Interesting read thanks for sharing. I just started reading Socialism's Ignored Success: Iranian Islamic Socialism by Ramin Mazaheri (someone here recommended it actually). Its easily the best English-language secular analysis of the relevant histories of Iran. Would recommend it.

Regarding the article:

James Carver MEP-Leninism

I have no clue what this is.

Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that the original leadership of the Tudeh Party of Iran was confiscated by opportunists after this brutal attack. The opportunists gradually purged the remaining Marxist-Leninist members in the party's leadership. Therefore, even prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Tudeh Party of Iran was destroyed and could no longer be considered a Marxist-Leninist party under such an opportunist leadership.

I am not too learned about the specific individuals involved in Tudeh leadership so I can't speak to that. It is noteworthy that Tudeh was never a grassroots organization in any meaningful way. The places where the masses were gathering during the revolution was the Mosques and not student gatherings. I remember learning about how Tudeh failed to create labor union movements because they kept wanting to make them secular organizations in a country that is 95% Muslim.

It's also noteworthy that whenever people talk about the Islamic Republic "purging leftists" in the late 1980's, the vast majority of those purged were MEK. MEK are CIA-backed contras who had fought on the side of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. These are the people responsible for murdering 15,000+ Iranians through terrorist attacks over the last 40 years. Those Tudeh members and others (not-MEK) who were purged were done so on the basis of attempting another revolution in the middle of the war. In 1985 Tudeh Party and the Fedaian party released a joint statement calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. (This 1985 meeting is the 18th Plenum the authors are referencing.) Imagine this! The country has only just had a revolution and is being subjected to the most horrific war from Iraq which was backed by NATO and the USSR and Iraq is unleashing chemical weapons and ballistic missiles on the civilians of Iran. And in the middle of this horrific war, the Tudeh party calls for another revolution! This is treasonous and they deserved their punishment.

Before this treason, they did contribute to the revolution of 1979 and that is openly verifiable. They endorsed the national vote to create the constitution of the Islamic Republic and identifying the new government as an Islamic Republic (Something like 97% of the country voted in favor of that). So yes, I would tend to agree with the authors that some time between 1981 and 1985 the Tudeh party transformed from a small intellectual party (but still part of the revolutionary coalition) into complete traitors to the Iranian Nation.

[Tudeh's] national chauvinistic position is an attempt to create disunity amongst anti-imperialist forces in the region. Ayatollah Khamenei, himself, was one of the major targets on the imperialist assassination hit list, fortunately, he survived. Later, the founder of the Islamic Republic, indirectly portrayed him as an appropriate successor. It was a very worthy choice, and proved to be the main reason why imperialists have failed so far, to sink the ship of the Iranian revolution. Following the naturally escalating conflict with imperialism and the rising internal class struggle which followed the Iranian Revolution, the revolutionary forces under his leadership were able to organize a powerful front, known as the Axis of Resistance against imperialism. The Axis guaranteed the survival of the revolution, the nation, and the country of Iran. All revolutions and anti-imperialist countries around the world, from Asia to Africa and to Latin America, have repeatedly affirmed this fact through their leaders. The revolutionary leader of Iran is attempting to avoid any polarization of the Iranian society by implementing a long-term plan. In order to transform the structure of the neoliberal economy, he is using a non-violent approach patiently pushing back the neoliberal, bureaucratic and corrupt bourgeoisie. He supports and empowers the national industrial bourgeoisie, and is replacing the corrupt neoliberals with the revolutionary forces who resist imperialism and neoliberal economic plasms. Today, under his leadership, the revolutionary forces, led by the Quds corps are the flag bearers of the anti-imperialist struggle in the region, and they have sacrificed their best forces for the sake of the Iranian people and the oppressed people of the region, as well as the world. The cowardly assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, known as the “Che Guevara of the middle east, under the direct order of the corrupt and filthy president of the United State, showed the impotence and failure of imperialism to the peoples of the world. After this crime, the world witnessed, and was captivated by the greatest funeral ceremony ever, which was held in honor of this deceased hero.An alliance with the most progressive revolutionary forces in the region, such as Hashad al-Shaabi Of Iraq, Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemeni fighters and progressive governments such as Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of Korea, China, Russia, etc. and the full support of the axis of resistance has always been the top priority of Foreign policy for the leader of Iran.

I completely agree with this and it is important analysis. Also, Ayatollah Seyyed Khamenei didn't even start out the revolution as a religious leader, he was part of the ministry of defense during the Sacred Defense. So yes he was a cleric but he was primarily focused on national security and protecting the revolution against threats from inside and outside before he became the Supreme Leader. He's done an incredible job of this for a very long time.

The corrupt performance of this apostate leadership is precisely aimed at the democratic alliance of the anti-imperialist movement of the Iranian people and the people of the region. Despite the obvious and aggressive strategic goals of the imperialists to invade the region, and to occupy, disintegrate, murder, loot and kill these apostate leaders describe the revolutionary and necessary actions of the Islamic Republics’ leadership in defending the region and helping the deprived in the region as "adventurous". By demanding that people exclude ayatollah Khamenei as tyrannical leader, this apostate leadership is trying to hide the bloody hands of imperialism with chauvinism, opportunism and bourgeois-liberal democracy. "The revisionists are the biggest splitters in the labor movement” (Lenin).By using the name of the Tudeh Party of Iran and confiscating its glorious history, this apostate leadership has not only caused divisions in the communist movement in Iran, but has also tried to deceive our sister parties in Afghanistan and other countries into promoting revisionist ideas among them.

This last sentence is sad but true.