In a strongly worded statement issued this week, the left-wing Tudeh Party of Iran has reasserted its opposition to a new military adventure in the Middle East. Any intensification of military or political conflict in the region will be against the interests of the people of Iran, the Middle East region and global peace, it argues.

As the United States continues to build its 'case' for the need to take military action against Iran, the Tudeh Party is calling for opposition to both the threat of war and the repressive, theocratic Iranian regime.

Tudeh Party international department spokesman Navid Shomali stresses the parallels between Washington's current sabre-rattling and the build-up to the invasion of Iraq.

'The similarity between the events taking place in recent months with those in the period between August 2002 and March 2003 is terrifying,' he says.

'The discredited evidence presented by the US Secretary of State in September 2002 about the existence of Iraqi biological weapons laboratories in order to justify preparation for a military offensive against Iraq should not be forgotten. Let's make no mistake.

The US is known for fabricating convenient 'evidence' to justify its criminal policies.' The US recently accused Iran of directly backing terrorist activities in Iraq, costing the lives of 170 US military personnel. The Tudeh Party argues that this is merely an attempt to convince public opinion in the US and Europe that George Bush and his neocon allies are justified in targeting Iran for military action.

These pronouncements came hot on the heels of much-publicised visits to the region by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to cobble together an alliance of Arab countries to support Bush's discredited plans.

This 'new' US policy in the region stands in stark contrast to the high-profile report published by the Iraq Study Group in December.

The Bush administration has ditched the recommendations contained within the report, whose authors included former US secretary of state James Baker. While it argued for constructive engagement with Iran, Washington has instead adopted a confrontational approach aimed at forcing the Iranian government to accept US hegemony in the Middle East.

UN security council resolution 1737, regarding Tehran's civil nuclear programme, has been cited by the Tudeh Party as an important part of the strategy to escalate hostilities with Iran.

It accuses the Iranian regime of pursuing a reckless and provocative foreign policy which, rather than winning international acceptance of its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, has advanced Washington's strategy in the region.

'Despite the regime's propaganda, achieving nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, which is an inalienable right of our nation, has now been jeopardised due to the regime's reactionary policies. It has become an excuse for colonialists to meddle in the internal affairs of our nation,' it said.

The Tudeh Party likens recent exchanges between the US and the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a 'game of chicken.' It is a game which could produce frightening results.

The US administration and its European allies have already shown on Iraq that they have little interest in telling the truth or observing international law.

But Tehran's position seems to be based on the miscalculation that the US is too busy in Iraq to be able to open a new theatre of conflict.

The Tudeh Party argues that this has stopped the Iranian regime listening to reason about the urgent need to pursue policies that avoid military confrontation.

The current tense conditions have led Ahmadinejad's government to justify the suppression of all opposition. It has imposed even greater censorship of an already tightly gagged media and has staged demonstrations backing its policies to mislead international and local public opinion.

The situation has also seriously undermined the peace movement inside Iran and prevented it from linking up with the international anti-war movement.

Shomali sets out the Tudeh position. 'We have called upon all the progressive and democratic forces in our country to unite and to step up their efforts to defend the sovereignty and democratic development of the country.

'We have also called upon them to oppose and confront provocative, interventionist and militaristic policies of any force from within the country or from outside,' he says.

The solution to the current crisis is not escalation of the crisis, says the Tudeh Party, which argues that no amount of evidence could justify a military solution. The only way forward is through negotiations and dialogue, it says, adding that the imposition of sanctions against Iran would only harm ordinary Iranians.

The party has long argued that a peaceful regional and global environment is needed in order for the opposition to replace the current theocratic regime with a democratic, progressive and modern Iran representing the true will of the people.

It is calling for all progressive and democratic forces to echo its demand for an end to US intervention in the region and to show support for the democratic forces opposing the current Iranian regime.

From Morning Star