After retaliatory strikes leveled against the United States military base in Qatar by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday June 23, the administration of President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in what he described as the “12 Day War” involving Tel Aviv, Washington and Tehran.

In a routine fashion, the Pentagon and their Qatari host, announced that all of the missiles fired from the IRGC were intercepted while no significant damage or casualties occurred during the strikes.

Similar statements were made during the initial phase of the exchanges which began on June 13. The official narrative promoted by Tel Aviv and its U.S. backers is that the so-called “Iron Dome” in Israel cannot be penetrated by hostile ordnance.

However, during subsequent days after June 13, it became quite obvious that serious property damage was done by the Iranian missile attacks which resulted in injuries and deaths. The Iranian government reported that a wave of 18 missile attacks was carried out against the Zionist regime.

This most recent round of hostilities indicated that the foreign policy of the Trump administration has been a complete failure. During his 2024 campaign Trump declared that if he was in office the war in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands injured and displaced, would never have occurred. The administration has made similar statements in regard to the Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine, saying that Trump would end the war in 24 hours.

However, despite a brief ceasefire in Gaza, the genocidal onslaughts have resumed while the fighting, destruction and deaths continue in Ukraine. The administration has not suspended arms shipments to Tel Aviv or the U.S.-backed government in Kyiv.

Attacks on Iran Spawns Mass Demonstrations

Inside Iran itself, the people remained united in the face of the targeted assassinations of several leading military officials, scientists and civilians. Immediately the IRGC began to retaliate with barrages of missile strikes deep into Tel Aviv, Haifa and other cities.

A series of condemnations from governments and organizations from throughout the West Asia region and the world began demanding an end to the bombings by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and later the Pentagon. Neighboring states which have been close allies of the U.S. allowing their territories to be utilized for the stationing of Pentagon bases expressed their dissatisfaction with the Israeli-U.S. aggression against Iran.

In Yemen, the Ansur Allah resistance movement, pledged their solidarity with the Iranian people through mass demonstrations which attracted millions around the country. The Trump administration had also declared a ceasefire with the Yemeni resistance weeks before after the leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi refused to back down in their defense of the Palestinian people by imposing a blockade against Israeli ships and those conducting business with the regime in Tel Aviv.

Inside the U.S. there were demonstrations against the IDF bombings of Iran and the subsequent actions of the Pentagon. Even within the Republican MAGA electoral base there were objections to entering yet another protracted war of regime-change and occupation in West Asia and North Africa.

The opposition to the bombing of Iran and the ongoing advocacy for regime-change among the MAGA constituency is not based on any form of anti-imperialism. The ultra right-wing are more concerned about the deportation of immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia along with eroding civil rights and the ability of working people to organize.

Nonetheless, the Republican Party and the dominant factions within the Democrats both unconditionally support the State of Israel and its genocide in Palestine. They have maintained this position in the face of growing opposition to Israel among the U.S. electorate.

Demonstrations on college and university campuses in the U.S. over the last year-and-a-half demanding the full disclosure and divestment from financial holdings in the State of Israel, illustrate clearly the mass character of the Palestine solidarity movement. The former Democratic administration of President Joe Biden and the current White House have falsely labeled the Palestine Solidarity movement as “antisemitism.”

In reality, the Israeli regime would not be able to exist without the monumental financial, military, intelligence and diplomatic support from the U.S. The regime in Tel Aviv serves as a key outpost in the West Asia and North Africa regions for the effort to maintain imperialist domination over the shipping lanes for oil and the deployment of Pentagon troops in close proximity to the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies known as the “Axis of Resistance.”

The Yemeni resistance has pledged to abandon its truce with Washington if the bombing of Iran resumes. The Iranian parliament agreed to close the strategic shipping lane of the Straits of Hormuz if the military strikes by Tel Aviv and Washington continue.

In a June 25 article published by Press TV, it says of the popular support of the Iranian people for the IRGC that:

“Iranians rallied in Tehran and other cities on Tuesday night (June 24) to thank the country’s armed forces for valiantly fighting off the Israeli and American aggression and forcing them to unilaterally declare a ceasefire after 12 days of imposed war. A large crowd of people gathered in Enqelab Square of Tehran, expressing gratitude for the efforts of the armed forces in confronting and responding to the Israeli and U.S. aggression on Iran’s soil. The demonstrators—including men, women, and children from all walks of life—raised the Iranian flag, held portraits of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and martyrs, and carried handwritten signs such as ‘We will stand firm till the end’.” 

This demonstration was significant due to the fact that the recent bombing of Iran was aimed at the overthrow of the Islamic Revolution which took power from the puppet regime of the Shah in early 1979. The Shah was a critical ally of the U.S. which supported the monarchy in Iran with massive flows of arms and economic bribery.

The imperialists have never come to grips with the Islamic Revolution of 46 years ago. The principal foreign policy objective of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the liberation of all of Palestine. Consequently, the U.S. and their Israeli surrogates remain committed to the reinstallation of the monarchy in Tehran.

In the same article quoted above, it goes on to note:

“The American assault came more than a week after the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked and unlawful aggression against the Islamic Republic, assassinating several top-ranking military commanders, scientists and ordinary civilians. In response, Iranian armed forces targeted numerous strategic Israeli military, intelligence and industrial centers in the occupied territories.

The Israeli regime was forced to halt its 12-day aggression against Iran after coming under waves of retaliatory operations by the Iranian armed forces. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire late Monday (June 23), with a senior Israeli reserve general admitting that Iran’s powerful retaliations had imposed its timing.”

The unity and swiftness of the military and political response by Iran will compel the U.S. and Israel to reassess their approach to their regime-change strategy. Undoubtedly, in order for the IDF to continue their genocidal campaign in Gaza, renewed stockpiles of U.S.-supplied weapons will be sent to Tel Aviv.

The Need to Expand the Anti-War Movement in the U.S.

Since the escalation of attacks against Iran by Israel and the U.S., the political basis for a stronger anti-fascist, anti-war and anti-imperialist convergence has emerged. While the military engagement between Tel Aviv, Washington and Tehran was unfolding, the genocide in Gaza has persisted.

Everyday the IDF carries out massacres against the Palestinians. The so-called Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) is nothing more than a cover for luring Palestinians to Israeli-U.S. approved distribution points for assistance in order to gun down dozens of people, including women and children.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the official death toll since October 7, 2023 has exceeded 55,000 people. These numbers may not be reflective of deaths caused by the severely paralyzed healthcare system which has been under constant attack by the IDF.

Therefore, the struggle of the Palestinian people and their allies will continue. A report published by Press TV on events taking place in the aftermath of the announced ceasefire by Trump emphasized:

“The Israeli regime military says seven of its troops were killed in the southern Gaza Strip after an armored vehicle they were traveling in was hit by an explosive device on Tuesday. Effie Defrin, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, said on Wednesday that seven personnel, including an officer, were killed by an explosive device in the southern city of Khan Yunis. This marks the highest death toll in a single incident in Gaza for the Israeli military since a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement collapsed in March following Tel Aviv’s resumption of aggression.” 

These developments further reveal that until the Palestinian question is resolved there will be no lasting peace in the region. Within the imperialist states the struggle against fascism should be closely linked to the imperialist aggression of the Trump administration.

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Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.  

Featured image is from the author

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