Iranian Minister Speaks to ‘The Significance of the Palestinian Struggle’

by Sue Harris, published on Workers World, February 14, 2026

The foreign minister of Iran, Abbas Aragchi, gave a speech at the Al Jazeera forum in Doha, Qatar focused on “The Palestinian cause and the Regional Balance of Power in the Context of an Emerging Multipolar World.” (IRNA, Feb. 7)

His talk contained several important statements stressing that the struggle in Palestine is “more than a local struggle, and Palestine is not merely a cause for solidarity; it is the indispensable cornerstone of regional security. … Palestine is the defining question of justice in West Asia and beyond. It is the strategic and moral compass of our region.”

Aragchi stated:

“Palestine is a test of whether international law has meaning, whether human rights have universal value and whether global institutions exist to protect the weak — or merely to rationalize the power of the strong. … For generations, the Palestinian crisis was understood primarily as the consequence of an illegal occupation and the denial of an inalienable right: the right of a people to self-determination. But today, we must recognize that the crisis has moved far beyond the parameters of occupation alone.

“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not merely war. It is not a ‘conflict’ between equal parties. It is not an unfortunate byproduct of security measures. It is the deliberate destruction of civilian life on a massive scale. It is genocide.”

Aragchi continued:

“The human cost of Israel’s atrocities in Gaza has wounded the conscience of humanity. It has torn open the heart of the Muslim world — and it has also shaken millions beyond it: Christians, Jews and people of all faiths who still believe that the life of a child is not a bargaining chip, that starvation is not a weapon, that hospitals are not battlefields and that the killing of families is not self-defense. …

“Palestine today is not simply a tragedy; it is a mirror held up to the world. It reflects not only the suffering of Palestinians but also the moral failure of those who had the power to stop this catastrophe — and chose instead to justify it, enable it. … But Palestine and Gaza is not only a humanitarian crisis. It has become the platform for something larger and more dangerous: an expansionist project pursued under the banner of ‘security.’

“The Israeli regime’s conduct in Palestine, and the impunity granted to it, have deeply damaged the international legal order. We must say this clearly: the world is moving toward a condition where international law no longer is respected and governs international relations.

“What is perhaps most dangerous is the precedent being established: that if a state has sufficient political cover and protection, it may bomb civilians, besiege populations, target infrastructure, assassinate individuals across borders and still demand to be regarded as lawful.

“ This is not merely a Palestinian problem. It is a global problem. We are witnessing not only the tragedy of Palestine, but the transformation of the world into a place where the law is replaced by force.

“ The question therefore is not whether Israel’s actions threaten Palestinians alone. The question is whether the region will accept a future in which borders are temporary, sovereignty is conditional and security is determined not by law or diplomacy but by the ambitions of a militarized occupier. … Under this project, Israel is free to expand its military arsenal without limits, including weapons of mass destruction that remain outside any inspection regime. Yet other countries are demanded to disarm. Others are pressured to reduce defensive capacity. Others are punished for scientific progress. Others are sanctioned for building resilience. …

“Nobody should be confused: This is not arms control. It is not non-proliferation. It is not security. It is the enforcement of permanent inequality: Israel must have a ‘military, intelligence and strategic edge,’ and others must remain vulnerable. This is a doctrine of domination. … This is why the Palestinian question is not only a humanitarian issue. It is a strategic issue. It is not only about Gaza and the West Bank. It is about the future of our region and the rules of the world.”

Doctrine of domination

This doctrine of domination, as Aragchi calls it, exists not only in West Asia but all over the world. It exists in U.S. imperialism’s embargo on Venezuela, the murder of fishers, the unlawful kidnaping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores; the arrogant demand that Venezuela’s oil belongs to the U.S., a regular ‘stickup’ as the journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, so aptly put it.

It exists in the illegal and murderous actions of ICE in Minnesota and, in fact, all over the country, where children are separated from their parents and imprisoned, where schools, hospitals and workplaces are raided, people detained on questionable grounds of being in the country “illegally.”

It exists in the kidnapping of Indigenous people who are accused of being “illegal” because of the color of their skin, where people are taken away and “death cards” are left in the place from where they are taken, as a sign that ICE has been there. (The Intercept, Jan. 3)

In fact, this doctrine of domination has existed for centuries, in one form or another, wherever there is violent imposition of the will of the more powerful monied class over the oppressed. Wars of conquest, slavery and systems of exploitation of one class over another have existed throughout the centuries of  class society, often covered by pious statements of entitlement.

But things are changing. The world is getting smaller. Information is traveling faster. It’s harder to keep imperialism’s atrocities hidden. It’s harder to keep people ignorant. It’s harder to shut up those fighting back. There have been successful changes in different parts of the world that have produced universally positive results, without domination of U.S. or European imperialism.  Human consciousness is changing, impacted by the struggles of workers and oppressed peoples worldwide, most notably today, the Palestinians, who have risen up in resistance to their U.S./backed Zionist occupiers.

When the foreign minister of Iran says that the countries of Western Asia must unite, must not accept atrocities but together must take legal and economic action to stop them, it’s significant. He declares: “The international community must affirm: the end of occupation, the right of return and compensation in accordance with international law, and the establishment of a unified and independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital,” and also, “security cannot be built on the insecurity of others. … the Islamic world, the Arab world and the nations of the Global South must build a united diplomatic front.”

Aragchi’s statement is essential in the development of an anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist worldview and movement around the globe.