Vol. 77/No. 44      December 9, 2013

If followed through, it’s unclear how much of an effect the easing will have on Iran’s economy, and even less clear on how much it would alleviate the grind on workers and farmers. But the de-escalation of imperialist pressure affords more space for Iranian working people to organize and press their interests against capitalist exploiters in power, who have wielded Washington’s threats and relentless squeeze as a pretext for clamping down on workers’ rights and struggles.

The “Joint Plan of Action” is a six-month interim deal with the idea that a long-term agreement will follow.

The Iranian government agreed not to add to the current operable 11,000 centrifuges used to enrich uranium; to allow increased U.N. inspections of nuclear facilities; and not to enrich uranium beyond 5 percent purity or increase its stockpile.

In exchange, Washington has agreed to provide Iran with $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief. This includes some $4 billion from oil income that has been frozen in foreign banks. The U.S. and European Union will suspend their ban on trade of petrochemicals, precious metals, automobile and airplane spare parts. The majority of the most severe sanctions remain in place.

Washington, which has led the imperialist squeeze on Iran, has imposed trade sanctions on the country for decades. Broader economic and financial sanctions under the United Nations rubric began in 2006, aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. They were substantially tightened last year through an EU oil embargo and severe banking restrictions.

Since 2006, oil exports, the country’s lifeblood, have shrunk by more than half. Official inflation was 45 percent in late July, and many economists assert that the actual rate is between 50 and 70 percent.

U.S. officials have testified that the gross domestic product for 2012-2013 would drop 5 to 8 percent. Joblessness, which has risen to about 20 percent, encompasses a wide range of industries and services.

Signs of growing dissatisfaction among Iranian workers and farmers and initial efforts to organize and fight back are coming through in some of the Iranian press.

On Nov. 2, 700 workers in Isfahan at the Polyacryl factory, which produces polyester and acrylic fibers, took part in a demonstration over job security in face of a breakup of the company and to demand reinstatement of the factory shora (council), which was disbanded by the authorities more than a year ago, according to the semiofficial Iran Labor News Agency. Workers told the news agency that they have acted with discipline to give no excuse for security forces to crack down. They have not shut down production, but maintained their protest for weeks. On Nov. 19, 700 workers spent the night in the factory mosque and the following morning the protests swelled to 1,000.

After a sustained fight over four months, 235 steelworkers laid off by Zagros Steel Factory in the Kurdish city of Qorveh were paid back wages Oct. 31. They traveled twice to Tehran to press their demands in demonstrations outside Parliament.

This struggle was also reported by the Iranian Labor News Agency, which is not typical coverage for the semiofficial agency.

The regime is concerned about the ascending struggle by Kurds for self-determination in the region. The establishment of Iraqi Kurdistan, the wresting of control of territory by Kurds in northeast Syria and political advances in Turkey are being watched closely by both the Iranian rulers and the 9 million Kurds in Iran.

On Nov. 5, residents in Mariwan in Iranian Kurdistan demonstrated against the executions of three Kurdish political prisoners during the prior two weeks, according to ekurd.net. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attacked the demonstration and arrested several participants.

On Nov. 8, hundreds of residents in Saqqez demonstrated against the executions. The Revolutionary Guards opened fire, injuring several and arresting 80. In an attempt to prevent further demonstrations, they moved in and militarized a number of Kurdish cities.

Obama criticized for deal

“The disproportionality of this agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December,” Sen. Charles Schumer, a leading Democrat, said in a statement Nov. 24.

Obama has also come under heavy criticism from some of Washington’s main allies for being too lenient on Iran. Among some of the most vocal opponents of the deal are the monarchy in Saudi Arabia and the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — although divisions among the Israeli rulers on this are apparent.

The ruling monarchy in Saudi Arabia has kept a telling silence since the accord was struck. The Saudi monarchy made its displeasure over U.S. policy toward Iran and Syria clear last month when it announced it was rejecting a seat on the U.N. Security Council.

On Nov. 22, Sen. Bob Corker, ranking Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Iran Nuclear Compliance Act of 2013, requiring Iran to fully comply with any interim deal and further agree to the terms of an acceptable final agreement before the president of the United States could waive additional sanctions.
 
 
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