Hands off Iran!

The US and Israel have behaved in a most provocative manner to the testing of missiles by the government of Iran. While the defence minister of Israel has said Israel had "proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake", Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be "confused" about US capabilities. Israel has also put on display one of its aircraft, the Eitam which has sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems to spy on Iran. These provocations come in the wake of many threats and sanctions enforced over the past few years, to make Iran to toe the line of the western imperialist powers, give up its nuclear program, and give up its program to develop its defence capabilities.

Earlier, in the second week of July 2008, defence authorities in Iran carried out tested medium- and long-range missile tests including the first night test of the Shahab-3 missile, said to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), along with shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles. Iran is a sovereign country and its government surely has the right and duty to develop its defence capability, particularly in a situation when, like Iraq before it, it is faced with economic sanctions designed to force it to toe the line of the Western imperialist powers. Moreover, several missile tests have been carried out by Israel in the recent past, and the US has despatched more warships and weaponry to the Gulf region. The Israeli air force recently carried out a large-scale exercise over the Mediterranean — regarded by many observers as a dress rehearsal should the order be given to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. What right then do these powers have to demand that Iran stop its defence activities and testing of missiles?

The intentions of the US imperialists, the most rapacious power known to mankind, and the Israeli government, responsible for the genocide of millions of Palestinian people, are clear to the people of the world. When US spokesparson Rice said that “it was about time Iran got on the right side of the international community", she clearly meant that Iran had better stop its defiance of the US imperialists, or face consequences more severe than those it has been facing for the past few years. The US imperialists have tried might and main, to ensure that the governments of Pakistan and India do not cooperate with Iran in the proposed gas pipeline and other projects. The French energy company Total has been forced to shelve its plans for the planned development of the huge South Pars gas field in southern Iran. The Indian public sector National Aluminium Company (NALCO) has not been able to go ahead with its plans to set up a 3.1 lakh ton aluminium smelter plant and gas based power plant in the Kerman province of Iran because of the fear of boycott by US imperialists.

However, these sanctions which obviously cause huge economic damage and provocations have not been able to break the will of the Iranian people and government. The valiant Iranian people, who defeated one of the most repressive regimes propped up by US imperialism, that of the Shah, have a long history of friendly ties with the people of India and South Asia. People's Voice demands of the US imperialists and other powers: Hands off Iran! It calls upon all freedom loving people in the world to voice their support for the courageous people of Iran.