THE Committee for Defence of Iranian Peoples Rights (Codir) marked its AGM on Saturday by calling for increased solidarity with the Iranian working class.

Campaigners gathered online at the weekend for the annual general meeting, with attendees taking part from across Britain, Germany and Canada to listen to guest speakers Vicky Knight of Unison and Georgina Andrews of the Young Communist League (YCL).

Ms Knight, representing Britain’s largest union with over 1.3 million workers, spoke about the importance of building union solidarity with Iranian workers struggling against the repression of trade unions, women’s organisations and progressive campaigns. She commended Codir for its work to build solidarity between Iranian unions and women’s organisations and their British counterparts and called on campaigners to redouble their efforts.

Ms Andrews, speaking on behalf of YCL Britain, the youth wing of the Communist Party, talked about the importance of direct exchange between progressive youth in Iran and young people fighting for progressive change in Britain. She emphasised the role that young people play in Iranian society — 60 per cent of the Iranian population is under 30 — and expressed the solidarity of the YCL with progressive organisations, including youth organisations and the Tudeh Party of Iran, that are effectively banned by the regime.

The AGM passed motions on increasing the engagement of British unions with solidarity work, on facilitating the sharing of organisational experiences between British and Iranian youth movements, and on enhancing solidarity with the Iranian people.

A full programme of work was adopted for 2026 and a central committee of 17 were elected to carry forward this work, including the re-election of Codir president Alex Gordon, general secretary Gawain Little and assistant general secretary Jamshid Ahmadi.

Speaking following the AGM, Codir general secretary Gawain Little said: “Codir remains committed to building solidarity with Iranian workers, while opposing foreign intervention in Iran.

“We maintain our steadfast commitment to amplifying the voices of Iranian workers and building solidarity with them in their campaign against state oppression. The future of Iran is for the people of Iran to decide.”