Vol. 71/No. 24      June 18, 2007

The U.S. military in Iraq has held five Iranian officials since January. The five were arrested after U.S. troops stormed an Iranian liaison office in northern Iraq. Washington claims they have links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. But nearly four months later no charges have been filed against them, and the U.S. government has turned a deaf ear to Tehran’s repeated demands for their release.

Washington is using last month’s highly publicized talks with Iranian officials on stabilizing Iraq to accuse Tehran of fomenting violence. Washington claims that the Iranian government is providing training and weapons to Shiite militias in Iraq. But it is the U.S. rulers who are the number one perpetrator of violence and war. During the talks, held in Baghdad, the U.S. naval fleet in the Arab-Persian Gulf—including two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers—conducted war games near Iranian waters. And Washington announced it would push for tighter sanctions against Iran in the United Nations Security Council.

The U.S. rulers and their imperialist allies have kept up a steady campaign to deny Iran access to nuclear technology and development of nuclear energy. They charge that Tehran seeks to build a nuclear weapon, while Washington has nuclear weapons poised around the world on land, in air, and at sea.

In February, the U.S. State Department unveiled a $75 million program to support “the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people”—a thinly veiled call for the removal of the Iranian government.

Working people around the world should join with fellow toilers in Iran in demanding: U.S. hands off Iran! Free the five Iranians U.S. forces hold in Iraq!
 
 
Related articles:
U.S. rulers squeeze Tehran over arrests of four Iranian Americans
Washington still holds five Iranians in Iraq
Pathfinder books well received at Tehran book fair  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home