Growing action against the US Empire is on the rise internationally, writes Matt Willgress, ahead of Arise’s upcoming eve of Mayday rally.

Speaking at Arise’s annual eve of May Day rally last year, I said that “the returning Trump [is] launching a new phase in the ongoing war of US imperialism against the majority of humanity,” noting amongst other threats the possibility of wars on Venezuela and Iran, and the ongoing genocide on Gaza.

As we approach 2026’s International Workers’ Day, these threats of war have now tragically come to pass, and the estimated death tolls from these wars (all in this year alone) at the time of writing are as follows:

• In Lebanon, at least 2,483 deaths and 7,707 injuries as of 24th April 2026. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, this includes at least 130 children, and at least 40 medical personnel have been killed. Additionally, over 1 million people (more than 20 percent of the population) have been displaced.
• In Iran, as of 19^th April, state-linked sources said over 3,400 people have died from the US war. On 12^th April, the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization said 3,375 had been killed. On 7^th April, the US-based Human Rights Activists news agency said at least 3,636 people had been killed, including over 254 children.
• In Venezuela, January’s attack killed over 100 people. Additionally, on 19^th April, the New York Times carried an article with the cumulative figure of 180 killed this year in US naval strikes in the Caribbean against people it claims are smuggling drugs, and which was a ‘justification’ for the illegal war on Venezuela.

Additionally, Israel’s killing continues unabated in Gaza, with US and UK backing, and Israeli aggression in the illegally occupied West Bank also continues to deepen.

These wars have not only been condemned by governments across the world – in the case of Iran and Lebanon reaching even into governments in Europe itself – but also by significant protests, including the massive “No Kings” protests in the US itself.

In Italy, to take just one example, there have even been national strikes against Israel’s war in Gaza and militarism more generally.

What are the underlying reasons behind Trump’s wars and the growing global opposition to them?

For socialists, it is vital to understand that these are not the actions of a “mad man” or a few “bad eggs,” nor are these the actions of the world’s mightiest power in its prime or at the peak of its powers.

Instead, they are those of an increasingly desperate Empire seeking – through the use of its dominant military power – to reverse its relative economic decline and hold off the emerging new global economic reality, not least the rise of much of the Global South, notably China and other ‘BRICS’ countries. As this problem becomes more desperate for the US, so do the attempted ‘solutions’ on the world stage.

In other words, this desperate economic situation is directly linked to the drive of the US towards permanent wars. In the examples of both Venezuela and Iran. This is clearly shown by US attempts to grab oil and future control of these countries’ oil.

The manufacture and sales of weapons is also a massively profitable business – especially in the US – and is growing at record levels, with no regards for the damage being done to people and planet.

As the legendary German socialist Rosa Luxemburg herself put it over 100 years ago: “The high stage of world-industrial development in capitalistic production finds expression in the extraordinary technical development and destructiveness of the instruments of war.”

Today, it is estimated that Trump’s war on Iran cost an incredible $2 billion a day initially, and could now have been some £35 billion in total.

An expert from the UN analysed this week that US spending on what he termed the ‘reckless’ Iran war could have saved 87m lives. Specifically, the head of the UN’s humanitarian agency Tom Fletcher said, “For every day of this conflict, $2bn is being spent. My entire target for a hyper-prioritised plan to save 87 million lives is $23bn. We could have funded that in less than a fortnight of this reckless war. Now, of course, we cannot.”

In terms of the climate, 5m tonnes of CO2 were emitted in just the first 14 days of US war on Iran, with much more bombing since, and more in the pipeline.

The aforementioned international movements against war – and for Palestine – have made the links between the twin drives for war and profits with slogans around ending arms sales, putting people and planet before private profit, and for welfare not warfare.

As we mark May Day 2026, let us not only unite with these people-powered movements across the globe, but also redouble our efforts here to build movements to end austerity and war for good.

• INTERNATIONAL ONLINE EVE OF MAY DAY RALLY: Trump’s War Drive – Globalise the Resistance! Thursday 30^th April, 6.30pm UK time, with the Cuban Ambassador H.E. Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, Diane Abbott MP, CND, Stop the War and guests from India, Palestine and South Africa. Full details and register here.

Image: c/o Labour Hub.