himself proudly declares: “The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it.”

During the First World War, Rosa Luxemburg believed that in order to normalise war crimes, actual violence must be accompanied by a kind of savagery in thoughts and feelings—such that not only does a bloodbath become accepted as normal, but it is also regarded as a source of pride. Today, the criminal Trump clearly embodies this historical analysis. He proudly spoke of the greater lethality and destructiveness of American military equipment and emphasised that Friday was a “great day” for Israel because “great American equipment” was used. This warmonger openly stated that he has no concerns about the outbreak of a regional war following Israel’s attacks. In other words, he not only welcomes war but also sees it as a stage to demonstrate America’s technological power and superiority.

Unfortunately, the Israeli working class, compared to their class brothers and sisters in Iran, has been far more deeply influenced by nationalism and toxic religion, which has allowed the Israeli bourgeoisie to easily mobilise the working class for war. In contrast, despite all setbacks, the Iranian working class is in a far stronger position in terms of struggle compared to their counterparts in Israel—especially considering that one of the most militant proletarian battalions in the Middle East belongs to Iran, with a proud record of historic battles. This war could have a negative and destructive impact on the Iranian working class and hinder not only the continuation but also the advancement of their struggles to higher levels.

Capitalism imposes imperialist wars on humanity because it does not face a serious and organised class-based response from the global working class. But this does not eliminate, on the contrary, the responsibility of internationalists and particularly of the communist left to face this reality: to consistently defend proletarian internationalism, to expose the imperialist nature of these wars, and to clarify their material and class foundations in front of the working class.

It must be declared loudly and clearly: all of these conflicts are against the interests of the working class. It must be stated plainly that the consequences of the war between Iran and Israel will not be confined to the Middle East, for capitalism is a global system, and its destructive impact will weigh heavily on the shoulders of workers across the world. Most importantly, it must be emphasised that the real enemy is at home—whether in Tehran, Tel Aviv, Washington, London, Berlin, Paris, or anywhere else where capital, the state, and the military are aligned against the working class.

History has shown that the only force capable of ending the bourgeoisie’s machinery of slaughter—war—is the working class. It was the threat of revolution in Germany during the First World War that compelled the bourgeoisie to sign the armistice. This has always been the case: war criminals retreat only in the shadow of proletarian threat, merely to prepare themselves for the class war against the proletariat. Although the global working class is not currently in such a position, the development of the class struggle can open up that horizon for the proletariat.

War has become a way of life for capitalism in the age of imperialism. Capitalism cannot offer a future; it merely spreads brutality and barbarism to ever more regions. It is an illusion to expect warmongers to bring an end to war. The peace offered by warmongers can only ever be an interlude within a war-driven capitalism. From within capitalist peace, only the flames of future wars can emerge.

Only the class war of the workers can offer an alternative to the barbarism of capitalism—because the proletariat has no nation to defend, and its struggle must transcend national borders and develop on an international scale. Only the global working class, by turning the capitalist war into a war against capitalism and ultimately overthrowing it on a global level, can eliminate the material basis of imperialist wars and bring lasting peace to humanity.

Workers have no country!

Down with the imperialist war!

Long live the war between the classes!

Intransigeant defence of internationalism everywhere!

Internationalist Voice

19 June 2025