This interview was carried out by Kommunistiska Arbetarföreningen (KAF) and was originally published on their website:
Mer om den fortsatta kampen i Iran. (English version included.) – arbetarforeningen.se
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Interview on 17 January
The widespread protests against the Islamic regime in Iran have now been going on for three weeks. The Iranian state has unleashed indiscriminate violence against the demonstrators, and veritable massacres have taken place in several cities. Thousands of unarmed demonstrators have been shot dead. At least 18,000 demonstrators have been imprisoned, and summary death sentences have been handed down.
A week ago, we interviewed comrade Siamak Raji, a member of Växjö Gnista’s internationalism team, and we now turn to him again for a follow-up interview.
Communist Workers’ Association: The past week has been filled with extreme violence on the part of the regime. Has the movement been crushed, or are demonstrations and strikes continuing? Is there any form of armed resistance to the regime? Are there cities where the uprising has defeated the state power?
Siamak Raji: Thank you, comrades, for the follow-up interview.
After three weeks of an unleashed crackdown on the people’s legitimate uprisings—including the massacre of at least 3,000 people and the eye injuries (at least 700 blinding) of more than 6,000 others by merciless shotgun fire—it appears that the uprisings have, for now, been suppressed. However, this by no means signifies the end of the struggle.
In some regions, people were able to temporarily liberate their cities, but due to a lack of organization, they were unable to consolidate or guarantee these gains. In certain areas, sections of the population took up arms to defend themselves, but this arose purely from survival instinct rather than as part of a conscious or coordinated line of struggle.
According to the information I have been able to gather—despite total internet and telecommunications blackouts—the fascist Islamic regime has regained control of all positions and dispersed the population. At present, there is a nationwide but undeclared state of martial law across the country.
Communist Workers’ Association: In the last interview, you said that: ‘At this moment, it is crucial for all genuine left-wing, progressive and democratic forces to establish a nationwide committee…’ Are there any examples of such organisation today? Is there local organisation where the revolution is creating new organisations and fronts?
Siamak Raji: The answer is no. However, these historical defeats serve as important milestones for the people to reassess their experiences of struggle against the regime, and for progressive, leftist, and democratic organizations to engage in rigorous, scientific self-criticism.
At present, two major obstacles hinder the development of a correct revolutionary strategy capable of uniting forces around basic demands. First is the strong influence of petty-bourgeois modes of thinking on the formulation of necessary tactics and strategies for revolutionary struggle—an influence that is reinforced by imperialist media. Second is the lack of principled self-criticism within the majority of progressive organizations and movements.
History offers no miracles. Only by learning and applying the scientific laws that govern society can a successful revolutionary path be forged.
Communist Workers’ Association: Various exile groups are speaking out and trying to influence the movement. Can you describe the different strategies that various organisations are now proposing? What are the shortcomings of these proposals?
Siamak Raji: If we examine the situation more closely, two main and opposing lines of struggle become evident. The first—often amplified most loudly—comes from forces aligned with the imperialist line. These forces openly call on U.S. imperialism to attack the regime and bring about its collapse.
The second line, which is far harder to hear due to its exclusion from mainstream platforms, is advanced by currents and organizations that believe in the power of the masses to determine their own destiny. Nearly all student movements, working-class organizations, women’s groups, and oppressed nationalities align with this second line. However, this line can only prevail through conscious struggle against the first.
Up to now, the progressive line has largely developed spontaneously, without the systematic and educated intervention of organized progressive forces. It is therefore no surprise that only when this line is consciously forged does the next stage open: the development of correct tactics and strategies. This process is inseparable from the advancement of revolutionary mode of thinking among the masses themselves.
We Marxist-Leninists have no right to mourn. Our task is to extract and organize the revolutionary lessons, sharpen them through theory and practice, and return them to the masses in an organized form.
Communist Workers’ Association: Are there divisions within the ruling groups in the Islamic Republic? Are there examples of mutiny within the armed branches of the Islamic Republic?
Siamak Raji: There have always been opposing factions within the fascist Islamic regime over the decades, ranging from the hard core of power—the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC)—to so-called reformist forces operating within the system. However, their ideological differences and internal disputes are largely confined to competing methods of plunder and the management of that plunder.
When the people take to the streets with unified demands for the overthrow of the regime, all such differences are quickly swept aside. The regime has repeatedly demonstrated this capacity for internal consolidation. To date, it has orchestrated displays of unity among its rival factions—often through state-televised appearances—in which they publicly reaffirm their loyalty, all in the supreme interest of preserving the regime itself.
Communist Workers’ Association: How do you view the US build-up in the area and threats of military action? Could foreign military action be beneficial to the revolution?
Siamak Raji: U.S. imperialism openly claimed to support the uprisings and repeatedly called on people to take to the streets to overthrow the regime. This posturing gave the Trump administration a seemingly “supportive” image. They even threatened the regime, declaring that if it attacked the people, the United States would respond forcefully.
However, once the situation escalated, Trump shamelessly claimed that those killed had died from being trampled by one another. Throughout those three weeks, Iranian protesters were repeatedly told that “help is on the way.” At the same time, the Shah’s son—who presents himself as Trump’s preferred alternative to the current regime—made statements that revealed his own opportunism.
We revolutionaries, progressives, and democratic forces, while fully acknowledging the people’s justified anger, never called on them to confront the regime with bare hands. The fascists in Tehran show no mercy when it comes to massacring people. From the beginning, we stressed the absolute necessity of organization and organized confrontation.
Once Trump became convinced that the uprising would not succeed, he quickly resumed flirting with the Tehran fascists, even thanking them for allegedly refraining from executing recent prisoners—an obvious pretext for opening a new round of negotiations.
Imperialist intervention could indeed topple the Islamic regime, but only at an enormous cost: regional escalation, attacks on U.S. interests in the Middle East, and above all on Israel. More importantly, such intervention only occurs when imperialism is fully confident that the resulting government will be its obedient puppet. If that certainty does not exist, there will be no intervention. This is the most crucial point the Iranian people must understand.
Communist Workers’ Association: What can communists outside Iran do to support the revolution?
Siamak Raji: First and foremost, international communist organizations must not confine their engagement solely to forces that explicitly identify as leftist. Their responsibility also includes reflecting, defending, and amplifying the voices of all democratic forces actively struggling on the ground. This is precisely what the current democratic movement in Iran urgently requires. A democratic revolution cannot advance if it speaks only in the name of the working class in isolation; it must consciously support and bring together all revolutionary, democratic, and progressive forces confronting the regime in the streets.
In this framework, I argue that the most immediate and practical contribution international communist movements can make is to popularize two fundamental slogans that clearly express the democratic essence of our revolution: no to all reactionaries, no to all imperialists. These principles draw a firm boundary against both the Islamic regime and any externally imposed imperialist or proxy alternatives.
International communists must consistently uphold the principle that the democratic future of Iran can only be determined by its own people—free from imperialist interference and reactionary domination. After enduring two brutal and authoritarian regimes, the Pahlavi monarchy and the Islamic Republic, the Iranian people fully deserve a genuinely democratic society. Standing unwaveringly on this position is the most principled and meaningful way international communists can lend their support to this movement.
2026-01-19