The Communist Party of Iran (CPI; fa, حزب کمونیست ایران) is an Iranian

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

founded on 2 September 1983. It has an armed wing and its membership is predominantly

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

. The CPI is active throughout the industrialised areas of Iran.

History

The Communist Party of Iran was founded in 1983, in

Iranian Kurdistan Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan ( ku, ڕۆژھەڵاتی کوردستان, translit=Rojhilatê Kurdistanê) is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it ...

. It was formed from a merger between the

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan ( ku, , Komełey Şorrişgêrrî Zehmetkêşanî Kurdistanî Êran, lit=Society of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan), commonly shortened to Komalah ( ku, Komełe; fa, کومله), is a social-de ...

and three related Iranian leftist organizations: Sahand, the

Union of Communist Militants Union of Communist Militants ( fa, اتحاد مبارزان کمونیست, abbreviated EMK ) was an Iranian communism, communist group. It was led by Mansoor Hekmat. Hekmat founded the group in December 1978. The organization took part in the Ir ...

, and a faction of Peykar. Prior to the merger, Komala was considered to be a strictly

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

party. The CPI, however, has been critical of Mao as a revolutionary, considering that he made many mistakes throughout the 1950s to 1970s. The party opposes the

government of the Islamic Republic of Iran The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...

. The CPI also rejects the policies of the

Tudeh Party of Iran The Tudeh Party of Iran ( fa-at, حزب تودۀ ایران, Ḥezb-e Tūde-ye Īrān, lit=Party of the Masses of Iran) is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in i ...

from the late 1950s and onward, citing a particular grievance with Tudeh giving support to the Shahs of Iran and

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

's regime. CPI has also rejected the USSR and considered it representative of state capitalism and not socialism. CPI emphasises that the Soviet Union was not a socialist government after death of Stalin.

Goals

The CPI currently advocates for increased civil, political, and social rights in Iran, as well as improved labour laws and protections for workers. The party has representations in Germany (Köln and Frankfurt), Finland, Sweden (Göteborg and Stockholm), Norway, Denmark (Copenhagen), the United Kingdom (London), Australia, and Canada (Toronto).

Structure

Unlike most other communist parties, the CPI is not organised on the basis of

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is a practice in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. It is mainly associated with Leninism, wherein the party's political vanguard of professional revo ...

. The party is

decentralised Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

and its cadres generally act autonomously.

References

External links

*
English website of Communist Party of Iran
{{Iranian exiled parties 1984 establishments in Iran Banned communist parties Banned political parties in Iran Communism in Kurdistan Communist militant groups Communist parties in Iran Left-wing militant groups in Iran Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran Political parties established in 1984