In the region, the Islamic Republic – in other words, you youth – have managed to defeat arrogant America and bring it to its knees! All their efforts and plans were for the sake of making this region drift away from revolutionary and Islamic thinking. The purpose of all their endeavors was to destroy and bury the revolutionary and resistance-based thinking which has spread in the region, but the opposite has happened.
The event that occurred in Syria and Iraq - the cancerous tumor that the enemies had created in order to establish an orientation against the Resistance orientation in the region - was foiled and destroyed by you. It was the youth that managed to do so: the same pious youth. In fact, those who entered this arena of jihad with abundant enthusiasm and excitement and who brought the enemy to his knees benefitted from the feeling of being basijis and being a member of the Basij Force.
"Neither East Nor West" which Imam (r.a.) announced as the slogan of the Islamic Republic meant this. So, the Revolution is not under any influence. Of course, this is like a law which is ratified, but which is violated in some places. There is a world of difference between legality and non-legality. This became a law in the Islamic Republic. Liberation from everything that the system of domination imposes on a dominated country became a definite and irrevocable law.
And the Islamic Republic managed to resist and to show steadfastness. All tools and instruments were really used against the Islamic Republic. As these dear friends and dear youths mentioned – they spoke about today's incident [the terrorist incidents which occurred in the Islamic Consultative Majlis and Imam Khomeini's (r.a.) Holy Shrine] and they really raised good points – today's generation and today's people of Tehran should see what terror means and what terrorist moves are. They should see how two, three, five innocent people are murdered during an incident and who the attackers are.
In the past, this situation continued incessantly throughout the country for two, three years. They used this instrument and they also used war, coup d'état, propaganda and sanctions. They used all tools against the Islamic Republic, against the Revolution and against this great movement, but they did not succeed. It was the Revolution which succeeded, which moved forward, which imposed itself and which created the Islamic government.
Well, my dear brothers, my dear children, my dear youth, today we are the "government of resistance". The "government of resistance" is very important. It is different from such and such a resistance organization and resistance orientation in such and such a country. Being a "government of resistance" is different from being a "resistance personality". Of course, the enemies are opposed to all these things. Global arrogance – which is oriented towards greed and transgression and which likes to possess all worldly and otherworldly sources of wealth in the world – is opposed to every resistance element. They are opposed to resistance organizations and to resistant individuals. But these things cannot be compared with the government of resistance which is formed on the basis of resistance.
The Islamic Republic is the government of resistance. It is a government of resistance which has politics, an economy, international action, and an extensive influence zone inside and outside the country. This is very important and it cannot be compared with any other resistance element. That is why all enmities throughout the world – whether on the part of the seekers of power or on the part of their servants – are aimed at the Islamic Republic.
Well, what does the "government of resistance" mean? It means refusal to give in to bullying and to greed. It means adopting a position of power. The government of resistance adopts a position of power. Notice that the government of resistance is not interested in showing transgression, in seeking dominance and in possessing the wealth of other nations and countries. Nor is it interested in adopting a defensive and passive position. It is interested in none of these things.
Some people think that if we wish to dismiss the accusation that we are interested in seeking international and regional dominance and power, we should adopt a defensive approach. This is not the case. We will not adopt a defensive approach. We will not adopt a passive position, rather we will adopt the position that is stated in this ayah: "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah and your enemies" [The Holy Quran, 8: 60].
We will adopt a position which has been described in this ayah as "To strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah and your enemies." What does the Arabic phrase "Tarhebuna behi" [literally meaning striking fear, intimidating] mean? It means the same thing which is referred to as "deterrent power" in today's political literature. The Islamic Republic is in a position where it can benefit from "deterrent power". It has the power to deter. Therefore, they want to take away this power.
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