The following is the full text of the speech delivered on October 29, 2008 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a group of students on the occasion of Students' Day.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Firstly, I welcome the dear youth who are present in this meeting - the dear students and children of the Iranian nation. I would also like to express my greetings to all the dear youth of our country.
This meeting has been held to mark Students' Day which is commemorated on November 4th. This is a very important day. Firstly, it marks Students' Day. Secondly, it is a day which is reminiscent of the Iranian nation's resistance against the arrogant powers. Let me make a few points to you dear students in this regard.
The first point is that you - as the soldiers of Islam and those who are willing to bring about grandeur to the country - shoulder a heavy responsibility towards building the future of the country. This is typical of a true, sincere, and realistic government. In such a government, everyone shoulders a responsibility towards the future of the country. The youth, whose talents are blossoming, also shoulder a responsibility in this regard. Feeling responsible is not limited to elderly and middle-aged people only. Rather, from a different perspective, one can say that the youth shoulder even a heavier responsibility towards the country. This is because they are equipped with the power of youth, and this makes them even more capable of carrying out their duties. The youth should feel responsible towards the future of the country and the nation. They should feel this sense of responsibility in their hearts. It was the same sense of responsibility that caused our youth to go to the battlefields during the Sacred Defense Era. They could have stayed home and enjoyed the comfort of being pampered by their parents. That would have prevented them from having to tolerate the cold of the snowy mountains of the western parts of the country and the heat of the deserts of Khuzestan province. However, it was their sense of responsibility which prevented them from seeking comfort. They entered the battlefields and the result of their efforts was miraculous for our nation.
I would like our youth to be informed about what went on in our country during the 8-year Iraqi imposed war. This is a point which I have mentioned on several occasions. Other people have also elaborated on this issue. However, a thorough review of what happened during the 8-year war will assist our youth greatly in planning for the future. Fortunately, useful books have been authored in this regard. Although I do not usually have a lot of time, I read most of the books which have been written about the Sacred Defense Era. They are very useful to me. I advise you to read these books and try to get informed about the prominent youth of the time. Some of these prominent youth were the ones who led that great movement on November 4, 1978. Later, they entered the battlefields. Many of those youth are now among the unforgettable prominent figures of our history. This is the meaning of feeling responsible.
During the Iraqi imposed war, the dominant powers of the time - the Soviet Union, the US, France, the Eastern Bloc, and the conservative countries of the region - had joined forces to aid the Iraqi regime. They provided them with financial and military aid as well as intelligence and weapons. However, our nation was only equipped with the power of faith and determination. We were short of weapons and ammunition and were not well-informed about the enemies' operations. But the power of faith had made our nation solid as a rock. Two different countries were engaged in the war on two totally different fronts. But it was our nation which managed to gain eventual victory over the enemies. This means that the power of our nation's faith enabled them to overcome the enemy which was equipped with advanced weapons and received financial and intelligence aid from its allies. This proves the fact that they felt responsible towards their country.
Prior to the Iraqi imposed war, the determination of our youth and the sense of responsibility which they felt towards the country resulted in that great miracle, namely the Islamic Revolution. The faithful people of our country destroyed the strong fortress which the arrogant powers - and the Pahlavi regime - had built in our country, and established an Islamic and democratic government. This is what feeling responsible means.
The future of the country and the nation is dependent on your efforts. You should feel responsible towards the future of the country. You should try to prepare yourselves for the future. To do so, you should gain knowledge and strengthen your faith. You should develop a deep insight into the past, present, and future. In ten or twelve years' time, you and the other youth of the country will turn into educated people who have to shoulder responsibilities in the country. The future presidents, ministers, managers, and prominent figures of the country - intellectuals and those who plan for the future of the country - will be selected from among you. Those who are going to be the future managers and are going to plan for the future of the country should be knowledgeable, pious, insightful, and faithful in the true sense of the word. This is a goal which cannot be achieved unless you prepare yourselves for the future. This was the first point I intended to make.
You are like my children. One usually wishes the best for one's children, and I wish you the best. You have to prepare yourselves for the future. This is the path which the Iranian nation will continue to tread. It is the path which will lead our nation to glory. It is the path which we have to take in order to make up for the backwardness which was imposed on us in the past one or two centuries. As I will explain it is very important that you prepare yourselves for the future.
The second point is that the Islamic Republic has some disagreements with the arrogant powers and the US over certain issues. What are these disagreements rooted in? This is an important point to be considered. Today, political analysts say that the US always pays special attention to Iran and the Iranian nation when dealing with the different matters of the world. What is the reason behind this? We have also realized that most of the problems of our country and nation have somehow been caused by the Americans. Why is that? The reasons should be carefully sought.
The disagreements are not limited to political issues only. It is natural for two countries to have disagreements over certain political issues. This can be resolved through negotiation. However, the Iran-America conflict does not fall into this category. This is a different issue and the disagreements are deep-rooted. The issue is that the US regime claimed to be the only dominant superpower after the Second World War. Of course, the Soviet Union was a rival for the US at that time. However, the issue was more than mere competition between the two superpowers. The US had targeted all the vital resources of the world. They had even gained control over some strategic areas in the world including the Middle East, the northern parts of Africa, and the Persian Gulf - which has been a great source of oil. Oil is a vital resource in the modern world. Whether the situation will remain the same in the future as well is something I cannot be sure of.
However, in today's world, oil is a great resource which provides heat and light for many countries. It is a vital resource for many countries. Without it, many factories will be closed down and there will be no production and business. Oil is as vital as blood for our lives today. The majority of oil sources are located in the Middle East. Dominating this region was an important goal which the US had achieved. Iran is located in the middle of the Middle East. This region was then the main stronghold of the arrogant powers. The neighbors of our country were controlled by the US in one way or another at that time. Of course, the Soviet Union also tried to benefit from the situation, but the Americans were the dominant force and they had to preserve the status quo. Of course, their greed was not limited to this region and its oil resources only. The Americans were trying to gain a stable position in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Asia, and different parts of the world as well. They extended their domination in those regions and their rivals retreated more and more each day.
In the middle of this struggle for power, the Islamic Revolution came into existence, and its main slogan was to defend the rights of other nations and fight arrogance and oppression. The Islamic Revolution liberated Iran, which played a crucial part in the region, from the domination of the US. There was a time when those connected to the US could be found in different parts of the country - in Tehran as well as in other crucial parts of the country. Those who were connected to the US played a key role in the Armed Forces, in the country's financial sector, in the political organizations of our country, and in our intelligence services. The Pahlavi Shah who was in charge of all the country's organizations and who had control over all the country's affairs only took orders from the English and American ambassadors. If they wished to do something, he would - willingly or unwillingly - follow their orders. In some cases, he was reluctant to follow the orders, but he had to and therefore did follow the orders. The Americans were expelled from such a strategic country in the region. This was a very important event which dealt the US a serious blow.
As is usually the case, they started to pursue their goals through their embassy in Iran. The arrogant powers usually organize harmful activities, establish relationships different people, and engage in espionage activities through their embassies. Even now, this policy is pursued in the world. The arrogant powers usually engage in various forms of corruption through their embassies. The Americans also started such activities through their embassy in Tehran. The movement of a group of students under the name of "Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's path" foiled their plot. They captured the American embassy and gained access to their documents. Currently, around one hundred books have been published in this regard. In fact, the books provide a copy of the documents which were found in the American embassy at that time. I do not know whether you have read these books or not. They are very interesting to read. Reading the books can inform you about the activities which were organized in the American embassy at that time, and the people whom the Americans were connected with in our country. You can gain information about the role which their embassy played during the years prior to the Islamic Revolution.
The students of our country led this great movement. The Americans still cannot hide their anger over this movement. Unfortunately, some capricious people - those who do something based on a whim and then change their mind to seek more comfort in their lives - from among the youth of the time, are now regretful and criticize that movement. But, you should know that this was a great movement. As Imam Khomeini said, this movement was greater than the Revolution itself. This is because the movement put an end to the American arrogance in Iran and in the world.
This great event has already taken place. That was not a small blow to them. What is more, the problems did not stop there. The continuance of our Islamic and revolutionary government, its progress, and its different achievements on various fronts - such as military, scientific, social, and political fronts - greatly influenced other nations. When other nations - the nations in this region and Muslim nations who were exasperated but did not have a leader - saw the event happen in Iran, they felt that they had t do the same thing. As a result, other nations grew fond of the Islamic Republic, Islamic leadership, Imam Khomeini (r.a.), and Islamic government. Today the situation is still the same. Today other Muslim nations - living across the world of Islam - have a very high opinion of the Iranian nation and its movement. They aspire to do what our nation did. This turned the knife in the American wound and provided the US with enough motivation to oppose the Islamic Republic.
America wants the Islamic Republic to give up and say that it is tired of the US enmity. America wants the Islamic Republic to say that it is regretful. America wants us to join the line of their mercenaries and those who follow non-divine governments. These are what the arrogant powers want. The US wants our nation to lose its self-obtained independence and go back to the era of dependence. The US wants us to surrender to its power. That is what America expects our nation to do. They are mounting pressure to force our nation to do as they wish. They are pressurizing the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation in order to make them exasperated. They want our people to fall by the wayside and accept their defeat. The American government wants to make other governments retreat so that it can resume the policies it used to pursue in our country - the same policies that the US government is currently pursing in certain parts of the world. The US government is seeking to make us dependant.
That shows the magnitude of the conflict between our nation and government and the US government. The conflict between the Iranian nation and the US is not rooted in the current policies of the American government only. The conflict is rooted in more than 50 years of spiteful acts on the part of the US government against the nation. They have been doing these spiteful acts since the year 1953. They started to plot against our nation many years before the victory of the Revolution - especially since the movement was started by Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and the clergy - and continued their plots up to the victory of the Revolution. They continued to harm us. They continued to betray us. They continued to mount pressure on us. They resorted to various arrogant methods to harm our nation. Not a single day has passed since the victory of the Islamic Revolution - thirty years ago - in which the US government has shown any good intentions towards the Iranian nation. The US has never apologized for its past measures. It has never been sincere enough to stop being greedy and arrogant towards the Iranian nation. The conflict between our nation and the US is not limited to a couple of differences of opinion over some international or regional issues. Therefore, the conflict cannot be resolved through negotiations. It is a matter of life and death. That is the second point that I want you dear youth to know. We have no intention to attack other countries. We only want to preserve our identity, independence, and glory. Relying on its faith and nationalistic feelings, the Iranian nation is going to cut off the hands of any country that intends to destroy our glory, humiliate our nation, and spread its domination over our country.
But how is this conflict going to end? That is the third point that I want to discuss. That is an important question. All Western, and especially American, propaganda machines - through art, media, propaganda, and seemingly political and scholarly centers - pretend that this conflict is going to lead to a dead end for the Iranian nation. They also claim that the US is going to be successful in its plans. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are trying to stand the reality on its head. This conflict is going to end in a dead end for the arrogant and evil US government. One obvious reason is that they would have defeated our nation - if they could - when our country did not have so many young people, had not gained so much experience, and had not made so much technological progress as it has today. They would have defeated our nation, if they could, when we had not emerged victorious out of the Iraqi imposed war and when we had not proven ourselves on various political fronts. If they were to defeat the Iranian nation, they would have done so at that time. Now that the Iranian nation has much more experience, power, technological capabilities, military capabilities, international influence, and youthful dynamism, the US government is incapable of defeating our nation. At the beginning of the Revolution, our young people formed only a small portion of our population - our population was 40-45 million at that time. Today our youth form a major part of our population, which is currently more than 70 million. At that time, the US government enjoyed much more prestige among other nations. Today the US has lost all its reputation in the world. Today many Western nations as well as Muslim nations hate the US. Many American political experts and many American citizens are opposed to the regime that is currently ruling their country.
Today the basic American slogans regarding issues like human rights and democracy - which were once used as tool to decapitate nations and overthrow legitimate governments - have lost their credence.Americans showed their respect for human rights in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and many other prisons. They are currently showing off their respect for human rights in the numerous killings which they carry out in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also flaunting their respect for democracy in Palestine. Hamas, which is a legitimate popular government, is currently ruling Palestine. They are spitefully mounting pressure on this government. They are showing their respect for democracy in Iraq by trying to impose a security agreement. Their pressure is stifling all nations. Currently the people and government officials of Iraq are expressing their objection, but the US is using threats and mounting pressure on them. That is while the present Iraqi government has been installed through the votes of the public. This is a parody of democracy. American intellectuals have admitted in their reports that the Islamic Republic is the most democratic country in the Middle East. They admit that our country holds elections to elect the president, the MPs, and the members of the Assembly of Experts who elect the leader of the country. They admit these facts but this is the way they treat the Islamic Republic. The American slogans regarding human rights and democracy have grown threadbare. Even ordinary people do not believe these slogans, let alone intellectuals.
Today whenever the US president travels to a country in a particular part of the world, the people of that country hold demonstrations and shout "go back to your home, Yankee!" What else can be more disgraceful than this? That is a measure of the US international reputation. If the US was to stop the Iranian nation and make it face a dead end, it would have done so when it [US] did not suffer from international disgrace. Today the US is not able to do so.
Dear youth, I would like to assure you that the future belongs to you. The future belongs to the Iranian nation. The future is going to bring about scientific progress, power, prosperity, and glory for the Iranian nation. This prosperous future is certain because it is a divine promise. Islam and the Quran have assured us that if nations start a movement and be faithful, steadfast, patient, and tireless on their path, they will certainly achieve their goals. We have already experienced the truth of this promise. We have been steadfast and have managed to achieve our medium-term goals. Of course there are some problems too, which indicate that resistance has not been flawless. That is all our fault. I am fully aware of our problems. When there is a problem in a certain part of the country - be it injustice or poverty - it shows that we, the public and government officials, have not displayed enough steadfastness to promote our goals. If we had been steadfast, we would have had no problems in any part of the country. That is all our own fault. We should have been more steadfast.
Our dear youth - both those who are members of student organizations and those who are not involved in such organizations - must know that the unity between and among our people and government officials is the secret behind our victory. You dear youth must know that the enemies want to destroy this unity. I believe in the slogans that are shouted by our youth, but you must take care not to allow these slogans to cause discord among our people. You must take care not to help the enemies to achieve their goals. You must take care not to fall into the enemies' trap. Everyone must stay vigilant. Our politicians, journalists, youth, and government officials must all stay vigilant.
The enemies are busy making plots against us. You must not play into their hands because there will be no winners in such a situation. The enemies are plotting to foment discord among us. They are trying to make us feel disappointed. They are seeking to pitch our political activists against one another. They are seeking to make us forget our original path and Islamic values. These are the plots made by our enemies. They are plotting to make our youth busy with carnal desires. They want to make our youth apathetic towards the movement started by the Iranian nation. They seek to close down our schools and universities. These are the enemies' plots. We must stay vigilant. We must stand up to any act that helps promote these plots. We must preserve our unity and hope. We must make more and more efforts to be more sincere towards one another. We must carry out our social duties in an enthusiastic manner.There are some people who have already started talking about the elections which are going to be held next year. Elections are of paramount importance, but their importance is due to a massive public turnout during the elections. Today the presidential elections are important in that they are likely to cause discord, slandering, and digression from the main issues. You must be vigilant.
I am sure that the Iranian nation will, by Allah's favor, emerge victorious out of the constant challenges that it has to face. By Allah's favor, the Iranian nation will reach the peaks of success.
Dear God, make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age tender towards us. Let us be among the people who benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age. Place the souls of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and our dear martyrs among those of Your saints in the hereafter. O God, make us all tread the right path.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings