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Six Points to Navigate the Turmoil in Iran

Iran’s Problems Will Not Solved Through Imperialist Bombardment by the US and Israel

Jan 20, 2026 By Vijay Prashad Editor’s note: Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter, the chief editor of LeftWord Books, and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of China Up Close. Iran is in turmoil. Across the country, there have been protests of different magnitudes, with violence on the increase with both protesters and police finding themselves in the morgue. What began as work stoppages and inflation protests drew together a range of discontent, with women and young people frustrated with a system unable to secure their livelihood. Iran has been under prolonged economic siege and has been attacked directly by Israel and the United States not only within its borders, but across West Asia (including in its diplomatic enclaves in Syria). This economic war waged by the United States has created the situation for this turmoil, but the turmoil itself is not directed at Washington but at the government in Tehran. There are reports – such as in the mainstream Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz in October 2025 about Israeli “influence operations aiming to install Reza Pahlavi as Shah of Iran” – that Israeli intelligence has a role in the protests, and the United States has openly told the protestors that it would bomb Tehran if the violence by the government increase. Last year, protests took place in twelve South Pars oil refineries, where 5,000 contract workers in the Bushehr Gas Refinery Workers Union marched with their families on December 9 in Asaluyeh to demand higher wages and better working-conditions. When the workers took their struggle to the National Parliament in Tehran, where they called for an end to the contract work system, the Israelis and the United States took advantage of these sincere protests to attempt to transform a legitimate struggle into a potential regime change operation.

Living With Peril: Repercussions of Israel-Iran War on Iraq

Key Takeaways +The Iraqi government tried to avoid getting involved in the Israeli-Iranian war by balancing condemning the Israeli attack on Iran with asking Iran not to move the war to the Iraqi theater. Baghdad had no choice except awaiting the results of the recent confrontation in the hope that it will end with the least possible losses. +Pro-Iran militias refrained from engaging in the Iranian-Israeli conflict. This restraint also aligned with Iran's desire to avoid dragging the US into war. This position is linked to concerns regarding war repercussions on the ruling system in Iraq and Shia dominance in Iraqi. +If the US becomes directly involved in the war and Iran feels that its weakness has reached a critical point with a serious possibility of the regime’s fall, Tehran will ask pro-Iran Iraqi factions to join the war. These factions will target Israel and US bases and interests inside Iraq and the region. +If the war between Israel and Iran expands and the US and Iraqi factions got involved in it, some of its potential outcomes would be disarmament of the Shia factions and undermine Shia’s dominance over the political system in Iraq. With the confrontation between Iran and Israel escalating into open warfare following Israel’s attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, Iraq – long considered Iran’s closest regional partner – faces a real challenge in navigating the conflict and its repercussions. On one side stands the Iraqi government, which has adopted a cautious stance aimed at distancing the country from the war. On the other are Iran-aligned armed militias and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), whose potential military involvement – whether against Israel or American interests and bases in Iraq and the region – is closely tied to Tehran’s directives Read more

Is the 12-day Israel-Iran war really over – and who gained what?

A Trump-brokered ceasefire is in place for now. But what really happened – and did any side emerge stronger from the conflict?

By John T Psaropoulos Published On 24 Jun 202524 Jun 2025 Since Sunday, Israel and Iran have lurched from escalating war to fragile ceasefire. A truce seems to be holding, and what US President Donald Trump called “The 12 Day War” between Israel and Iran seems to be over – for now. Meanwhile, Trump, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran’s leaders have all claimed that the pause in the conflict happened on their terms. Continue reading

What is Iran’s right to resist regime change?

Israel claims Iran is closer than ever to building a nuclear weapon. But as it targets Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his nation’s attacks will also “liberate” Iranians. In a civilization shaped by millennia of empire and resistance, those words land differently. What does liberation mean to Iranians as the US and Israel call for regime change?

Tehran is in shock – and we have fled with heavy hearts

My family and I have no idea if, or when, we will return – or what we may returned

By Maziar Motamedi Published On 21 Jun 202521 Jun 2025 Gilan, Iran – The prospect of war seemed to creep nearer to reality with each passing day, but perhaps few of the millions who have been forced to abandon their homes across Iran in the past week – including myself – could have known this new reality would impose itself so harshly or abruptly. The first explosions jolted people awake in Tehran shortly after 3am on June 13, when a large number of Israeli fighter jets and drones attacked dozens of areas across the country, and explosives-laden quadcopters and anti-fortification Spike guided missiles were launched by Israeli agents from inside Iran. Entire residential buildings were levelled in the capital, military sites and air defence batteries were targeted, and above-ground facilities supporting nuclear enrichment halls buried deep inside mountains in Isfahan province’s Natanz were bombed. Dozens of civilians were killed, as were a large number of top military commanders and nuclear scientists. Continue reading

Tehran was in shock the first morning after the attacks, as people struggled to process the terrifying news and evaluate their options while the authorities scrambled to mount a concerted response to the surprise hits. As the attacks came on a Friday morning – the last day of the weekend in Iran – most city streets were eerily quiet in the immediate aftermath, except for those where Israeli bombs had made an impact. Soon, however, hours-long queues had formed at almost every single fuel station across the sprawling capital, which has a population of nearly 10 million people and holds more than 15 million during busy workdays, as millions also commute from neighbouring cities like Karaj.