Leader Meets with Chairman and Members of Assembly of Experts

Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met Thursday morning with the Chairman and members of the Assembly of Experts. Speaking at the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Tehran's hosting of the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that it showed the Islamic Republic's power and glory. He stressed: "With their stupidity, the enemies of the Iranian nation turned this summit into a diplomatic war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in a humiliating defeat for them."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that it is necessary to have an accurate and rational evaluation of Iran's conditions and added: "Evaluation of issues from different perspectives shows that our country enjoys appropriate and good conditions for showing the grandeur of Islam."

His Eminence said that holding the Non-Aligned summit in Tehran showed Iran's power, glory and grandeur from all perspectives. "The source of this glory and grandeur is the same thought that Imam Khomeini (r.a.) developed and introduced into the country on the basis of Islam."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: "The Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran could have been held in an ordinary way, just like other international summits, but the political conditions of the world and the time and venue of the summit as well as the stupid move that the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation made, turned this summit into a significant event and a diplomatic war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which attracted the attention of the world."

Ayatollah Khamenei added: "Through media hype, efforts were made to make the Islamic Republic of Iran sensor itself and refrain from announcing its positions, especially its positions against the Zionist regime, but the summit was held in such an awe-inspiring way that these efforts did not produce any results."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that participation of around two-thirds of all countries across the world and preparing the ground for announcing certain positions which are not announced in other international summits, were among the strengths of the Tehran summit. He added: "The positions which were announced at the Tehran summit by heads and delegations of certain countries - especially the criticisms which were made against the structure of the United Nations and the Security Council as well as the international dictatorship that prevails in the world - have been unprecedented in similar international summits."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that another outcome of holding the Non-Aligned summit in Tehran was that it defused the media hype about the sanctions which have been imposed on Iran. He added: "The leaders and delegations of the participating countries saw the people's vibrancy and the flow of life in the capital city and in other cities and on the sidelines of the summit, they negotiated with our government officials about different agreements."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the diplomatic war waged by the ill-wishers against Islamic Republic resulted in a humiliating defeat for them, further stating: "The success, glory and grandeur of the Tehran summit was such that the opponents of the Islamic Republic and their media adopted a passive position and were forced to acknowledge the realities."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic slapped its opponents across the face and taught a lesson to those who wanted to isolate Iran, adding: "According to a Quranic principle, any move that makes the enemy angry is a righteous deed. Therefore, glorious and successful holding of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran was a righteous deed."

His Eminence stressed: "In different issues, especially in the case of our domestic issues, we should take care not to let false reasoning cause mistakes in our analyses."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated: "My evaluation of the conditions is that in general our country is making good progress."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that there might be weaknesses in certain executive and intellectual matters, but added that when making a thorough evaluation it is necessary to take all strengths, advances and weaknesses into consideration.