As ICE agents open fire on protesters in Minneapolis [12], Portland [13] and Los Angeles [14], Trump frames his military threats [15] against Iran [16] in terms of human rights and democracy—an atypical nod back to the neocons [17]. Following mass deadly repression, the protests in Iran appear to have abated—for now. In Minnesota, both Trump and protesters [18] are turning up the heat [19]. Trump's blatant hypocrisy highlights the imperative of international solidarity. The challenge for stateside protesters is to repudiate the calumny [20] that the Iran protests are CIA or Mossad astroturf, and recognize them as a genuine self-organized popular uprising [21]. The challenge for Iranian protesters is repudiate Trump's bid to exploit them for his imperial ends, as well to reject the ambitions of the reactionary "crown prince" Reza Pahlavi [22] to install himself as leader. Explicit mutual support between the anti-authoritarian struggles in the US and Iran is what can move the historical process forward at this grim hour.
Work cited: "Order Reigns in Berlin [25]" by Rosa Luxemburg
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Production by Chris Rywalt [27]
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