In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to say welcome to all you dear youth, students, and esteemed families of martyrs. Our nation and government officials called the 13th of Aban "the national day of fighting global arrogance". Fighting is an important and complex issue. It is possible to fight anything in one way or another. It is possible to fight the enemy who attacks a country's borders in a particular way. It is also possible to fight the enemy who makes use of security tactics in a particular way. Similarly, it is possible to fight the enemy who threatens the existence of a nation, community, and country and who shows its hostility through various methods in a particular way. An appropriate, logical, and at the same time determined battle necessitates a number of requirements.
The first requirement is the motivation that is inspired by religious faith. It is not possible to make a nation or youth put up a strong resistance by fiat. Motivation has to be internal, motivation that is inspired by religious faith. Today our youth enjoy this kind of motivation. What I am saying is based on the information I have and on my familiarity with our young generation. Our youth are more motivated today than they were in the year 1357 when the Pahlavi regime - that is, America's puppet - attacked them in the streets and shed their blood.
Our youth are not less motivated today than the day a group of our youth conquered America's embassy, which had turned into a center for hatching plots against the Revolution. And the reason is obvious: Thirty years of rich experience has been packed into the history of our nation. Although the alert and vigilant youth have not seen those days, they can make use of the past national experience. A nation's wealth of experience becomes richer and more useful with every passing generation. Therefore, today our youth do not lack anything in terms of experience. Apart from a group of regretful and worn-out revolutionary individuals who have chosen a comfortable life and compromise or who have no problems with dancing to the enemy's tunes, the youth of our country and the majority of our people, who are mostly young, enjoy this strong motivation. I would say if an event like the imposed war of 1359 happened in the country, our youth would rush to the battlefields to fight the enemy far more vigorously and enthusiastically than they did in 1359 and 1360.
Insight is another necessary requirement. The reason I repeatedly emphasize insight in my meetings with the youth, students, and people from various social backgrounds is that any public movement in the critical situation of the modern world and in the exceptional situation of our country - which enjoys a prominent position in the world today - necessitates insight. Of course today the insight of our youth is more than that of our youth in the early stages of the Revolution and throughout. There are many things that you know today and consider them as obvious. But at that time, we had to explain the same things to the youth of those times. Our youth are already aware of these things today. They enjoy high levels of insight. All the same, I would still emphasize the importance of insight.
The first issue related to insight is to know what arrogance is. Arrogance refers to a global power or a group of global powers. When these powers look at themselves, they see that they have financial, propaganda, and military facilities. Therefore, they think they are entitled to interfere in the affairs of other countries as if they owned them. This is what arrogance means. The spirit of domination was obvious in our country before the Revolution. That is to say, America was arrogantly holding this vast country and this great, ancient nation in its clutches. America was interfering in the critical affairs of our country. That was because those who ruled the country were corrupt and had lost their reputation among the people. The rulers of the country were looking for something to rely on. They used to rely on America. And America will not do anything for anyone for free. America had agreed to support them in return for complete freedom to interfere in the country's affairs. You may find this surprising, but you should know that when Mohammad Reza Shah wanted to install another prime minister, he was forced to go to America and stay there for 2 or 3 weeks in order to get their approval for dismissing Zeid and installing Amru in his place! Our country had to stoop to that level. The last few years of the Pahlavi regime's rule were even more disgraceful. It was no longer a matter the Shah going to the US. American and English ambassadors used to go to the Shah's palace and tell him how to handle oil issues, international relations, the Iranian people, and revolutionary activists. The ambassadors used to give orders, and the Shah used to obey them. When the ruler of country is so weak and submissive in the face of foreigners, it is obvious how the rest of the people would behave. That was the situation of our country at that time. That is the meaning of arrogance.
America is a truly arrogant power. And that is not just our problem. This is an issue for the world and the world of Islam. Americans show this spirit of arrogance in all parts of the world. After the Second World War when they defeated Japan, Americans established a base there, and they still have their military bases in Japan. In spite of their numerous scientific advances, Japanese people have not so far managed to force Americans out of their bases. Americans have established military bases in Japan. They are oppressing and persecuting the Japanese people. As newspapers and news agencies have reported, they rape Japanese girls and engage in other illegal activities. But they still have their bases in Japan. America has military bases in South Korea too. America is planning to establish bases in Iraq and stay there for 50 or 100 years. There are planning to do the same thing in Afghanistan as well because the geographical location of Afghanistan will enable them to have control over Southwest Asia, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Iran if they manage to establish military bases there. They are making so many efforts there in order to establish permanent military bases there and stay. That is the meaning of arrogance.
The Iranian nation expelled the Americans out of the country by overthrowing their puppet regime. Americans could have come to their senses immediately after the Revolution. They could have noticed that the Iranian nation was so strong that it could uproot the regime that was being supported by the east and the west. They could have noticed that the Iranian nation was so strong that it could put an end to 2500 years of monarchy. They could have apologized to the Iranian nation. They could have done their best to compensate for the blows they had dealt to the Iranian nation. If they had done these things, they would have solved their problem with Iran. Although the Islamic Republic would have continued protesting against America's oppression in the world, the pure spite between America and the Islamic Republic or the Iranian nation would not have stayed like this. But they failed to do so. They neither apologized nor learnt their lesson from the fall of the Pahlavi regime. On the contrary, they drew their sword, and their embassy became the center of hatching plots. The embassy turned into a den of espionage, a center for suspicious relationships with the purpose of provoking different people in the hope that they could take the Islamic Republic down and defeat it. Americans made that big mistake. Then they did whatever they could to the Iranian nation, our country, and the Islamic Republic. For instance, they attacked Tabas [Operation Eagle Claw]. They showed another instance of their hostility when they shot down our passenger plane and killed almost 300 Iranians in the Persian Gulf. Another instance was when they attacked our oil rings. They attacked our oil rings in the Persian Gulf during the presidency of Reagan. Yet another instance of their hostility was revealed when they offered comprehensive support to evil Saddam Hussein in the vein hope that they would be able to help him defeat us in the war and deal a blow to the Islamic Republic. It would take a book to list the instances of America's crimes against us. One American defense minister once expressed what Americans really feel. He said they should wipe out the Iranian nation - the Iranian nation, not Iran's government, not the Islamic Republic. He was right in his assessment. He knew that the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation are one and the same. He knew that the Islamic Republic's officials are the same as the Iranian people. Therefore, he said America should wipe out the Iranian nation. That was the method used by Americans, and they did whatever they could to harm us.
Our magnanimous Imam, who was a truly exceptional figure, responded that they may hatch as many plots as they could, that their plots would only harm themselves, that the Islamic Republic would not budge, and that America could not do anything. America's behavior is arrogance. The Islamic Republic will not stand on any ceremony with any government. It was America that lost access to the great human and financial resources of our country, and it hatched as many plots as it could. For thirty years, the American government has hatched plots against the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation. It has dealt us blows. It has tried various plans. It has done whatever it possibly could. If you think that America could harm us but decided not to do so on one single occasion, you should know that you are absolutely wrong. They have done whatever they possibly could. As you see, this confrontation has resulted in further progress and power for the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. They are the ones who have sustained losses in this confrontation.
Sometimes they made some apparently conciliatory comments. But whenever they gave the Islamic Republic's officials a smile, we noticed that they were hiding a dagger behind their back. They have not stopped threatening us. Their intentions have not changed. Tactical smiles can only deceive children. A great, experienced nation and its elected officials have to be very naïve to be taken in by their smiles. They have to be either naïve or immersed in carnal desires. They have to be after a comfortable life, or they have to be prepared to compromise. Otherwise government officials would not be deceived by their smiles if they were clever, perceptive, experienced, and truly committed to national interests.
The new US President made some beautiful comments. He also repeatedly asked us in writing and orally to turn a new page and help him change the present situation. He asked us to cooperate with him to solve global issues. He went as far as that. I decided to avoid prejudgment. I told him that we are watching their actions. They said they wanted to make a change. We waited to see the change. In my New Year address in Mashhad, I said that if they cover their iron hand with a velvet glove and extend their hand toward us, we would not extend our hand. That was the warning I gave then. Eight months have passed now. During this time, what we have seen has been inconsistent with what they claimed. On the face of it, they are just asking us to negotiate. But they also threaten us. They threaten that if negotiations do not result in what they desire, they will do this and that. What kind of negotiation is that? This is the same predator-prey relationship that the Imam rejected. They ask us to sit at a negotiation table and negotiate, for instance, the nuclear issue. But they are prepared to negotiate on condition that the negotiations reach a predetermined outcome! For instance, they threaten that we must stop our nuclear activities after the negotiations.
I wonder why they do not learn a lesson from what has happened. I do not understand why they are not prepared to get to know our nation. Do they not know that this nation is the one that resisted and brought the two superpowers - that is, the Soviet Union and America - to their knees? When there were two superpowers in the world, they were opposed to one another in almost all areas except in their enmity towards the Islamic Republic. This enmity was the only thing these two superpowers had in common. Why do you not learn your lesson? Today you are not even as powerful as you used to be. The Islamic Republic is several times more powerful today than those days, and yet you are speaking with the same tone? That is arrogance - talking to a nation arrogantly and using threats to get what they want. They threaten us. And our nation says it will resist.
What the Islamic Republic demands is not beyond its reasonable rights. The Islamic Republic wants its independence and freedom. Iran is after its national interests and scientific and technological progress. These are the rights of our nation. If someone decides to violate these rights, the Iranian nation will stand up to them with all its power and will bring them to their knees.
The day America stops being arrogant and interfering in other nations' affairs, it will be a government just like other governments in the world. We will also consider it an ordinary government. But as long as Americans cherish dreams of returning to their happy days in Iran and as long as they try to dominate us, they will not at all be able to force our nation to retreat. They should know this. And they are advised not to pin their hopes on the turmoil that took place after the election. The Islamic Republic is far stronger than that. The Islamic Republic is too firmly established to be affected by such things. It has faced much more challenging situations and has emerged victorious out of them. Just because a handful of naïve or malevolent individuals have confronted the Islamic Republic does not mean that they can roll out the red carpet for Americans in our country. These individuals either had ulterior motives or had naively misunderstood the events without having very bad intentions - I do not want to be judgmental about their malevolence. Americans should know that the nation is resisting firmly.
I would like to tell you dear youth that the country and its history belong to you. We did our share of the work. Our generation and people like us made as many efforts as they could. They made use the opportunities God provided for them. Today the country is yours. The future of the country also belongs to you. You should safeguard this country strongly, with steely determination. This country can become increasingly more powerful through your determined efforts that are inspired by religious faith. You must make your country so strong that no one would dare threaten it. That depends on your determination.
The youth should engage in science. As I have constantly stressed, genuine national power depends on knowledge. It is knowledge that bestows other sources of power on a nation. Our students studying in schools and universities should not ignore knowledge, no matter at what level they are. Knowledge and research as well as having a religious orientation are of paramount importance. Religious faith is very valuable. Religious faith does not just make you prosperous in the hereafter. It makes you prosper in this world as well. Religious faith would give you enthusiasm and dynamism. It will enable you to look down on all materialistic powers. It will make materialistic powers less threatening and less effective. You should know that the final victory belongs to you. Divine assistance is with you. These superpowers that keep threatening other countries - let alone their followers inside the country - and the arrogant centers of power have no choice but to retreat when they are faced with a strong and faithful nation. You should trust and rely on Allah the Exalted. That is why Allah the Exalted emphatically says, "And surely Allah will help him who helps Him. Surely Allah is Strong, Mighty." [The Holy Quran, 22: 40] Allah the Exalted will undoubtedly assist those who promote His religion and His cause. This promise is sincere. You must rely on it. You should move ahead with power, with enough determination, and with self-education - both moral and scholarly self-education. By Allah's favor, you will one day see that your country has climbed to the peak of glory and power because of your selfless efforts.
I hope Allah the Exalted will keep you all healthy, and I hope you will receive His approval. By Allah's favor, I hope you will all see that sweet and bright future.
Greeting be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings