Revolution and counter-revolution in Iran, 1978-9: Workers' Liberty 3/5

On 29 October, workers at Ahwaz oil formulated a wide-ranging set of demands: 1. An end to martial law 2. Full solidarity and cooperation with striking teachers in Ahwaz 3. Unconditional release of political prisoners 4. Iranianisation of the oil industry 5. All communications to be in the Persian language 6. All foreign employees to leave the country 7. An end to discrimination against women staff employees and workers 8. The implementation of a law dealing with the housing of oil workers and staff employees. 9. Support for the demands of production workers, including the dissolution of the...

Fewer than half of the people of Iran in 1979 were Persian and spoke Farsi. Suffering oppression under Shah, the national minorities, Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, Balushis, Qashquaia and Turkmans participated in the movement to overthrow his regime to further their demands for self-government and self-determination. However Khomeini’s regime soon turned on these minorities. On 18-21 March Kurdish villages in Sanandaj were bombed for demanding national self-determination and for seizing land from the landlords. On 26-29 March, troops shot down Turkman peasants in Gonbadkavoos, again for seizing land...

“We the workers of Iran, through our strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations overthrew the Shah’s regime and during these months of strike we tolerated unemployment, poverty and even hunger. Many of us were killed in the struggle. We did this in order to create an Iran free of class repression, free of exploitation. We made the revolution in order to end unemployment and homelessness, to replace the SAVAK-orientated syndicates with independent workers’ shuras — shuras formed by the workers of each factory for their own economic and political needs.” Workers demanded: 1. government recognition of...

The Iranian working class was the decisive social force that overthrew the Shah in 1978-79. But workers did not go on to create their own state, but instead came under the rule of a regime no less repressive than that of the Shah. Workers built organisations and took action in defence of their own interests. The development of independent working class politics was a real possibility in 1979. Yet this potential was not fulfilled — in large part because of the failure of the left, both inside Iran and internationally. Part of the explanation for the left’s failure lies in its repression at the...

Socialist Worker (28 October 1978) compared Khomeini to Father Gapon to justify their tail ending. “It is almost as though the masses have seized on a tradition that is embodied in their history — the tradition of religious opposition – the one thing they know is common to all, understood by all, and hammered this religion of theirs into a mighty weapon, that has nothing to do with godliness, or holiness and everything to do with mass power.” (Joanna Rollo, Iran: Beginning of a Revolution, SWP pamphlet) “We have already explained what really lies behind this mass movement and had nonsensical...

During the late 1970s the forerunners of the AWL published a weekly paper, Workers’ Action, which contained extensive coverage of the Iranian revolution. In the last months of 1978 the paper carried detailed reports of the strike wave that eventually toppled the Shah. The reports emphasised the need for workers to organise themselves independently. For example in an article, Not an Islamic state, but workers’ rule, we wrote: “To bring the Iranian workers’ movement to victory, however WORKERS’ COUNCILS must organise the struggle now and the future revolutionary power after the overthrow of the...

A mass meeting held at the Ministry of Justice on 10 March produced the following resolution: “Considering that human beings are both free and the gift of freedom belongs equally to all regardless of sex, colour, race, language and belief; Considering that women form half the population of Iran and that the contribution of this half to the education of the future generations as well as to social, cultural, political and economic life is undeniable; Considering the selfless participation of Iranian women in the struggle against imperialism and dictatorship was an important contribution to the...