On this special episode, co-hosts Dani Abdullah and Derek Ford provide the broader context necessary for understanding why progressives must take a firm anti-war stance and support Iran's right to self-determination. And after several months Shaka A. Shakur is back for another segment of "Dispatches from Behind the Wire" to remind us to defend oppressed nations in the u.s. and urges us to learn from the people of Minneapolis.

On the heels of the latest U.S. acts of war against Iran, one of which included the illegal assassination of Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the people of Indianapolis mobilized emergency demonstrations days apart. Both were part of nationwide coordinated days of action across the country to demand an end to U.S. aggression against Iran and to defend Iran's right to self-determination and national sovereignty.

Given Iran's political, military, and economic strength, as well as their historical record of defying attempts at foreign intervention, the prospects for a regional or even larger-scale war are real and dangerous. At the same time, both Democratic and Republican parties not only support but have engaged in acts of war against the Iranian people. As recent as 2024, the Biden administration agreed with, if not supported, Israel's illegal bombing of the Iranian Consulate in Syria, which killed dozens of Iranians. In 2021, Biden's administration dropped bombs on Iranian military advisers in Syria. The only matter up for debate concerns the means to overthrow the legitimate government Iran and replace it with one subservient to U.S. interests.

Abdullah and Ford discuss the reasons why, ever since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the U.S. political establishment has maintained a consensus that it must be reversed. They also cover the contradictory character of the revolution and the current Iranian government, covering both its progressive and reactionary character and history. Along the way, they bring to light unknown and downplayed acts of solidarity between Iran and oppressed nations across the world and here in the u.s.

We are excited to hear from our comrade Shaka A. Shakur, who returns for our "Dispatches from Behind the Wire" segment after several months spent on lockdown at River North Correctional Facility. Shaka calls for education about and organizing against the new $1.2 billion prison under construction in Westville, Indiana, the site of the world's second Super-Maximum Security Prison. Shaka and Derek discuss the relationship between mass incarceration, imperialism, and ICE terror. Finally, Shaka provides talking points to help bring everyday people outraged at the Trump regime into the struggle, thereby creating the broader mass movement required to achieve the social transformation we need.

If you support Indy's only independent, anti-war, and socialist podcast, please like, leave a comment, share, and donate to help build the struggle!

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