This interview was carried out by Kommunistiska Arbetarföreningen (KAF) and was originally published on their website:
Om den senaste tidens uppror i Iran. (English version included). – arbetarforeningen.se
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Siamak: Dear comrades, Thank you very much for the interview. I, as a member of Vaxjos Gnista internationalism team, appreciate your genuine concerns regarding the uprisings in Iran and am here to answer them. The views I raise here, do not necessarily reflect Vaxjos Gnista standpoints.
KAF: Can you describe the current uprising? How widespread is it? Which groups are participating? The protests seem to have developed and spread very quickly. Can you describe the causes of the uprising, both from a historical perspective and also describe what sparked today’s protests?
Siamak Raji: The uprisings in Iran were initially triggered by the unprecedented devaluation of the national currency. This crisis has its roots in both the corruption of the Islamic regime and the series of economic embargoes imposed on Iran by Western imperialist powers. However, these factors alone cannot explain the scale and intensity of the revolutionary demonstrations that spread across the entire country.
The deeper causes must be sought in decades of systematic oppression targeting broad layers of society, including the working class, women, students, youth, and ethnic minorities. This oppression stems from an Islamist-fascist ruling system that has blocked all forms of protest, imprisoned, murdered, and executed thousands of political activists and freedom seekers, and subjected the masses to religious despotism for more than four decades.
For this reason, the uprisings have encompassed nearly all social strata—from workers to women, from youth to oppressed ethnic groups. The defeat of earlier uprisings in 2017–2018, 2019–2020, and the most recent movement in 2022, known as Woman, Life, Freedom, has left Iranian society like a highly volatile substance, requiring only another spark to ignite.
KAF: Are there any differences compared to previous uprisings against the Islamic State? Compared to the student protests in 1999 and 2003, the election protests of 2009-2010, the protests that started in Mashhad in 2017-2018, the petrol price protests of 2019-2020 and the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests of 2022-2023 after Mahsa Amini, died in a morality police cell?
Siamak Raji: What makes this movement qualitatively unique is the combination of its economic roots and its nationwide breadth. In previous uprisings, either democratic demands came to the forefront and led the masses, or economic grievances served as the main motivation but failed to spread across the entire country. In the present movement, we are witnessing a nationwide uprising driven by economic hardship and unified by the radical demand that the Islamist-fascist regime must be overthrown.
This conclusion was not reached easily. It is the outcome of years of repression against reformist, democratic, and entirely legitimate demands. It appears that nothing can deter a population that has exhausted every possible avenue for change, only to be met consistently with oppression and violence.
KAF: What political forces are involved in the protest movement? We see that the last Shah’s son, Reza Palavi, hopes to regain power. Are there other clear forces emerging in this uprising and are there revolutionary forces at work in the uprising?
Siamak Raji: All political forces, from left to right, are involved. However, they are objectively divided into two camps. The first camp includes the ultra-right or proto-fascists—among them, Shah’s son—who are supported and financed by sections of international finance capital. Parts of the former reformist current, which now raise the demand for a “transition” through a referendum without revolution, also belong to this camp. Certain sectarian ethnic movements that emphasize hostility toward other nations are part of it as well. The common characteristic of all forces in this camp is their appeal to Western imperialism for military or political intervention to help bring down the regime. They possess access to all major platforms and satellite channels, which, as noted, are financed by different sections of international finance capital. As a result, they have an effective channel to reach people inside the country and are able, to a certain extent, to manipulate demonstrations.
On the other hand, there is a second camp comprising leftist, progressive, and democratic forces. These forces are independent of both the Islamic regime and world imperialism. However, because of their presence inside Iran, they have been the primary targets of the Islamic regime’s repressive measures over the decades. Moreover, since they oppose any imperialist intervention, they are excluded from mainstream platforms and are therefore denied access to channels through which their voices could reach the broad masses in the streets.
Another weakness of this camp—which is, to a certain degree, understandable—is its limited capacity for organization, again as a result of the extensive repressive measures imposed upon it. However, because they live and work among the people, the majority of the masses identify with these forces. The progressive slogans concerning women’s rights, ethnic demands, students, and workers originate from this camp. There is still a long and arduous road ahead for the organizations in this camp to properly organize their mass base. The tragic reality is that the proto-fascists and the ultra-right, by relying on foreign capital and media channels, are able far more easily to manipulate masses who can no longer endure life under the draconian conditions imposed by the Islamic regime.
KAF: What is the situation on the state side? Are there contradictions between different parts of the ruling clergy?
Siamak Raji: This has been the case for decades. The Islamic regime has always been divided into two currents, which have alternately held the presidency. One current aligns itself with Eastern imperialist powers such as China and Russia. This faction constitutes the hard core of the regime and views itself as a central pillar of the so-called “axis of resistance” against the USA. It maintained its own regional alliances, including Assad in Syria, and, more broadly, groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
The other current, while still firmly committed to Islamic values, has historically represented an inclination toward reconciliation with Western imperialist powers such as the EU and the United States. This faction has lost most of its influence within the regime in recent years, although the current president, Pezeshkian, comes from this tendency. It formed the backbone of so-called reformism and was periodically used by the first faction as a relief valve for explosive popular protests. It was also employed as a tool in diplomatic negotiations with the West.
Today, however, this current has lost its effectiveness: it is no longer capable of altering the regime’s course or leading the people. The regime’s hard core no longer needs it, and the broad masses no longer follow it.
KAF: What armed forces are there within the state? Are there any signs of contradictions between different parts? Are there examples where armed forces have defected to the uprising?
Siamak Raji: Until a few days ago, the repression of the uprisings was carried out mainly by the police. However, since 8 January, the IRGC ground forces have intervened directly, suppressing the people with extreme violence and zero tolerance. The IRGC, as is well known, is an economic–military complex that embodies the imperialist character of the Islamic regime, with extensive economic interests and military operations beyond the country’s borders.
The regular army has also recently declared its loyalty to the Supreme Leader, Khamenei. No significant divisions are currently evident among the regime’s military and paramilitary forces.
KAF: As a Marxist-Leninist, what character do you think the uprising has? Is it a new democratic revolution?
Siamak Raji: The new revolution we are witnessing is, from an objective standpoint, inherently a democratic revolution. Over the decades, the Islamic regime has systematically blocked all democratic rights and freedoms. Women’s movements, the working class’s basic right to organize, student movements, ethnic groups—in short, all sections of society—have suffered under this despotism.
As Marxist-Leninist forces, we emphasize the democratic character of this revolution and believe that only on this basis can a future path toward socialism be secured. However, history shows that victory does not always belong to those who are correct or who hold the most accurate views, but to those who possess material power. At present, we are still far from such material power, which can only be built through organization among the broad masses. Nevertheless, we continue to disseminate our ideas and analyses without hesitation.
Only through a democratic revolution—against all internal reactionary forces and all forms of imperialist intervention—can the freedom and independence of Iran be guaranteed.
A promising aspect of this movement is that large sections of the masses participating in the uprisings are raising slogans that reflect Marxist-Leninist positions. The unfortunate reality, however, is that these uprisings are largely spontaneous and therefore vulnerable, leaving them defenceless in the face of rightist and proto-fascist propaganda.
KAF: How should the revolution develop? What programme should the revolutionary forces agree on?
Siamak Raji: At this moment, it is vital for all genuine left-wing, progressive, and democratic forces to establish a nationwide committee, based on the common characteristics outlined above. Genuine, though often sporadic, leaders of the women’s movement, trade unions, student movements, ethnic groups, and all political activists with progressive inclinations must take the lead through true organization—without getting bogged down in minor discrepancies—if they recognize that their revolution is threatened by imperialist-backed counterrevolutionaries. The future democratic revolution is neither the responsibility of isolated forces nor a reflection of their isolated interests; it requires collective leadership and coordination across all progressive sectors.
2026-01-10