“You bastards of Iranian history! By god, you shall be overthrown!” These were words of warning from a teacher in Shiraz, who participated in yet another wave of national protests in Iran (read our previous coverage here). Below, we publish the full text of the teacher’s speech, which reflects the rising anger of the Iranian working class.

This month has seen a relentless series of over 230 strikes and protests in Iran. The most prominent of these was a two-day teachers’ strike on 11-13 December, involving tens of thousands of teachers in hundreds of cities across the country. The regime responded by arresting over 200 teachers and trade unionists.

The Cadiz metalworkers are waging a magnificent battle in defence of the purchasing power of their wages, serving as a beacon of inspiration to all the workers of Spain. Faced with the greed of the bosses, the police repression and the attacks of the prostituted press, the workers are determined to fight to the end.

The Sudanese Revolution has taken a new turn. 28 days after the coup that removed him from power, Abdalla Hamdok was reinstated as Prime Minister by the military junta. The streets, which have fought and shed blood for a month to win civilian rule, have met this news, not with jubilation – but rage.

This week saw the conclusion of a month-long strike involving over 10,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) workers at John Deere, the world’s largest farming equipment manufacturer. Workers at 14 facilities in five US states returned to work on Wednesday having approved a contract that guarantees them an immediate 10 percent wage rise, improved retirement benefits and an $8,500 signing bonus.

Yesterday was the bloodiest day of the Sudan coup so far. A nationwide march was met with the deadliest clampdown yet by the security forces. This massacre must be a final warning to the masses: only armed self defence by any means necessary can guarantee a victory for the Sudanese Revolution.

In the last month there have been over 150 strikes and protests across Iran. This is only the latest strike wave since 2018. The ongoing struggles include oil workers in Khuzestan, the Haft Tappeh sugar plantation workers, miners in Azerbaijan, Khorasan and Kerman, national protests of teachers, and ongoing farmers’ protests among others. All the while, the social crisis in Iran is continuing to plummet to new depths.

The heroic masses of Sudan are still taking to the streets to resist the military coup, in defiance of bullets, beatings and arrests at the hands of the security forces.

On Saturday 13 November, huge numbers of protestors mobilised for a second nationwide demonstration, after weeks of intense organisation efforts by the neighbourhood resistance committees – despite a total telecoms blackout and a campaign of terror by the counterrevolution.

In an important development, a fresh wave of strikes is currently rolling across the small Southern African state of eSwatini. This has become some of the most significant movements by the working class in the country’s history. Despite severe repression, new layers are entering the struggle, including transport workers, nurses and government workers, as well as other sections such as students. This entrance of the working class onto the scene in such an organised way could provide the necessary momentum to topple the absolute monarchy of Mswati III.

Four million people hit the streets of Sudan yesterday in a national demonstration against Monday’s military coup. At the same time, a general strike crippled the entire country, as dozens of trade unions and professional organisations came out in solidarity. This was met with ruthless violence by the counter revolution, resulting in heavy casualties and forcing the masses to retreat. We are now facing a decisive moment for the Sudanese revolution. Either it will go onto the offensive or it could face a bloody defeat. From here, no quarter can be asked or given.

The coup launched on Monday by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was supposed to be a swift and decisive seizure of power by the Transitional Military Council (TMC). But the coup plotters did not count on the strength of the revolutionary people, who have risen in their hundreds of thousands, launching protests and strikes all over the country to oppose any return to military rule. Lessons have been learned since Sudan’s 2019 uprising, which was never fully defeated. The seasoned masses have forced the military to a stalemate. Now, they must win victory.

Sudan’s transitional government has been toppled by a military coup. This long-threatened putsch was the inevitable consequence of attempted reconciliation between the leaders of the 2019 uprising and forces of counter-revolution. The enraged masses have returned to the streets in huge numbers, showing that the reserves of the Sudanese Revolution are not exhausted. What is required now is a relentless struggle to defeat the reactionary military leaders, once and for all. Read also our article from 2019, which predicted these events.

Last weekend, Italy saw one of the biggest demonstrations in the last 20 years as more than 200,000 people rallied for a massive anti-fascist protest in Rome. This was a colossal response to an attack against the national headquarters of the CGIL trade union a week earlier by the neo-fascist organisation Forza Nuova. The sheer scale of this demonstration shows the real strength of the working class. Only class struggle can defeat fascism.

On 20 October, over 80,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) answered the leadership’s call to take to the streets across 14 regions of South Korea. A further 50,000 workers also walked off their jobs at 2pm.

The Turkish working class is beginning to move as a series of strikes and protests spread across the country. Factory workers; textile workers; construction workers; health workers; postal workers; service workers; miners; airline workers; press workers; municipality workers; and more have begun fighting back against union busting, unfair contracts, layoffs, dismissals, and unpaid wages.