Workers across the United States have expressed deep opposition to the Trump administration’s criminal war against Iran, defending the Iranian people and calling for mass working class resistance.

When Trump issued his genocidal ultimatum—threatening that “a whole civilization will end tonight” Tuesday morning—it revealed the full barbarism of American imperialism to millions of workers who had watched in horror as bombs fell on civilian infrastructure across Iran. Faced with the fierce resistance of the Iranian people and a mounting political crisis driven by popular opposition at home, the administration agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

But within hours, the Israeli government, acting with the full blessing of the White House, shattered that pause with a massive assault on Lebanon, confirming what workers throughout the country had already concluded: that no pause in the killing represents a genuine move toward peace.

In interviews conducted by the World Socialist Web Site, workers from across the country—delivery drivers, food service workers, teachers and others—spoke with moral force about the war, the ceasefire and the need for organized resistance. Their voices reflect a growing sentiment that the Democratic Party will do nothing to stop the outlaw regime in the White House and that it will be up to working class to do it.

“What our president is doing is not only inhumane but against international law,” a Fed Ex worker said. Another added: “The president has proven time and again he is a criminal. The innocent people and children killed in this useless war has to lead to prosecutions. I thought this was a land of law and order.”

On the announced two-week ceasefire, the Fed Ex workers expressed a uniform and unsparing skepticism. “I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I always take the good with a grain of salt,” one worker said. “I truthfully believe they’re taking this time to plan something worse.”

Another put it more bluntly: “I believe it’s for Trump to catch his breath before he starts to plan for another attack.”

The memory of past imperialist disasters in the Middle East loomed large in these assessments. Workers drew direct and damning parallels. “We’ve seen so many ceasefires in past Middle Eastern conflicts, and rarely did it ever lead to true peace,” one said. “It’s a façade—to prepare for another attack.”

Another worker gave voice to a fear that has settled into millions of households: “I think we’re going to see another Iraq and Afghanistan situation where we see thousands of Americans killed for politicians who do not care about us.”

A UPS driver in New York City connected the dots between the war abroad and the assault on workers at home with particular force. “I would be happy to see the rank and file in the unions—having seen firsthand the deranged lunatic’s dismantling of the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) and his empowerment of corporations against the working class—unify and demand a week of general strike to force the agenda against the war,” he said.

“I want to show that the working class is ready to bleed in protest against these faceless corporations that already fear the power of the people. We only need be reminded of our own strength to show that the will of the people is what matters to this country.”

Elias from Northern California said, “The working class has to do what they always had to do, which is come together, decide enough is enough, and start striking and boycotting en masse. Get people to organize and help out your fellow community. Do anything you can to disrupt an already precariously functioning economy.”

“We do not defend these actions of war and aggression”

Michelle, an immigrant rights advocate from Michigan, addressed her remarks directly to the people of Iran—and in doing so spoke for many Americans who are desperate to separate themselves from the crimes being carried out in their name.

“To the people of Iran: We have no excuse for the actions of our deranged president and cowardly Congress,” she said. “We do not defend these actions of war and aggression. The citizens of this country believe in human rights and international law. We respect your religious faith, and we respect your autonomy as people. We sincerely apologize for the horrors and war crimes you are enduring daily, and which we fear will only get worse.”

Among the most extensive responses came from a food service worker employed by Minneapolis Public Schools who has been active in anti-ICE protests and spoke with striking intensity.

“Donald Trump has not been acting in the interests of the USA at large—as is his mandate—since the very first day in office, when he pardoned over 1,500 insurrectionists, and has since gone on to pardon numerous criminals, while waging a xenophobic war of retribution against states who have defied him and who give sanctuary to all humans as per the Constitution.”

He spoke directly to people across Southwest Asia and North Africa. “Please, my brothers and sisters, do not conflate the actions of this man and his sycophantic co-conspirators with the will of the American people. We American people should be ashamed that our institutional powers first failed us—and then we have failed ourselves—in that we have not risen up as a people to hold him accountable for his crimes against humanity, both at home and in the military aid and political cover he gives Israel’s Zionist government. Biden, Obama, Bush and Clinton were guilty of this too.”

He drew on examples of working class resistance internationally to underscore what is possible. “We have seen countless examples of working class peoples standing up to and defeating governmental power—Nepal overthrowing its government, South Korea swiftly removing corrupt top elected officials. For some reason, many who are pro-America but anti-Trump are waiting for the next election to rein in Trump’s power. But that is too little too late. At this point, it is beyond justified to impeach and imprison his entire regime.”

He also pointed to what he sees as the dual function of the war: distraction from political scandals at home and profit for the financial oligarchy. “The war serves those in the ruling banking and tech class who are using it to distract from other crises—and who are profiting from this unjustified attack against Iran.”

He closed with an appeal to action and international solidarity. “If I caught one whiff of a general strike and march on Washington, I’d be there in a heartbeat. Until then, I’ll continue supporting my local communities and speaking out against this illegal regime.”

What emerges from these voices is not despair but a sharpening consciousness—an awareness that the machinery of war, repression and economic plunder is operated by a ruling class that has no interest in the lives of workers, whether in Detroit or Tehran, in Oklahoma City or Gaza.

Workers are drawing their own conclusions. They are connecting the destruction of social programs and democratic rights to the destruction of Iranian cities. They are connecting the murder of anti-ICE activists in the streets of Minneapolis to the bombing of schools and hospitals. They are connecting the collusion of the Democrats to the impunity of the Republicans.

And in that growing, connected understanding lies the beginning of something the ruling class has every reason to fear: the development of a mass anti-war movement, grounded in the working class, and fighting to end imperialist barbarism and the capitalist system that produces it.

This is what the Socialist Equality Party is fighting to build.