In identifying the root causes of the events in Ukraine, he spoke of “creating crises” as being a key feature of US political, economic, and weapon manufacturers’ mafia networks that feed on the spread of crises. He stated that the Ukraine crisis is a result of US policy. In referring to US interference in Ukraine's internal affairs and them helping to launch a Color Revolution, the Supreme Leader of Iran stated that the change of governments there was a clear example of the US policy of creating crises.
The Color Revolutions took place after the collapse of the Soviet Union with US intervention in the newly independent republics. These demonstrated the White House's desire to control areas that were formerly under the Soviet’s influence. These revolutions, which usually took place during elections and with the intervention of US ambassadors and so-called Western democratic organizations, had more or less similar forms and events. By questioning the election results, they called on the people to oppose the elected individuals or governments.
These developments in Serbia led to the overthrow of [Slobodan] Milošević, in Georgia to the removal of [Eduard Ambrosis dze] Shevardnadze, in Kyrgyzstan to the downfall of Askar [Akayevich] Akayev, and in Ukraine to the defeat of Viktor [Fedorovych] Yanukovych. In 2004, Yanukovych's opponents protested at the instigation of the United States with orange uniforms and flags. After the annulment of the election, Viktor [Andriyovych] Yushchenko, a pro-Western agent, came to power as President of Ukraine. Since then too, the policy of the United States and the West for creating crises has been pursued to encourage Ukraine to join NATO and to establish military bases there. The United States and NATO wished to start the second phase of the collapse of the former Soviet Union by approaching Russia's borders by way of Ukraine in Eastern Europe, Georgia in the Caucasus and even by way of the countries around Iran. These actions provoked Russia and brought the dissatisfaction of the Ukrainian people with the pro-Western government of [Volodymyr Oleksandrovych] Zelenskyy thus leading to the current crisis in Ukraine.
Given this, the main theme of Imam Khamenei's statements, which should be considered by experts and analysts with different expertise and which can bring a unity of opinions, is recognizing the true roots of the crisis. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the Ukraine crisis is a result of US policies. He said, "We believe the solution for the Ukraine crisis and judgment about it must be based on knowing its true roots." In effect, without paying attention to the main root cause, a precise, correct explanation of events and a crisis is difficult.
The announcement of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s firm stance, which is based on Islamic and revolutionary teachings and a humanitarian approach, was another important part of Imam Khamenei's speech. "In contradiction to the double standard of the West, the firm position of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been to oppose war and destruction in all parts of the world," he said. The Supreme Leader emphasized that Iran is in favor of stopping and ending the war in Ukraine. He explained Iran's firm position in another part of his statement by adding, "We oppose war, the killing of people and the destruction of infrastructures belonging to nations anywhere in the world. This is the unchanging stance of the Islamic Republic, and our policy is not based on a double standard like that of the West to call the bombing of a wedding celebration in Afghanistan and the killing of the people of Iraq a fight against terrorism." According to these statements, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s unchanging stance and principled policy opposes war, aggression and destruction in other countries, just as it opposes the theft of Syrian oil, stealing the national wealth of the Afghan people, the Zionist atrocities and the prolongation of violence against the Yemeni people.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution also spoke about the important lessons to be learned from the crisis in Ukraine and cited the confessions of the former presidents of Afghanistan and the President of Ukraine, "The first lesson for all governments is that the Western powers’ support of countries and their dictatorships is a mirage and not a reality." This is the reality, as the Ukraine crisis shows once again how the West turns its back on its allies at critical times. Leaders who come to power through coups and quasi-democratic Western elections need to know that the West will leave them alone when their time is up. This fact became clear in Iran at the time of the fall of the Shah's regime, in Egypt with the overthrow of [Muhammad] Hosni [El Sayed] Mubarak, in Tunisia with the ousting of [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali, and even at the time of Saddam Hussein, who was the puppet of the United States. Now more recently, Ukraine and Afghanistan have become two living witnesses for governments who have relied on the United States and Europe. The United States and NATO created a crisis in Afghanistan for twenty years, and they brought nothing but crime and bloodshed for the oppressed people of that country.
Zelenskyy, the pro-Western Ukrainian president, also thought that the West would support him in a war, but eventually he acknowledged that the West left him alone in the face of the Ukraine crisis. Zelenskyy's trust and reliance on the West caused the people to leave him alone and quickly flee their homeland. For this reason, Imam Khamenei said that the second lesson is that the people are the most important element for the support and backing of governments. He explained, "If the people of Ukraine had taken action, the situation of their government would not have been like this. But since the people did not approve of their government, they did not take action. In the same way, the people did not take action during the US invasion of Iraq during Saddam. But the same people took action when facing ISIS and they pushed back ISIS thereby suppressing that great danger."
Imam Khamenei's well-documented, logical statements on the day of the anniversary of the appointment of Prophet Muhammad to prophethood were an accurate, realistic explanation of the root causes of the crisis as well as a declaration of Iran's firm stance regarding the crisis in Ukraine. These statements should be known as definitive words deserving the attention of officials, experts, analysts and the media, so that great lessons may be learned from the Leader’s statements with open eyes and correct thought and action.
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