A grotesque humanitarian disaster looms large as the conflagration and mayhem ravages the Middle East. The number of people fleeing the civil war just in Syria has now surpassed four million, according to the UN refugee agency. Only a socialist revolution can cleanse the region of all violence, imperialism, sectarianism and reaction.

Last week, the long-awaited nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers was signed. This brings to an end more than three decades of harsh economic sanctions imposed on Iran by US imperialism and marks a complete defeat of the US strategy of intimidation, blackmail and coercion of Iran.

The bankers and capitalists of Europe have stamped their iron heel down on the people of Greece. Even the representatives of capital now recognise the revolutionary mood that is developing across Europe. The latest events in Greece prove above all else that there is no way out of the crisis on a capitalist basis. The only alternative to austerity is socialism.