The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 24th July 2026
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 24th July 2026
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
AMERICAN MISSILES strike military and economic targets in Iran. Iranian rockets hit US bases in the feudal Arab Gulf. The double blockade has closed off the Persian Gulf. The Houthi north Yemeni government closes the Red Sea to Saudi shipping. And Brent crude tops $100 this week amid fears of long-term disruption to Arab oil exports to the West.
The Iranians remain steadfast despite the dire warnings from Trump and his minions of the terrible punishment yet to come if the Islamic Republic does not speedily return to the negotiating table. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says that Trump’s word is “worthless” and that the Americans have repeatedly violated their commitments in the “Memorandum of Understanding” that was supposed to bring the conflict to an end last month.
People’s China is deeply concerned about the escalation of the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said “the achievements made through negotiations have been hard won, and the resumption of hostilities serves the interests of no party. The sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of countries in the region should be respected and upheld. The parties concerned should remain calm and exercise restraint, cease hostilities, resume engagement and dialogue, adhere to resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means, and achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire at an early date”.
A barrage of drones and missiles criss-cross the Persian Gulf to a chorus of threats and insults. But only last week the Iraqi premier, Ali al-Zaidi, was in Tehran bearing yet another cease-fire offer from Washington. Though it was turned down flat by the Iranian authorities behind the scenes efforts to end the fighting continue. Donald Trump certainly wants a cease-fire – but only on his terms. And that’s where the problem lies.
The Iranians say one of the problems is the fact that the US negotiating team is led by Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner – businessmen with no diplomatic skills – who try to articulate American demands that constantly change depending on the mood of the senile old man in the White House.
Trump’s latest ploy – to help the Saudis set up their own civilian nuclear power industry in return for the Saudi signature on the “Abraham Accords” surrender peace deal with Israel has only stiffened Iranian resolve to fight on. It has also put the House of Saud on the spot.
The deal, worth tens of billions of dollars, was first contrived during the Biden administration. Then the Saudis were prepared to join an American-led military pact in the Middle East that included Israel that would protect the big oil corporations in the region and threaten the Russian Federation and confront Iran. But these plans were derailed by the Gaza war. Now the Saudis say they will only normalise relations with the Zionist entity in return for a concrete Western pledge to establish an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Yes it’s business as usual in the Middle East…