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Since the nuclear deal was signed in July 2015 the fortunes of Iran’s capitalists and the regime’s functionaries have taken off. But all that the workers have seen is the growing gap between them and the rich. Workers are finding the influx of luxury cars and goods hard to bear when their children are going hungry! Inevitably workers’ protests and strikes have grown steadily in recent months.

To keep the legitimate demands and protests of workers (as well as women, national and religious minorities, the youth, the disabled, LGBTQ people, writers, artists and the vast majority of the population) under control state repression has been stepped up. E.g., protests against layoffs at Agh Darreh ended with 17 gold miners being flogged (https://shahrokhzamani.com/2016/06/04/agh-darreh17/)!

The Iranian regime considers those who organise labour organisations, illegal May Day celebrations and similar activities as having “endangered national security”. These activists are thrown into medieval dungeons, where torture and other types of abuse are routinely used to cow them. And those who are defiant even in jail, like Shahrokh Zamani, a painter who tried to organise an independent trade union, can end up dead. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/19/shahrokh-zamanis-death-in-an-iranian-prison-must-be-investigated).

International solidarity can help Iranian workers realise all their economic and political demands more quickly. There is now an urgent need for an effective solidarity movement that can support Iranian workers in their struggles. Help us build this solidarity movement. Support and publicise the launch meeting of the Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign.

7pm – 9pm – 20 October – Hamilton House (NUT), Mabledon Place, London

Speakers confirmed:

Morad Shirin- Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network.

Peter Tatchell- Human rights campaigner.

Rhea Wolfson- Labour Party NEC member and GMB activist.

Rida Vaquas – Young Labour.

Henry Chango Lopez- President, IWGB Union.

Speakers in personal capacity unless otherwise stated.

Video clips from the picket on 13 September 2016 in front of the IRI embassy in London on the anniversary of Shahrokh Zamani’s death in prison in the hands of the Iranian regime.

Supporters of the Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign gathered at the Iranian regime’s London embassy today. We were commemorating the life of Shahrokh a year on from his death in prison and standing in solidarity with all Iranian workers and youth struggling for the right to organise, for democracy and freedom from repression.

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Below is a model motion. Please amend as necessary and use it to raise the issues your union branch/political party/organisation.

If you would like to invite a speaker from the campaign to your meeting(s) please get in touch with us via shahrokhlives@gmail.com.

Please report back from your meeting(s) via shahrokhlives@gmail.com.

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We are building mailing lists so that we can call supporters to protest and solidarity actions such as pickets at the IRI embassy in London, sometimes at short notice. Please forward your email address and/or mobile phone number to shahrokhlives@gmail.com and we will add you today.

Dear comrades, brothers and sisters,

Our campaign is entirely funded by donations, money raised at labour movement events and with resources provided by our supporters.

We want to build a large, effective solidarity movement and to do that we need your support so that we can produce materials, build our web presence and grow the campaign in the labour and student movements.

Please consider making a one-off or more regular donation:

Sort code: 60-83-01
Account Number: 20018467

Thank you.

In solidarity,

The Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign

Leaflet distributed at the London May Day rallies and march: Support-Iran-workers

The FT Iran Summit on March 9th 2016 is aimed at giving British capitalists more access to Iran’s economy. Currently British trade and investment in Iran is not only dwarfed by Germany, France and Italy, but is even lagging behind the United States!

This summit, with Exploring Opportunity and Risk in a Potential Economic Powerhouse as its subtitle, is meant to boost trade with Iran through discussions and networking between politicians and business leaders from both countries. A whole range of representatives of the Iranian regime, e.g., H. E. Mohammad Nahavandian (Head of the Presidential Office and Chief of Staff, Islamic Republic of Iran), Peyman Ghorbani Aghilabadi (Vice Governor, Economic Affairs, Central Bank of Iran) and many Iranian capitalists (e.g., Peyman Kargar, CEO of Renault Pars) will be hobnobbing with British capitalists and Tories like Sajid Javid and the pro-Pinochet Norman Lamont.

According to Norman Lamont, Britain’s trade envoy to Iran, “Iran is the world’s biggest emerging market since the collapse of the Soviet Union 25 years ago.” Given that this is the same Norman Lamont who in October 1998 was General Pinochet’s most vociferous supporter (after Margaret Thatcher), when the Chilean dictator was detained in Britain, we know for certain that he will never bring up the issues of political executions, political prisoners, detention without trial, torture and other abuses that sustain the dictatorship in Iran.

More specifically, we do not expect the likes of Norman Lamont (or Sajid Javid) to let the rights of Iranian workers to form independent trade unions and the right to strike, or women’s equal treatment by the state and society, or the rights of national and religious minorities, or Afghan refugees, or any other oppressed layers in Iranian society, to come in the way of the multi-billion pound trade and investment deals that the capitalists of Britain and Iran are planning.

This summit costs £1295+VAT (i.e., £1554) to attend! The British “captains of industry” who go to it will be seeking to improve their chances of landing deals like the one for 118 Airbuses (worth €25bn) that was signed during Hasan Rohani’s European tour in January. Neither workers’ rights nor any other aspect of the Iranian regime’s repression came up during that trip! Similarly, in pursuit of big profits British capitalists and their Tory facilitators will be completely ignoring the rights of workers, women, national minorities or refugees, as well as the plight of the hundreds of political prisoners languishing in jail. They are not going to ask for the murder of jailed labour activists like Shahrokh Zamani to be investigated!

While nobody is against trade deals, particularly those involving investment, the transfer of technology, or restoring the production capacity of many industries, we think that these should not come at the cost of overlooking executions, torture, brutality and injustice that Iranian workers, women and other layers face daily. That is why we will be picketing outside the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone from 12:00 on March 9th 2016.

Long live independent workers’ organisations and the right to strike!
Investigate Shahrokh Zamani’s death!
Free all political prisoners now!
Iranian workers are not alone!

Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network
5 March 2016