Iran, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran, formerly known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It has a population of over ninety million people, and is the sixth largest country in Asia. It is divided into five regions with thirty one provinces. The city of Tehran is the nation’s capital, largest city, and financial centre. Iran is currently an Islamic theocracy. Although certain elections are held, the ultimate authority is vested in the Supreme Leader.
The country is rich in natural resources, including that which is considered to be one of the largest deposits of oil, in the world.
Iran is home to one of the oldest, continuous major civilizations. It has an ancient and distinguished history, of which the people of Iran can be supremely proud.
In the early twentieth century, the Persian Constitutional Revolution gave birth to the Pahlavi Dynasty of Reza Shah, beginning in 1925. Then from 1941, his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was in power. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 overthrew the monarchy, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established. The first Supreme Leader was Ruhollah Khomeini.
It is significant that Iran has a sizeable industrial base, mainly involved in mining and manufacturing. The reason this is significant, is because that means it has a considerable working class, a proletariat. In fact, estimates place the number of workers at around forty percent of the population.
Of course, there are still a considerable number of family farmers in Iran, referred to as peasants, although there are no firm estimates. As well, there is a sizeable middle class, technically referred to as the petty bourgeois, mainly shop keepers. They tend to be quite vocal, and receive a lot of attention, from the press.
On December 28, 2025, the current Iranian Revolution began. At first, it was only the shop keepers in Tehran who took to the streets, protesting against raging inflation, so that the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, was negligible. Most common people could not afford even the most basic food items.
The demonstrations soon spread to universities. Both faculty and students joined the protests. From there, the movement quickly expanded, to include demands to end the current regime. This is to say that the protest went from a strictly economic base, to a political base.
Within a few days, the movement, now a full scale Revolution, spread to all parts of Iran. The women are playing a leading role, dancing in the streets, removing their head scarves, cutting their hair and even burning those same head scarves. All of which is strictly against the law!
The mainstream press is now quite cheerfully reporting that certain protesters are calling for the return of the son of the exiled Shah, Prince Reza Pahlavi. They would have us believe that there is a counter revolution going on in Iran, in that the people of Iran want to return to a state of monarchy. This is not likely.
Without a doubt, there are Iranians who ‘’pine for the good old days’’, in which they were ruled by a Shah, which is a monarch. Equally without doubt, those people are in a minority. The vast majority of people want to go forward, to a democracy, not backwards, to the rule of a monarch.
In an attempt to contain the Revolution, the government of Iran cut off all internet access. This attempt was unsuccessful, as people found a way to get in touch with each other, bypassing the internet.
President Trump has responded to this Iranian Revolution, with a threat of once again going to war, possibly with the assistance of Israel. This happened quite recently, in that which is being referred to as the Twelve Day War.
The Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, has issued his own statement. He is demanding that American troops leave the Middle East, and stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iran. He also accused Washington of deception.
Whatever else the Ayatollah may be, he is not a fool! To paraphrase an old expression, ‘’You can always tell when Donald Trump is lying. His lips are moving’’!
As I write this, the Iranian Revolution is unfolding. It remains to be seen, if it will indeed result in the creation of a democratic republic, or if the exiled Shah will manage to return to power. Either way, that is the business of the people of Iran.
For our part, we can best support the people of Iran, by placing pressure on our respective governments, to quit meddling in the internal affairs of the people of Iran.
As well, those of us who personally know people who live in Iran, are free to recommend the classic works of Marx and Lenin. These include The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, as well as State and Revolution, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, What Is To Be Done?, and Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, all by Lenin. It is very likely that they have been translated into Farsi, the official language of Iran, and may be available on the internet.
It is entirely possible that true Communist leaders have already emerged, within the country of Iran. Or possibly not. Either way, the fact of the matter is that, during a time of revolution, countless people, including those who were formerly apathetic, become politically active. This is especially true of the working class, the proletariat. Among the workers who have now become politically active, it is reasonable to assume that some of them will assume positions of responsibility. Leaders.
To such people, I can only suggest that a careful reading of the following, written by Lenin, contained within his work, Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder:
‘’The fundamental law of revolution, which has been confirmed by all revolutions, and especially by all three Russian revolutions in the twentieth century, is as follows: for a revolution to take place, it is not enough for the exploited and oppressed masses to realize the impossibility of living in the old way, and demand changes; for a revolution to take place, it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way. It is only when the ‘lower classes’ do not want to live in the old way, and the ‘upper classes’ cannot carry on in the old way, that the revolution can triumph. This truth can be expressed in other words: revolution is impossible without a nation wide crisis (affecting both the exploiters and the exploited). It follows that, for a revolution to take place, it is essential first, that a majority of the workers (or at least a majority of the class conscious, thinking, and politically active workers), should fully realize that revolution is necessary, and that they should be prepared to die for it; second, that the ruling classes should be going through a governmental crisis, which draws even the most backward masses into politics (symptomatic of any genuine revolution is a rapid, tenfold and even hundredfold increase in the size of the working and oppressed masses- hitherto apathetic- who are capable of waging the political struggle), weakens the government, and makes it possible for the revolutionaries to rapidly overthrow it.’’ (italics by Lenin)
I consider the preceding paragraph to be of supreme importance. I would love to see it in poster form, and placed on the walls of all advanced workers. As well as on the walls of all union halls. I would be the first to buy a copy.
No doubt, a proper understanding of that paragraph, will inspire people to read other select works of Marx and Lenin, previously mentioned.
In State and Revolution, Lenin states that, ‘’A democratic republic is the best possible political shell for capitalism, and, therefore, once capital has gained control of this very best shell …it establishes its power so securely, so firmly, that no change, either of persons, of institutions, or of parties in the bourgeois-democratic republic, can shake it.’’ (italics by Lenin)
In that same work, Lenin went on to explain that, ‘’All the revolutions which have occurred up to now, have helped to perfect the state machine, whereas it must be smashed, broken.’’ (my italics)
We can only hope that the advanced workers of Iran, will seriously consider this advice of Lenin. A democratic republic is certainly far superior to a monarchy. Yet it remains a bourgeois dictatorship, under the rule of the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie.
Just as a democratic republic is far superior to a monarchy, so too, a Scientific Socialist Society, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, is far superior to a democratic republic. Marx described this quite clearly, in 1852, in a letter to Weydemeyer:
‘’And now as to myself, no credit is due to me for discovering the existence of classes in modern society, nor yet the struggle between them. Long before me, bourgeois historians had described the historical development of this class struggle, and bourgeois economists the economic anatomy of the classes. What I did that was new was to prove: 1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production; 2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat; 3) that this Dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society.’’ (italics by Lenin)
That is another paragraph I would love to see in poster form! I consider it to be of the utmost importance!
May I further stress the fact that Marx stated, ‘’the class struggle necessarily lead to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat’’. I have deliberately chosen to place the word ‘’necessarily’’ in italics, in order to stress its importance. The class struggle, of necessity, leads to Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!
To those currently taking part in the Iranian Revolution, may I suggest focusing on the ultimate goal of all revolutions, which is the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. It may help to think of the democratic republic as a mere stop gap measure. A step in the right direction, but merely a step. The monopoly capitalists remain in charge. They must be overthrown and crushed, by the working class, the proletariat.
I can only hope that the preceding was helpful, to the Iranian Revolutionaries.
With Most Sincere Communist Greetings,
Gerald McIsaac
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 