Reclaiming the Narrative: Resistance, Solidarity, and the Struggle Against Imperialist Distortion
In response to the coordinated military attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States—and the growing distortion of narratives in Western media—activists, scholars, and labor organizers from Iran and around the world will gather for an online forum titled “Against Imperialist Confusion: Global Labor Solidarity with Iran” on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 5:30 PM (Iran time).
This two-hour event, livestreamed via Zoom and Kargah TV will explore the 12-day grassroots resistance in Iran, the role of the working class, and a critical analysis of Western-centric narratives about Iran and the region.
During the recent aggression, Iranian citizens demonstrated exceptional solidarity. Workers at the South Pars Gas Refinery—one of the main targets of the attacks—voluntarily and intensively restored production capacity. Across the country, people showed civic trust by avoiding panic behavior such as hoarding, and young people publicly supported the nation’s governing institutions. Despite these realities, segments of the Western elite and liberal left invoked ideas of “political complexity” or “analytical neutrality” to justify their silence—effectively reinforcing confusion and downplaying Iran’s right to self-defense. This forum directly addresses such tendencies, offering a grounded, anti-imperialist reframing of resistance through field experience and critical analysis.
Speakers:
- Foad Izadi – Professor, University of Tehran
- Prabhat Patnaik – Professor Emeritus of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Ajamu Baraka – Black Alliance for Peace
- Alireza Mirghaffari – President, Association of Gas Refinery Workers’ Unions of Bushehr Province/ Iran
- Sara Larijani – Center for Resistance, Sovereignty, and Development Studies (MOHAAT), University of Tehran
- Hamid Shahrabi, President, House of Latin America, Iran
- Sara Flounders, Workers World Party (+2)
- Esmaeil Mohammadvali: Chief Labour Journalist, KargahTV
- Taha Zeinali, MOHAAT, University of Tehran
- Walaa Alqaisiya, Professor Northwest University, People’s Republic of China
Moderator:
Helieh Dotaghi – Researcher of MOHAAT Center, University of Tehran
Organizers:
- KargahTV (Iranian Labour Media Platform)
- Association of Gas Refinery Workers’ Unions of Bushehr Province
- MOHAAT, University of Tehran
- House of Latin America
Endorsing Organizations:
- The North-South Project for People(s)-Centered Human Rights
- Workers World Party
- DSA Emerge
- International Action Center,
- Knowledge Habitat (KHANA)
- Carleton PIRG
- VoxUmmah
- United National Antiwar Coalition
This forum is part of a broader effort to elevate global understanding of Iran’s grassroots resistance and to help revive principled, anti-imperialist solidarity worldwide.
