‘Bring the US empire down by any means necessary,’ says NY professor

Mullin defended Iran’s military establishment, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and portrayed the Iranian state as acting in the interests of workers.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Corinna Mullin, a political science lecturer at The New School and a former City University of New York instructor, drew criticism after praising Iran and calling for the downfall of the American empire during a Democratic Socialists of America event in New York City, the New York Post reported.

Speaking at what was billed as an “Islamic Revolution Teach-in” hosted by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mullin argued that Iran had emerged successfully from its recent conflict and praised the country’s military capabilities.

“Iran has won this war. . . . its indigenous military industry has produced phenomenal results,” Mullin said during the event.

She also linked Iran’s military performance to broader opposition to US influence abroad.

“This is having a huge toll on the capacity of the US empire to impose its will. . . . We need to bring the empire down by any means necessary,” she said.

According to the Post, Mullin defended Iran’s military establishment, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and portrayed the Iranian state as acting in the interests of workers.

“I’d love to see a world with no militaries. But we can’t have peace without justice,” she said. “And so, a state like Iran needs to divert a significant portion of its surplus into military industrialization, so it can defend its workers.”

“The state itself is working on behalf of the working class,” she insisted.

Mullin specializes in teaching anticolonialism and previously served as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College and John Jay College, both part of the City University of New York system.

She was arrested after leading an encampment at the City College of New York in April 2024. The protest resulted in an estimated $3 million in damage to the Harlem campus.

Mullin was later terminated by CUNY in 2025 after eight years with the institution. According to the report, she challenged the decision and was subsequently reinstated this year as part of a group known as the “Fired Four.”

The report said her name did not appear on CUNY faculty web pages and it was unclear whether she taught classes there during the spring semester. She continues to teach at The New School.