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‘Ideological cover for war’: Anti-imperialist scholars condemn Guardian open letter over Iran

Press TV – August 28, 2026

The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) has strongly condemned an open letter published by The Guardian, noting that its Western academics and signatories have distorted history and provided “ideological cover” for the intensification of the war against Iran.

In a detailed response, the collective said the August 20 letter creates a “false and dangerous equivalence” between the defensive measures of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the aggressive acts of the United States and Israel, which it described as “the most powerful and genocidal imperialist forces in world history.”

It added that the letter fails to place Iran’s current circumstances within the longer history of imperialist intervention in the region.

“The letter distorts history, obfuscates the current geopolitical conjuncture, and provides ideological cover for the intensification of the ongoing war against Iran,” highlighted the collective.

The AISC said the letter refers to several historical events without providing sufficient analysis, context or citations. It particularly slammed the absence of Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause and said the letter overlooked decades of intervention involving coup attempts, wars, mercenaries, information warfare, sanctions, economic pressure and sabotage by the US-led imperialism.

Instead, the collective said, the letter offers only a “deracinated acknowledgement” of the 1953 US-backed coup and a vague reference to the 1988 executions in Iran.

The AISC said the historical omissions were particularly significant given the continuing US-led pressure campaign against Iran.

“As US imperialism accelerates and the resistance against it strengthens, the battle of ideas continues to intensify,” the collective said, adding that anti-imperialist intellectuals have a responsibility to be “rigorous and vigilant.”

It said the circumstances surrounding The Guardian letter also raised questions, noting that, at the time of its response, the authors remained obscured and the social media page that had originally posted the letter had been erased. The collective described the document as an “alarming, pro-imperialist document.”

AISC challenges the letter’s account of Iran’s history

A central part of the response concerns the Iran-Iraq War and the events surrounding the 1988 executions.

The collective noted that Iran was fighting a US-backed Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of 1980, which was carried out at the behest of Washington. It said the war had a wider objective of “balkanizing “Iran, toppling the Islamic Republic and regaining control over the country’s state and resources.

The AISC also highlighted the role of the Mujahideen-e Khalq, or MKO terrorist group, in the final stages of the war. It said the group, funded and trained by the US and Israel, joined Iraqi forces in an ultimately failed operation to invade Iran, referring to the July 1988 incursion of terrorists from Western borders, which was defeated within days under Operation Mersad.

Against this backdrop, the collective disputed The Guardian letter’s treatment of the 1988 executions, noting that the executions largely targeted terrorist MKO members who had participated in operations against Iran.

“Neither the US nor Israel have ever given up on destroying Iran, in no small part because of the anti-zionism of the Islamic Republic and its defense of Palestine,” it added.

The response further noted that the historical experience of the Iran-Iraq War shaped Iran’s approach to national defense, scientific development and economic self-reliance.

The collective rejected the letter’s call for the release of individuals involved in January riots, noting that riots were an “urban warfare campaign led by Mossad and CIA-backed mercenaries.” It added that concealing that history turns The Guardian letter into “a form of academic counterinsurgency.”

The AISC then questioned the timing of the letter.

The collective pointed to the signing as coming after the deliberate US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s hospitals, pharmaceutical clinics, bridges, food and water storage facilities, and schools during the war that aggressors launched on February 28. It specifically named the attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, where 168 children and staff were massacred in a double-tap strike.

It said the letter was published on the same day the United States announced what it called “crushing economic warfare” against Iran.

‘Treacherous statement’

The AISC also slammed the signatories themselves, saying their actions reflected “a carelessness that is troubling.”

It said that many of the academics publicly support Palestine but had nevertheless signed a letter condemning Iran, which the collective described as the only country that “actively and materially supports the Palestinian resistance.”

The response said some signatories subsequently claimed they had not read the letter carefully, had been confused by its creation or had been misled during the process of collecting signatures.

The AISC said it was particularly concerned that the signatories had not identified the authors of the statement or explained how their signatures were obtained.

“We are dismayed that the signatories still refuse to name the authors of this treacherous statement and how their signatures were acquired, despite claiming to have been hoodwinked by them,” the collective said.

The collective said it expects the intellectuals who signed the letter to approach the issue with “clarity, urgency, and intellectual rigor,” adding that if the signatories are incapable of that, “silence is always an option.”

See also:

A response to The Guardian’s open letter: Opposing the war on Iran means rejecting war propaganda

By Carlos Martinez | Press TV | August 24, 2026

The Guardian has published an open letter to Iran’s “political prisoners,” signed by Angela Davis, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Rashid Khalidi, Robin DG Kelley, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Judith Butler, and Walden Bello, among others (although Kelley has since withdrawn his signature, and there is considerable doubt that Mumia Abu-Jamal knowingly lent his name to the venture). … continue

August 28, 2026 - Posted by aletho | Progressive Hypocrite | Iran, United States, Zionism