As the war on Iran enters its third week, US imperialism finds itself mired in a deepening crisis. What Trump envisioned as a swift decapitation strike is rapidly proving to be the gravest blunder of his presidency – and perhaps one of the most catastrophic miscalculations in the history of American foreign policy.

Iran, meanwhile, is raising the stakes. Oil and gas prices are soaring, and the spectre of a new global economic slump looms ever larger. Ordinary people are watching these events unfold with a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and rage.

The question of how to fight back against imperialism and put an end to its unrelenting cycle of violence is weighing on the minds of millions.

In this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Fred Weston examine how communists must take up the struggle against US imperialism today, contrasting the Marxist approach with the positions of both the reformist left and so-called third-worldism.

New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖

The war on Iran: where do communists stand?

🔗https://marxist.com/the-war-on-iran-where-do-communists-stand.htm

Trump’s massive Iran aggression gamble becoming a catastrophic miscalculation

🔗https://marxist.com/trump-s-massive-iran-aggression-gamble-becoming-a-catastrophic-miscalculation.htm

Financial Times – 'Iranians rethink the price of regime change'

🔗https://www.ft.com/content/4e048ed0-9bba-4392-8cee-7f1337c0b211

New York Times – 'Pace of Iran's retaliatory strikes appears to be slowing'

🔗https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/world/middleeast/iran-weapons-missiles-israel-gulf.html

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️

00:00 – Intro and updates to the situation

15:15 – What is imperialism?

29:45 – The reformist 'solution'

48:55 – The 'Axis of Resistance'

🌐 LINKS 🌐

✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

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💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/