NEW YORK -- A group of academics has strongly condemned an open letter published by The Guardian, slamming its Western signatories of distorting history and providing “ideological cover” for the intensification of the war against Iran.
In a detailed response, the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective (AISC) said the August 20 letter creates a “false and dangerous equivalence” between the defensive measures of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the aggressive acts of the United States and Israel, which it described as “the most powerful and genocidal imperialist forces in world history”.
The collective added that the letter fails to place Iran’s current circumstances within the longer history of imperialist intervention in the region. 
“The letter distorts history, obfuscates the current geopolitical conjuncture, and provides ideological cover for the intensification of the ongoing war against Iran,” the group highlighted.
The AISC said the letter refers to several historical events without providing sufficient analysis, context or citations.
It particularly slammed the absence of Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause and said the letter overlooked decades of intervention involving coup attempts, wars, mercenaries, information warfare, sanctions, economic pressure and sabotage by U.S.-led imperialism.
Instead, the collective said, the letter offers only a “deracinated acknowledgement” of the 1953 U.S.-backed coup and a vague reference to the 1988 executions in Iran.
A central part of the response concerns the Iran-Iraq War and the events surrounding the 1988 executions. The collective noted that Iran was fighting a U.S.-backed Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of 1980, which was carried out at the behest of Washington. 
It said the war had a wider objective of “balkanizing” Iran, toppling the Islamic Republic and regaining control over the country’s state and resources.
The AISC also highlighted the role of the Mujahedin Khalq (MKO) terrorist group in the final stages of the war. 

It said the group, funded and trained by the U.S. and Israel, joined Iraqi forces in an ultimately failed operation to invade Iran, referring to the July 1988 incursion of terrorists from Western borders, which was defeated within days under Operation Mersad.
Against this backdrop, the collective disputed The Guardian letter’s treatment of the 1988 executions, noting that the executions largely targeted terrorist MKO members who had participated in terrorist operations against Iran.
“Neither the U.S. nor Israel have ever given up on destroying Iran, in no small part because of the anti-Zionism of the Islamic Republic and its defense of Palestine,” it added.
The AISC questioned the timing of the letter, pointing to its publication after the deliberate U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran’s hospitals, pharmaceutical clinics, bridges, food and water storage facilities, and schools during the war that aggressors launched on February 28. 
It specifically named the attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, where 168 children and staff were massacred in a double-tap strike.
The collective said the letter was published on the same day the United States announced what it called “crushing economic warfare” against Iran.
The AISC also slammed the signatories themselves, saying their actions reflected “a carelessness that is troubling.” 
It said that many of the academics publicly support Palestine but have nevertheless signed a letter condemning Iran, which the collective described as the only country that “actively and materially supports the Palestinian resistance”.
The response said some signatories subsequently claimed they had not read the letter carefully, had been confused by its creation or had been misled during the process of collecting signatures.
The AISC said it was particularly concerned that the signatories had not identified the authors of the statement or explained how their signatures were obtained. 
“We are dismayed that the signatories still refuse to name the authors of this treacherous statement and how their signatures were acquired, despite claiming to have been hoodwinked by them,” the collective said.
The AISC is a group of academics, educators, and knowledge workers committed to challenging U.S.-led imperialism and supporting liberation movements of the Global Majority. 
Formed in July 2025, the collective operates as both a public intellectual platform and a podcast network, publishing analysis through its website, Substack, and YouTube channel. 
Members are affiliated with various North American universities, including Columbia University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Wayne State University, and the City University of New York.