Update: It is several hours since this article was originally posted. CNN is carrying the following news: US and Israel carrying out strikes against Iran. This will play perfectly into the hands of the fascist Tucker Carlson as we outlined below. It changes nothing about our points.

A U.S. strike on Iran is likely to come soon. Let’s start by reviewing the history of his attacks and threats against Iran:

1. On June 22, 2025, Trump ordered the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
2. Within three days, he was claiming that its nuclear facilities had been “obliterated”. He then turned his attention elsewhere.
3. Then, on January 2, 2026, he threatened to bomb Iran again as a supposed means of helping the protesters there.
4. He repeated that threat on Jan. 23. “Help is on the way” he said.
5. It was only in mid April of 2025 that he started once again raising the issue of Iran’s nuclear research. What happened in the meantime?

It was the Iranian revolution which had caught Trump’s attention. That’s the real threat to the Trump/Vance/Miller Triumvirate. We stress the Triumvirate because Trump’s lizard brain is incapable of seeing beyond the tip of his nose, but that brain instinctively feels that this threat; the other two of the Triumvirate do see further. They understand that the overthrow of the Iranian theocracy by a left revolution, one which is influenced neither by Putin nor religious fundamentalism, is a real threat to the Triumvirate’s far right ethno-nationalist international agenda. The strategists in the Triumvirate have an alternative: Install Pahlavi.

Tucker Carlson confirms this and more. Before quoting him, let’s remind ourselves of his influence: The AI overview (see screenshot on right) writes: “Tucker Carlson has established himself as one of the most influential figures on the modern American right, acting as a key media driver of ‘Trumpism,’ even, at times, surpassing the former president’ [emphasis added] in shaping the ideology of the MAGA movement.”

When Carlson speaks about Trump policy he is not just speculating. The AI Overview makes clear that Carlson is directly connected to one of the two foremost “strategists” for the Trump Triumvirate – JD Vance. (The other “strategist” is Stephen Miller.) Carlson is also connected to the Director of National Security, Tulsi Gabbard. (See screenshot on right.) Therefore, when Carlson speaks about the Trump Triumvirate’s foreign policy, he’s getting it directly from the horse’s mouth; he knows what he’s talking about when he says that the Triumvirate is planning to go to war with Iran and when he explains what is the goal behind it.

He then says: “Knock out the leadership of the country. What happens then? You’re gonna put in the former king’s son or something?…. Will the country hang together with Pahlavi on the throne? Come on. No one is thinking this through, because the people pushing this clearly don’t care what happens after.”

In other words, that is the Triumvirate’s plan – to replace the mullahs with Pahlevi. Carlson recognizes this plan is entirely unrealistic. He then implies that Isreal is really who is behind this: “There is no Israeli plan for what comes a day after we depose the Ayatollah,” he writes before concluding: “the point is to take out Iran as a coherent country, not to protect Israel, but in order to sweep Iran aside as a regional rival. Once Iran is gone, there is no question as to who controls the Middle East, It, of course, would te the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East: Israel, period. That’s the reason.”

Tens of thousands of Iranians have braved the regime’s bullets, tear gas, hangings, and general brutality. These protesters won’t lay down for Pahlavi.

Carlson is right in 95% of what he says here. That includes the perspectives for a Pahlavi regime. Reports from Iran indicate how extremely unpopular and also reactionary Pahlavi is. If the theocracy is toppled, Iran’s revolutionaries – both Persians and Kurds – will not tolerate a new right wing repressive regime.

Any working class oriented socialist will oppose not only any US strike on Iran, but also U.S. policy to restore the Pahlavi dynasty as well as opposing any support for Israel. That is exactly what makes Carlson so dangerous. His approach seems to have much in common with the left. That left has in the main apologized for the fascist-linked Putin and even defended him to a degree.

The majority of the “socialist” left then mainly attacked the Democrats and gave Putin’s ally – Trump – a free pass in last year’s elections. At the very least the “socialist” left pretended that there was no real difference between the fascist connected Trump and Kamala Harris.

Now that same left is willing to tolerate “left” support for domestic fascists and fascistic anti-Semites. Medea Benjamin and Code Pink are a case in point. For many years they have supported the fascist Iranian theocracy. Back in 2023, Benjamin collaborated with the fascist-inspired “Rage Against the War Machine” rally. So did much of the Green Party and the “left wing” Peace and Freedom Party in California. (See this report from Oaklandsocialist.)

Medea Benjamion and the code Pink crew palling it up with fascistic Christian white nationalist Marjorie Taylor Greene

More recently, Benjamin made common cause with the fascistic anti-Semite Marjorie Taylor Greene. (See photo) In fact, Greene said “I have enjoyed a friendship with Medea for a few years now…” As this photo shows, it’s not just Benjamin; it’s the entire Code Pink squad, which still has credibility on the left, including among socialists.

The overwhelming majority of those on the left, both socialists and otherwise, are unaware of and out of touch with what has happened and is happening among tens of millions of workers, mainly but not only white workers. As Oaklandsocialist explained in our article Anti-Semitism is a growing danger, but not in the way you think tens of millions of US workers see “the Jews” as a mortal enemy. “It’s ‘the Jews’ who control the politicians; it’s ‘the Jews’ who killed Christ; they were aligned with Satan then and they still are.” In part or in whole, that is the actual thinking of tens of millions of U.S. workers and middle class people (and some capitalists also!)

The fascist right’s opposition to Israel has nothing to do with support for Palestinian people. The fascist right looks at them – and all Arabs – as being “mud people”. Carlson and the rest of the right are perfectly happy to see the Arabs slaughtered; it’s just that Carlson et al consider “the Jews” (who are supposedly represented by Israel) to be the more clear and present danger at the moment. Ironically, by Zionism and its supporters claiming that Israel does represent Jewish people as a whole, they are helping the fascist anti-Semites strengthen their base!

Anti-Semitism is also expressed in much of the response to the Epstein scandal. That is what’s behind the claims that Epstein was just an agent of Mossad, as we showed in this article. In our following article on Epstein, we showed that in fact he was a nexus point for the world bourgeoisie. But yet today thousands – possibly the majority – of those on the left persist in accepting the myth that Epstein was simply a Mossad agent. To repeat: Yes, Epstein had links with the genocidal Israeli regime, just as he did with the British royalty, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Naom Chomsky and hundreds of others. However, the idea that Epstein was simply a Mossad agent is a myth perpetrated first and foremost by fascist anti-Semites. Adopting it means linking up with these fascist and semi-fascist forces.

Now the next step in this disastrous confusion confronts the left. Taking this step will mean its complete moral and political collapse. If taken, this step will mean even closer ties between the left and the Tucker Carlsons of US politics. Think about where this is headed:

• From the claim that Israel (read “the Jews”) control US foreign policy to:
• Israel, through AIPAC, (read “the Jews) controls US politics in general. From there to:
• “The Jews” control banking (Note: They won’t say this directly. Rather, they will just name names of Jewish bankers and financiers). From there to:
• “The Jews” are an alien force in the world, including “the Jews” control the world communist movement. They must be destroyed.
• This will lead to an assault – both legal through Trump’s DOJ as well as extra-legal physical assaults on “Antifa”, avowed socialists, and also against LGBTQ people, immigrants, people of color, feminists (and women in general) and on from there.

These attacks are directly involved with white supremacy. They are combined with Trump’s picturing the Obamas as apes, with the claims that he repeated that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs, with his calling African nations “shithole countries”.

All pro-worker forces, working class oriented socialists first and foremost, must oppose Trump’s coming attack on Iran, just as we must oppose his recent attack on Venezuela and his ongoing economic and coming military attack on Cuba. Even if the plan to bomb Iran weren’t aimed at short-circuiting the Iran revolution by installing Pahlavi, it’s still aimed at spreading the power of Corporate America as well as Trump’s far right ethno-nationalist political agenda. As for Venezuela and Cuba: it has nothing to do with being uncritical of those regimes; it has everything to do with the same goals of the Trump Triumvirate both abroad and at home (where he’s planning to “nationalize” the coming elections).

Workers of the world beware: Both the Trump Triumvirate and its fascistic anti-semitic critics like Tucker Carlson are coming for us. Socialists must expose and oppose both!