25-07-2026: On July 15, US President Donald Trump inadvertently gave the game away when he congratulated the new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on his conclusive election victory. The only issue is, Al-Zaidi never stood in an election in Iraq.[1] He was a businessman who was appointed Prime Minister through behind the scenes “negotiations”, in which the US state was intertwined. In practice, the US government had effectively blocked the return of the former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who had been backed by Iraq’s powerful Coordination Framework – a coalition of Shia parties largely on very good terms with the neighbouring Islamic Republic of Iran. Instead, Ali Al-Zaidi, a businessman with no prior political experience, was installed. Trump claimed that because Al-Maliki was tied to Iran, Iraq had “ZERO chance of success, prosperity or freedom” under his leadership. Trump then hailed the appointment of Al-Zaidi, stating that this was “the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our nations – prosperity, stability and success like never before”.[2]

September 30 deadline

In reality, the US deep state had brought about yet another regime change in the country it invaded in 2003, installing a Western friendly leader willing to do its bidding. Renad Mansour, of the United Kingdom (UK) backed Iraq initiative at the Chatham House think tank, stated that he expects the US will put pressure on Al-Zaidi to “move ahead with disarmament”.[3] This is a reference to the disarmament of the Iraqi Shia militias which have been combatting the US backed ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and Al Qaeda terrorists which have been ravaging Iraq for years. Mansour indicated that if the new Iraqi government pursues the Iraqi Shia militia – which work with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), these militia may well turn against Al-Zaidi. The plan appears to be to attempt to merge all Iraqi armed groups with the US backed Iraqi state, and then at some point use the ISIS/Al Qaeda hordes potentially for an invasion of neighbouring Iran. Washington’s horrific unprovoked war on Iran is failing, and they are in desperate need of a proxy force to storm into Iran on behalf of imperialism.

US capital is primed to cash in on the newly minted Iraqi regime change. Blatantly, Al Zaidi stated that “..on September 30 the American forces will leave, and American companies will enter….after September 30, we will not allow any entity to bear arms outside the state”. So the deal Al Zaidi made with the devil is that they move to disarm Shia militias across Iraq, and the US corporations move in to sign new contracts. One example is the US corporation Chevron, TI Capital and Qatar’s UCC being set to sign a deal to build a 2 million barrel per day oil pipeline linking Basra to Haditha and extending to ports in Türkiye and Syria.[4] Washington looks set to prepare for a protracted war on Iran but appears reluctant to place US troops on the ground, where they will likely suffer very high casualties. The ISIS/Al Qaeda forces in Iraq can be used to infiltrate Iran, as can pro-Western Kurdish militia groups centred around Erbil. The likelihood of a “successful” regime change in Iran using these forces is low, but that may not overly concern the Empire.

Mass funeral for the Ayatollah

Trump’s desperate acts to re-start the criminal war on Iran follows what may well have been the largest gathering in human history – the funeral of Iran’s leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. Khamanei was martyred by the US military, being blown away with several family members including his 4-year-old granddaughter, on the first day of the war they began in February 28. The mass funeral for the former Ayatollah drew a reported 43 million people across Iran and Iraq,[5] with many flying a red flag symbolising a demand for revenge. This event, gathering Shia across two countries, as well as many not of any faith, gives the lie to Western propaganda about Iran being an “oppressive regime” which uses arbitrary force against its own people. While there are some within Iran who oppose its government, the overwhelming majority defend their land and their revolution, won in 1979 in defiance of US imperialism. Pro-Western Iranian Kurdish armed groups such as Sazmani Khabat[6], if they cross into Iran from Iraq with the backing of the West, will confront a population of over 90 million people determined to defend their cause.

In Iraq, most Shia militia are affiliated with the Hashed Al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group that formed in 2014 to fight off US backed ISIS/Al Qaeda terror groups. The PMF is part of the Axis of Resistance, which includes the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah in Yemen. It did include the Syrian Arab Republic until Washington was able to regime change Syria in a 13-year proxy war, installing the former number two of ISIS Mohammad Al-Jolani as “President” in December 2024. Some factions of the PMF such as Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have indicated their willingness to integrate into the US backed Iraqi state or place their weapons under state control. However, other factions including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujuba have expressed dire resistance to the very idea of surrendering their weapons to the state.[7] The Axis of Resistance forces have launched attacks on both US troops and ISIS/Al Qaeda in Iraq, seeing them as two arms of the same occupation.

One anti-war movement

The imperialist war on Iran is a monumental crime, on top of being a catastrophe. It is in the vital interests of working people the world over to vigorously oppose it, and to demand US (and Australian) troops immediately withdraw from the Middle East. While the Australian government is currently muted about the conflict, it was the first government internationally which stated open support for the murderous US war. Despite this, this war cannot be opposed on its own. The war on Iran is just one part of imperialism’s war on the rising multipolar world. The war on Iran is thus an extension of the war on Russia via Ukraine, and preparations for war on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Iran, Russia and China are the main pillars of multipolarity, while China is the ultimate target. The PRC, by virtue of its socialistic economy, has surpassed the declining capitalist West in almost all fields – manufacturing, infrastructure, AI, robotics, electric vehicles, technology, science, aviation, high speed rail and much more. Flatlining Western capitalism has no chance of catching up with the PRC, and it is falling further behind with each passing year. This is why it is going to war.

What is required is a united anti-war movement, which does not disperse its energy trying to react to Palestine, NATO’s proxy war on Russia, the war on Iran, the kidnapping of the President in Venezuela, regime change in Cuba and other war crimes, in isolation from each other – but rather has the goal of opposing the singular war of imperialism on the entire Global South. This needs to be directly linked in the West to the dire cost of living crisis – housing, rent, food and utility bills are placing enormous strain on even some workers with full time work. It is a dire collapse in living standards chained to Western imperialism recklessly waging all-out war and risking a nuclear confrontation at each step. Capitalism has long past its serviceable life, and the world must transition to socialism as a matter of urgency.

It is therefore in the interests of working people to offer military support to the Axis of Resistance (Iran and its Shia allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon), as well as to multipolar states including Iran, Russia and China and almost the entire Global South.  At the same time, a purely military victory over imperialism cannot be won. There needs to be revolutions which raise the working class to power in the West, across Africa and Latin America. This requires the construction of Marxist vanguard parties in the West linked to similar forces in the Global South. This political aim arguably takes precedence over the military one. The multipolar world is but a stepping stone towards the end of imperialism and the dawn of a new age. No War on Iran, Russia and China ! Hands Off the Global South!

Workers League


www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

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[1] www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/donald-trump-congratulates-iraq-prime-073520385.html (22-07-2026)

[2] www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-ali-al-zaidi-iraq-iran-white-house-b3014404.html (22-07-2026)

[3] www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/trump-welcomes-new-iraqi-prime-minister-ali-al-zaidi-to-the-white-house/ar-AA27TXFS (22-07-2026)

[4] www.muscatdaily.com/2026/07/15/us-troop-withdrawal-from-iraq-set-for-september-30/ (22-07-2026)

[5] www.muslimmirror.com/largest-in-human-history-over-43-million-join-funeral-ceremonies-for-martyr-leader-in-iran-iraq/ (22-07-2026)

[6] www.cbc.ca/news/world/iranian-kurdish-camps-kurdistan-border-attacks-9.7137325 (22-07-2026)

[7] www.gulfnews.com/world/mena/iraq-gives-iran-backed-militias-sept-30-deadline-to-disarm-as-us-coalition-exit-looms-1.500591445 (22-07-2026)

Image: Hashed Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) fighters parade in Iraq. http://www.fanack.com