Donald Trump has declared his own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the strait that is already closed by Iran. No doubt he hopes that this will pressure Iran but oil prices have already jumped again and countries are warning of severe energy and fertiliser shortages.
Trump had threatened to wipe out “a whole civilisation” if Iran didn’t surrender.
And with military might the only card that Trump has to play he may still resort to more drastic bombing of power and water desalination plants. This puts the lie to his supposed concern for the people of Iran.
Trump and Israel’s war has already compounded the cost of living crisis and had a drastic effect on the world economy.
From Ireland to the Philippines, demonstrations and strikes are demanding government action over fuel and food prices.
Sri Lanka is already on a four day week, with fuel rationing while public transport costs are rising.
While Albanese has acted quickly to cut government taxes on fuel, nothing can hide the fact that he shares the blame for the war and its consequences.
Albanese was among the first world leaders to back the war as it began, declaring, “Australia has had a clear position of supporting this action.”
The Labor government sent an E-7 Wedgetail spy plane and missile interceptors to the UAE, while signals from he US spy base at Pine Gap near Alice Springs are used by the US and Israel to target their missile strikes that are killing thousands in Iran and Lebanon.
It was only after European leaders were critical of Trump’s threats to “wipe out a civilisation” that Albanese called Trump’s statements “inappropriate” and “extraordinary”.
Labor is complicit with the Gaza genocide and the war on Iran, and totally entwined with US imperialism.
Albanese visited Trump at the White House last October, declaring there were “no closer friends and allies” than the Australian and US governments.
US bases are being expanded across Australia, and the government is spending $368 billion on nuclear-powered submarines and billions more on weapons to fight alongside the US against China.
Pressure on Albanese forced him to call for the Iran war ceasefire to be extended to Israel’s bombing of Lebanon with Labor Friends of Palestine, NSW Young Labor, Unions NSW among Labor affiliated groups appealing to Albanese demand that Israel halts its invasion and its bombing.
Trump is now desperate for a way out of the war to avoid economic calamity.
Iran’s ability to threaten the global economy through blocking the Strait of Hormuz and targeting Gulf states’ economic and military infrastructure forced him to declare a ceasefire.
The war has exposed the limits of the US’s military power.
The EU says it will only support diplomatic measures to open the Strait of Hormuz. China has warned that its ships will not be intercepted. But Trump’s desperation to “Make America Great Again” makes US imperialism extremely dangerous and unpredictable.
Even if there is a ceasefire in Iran, the effects on the world economy will continue.
Israel continues to bomb Lebanon and continues the genocide in Gaza with impunity. Trump is preparing to strangle Cuba.
New cost of living crisis
Every worker is paying the price for Trump’s warmongering. According to the IMF, Trump’s war is threatening to tip the world economy into recession. Inflation is expected to rise to at least 5 per cent.
Real wages are already behind inflation. Now every wages struggle will determine whether workers’ pay keeps up with the cost of living. The magnificent strike by 40,000 teachers in Victoria has shown the industrial power that is needed to win.
In the US, the organisers of the millions-strong “No Kings” demonstrations are preparing for May Day strikes against Trump.
There are promising signs of opposition to the war from within the union movement. Labor Against War’s motion against the government’s support for the war and AUKUS has been passed in at least 14 Labor Party branches.
But this passive opposition needs to be turned into action to stop the war in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza, to end Australia’s military exports to Israel and to break Australia’s ties with US imperialism by closing Pine Gap, scrapping AUKUS and the nuclear submarine deal.
We need more socialists in every struggle to link the struggle against war and imperialism to the cost of living crisis and a fight against the capitalist system itself.
