Thread by @ronak_banoo

Thoughts from a lifelong Iranian-American Democrat from a Kurdish Muslim family about #Iran, Biden's policy, imperialism, workers, etc. A case for supporting #IranRevolution and opposing Biden's policy from liberal/progressive lens- a thread below #MAHSAAct #HR589 #MahsaAmini

1) Biden's policy hasn't worked. 80% enrichment. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are oligarchs controlling about 70% of Iran's economy. They can't compete in a free market. The average person can't create an economy independent of IR gov, sanctions relief won't help them much.

2) Today a report came out that oligarch-controlled Russia, via Caspian Sea & Indian Ocean, needs Iran to be able to fund Russian oligarchs & war machine. Sanctions have prevented necessary rail links from being built in #Iran . So yes, sanctions have hurt IRGC, not just people

3) The Islamic Republic gets the following message when US and EU engage the most after hostage taking, more enrichment, etc: blackmail works and gets them more revenue and less pressure, so why should they stop blackmailing? Unconditional carrot doesn't change IR's calculations.

4) Russia and China are crony capitalists on steroids. Opposing US imperialism on the grounds of anti-capitalism doesn't mean elsewhere is better. Europe builds social welfare states because we help fund their defense. Russian invasion of #Ukraine️ in 2022 shows why.

5) Worker protections in western countries work best when they exist globally. How do we expect our workers to be able to compete in our economies and unionize effectively if workers in dictatorships can make things more cheaply due to threat of jail, torture, or labor camps?

6) In addition to IR funding Russian oligarchs (Putin is only the largest one) to kill Ukrainians, we should oppose black & brown people being harmed in part or whole by IR's imperialism & militarism in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen. Millions of refugees in EU fuel the rise of far right

7) This is to say nothing of the millions of Uyghurs in China in concentration camps while dictators like IR cozy up to CCP. Don't mention to me why we care about Ukraine & not others without also criticizing Russian warplanes bombing people in Middle East & Africa.

8) There are ways we can fix the US healthcare system by implementing Swiss-style price transparency & detachment of insurance from employer. It's a false choice between military spending & healthcare. Iranians, Ukrainians, etc aren't the reason US healthcare is a dumpster fire.

9) Women's rights are human rights. Don't hide behind anti-Asian hate to shield against criticizing CCP in China. Don't hide behind Islamophobia or sectarianism to shield against criticizing IR. Political prisoner #FatemehSepehri is not an Islamophobe. #IranRevoIution

10) There is a good book and TED talk by @karimabennoune called "Your Fatwa Doesn't Apply Here". Yes, not all Muslims are Islamist/fundamentalist. But often our politicians & intellectuals portray political Islam as only being a product of anti-West grievances. That's problematic

11) Erdogan's Islamist AKP is in charge of Turkey that's a member of NATO. They haven't renounced their western-oriented NATO membership. Islamists still exist & accept west when it benefits them. Sometimes Sunni Islamism is a response to Shia Islamism, not just other way around

12) I'm not a fan of Benjamin Nuttyahu. He needs to eat less ice cream (Google it), talk to Putin less, stop trying to stack the gov, stop crying wolf, & grow a spine. But I also suggest reading Raif Badawi's book "1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think" about Israel/Palestine

13) If people are truly for Iranian democracy, any involvement in conflicts not on Iran's borders should require approval from Iranian voters about how much money they want spent on it. Israel/Palestine or others. We can't want democracy & then complain about its results

14) Hijab isn't a choice until everyone has a choice free of social or legal pressure. Activists against racial apartheid should also be against gender apartheid. If you're against unchecked unregulated capitalism, support women's rights so we have fewer desperate workers.

15) I hear constantly that max pressure strategy against IR failed. Well, has Biden administration meaningfully supported Iranian people, like was done with Solidarity movement in Poland after Gdansk strikes? As Senator Elizabeth Warren says, "I have a plan for that". Right?

16) Don't invest in aiding Ukraine without pressuring IR at same time, unless anti-militarism is selective and is only aimed at one major world power.

17) Oil money is used to fund dictators who kill or starve mostly black and brown people, creating refugees and extremism. Let's invest in more in the fusion project in France, plus renewables and regulated nuclear plants like the French do, to meet our energy needs.

18) Finally: I think it's hard to support this 2022 revolution without acknowledging 1979 revolution was a mistake. Khomeini didn't just appear. Khomeini won because Karim Sanjabi allied w/him & undermined Gholam Hossein Sedighi & Shapur Bakhtiar. We see what has happened since.

I would like @AlirezaNader @navidmohebbi @NUFDIran @khansarinia to check out this thread. I'm a liberal who wants to counter the idea in the eyes of Democrats that maximum support of Iranian people is bad for workers & pro-militarism. Here's the case for it from a liberal lens.