Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met with the heads of the three branches of government, chairman of the Assembly of Experts, cabinet members, members of the Majlis, military commanders and government officials from different organizations of the country. Speaking at the meeting, The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that Iran's international dignity is increasing and added: "Today the Islamic Republic of Iran is a respected and influential country that enjoys international dignity."Ayatollah Khamenei said that Iran's international dignity is the result of the insistence of the people and government officials on the main principles, values and slogans of the Revolution. He reiterated: "The dignity and prestige of the Islamic Republic of Iran is more than ever before."
His Eminence added: "On the other hand, hatred towards America is increasing in the region and the world and today America is the least prestigious and the most hated country in the region and in the world of Islam."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated: "Of course if the people of Europe become aware of the real cause of their problems - namely, domination of America and the Zionist regime over the policies of European governments - then America's popularity will decline in Europe as well and this is something that will happen in the not too distant future."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that certain people are trying to say that international prestige of the Islamic Republic has been damaged. "There are certain people who want to say Iran's international prestige has decreased because the Islamic Republic has insisted on its principles. This is while at certain points when our government officials backed down against the west, their responses grew harsher and more insulting."
His Eminence reiterated: "At a certain point, our government officials even praised American government officials, but the dim-witted US President labeled the Islamic Republic of Iran as ‘Axis of Evil' immediately afterwards."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: "At another point, our relations with a certain European government was apparently good and that government used to praise Iran, but the same European government formed a court after the Mykonos restaurant issue and withdrew its ambassadors out of Tehran, trying to give us a strong slap across the face, but we gave them an appropriate response and a stronger slap from this Hussayniyyah."
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: "Whenever the Islamic Republic backed down against America and Europe, they grew more insolent and whenever the Islamic Republic insisted on its revolutionary slogans and principles, the dignity of the Islamic Republic was increased."
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the conditions of the region and stressed: "The current conditions of the region are the opposite of the calculations of America and international Zionism."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: "International powers wanted to cripple Iran with economic sanctions, but God has ordained that they should suffer from an economic crisis."
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated: "They strengthened or planned the fitna of the year 1388 in order to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but today the regional governments that are dependent on America are declining or collapsing one after another."
His Eminence added: "America and certain western powers invaded Afghanistan and Iraq in order to besiege Iran, but today they are stuck in a quagmire in these two countries and they have been besieged."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that Islamic Awakening in the region is an extremely important event and stressed: "It is not possible to calculate the dimensions of what is happening in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen and the dimensions will be revealed in the future."
His Eminence added that putting Hosni Mubarak in a cage and trying him in a court of law is a highly significant event.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that America and certain global powers are making efforts to take control of the developments in the regional countries. "These efforts have not achieved any results so far and by Allah's favor, they will not achieve any results in the future either."
Ayatollah Khamenei expressed concerns about the situation of Libya and stressed: "The policy of the west in Libya is very malicious and cunning because by taking advantage of the popular uprising, they are trying take control of Libya's oil resources, consolidate their presence in Libya and have control over North Africa, especially Egypt and Tunisia."
Elsewhere in his statements, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution underlined the importance of being realistic when evaluating the conditions of the country and added: "In order to reach a correct and realistic view of the situation of the country, it is necessary to take current conditions of the region and the world into consideration. This is because the current wave of Islamic Awakening in the region, the economic crisis that has plagued the west and the emergence of extremist movements in the west have been unprecedented since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution."
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated: "The existence of such unprecedented conditions in the region and the world has presented the Islamic Republic with a great opportunity. In the absence of a realistic evaluation of the conditions of the country, this opportunity may be ruined or turned into a threat."
His Eminence said that appropriate evaluation of the conditions of the country requires a realistic view and avoidance of narrow-mindedness. "When evaluating the conditions of the country, it is necessary to see both the strengths and the weaknesses. It is also necessary to avoid adopting a view that is pessimistic or absolutely optimistic."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution criticized the pessimism that is prevalent among certain government officials and prominent political figures and said that such pessimism will result in despair in society. He added that certain newspapers promote pessimism with ulterior motives.
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: "Adopting a purely optimistic view is also wrong and it gives rise to a false sense of satisfaction."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the most important strength of the Islamic Republic is its capability to overcome the threats that it encounters. He added: "Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic has been faced with various political, security, military and economic threats posed by global powers, but it has managed to overcome all these threats by relying on the people and its own capabilities."
His Eminence underlined the mutual trust between the people and the government and stressed: "The trust that the people of Iran have in the Islamic Republic can be found in few other countries in the world."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the 80 percent turnout rate in the previous presidential elections and the impressive presence of the people in demonstrations held on the occasion of Quds Day and the 22nd of Bahman are clear examples of this public trust.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution criticized efforts to undermine public trust in the Islamic Republic and reiterated: "The people love the Islamic Republic and they defend it."
His Eminence added: "There have been certain weaknesses and certain cases of negligence in political, economic and cultural areas."
"Although many things have been done in economic areas, the issues related to unemployment, inflation and culture of labor have not been resolved yet."
Ayatollah Khamenei further stressed: "If the weak points are ignored, we will definitely be harmed."