Iran left the World Cup unbeaten, but not untouched.

Before sunrise, the desert outside Riyadh is already hot. By noon, the temperature hovers near 46 °C. At the construction site of Beast Land, the new theme park backed by American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson — better known as MrBeast — the heat presses down like a lid. Dozens of workers, mostly from South and Southeast Asia, spend their days pouring concrete and welding steel under the open sun. Some have been here for over a year. Several say they were promised air-conditioned

Two men, continents apart, decades apart, but bound by the same fate: Mohammad Mosaddeq of Iran and Salvador Allende of Chile.

Palestine and Cuba face different forms of pressure. This essay compares occupation, blockade and the place of both struggles in anti-imperialist politics.