Stephen Cho | Coordinator of the Korean International Forum
Capital’s greed is boundless and it never rests. Monopoly capital, having undergone the processes of accumulation and concentration, manifests its imperialist ambitions—whether wielding the whip of fascism or offering the carrot of social democracy at home—and invariably advances toward the seizure of overseas colonies. Aggression and plunder are part of the unchangeable nature of imperialism. As long as imperialism―the root cause of war―exists, permanent peace for humanity is impossible. World War 1, a war between imperialists, and World War 2, which began as a war among imperialists and ended as an anti-fascist war, did not occur by chance. And now, humanity is witnessing yet another World War.
The war in Ukraine, which began with the 2014 “Maidan coup,” escalated in February 2022 following Russia’s special military operation. The flames of World War 3, ignited in Ukraine, swept through West Asia with the war in Palestine in October 2023. Subsequently, from September to November and December 2024, an East Asian war centered on war in the ‘Republic of Korea’ (ROK) came to the verge of breaking out. Had it not been for the war deterrence and “strategic patience” of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), along with the heroic struggle of the ‘ROK’ people, the war in the ‘ROK’ would have erupted, leading to a war in Taiwan and expanding into an East Asian war.
The imperialist camp launched a desperate large-scale offensive in the second half of 2024 to accelerate World War 3. Regarding the strategy for the “Pacificization of NATO,” the imperialists declared their “political readiness” at the Washington NATO Summit in July 2024 and achieved its “military readiness” through the “Freedom Edge” exercise in June and the “RIMPAC” joint military exercise in July and August 2024. Subsequently, imperialists initiated a series of military provocations against the DPRK, including the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercise and drone infiltrations. Simultaneously, they carried out the invasion of Kursk against Russia and proceeded with an all-out war against Hezbollah. Although military provocations against the DPRK from September to November, and the military coup in the ‘ROK’ in December failed, the collapse of the Assad government in Syria in December did not.
The imperialist camp has once again ignited a war in West Asia centered on Iran as of February 2026, and is now persistently maneuvering to advance toward an East Asian war centered on Taiwan as its extension. Only when an East Asian war breaks out will World War 3 escalate into full-scale; it would then expand into an Eastern European war centered on Ukraine and a Central American war centered on Venezuela, thereby completing the foundational framework of World War 3 based on the four major theaters pursued by imperialism. Only through this can they establish a “New Cold War” system capable of reversing the loss of their hegemony. In other words, to build this “New Cold War” system, the imperialist forces are mobilizing all their allies and followers to drive forward World War 3.
Just a month and a half after the outbreak of the war in Iran, the USA has already exhausted a large numbers of its advanced offensive and interceptor missiles, such as the JASSM, Tomahawk, THAAD, and SM-3. The USA lacks the manufacturing capacity to replenish these stocks, and this problem cannot be resolved in the near term. In contrast, Iran’s underground factories remain intact, capable of mass-producing weapons such as drones that are a hundred times more cost-effective. For China, whose greatest long-cherished goal is the reunification with Taiwan, intervention by the USA―now depleted of its advanced weaponry―poses no threat whatsoever. It is a rational assessment that China, which annexed Tibet when the USA was tied down in the Korean War in 1950, will not miss the opportunity presented by the USA being bogged down in the quagmire of the Iran war in 2026.
The imperialist camp is deluded into thinking they can achieve final victory by denouncing the leading countries of the anti-imperialist camp―the DPRK, China, Russia, and Iran―as the “New Axis of Evil” and engaging in an arms race and cutting-edge technology, such as AI, under the framework of a “New Cold War.” However, as history shows, the imperialist forces have never won in two theaters simultaneously; even now, they are failing to secure victory in either the Ukrainian theater or the West Asian theater centered on Iran. It is utterly preposterous for the imperialists, who cannot even suppress Iran―a military power armed with missiles and drones―to not dare to face the nuclear and missile superpowers, Russia, China, and the DPRK, which are armed with hydrogen bombs and hypersonic missiles.
As reality demonstrates, the war in Iran is serving as a catalyst that deepens the unity of the anti-imperialist camp while intensifying the division within the imperialist camp. Because of their reckless and desperate invasion of Iran, the imperialist USA and Zionist Israel are suffering from their worst diplomatic isolation―shunned even by their own allies―and a severe military crisis marked by the depletion of advanced weaponry. If this trajectory continues, the imperialist camp is bound to suffer decisive defeats across all four theaters of war. World War 3 will be recorded as a historic turning point that decisively accelerated the ultimate downfall of imperialism.
The war in Iran is a war of the USA and Israel for the sake of Israel. Zionist Israel, a foremost proxy of imperialism, is one of the most notorious fascist forces of our time. At the core of the imperialist camp are the transnational financial capital groups and global asset management companies that effectively control 90% of the S&P 500. The transnational civilian and military-industrial capitals―in which these financial capitals are the largest shareholders―channel political funds to two party blocs: the so-called “Globalist” party centered on the Social Democratic right (the Democratic Party) and the so-called “Chauvinist” party centered on the Conservative right (the Republican Party). Through this dual funding, they manipulate both blocs in a seesaw system of mutual checks. Furthermore, the all-out lobbying efforts by Zionist political organizations such as AIPAC, coupled with the support of pro-Zionist media outlets, are dragging US policy in a pro-Zionist and pro-Israel direction. With the support of the US Globalist government, the imperialist camp has been provoking proxy and local wars by deploying Ukrainian Neo-Nazis and Israeli Zionists; now it is launching direct and all-out wars led by the US Chauvinist government. The fact that the US Chauvinists are being denounced as even worse fascists than the US Globalists reflects a case of “one reaps what one sows” and just retribution.
Through the war in Iran, the imperialists intend to dismantle a key pillar of the China-centered “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) passing through Iran and instead establish the India-centered “IMEC” (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) through Israel. They are seeking to undermine Gwadar in Pakistan, a strategic pivot for the CPEC, while promoting Haifa in Israel as a key hub for the IMEC. The three major “Greater Israel” economic projects invested in by global asset management companies like BlackRock―the Levant gas fields, the Ben Gurion Canal, and IMEC―will only gain prominence by burning of the oil and gas fields of the Persian Gulf, blockading the Strait of Hormuz, and destroying Iran. This clearly explains why Zionist Israel has attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field―the Iran’s largest―twice and the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the Persian Gulf five times, and why the notorious Zionist warmonger Netanyahu held a press conference urging the bypassing of the Strait of Hormuz.
For the imperialists, Iran is the weakest link among the four leading forces of the anti-imperialist camp, and the “Axis of Resistance”―comprising Hamas, Hezbollah, and others formed around Iran―is a thorn in the side of the “Greater Israel” plan. They believe that unless they destroy Iran’s military power and infrastructure through so-called “mowing the grass” and neutralize Hamas and Hezbollah, these three major economic projects could be derailed or ruined at any time, making them impossible to implement. Behind Zionist Israel’s relentless scorched-earth policy in Gaza and its attempt to turn Lebanon into a “second Gaza” lies the vast and greedy project of monopoly capital. When Israel attacks South Pars gas field and the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran―well aware of the underlying motives―responds with equivalent retaliation against the Haifa oil refinery and the Dimona nuclear center (Negev Nuclear Research Center) in Israel, employing a kind of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) strategy. As long as Iran adheres to this strategy and guarantees it through military force, the imperialists and Zionists cannot bring down anti-imperialist Iran.
Behind Pakistan―where peace negotiations between Iran and the USA are currently underway―stands China. The USA cannot bring the war to a conclusion without addressing Iran’s demands for reparations, and China is the only nation capable of guaranteeing this process. As the China-US summit approaches in Beijing on May 14-15, reports are mounting that a “Big Deal” will be pursued between the two powers. The world is closely watching whether the USA will pledge non-intervention in the China’s reunification with Taiwan―its “core of core interests”―in exchange for China taking charge of Iran’s post-war reconstruction. The lifting of the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is inextricably linked to war reparations for Iran’s reconstruction. Resolving the surge in oil prices caused by the blockade is a critical task for the Trump forces, as it will determine their success or failure in the November midterm elections.
The problem is Israel. Fearing Iran―a nation with immense potential in population, territory, resources, and talent―Israel has fallen into a psychotic frenzy, insisting that it must settle matters once and for all at this very opportunity, as Netanyahu’s “40-year dream” is realized. This madness has reached a point where it could trigger a nuclear catastrophe across all of West Asia. If Zionist Israel destroys Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, turning it into a “Fukushima,” and contaminates the Persian Gulf with radiation, Iran will retaliate by destroying Israel’s Dimona nuclear center, turning it into a “Chernobyl,” and contaminating half of Israel’s territory in the same manner. It would not be surprising that the imperialists might sacrifice even Zionist Israel as a scapegoat to ignite the full-scale escalation of World War 3―specifically the East Asian war centered on Taiwan.
Monopoly capital, including transnational financial capital, naturally maintains imperialist stratagems not only in West Asia but also in Africa. The imperialist ambition to strike the anti-imperialist camp in West Asia and dominate the entire region by fostering Zionist Israel, which is the war machine of the imperialist camp, is also baring its sharp fangs in Africa, a continent long colonized by imperialism. As South Africa actively participates in BRICS and anti-imperialist, anti-French regimes are successively established in the Sahel region, the imperialist camp is attempting to construct a new axis connecting the west and east of Africa, the “Lobito Corridor,” in order to block these two forces.
In particular, the William Ruto administration in Kenya is attempting to establish a separate expansion route from the “Lobito Corridor” bypassing Tanzania and linking directly to Kenya to connect with its “LAPSSET” (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport) Corridor. In other words, the imperialist forces are constructing a barrier that separates the Sahel region in the north from South Africa in the south by connecting the Port of Lobito in Angola to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and further extending it to Lamu Port in Kenya. It goes without saying that the underlying motive behind this is the intent of the Western imperialists to block China’s advancement into Africa.
US imperialism seeks to establish the English-speaking states of Nigeria in the west and Kenya in the east as its two main pillars and new military strongholds. For the USA, Kenya has been designated “Major Non-NATO Ally” (MNNA) status and serves as a strategic geopolitical pivot in East Africa to enforce its Indo-Pacific strategy. The USA is even attempting to deploy nuclear weapons in Kenya aimed at the anti-imperialist camp. Meanwhile, French imperialism, having been expelled from the Sahel region, is attempting to build a primary base in the Gulf of Guinea by grouping Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Benin. It seeks a new breakthrough for its neo-colonial policies by expanding beyond the traditional “Francophone” of West Africa into the “Anglophone” of East Africa. Consequently, the interests of the two imperialist powers―the USA and France―are clashing over Kenya, with their contradictions deepening by the day. It is only natural that France’s attempt to gather African leaders in Kenya to declare the “Neo-colonialism 2.0” era conflicts with the existing Indo-Pacific strategy pursued by the USA. The Macron government of France, representing European Globalists, and the Trump administration of the USA, representing US Chauvinists, are engaged in an uncompromising 21st-century colonial scramble for the core strongholds of East Africa.
The question remains: can the Trump forces truly sever their ties with “Zionist capital,” the power behind the Globalists? If the Trump forces abandon their pro-“Zionist-Deep State” position, a civil war with the Globalists and the Deep State becomes inevitable; if they abandon their anti-Deep State stance, they merely become “another version of Deep State” and an enemy of the MAGA movement. The current US political and economic crisis, the “Epstein files,” and the war with Iran are amplifying these conflicts between the political forces in the USA. The fact that the USA, already in a serious confrontation with NATO over the “Greenland” issue, is clashing again with France over Kenya serves as clear evidence that the division within the Western imperialist camp is bound to deepen further.
Beyond the four theaters of West Asia, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central America, will another direct and full-scale theater of war between the anti-imperialist and imperialist camps emerge in Africa on a comparable scale? The imperialist camp is already being pushed to the brink in its major confrontation with the anti-imperialist camp across these four theaters. Without a prospect of victory in any single theater, creating another theater in Africa would be the most foolish choice, accelerating their defeat in other theaters and in the world war. Nevertheless, imperialism will persist relentlessly in aggression and plunder to maintain and expand its colonies, which are its very lifeblood.
Military occupation and economic plunder always go hand in hand with political domination. When applying neo-colonial methods to establish proxy regimes through their puppets in Africa, the imperialist forces maintain a cunning and vicious blend of reformist enticement and fascist suppression. It is by no means a coincidence that Kenyan President William Ruto―while orchestrating a grand fraud against the people through “Hustler Nation” and “BETA” (Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda), and advocating for a “reform of the global financial architecture” by hosting the Africa-France Summit―is simultaneously intensifying fascist repression through his neo-colonial regime’s brutal suppression of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPMK) and its resort to terrorism and the arrest of the CPMK General Secretary, Booker Ngesa Omole.
As fascist repression intensifies in Kenya under the direction of imperialism, it is only natural that the global anti-imperialist forces―including international communist forces―should strengthen their anti-imperialist and anti-fascist solidarity with the CPMK, led by comrade Booker Omole, and raise their voices in opposition to the current Ruto regime, a fascist proxy of imperialism and an agent of neo-colonialism.
Since its first international anti-imperialist conference in Paris, France, in October 2022, the World Anti-imperialist Platform―uniting over 130 communist and anti-imperialist political organizations from around the world―has consistently advanced its three major goals: strengthening the world anti-imperialist mass struggle, the ideological struggle against opportunism, and the international communist movement. This process has continued up to the 10th international anti-imperialist conference to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in May 2026, and will remain unchanged into the future.
Following the historic international anti-imperialist conference in Dakar, Senegal, in West Africa in October 2024, it is a most meaningful and honorable achievement for the World Anti-imperialist Platform to once again convene an international anti-imperialist conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in East Africa just two years later, thereby contributing to the realization of a people-centered, militant Pan-Africanism oriented toward anti-imperialist independence.
We are confident that the Kenyan people, united around the CPMK, will achieve final victory in the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist struggle and build a new society centered on workers and the people. The World Anti-imperialist Platform will stand in unwavering solidarity and struggle alongside the Kenyan and African people until the day of victory. The anti-imperialist and anti-fascist struggle, and the people’s democratic revolution of the Kenyan and African people, will surely triumph.
