source: Workers World

published: 25 August 2026

Image Credit: Duda/Pexels www.pexels.com

In Workers World’s opinion, the task of progressive activists and organizations, especially those in the imperialist countries, is to promote, in both theory and in practice, united strategies to weaken and defeat imperialism.

The enemy is the ruling class of the U.S. or the other imperialist countries in the Global North. That task should exclude positions hostile to any country fighting for its very life and independence from foreign imperialist domination.

We state this opinion, because a British publication, The Guardian, posted an open letter on Aug. 20 entitled, 'To Iran’s political prisoners, trapped ‘between two blades of a scissors.’ The first subhead under the title states, “On one side, you face the domination of the Islamic Republic; on the other, the imperialist forces that republic claims to stand against.”

In this editorial, we express in the strongest terms why Workers World newspaper and the organization it represents, Workers World Party, condemn and refuse to sign this open letter and also urge other forces who consider themselves anti-imperialist not to add their names.

We are already witnessing that some who signed the open letter are now publicly rescinding their signatures — a good sign. This letter is misusing the issue of justice for “political prisoners” in an attempt to undermine the Iranian government when that government is in a life-and-death struggle to push back imperialist aggression, plain and simple.

First of all, let’s be clear about the role of The Guardian. Its editors claim to represent “independent” journalism. And The Guardian does sometimes take mildly progressive stances on certain issues. But it is still part of the corporate media that comes down on the side of imperialism on major questions of war and peace.

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