Khamenei.ir

Visiting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Meets the Leader

Leader's Speech to People of Garmsar

Leader Visits Holy Shrine of Imamzadeh Yahya in Semnan

Leader Meets Residents of Garmsar

Leader Addresses Residents of Shahroud

Leader Reviews Military Units in Semnan Province

Leader's Speech in Meeting with Armed Forces of Semnan Province

Leader's Speech to People of Damghan

People were victims of discrimination during the Pahlavi era

There was a day when the main goal of high-ranking officials in Tehran was to fill their own pockets with money and to satisfy their foreign, American and Zionist masters. They did not feel obliged to pursue the goal of solving the problems of the people and the country. If a certain city had had an influential personality in the government, that person could have appropriated government funds for his own city - often for his own personal interests - as much as his power allowed him to do so. But, if a city had not had an influential personality among decision-makers, it would have been deprived of everything. During the time of taghut, many of our people and many of our cities became victims of this discrimination and this is a wrong and taghuti system.

Leader Visits City of Dameghan

Intellectuals and Elites of Semnan Province Meet the Leader

Leader's Speech in Meeting with Outstanding Personalities of Semnan Province

Leader’s Speech to Academics of Semnan

Leader's Speech to Families of Martyrs and War Veterans of Semnan Province

The Pahlavi regime sought to destroy principles

Our highly respected intellectuals came to the conclusion that the Iranians had to be westernized from top to toe if they wanted to achieve progress. This is blind imitation. This was how they acted, and this trend continued until the time of the Pahlavi regime. After the Pahlavi regime came to power, it introduced initiatives for westernization of Iran in order to speed up the process. Westerners were not satisfied with the level of westernization that had been achieved during the time of the Qajar Dynasty. In fact this was why they brought the Pahlavi regime to power, and they decided to let a number of Iranian intellectuals they trusted to help Pahlavi officials do what they were doing. The issue of banning hijab, the issue of changing our local costumes, the issue of de-Iranization of names by eliminating titles such as Mirza, Seyyed, Khan and Agha, the issue of making a large number of concessions to foreigners in areas relating to oil and the issue of inviting foreign advisors were part of the same plan. Later on after the English had removed Reza Khan from power, the Americans were literary in charge of everything in the country from the year 1332. This was what happened to us during the time of taghut and with the dangerous management that I explained earlier, they were moving towards the destruction of our roots

Leader Receives University Students and Academics of Semnan Province

Families of Martyrs, War-Disabled Veterans and Basijis of Semnan Province Call on the Leader

Leader Starts off Tour of Semnan Province

Leader Addresses Large Gathering at Takhti Stadium in Semnan

Ulema and Clergymen of Semnan Province Meet the Leader

Leader's Speech in Meeting with Clergy of Semnan Province

Visiting Belarusian President Meets the Leader

Leader Appoints New Commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army

The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, in a decree issued on October 28, 2006 appointed Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani Commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army. The text of the Leader's decree is as follows:...

Ayatollah Khamenei Leads Eid-al-Fitr Prayers in Tehran

Leader Receives Iranian Citizens and Government Officials on the Auspicious Occasion of the Eid-al-F

Leader's Sermons during Eid ul-Fitr Prayers

Leader's Speech in Meeting with Officials and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries

Two major differences between a defensive and offensive war

As for the issue of war, first, this war was a defensive one. There are two major differences between a defensive and an offensive war in terms of meaning and content. One difference is that an offensive war is based on transgression and aggression, but this is not the case with a defensive war. The second difference is that a defensive war is a place where zeal, courage and deep loyalty to ideals emerge. These ideals may be related to one's country or more important than that, one's religion, belief and Islam. This does not exist in an offensive war. For example, when America attacks Iraq, an American soldier cannot claim that he is doing it for the love of his country. What does Iraq have to do with his country? This war is at the service of other goals, but if an Iraqi person resists this military invasion and presence inside his country, this means showing resistance and defending one's country, national identity and those values that one believes in.

Our war was a defensive war

Our war was a defensive war. The people of Iran showed that they were not willing to invade and to transgress. Rather, they showed that when it comes to defending national identity and those ideals which are even dearer than national identity, their resistance is an instructive resistance. The resistance that the people of Iran showed was not an ordinary one, rather it was a kind of resistance that can be considered as a model and a lesson for other peoples. And it was considered to be so during the Sacred Defense Era. The Palestinians said to us, "We learned from you". The people of Lebanon too repeatedly said to us that they learned from us in the course of these years. Those people who were not Muslim and who became Muslim later on or those people who were Muslim, but who became followers of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household said over and over again that they learned from our war, our defense and our resistance and that they became sure about our sincerity.

War Veterans and Commanders of the Sacred Defense Era Meet the Leader