The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 13th February 2026
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 13th February 2026
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Iranian leaders said that the Islamic republic would not bow to outside aggression, as it marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with events overshadowed by the looming threat of American military action. Millions of Iranians filled the streets in cities and towns throughout the country this week to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran while talks to end the crisis continue in the Gulf state of Oman. The Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has flown to Washington to urge the Americans to stick to their hardline demands for Iran to abandon its nuclear research programme, scrap its ballistic missile system and stop supporting the Palestinian resistance or other Arab liberation movements such as Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis. And the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that the Trump administration covertly smuggled around 6,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran amid nationwide unrest earlier this year, substantiating Tehran’s claims that American imperialism was behind the deadly riots.
Iranian and American emissaries are continuing their secret talks in the Gulf states but both sides are keeping their cards close to their chests. Trump has ordered a new strike force, led by the Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, to sail to the Persian Gulf to beef up the American armada already stationed off the coast of Iran and strengthen his hand in the negotiations with the Islamic Republic. The US president has not ruled out strikes against Iran, although he has tied his decision to a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme rather than the treatment of dissidents and protesters. And in a speech in Tehran on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, President Masoud Pezeshkian said that while Iran would not yield to “excessive demands” from Washington or “yield in the face of aggression” they were “continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighbouring countries in order to establish peace and tranquillity in the region”.
The Iranians have always been ready to talk about their nuclear research programme – which they say is entirely peaceful – while maintaining that their ballistic missile systems and their relations with Hezbollah and the Yemenis are not negotiable.
Meanwhile Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, told the Arab media that he believes that Washington has abandoned the idea of a military scenario against Iran. “Washington has understood the need to pursue a different course with Iran, rather than a military solution” Larijani said in an interview with Al Jazeera. The Iranians did not get any concrete proposals from the Americans during talks in Oman he said, adding that Israel is deliberately trying to torpedo the negotiations with the USA so it can ignite a new war that would destabilise the region.
Nevertheless, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was optimistic; telling the Financial Times that America and Iran are showing flexibility on a possible nuclear deal. Fidan noted that Tehran and Washington appeared ready to compromise to secure a nuclear deal – but he warned that broadening the talks to cover Tehran’s ballistic missile programme would risk “nothing but another war”.