Jacobin Radio: Iran in the Imperial Crosshairs

This week Jacobin Radio presents “In the Imperial Crosshairs: Trump's War and Its Consequences for the People of Iran and Ukraine,” a panel organized by Haymarket Books that took place on April 16. Moderated by Denys Bondar, the panel features four socialist voices from the United States, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. They examine the catastrophic consequences of the US-Israeli war already being paid by the people of Iran and Ukraine — from the Strait of Hormuz to the streets of Kyiv — and by working people everywhere.

Speakers include:

- Ashley Smith (Ukraine Solidarity Network): Traces the strategic logic of Trump’s imperial war, rooted in US relative decline and the drive to dominate China’s energy supply chains.

- Frieda Afary (Iranian-American socialist and author of Socialist Feminism: A New Approach): Discusses progressive opposition inside Iran, including feminist activists, labor organizers, and national minority movements, and why solidarity with these groups is the only principled position.

- Aleksandra Zapolskaya (Coordinating editor of Posle media and anti-war activist): Explains what the war means for Russia and the Russian people living under a repressive regime that has crushed independent institutions, strangled the press, and imprisoned anti-war voices.

- Denys Pilash (Editor of Commons journal and member of Sotsialnyi Rukh): Currently serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, he speaks from the front lines on why impunity for one aggressor opens the door for the next.

The discussion also explores anti-war labor solidarity, the global implications of Orban’s electoral defeat, and the debate around “campism.”

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.