Irans president apologises to neighbouring states — but US imperialism is to blame

Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has apologised to neighbouring states and said that Tehran would no longer attack them, unless attacked first.

However, the BBC, Sky News, ITV News, and The Guardian have all failed to mention the real issue here — US imperialism and colonialism.

Make no mistake. The US/Israel war against Iran is a colonial war. Like the genocide in Palestine, the invasion of Iraq and Libya, the incineration of Vietnam and Laos, it is war to subjugate the people of the global South and annihilate their resistance. Colonialism has no…

— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) February 28, 2026

Imperialism vs Iran

US officials have openly said they will “seize all the oil from Iran”. This is different to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, in which the real motive was hidden for years. Now, officials are openly saying this stuff on television and still getting away with it. 

Modern colonialism. Malignant capitalism. Stealing resources from other sovereign nations. This is the USA behaving like a big bad bully on the international stage. WTF is wrong with these people? https://t.co/WO9XgxoWnS

— David Wasser @dwasser.bsky.social (@dwass) March 7, 2026

Of course, US (and UK!) imperialism is to blame for the majority of global conflicts, especially in the Middle East.

At the height of the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2011, there were around 170,000 US soldiers at 505 bases across Iraq.

The US still has a number of military bases in Iraq, including two airfields — the Al-Harir and Al Asad air bases. It also has dozens of camps and outposts.

At the end of February 2026, the US still had around 50,000 troops stationed across at least 19 sites across the Middle East. Eight of these sites are permanent, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also has several naval assets in the region.

Iran has now bombed many of these sites since the US and Israel illegally attacked the country on February 28.

So now there is talk of the US invading Iran, it is important to remember that it will be far from the first on-the-ground presence in the region.

And it feels like Iran has done more to free the Middle East of US colonialism than the rest of the world has done in 60 years.

Iran lowkey freeed the middleeast of American colonialism https://t.co/lHWeKKSsSY

— Mimany🅱️aker (@MimanyMaker) March 7, 2026

Puppets of imperialism

In his apology, Pezeshkian said:

From now on, do not attack neighbouring countries unless attacked first.

Those considering exploiting this moment to attack Iran must not become puppets of imperialism.

He added that :

Supporting Israel or the US is not a path to honour and freedom.

Because ultimately, that’s the long and short of it.

This gesture was apparently short lived — the US military used a base in Bahrain to attack an Iranian freshwater desalination plant on the Qeshm Island.

President Pezeshkian expressed openness to de-escalation within our region-provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People. Gesture to our neighbors was almost immediately killed by President Trump.

My statement: pic.twitter.com/tnyCWTTqaj

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 7, 2026

The US’s long history of imperialistic invasions, instigating coups, and its persistent on-the-ground presence in the Middle East shows that maintaining ‘peace’ was never its goal.

Now, as it moves more troops into the region, we must not forget that the US is repeating its long, illegal history of colonialism. And as usual, it does not care how many Black and Brown people pay the price.

Trump’s administration has said the quiet part out loud — so the writing is on the wall. But Pezeshkian has made clear that Iran will not be a tool for the US to continue its fucked-up, colonial interests.

Feature image via Associated Press/YouTube