The following is the full text of the speech delivered on October 16, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with students of Kermanshah province.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
This great and significant meeting is very enjoyable for me. A large number of honorable students and professors came together from different parts of this province to attend this meeting, which is praiseworthy. There were valid points in the speeches made by the friends who spoke in this meeting - both in the speech delivered by the honorable, scholarly and pious head of this university and in the speeches made by the dear youth.
Meeting with you dear youth is important to me for two reasons. One reason is that being present among youth and speaking with them make one feel young and lively and we need this spirit of youth and liveliness in different areas of responsibility in the country. In such meetings, one can clearly see the spirit of innovation and aspiration for great achievements and this is exactly what is good for us.
The second reason is that young generations of our nation have been carrying the burden of the Revolution and they will continue carrying this burden. This responsibility was not particular to the youth of the 1360s. The youth of the 1390s - represented by you dear youth - are shouldering a heavy responsibility. And thankfully we see that the youth of our country, especially our young and educated students, are shouldering this responsibility well and by Allah's favor, they will finally fulfill it.
Our youth have to play an important role both today, which is the time for selfless struggle, resistance, insight and patience on the path of the Revolution, and in the future, which will put many responsibilities on the shoulders of you dear youth in different areas - including scientific areas, political areas, social areas, diplomatic areas, economic areas, technical areas and different other areas of life. You have responsibilities to shoulder both today and in the future. Therefore, it is important to meet with our youth and to speak with them.
When he was young, the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) prayed for one of his favorite companions, asking God to help the young man benefit from his youth. Therefore, it is clear that not all those who are young benefit from their youth, which was why the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) uttered such a prayer. What does it mean to benefit from one's youth? It is a mistake to think that benefiting from one's youth means indulging in material passions and pleasure in one's youth. Benefiting from one's youth is not this. According to another hadith by the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), "Any young person who spends his youth on the path of obeying God and puts aside the world and futile worldly matters - God will reward him as much as seventy two righteous people." This means that a young person who guards his spiritual purity and keeps away from material passions will be given as many rewards as seventy two righteous people. "Staying pure in one's youth is the way of prophets." Joseph the Prophet is the example that Allah the Exalted has set forth for young people. Benefiting from one's youth does not mean engaging in material indulgences, rather it means spending one's youth obeying God. Obeying God is not limited to praying. Of course, praying is a great virtue and it is very important and constructive, but obeying God is not just limited to praying. In the vast arena of life, obeying God has many manifestations and one of the most important manifestations is avoiding sins and guarding one's spiritual purity. Your studying is an instance of obeying God. Your innovations are also an instance of obeying God. The endeavors which were discussed by the dear youth in this meeting - in chemistry, energy production, humanities, medicine and other areas - are all instances of obeying God.
I always have many things to say in my meetings with our youth. Of course, our youth also have many things to tell me. It is necessary to make use of such opportunities for this purpose. However, considering the events that have happened in the region, the revolutions that have taken place, the movements that have started, the satanic, reactionary, arrogant and dependent regimes that have collapsed contrary to all the expectations and analyses, and the consequences of these events, it is necessary to arrange discussions about these issues. By Allah's favor, I will explain this later on.
The consequences that I spoke about are overt and covert conflicts that are going on regarding replacements for the systems that have collapsed. For example, in Egypt, the arrogant powers are definitely trying to install a government that is dependent and will remain dependent on the west. They are trying to install a government that implements the plans of America and the west in a more modern way. There are a number of people who are after this and they are making efforts and spending money to achieve this goal. There are other people who do not want this: they are trying to install a secular government, a government with no religious commitments. These people are also working on this issue. There are yet other people who are trying to establish an Islamic government. Of course, there are different views and analyses about the nature of this Islamic government. Therefore, there are conflicts in these areas and efforts are being made to find replacements for the governments that have collapsed.
Naturally, one of the factors that can play a role in these determining conflicts is the Islamic Republic of Iran and the behavior of the statesmen and people of Iran. As I said a few days ago in a public address to the dear people of Kermanshah, today if we act well and honorably, we will affect the countries that have either carried out a revolution or are about to carry out a revolution. If, God forbid, we become disgraced, if we are presented as incompetent, if our image is tarnished, we will have a negative effect on those countries. Therefore, what we are and how we act are important.
For this reason, I would like to present an analysis of the identity and general structure of the Revolution in this meeting, which is important for ourselves. We cannot afford to move forward while staying ignorant of what is happening in the world. Moving forward in this way - without looking and listening, without paying attention, without considering what is happening, without considering realities, without keeping future prospects in mind - often leads to mistakes. Therefore, we must take a look at our situation and try to analyze it. Today I will try to take a step in this direction. Of course, by Allah's favor, this will be our plan. If we take a look at ourselves and see that we are suffering from a deviation, we should try to find out where the deviation lies and we should also try to find out what has caused the deviation. These things must be scrutinized. Certain questions have been raised. I will discuss two, three of these questions if there is enough time.
How can we tell if the Islamic Republic is young or old? This is one of the questions that have been raised. Any living creature goes through youth and grows old over time. At what stage is the Islamic Republic and where is it heading? Will the Islamic Republic grow old? Will it deteriorate? Will it fall into disuse? Is there any way to prevent such a situation? And if such a thing happens, is there any remedy? These are important questions. These questions must be discussed by experts in intellectual and decision-making centers, particularly in Islamic seminaries and in universities. It is necessary to think about these questions. You dear youth should also think about these issues.
Now I would like to discuss a point. There is a logical chain, which I have discussed previously. The first link in the chain is an Islamic revolution, followed by the establishment of an Islamic system, followed by the establishment of an Islamic government, followed by the establishment of an Islamic society, followed by the establishment of an Islamic Ummah. These are all links in a chain and all of them are connected to one another. An Islamic revolution, which is the first link in the chain - is a revolutionary movement. In a sense, a revolution contains all these stages. What I mean by an Islamic revolution is a revolutionary movement and uprising that overthrows a reactionary, old, dependent and corrupt government and prepares the ground for establishing a new government. The next link in the chain is establishing an Islamic system, by which I mean an entity with a specific definition presented by those who own the revolution - namely, the people. In the case of our Revolution, the people made their choice: they chose the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic is a system in which democracy has been extracted from Islam and it is accompanied by Islamic values. We went through this stage. The meaning of an Islamic government is that a constitution should be formulated on the basis of the factors that give rise to the establishment of an Islamic system, organizations that are formed to run and manage the country. An Islamic government is the collection of these management organizations. "Government" does not just mean the executive branch. It refers to all the organizations that are in charge of managing the country. The next stage is establishing an Islamic society, which is the essential stage. After an Islamic government is formed, the responsibility of this Islamic government is to establish an Islamic society. What does "Islamic society" mean? an Islamic society is a society which tries to achieve the goals and ideals that Islam has delineated for humanity: a society in which there is justice, a society in which there is freedom, a society in which the people play a role in running their country and determining their destiny, a society that enjoys national dignity and wealth, a society that enjoys welfare, a society whose members do not suffer from poverty and hunger, a society with comprehensive advances in scientific, economic and political areas, a society that does not suffer from stagnation, a society that makes constant progress. This is the kind of society that we are after. Of course, such a society has not been established yet, but our efforts are in that direction. Therefore, this is our main medium-term goal.
Why do I describe this goal as a medium-term goal? Because when such a society is established, the most important responsibility of this society is to enable human beings achieve spiritual and divine perfection in the shade of the government and atmosphere it has created. "And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should worship Me." [The Holy Quran, 51: 56] The goal of such a society is to help human beings worship God. The word "worship" in this ayah has been interpreted as having the same meaning as the word "know". However, this is not to say that worship means knowledge. Rather, this interpretation suggests that worship is meaningless without knowledge: it is impossible. Worship without knowledge is not worship. Therefore, a society that worships God achieves perfect divine knowledge and acquires divine characteristics. This is ultimate perfection for human beings. Therefore, this is the ultimate goal and establishing an Islamic society is a requirement for achieving this goal, but establishing an Islamic society is in itself a very great goal. When such a society is established, the ground will be prepared for establishing an Islamic Ummah by expanding this society, but this is a different issue.
What I described as the ultimate goal is an extremely important issue. But I would like to make a different point before I explain this issue. The concepts that I mentioned - the concept of justice, the concept of freedom, the concept of honoring human beings - should be interpreted in an Islamic way, not in a western way. Freedom has a specific meaning in Islamic thought, which is different from the western conception of the word. Honoring human beings and human dignity in an Islamic sense is different from western interpretations and conceptions. One of the problems that we have had over these years is that certain people have translated Islamic concepts into western concepts. They have simply repeated and confirmed western ideas. But this was not the purpose of the Islamic Revolution. Western freedom in economic areas is what you already know: it is Adam Smith's economy and the current economic dictatorship in the world, which is showing signs of decline and collapse. We do not have the same conception of freedom. Freedom does not mean freedom in moral matters and the depravity instilled into western culture. We must not repeat what westerners say just to ingratiate ourselves with them. We must not repeat their wrong ideas, ideas whose falsity is being revealed today. We are speaking about respect for human beings and respect for women, which must not be confused with western conceptions of the same issues. What is meant is Islamic conceptions: justice in the Islamic sense of the word, freedom in the Islamic sense of the word, human dignity in the Islamic sense of the word. And all of these words have been clearly defined in Islam. Of course, westerners also have certain things to say, but they are misguided and they are suffering from deviations as far as these areas and these evaluations are concerned.
Of course, everybody should know that in practice, westerners only pay lip service to the concepts they claim to support. That is to say, western leaders have never been committed to the kind of justice and freedom they speak about. They raised these issues as a flag and they did whatever they wanted under this flag. For example, they attacked Afghanistan in the name of democracy, but the truth is something else. The truth is that America and NATO need to build a base in Afghanistan so that they can watch China, India, Iran and south-west Asia from the base.
They attacked Iraq in the name of combating weapons of mass destruction, but the truth of the situation is something else. Of course, they created stories later on and claimed that they had tried but failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They claimed that they had made a mistake. This is not the case. Is it plausible that a country would spend so much money and suffer so many casualties to attack Iraq on the basis of a wrong and unverified report? Combating chemical weapons was not the goal of invading Iraq. Rather, the goal was to take control of an oil-rich and wealthy country which is a neighbor of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The goal was to have control over the Arab world, support Israel and complete the chain of arrogance in the region.
Currently NATO forces carry out constant air raids on Libya. It has been several months that these air raids have been continuing without any real international approval. They say that they are trying to stop Gaddafi, but this is not the case. They are just preparing the ground for their oil companies. Libya is a neighbor of Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and Algeria. It is next to the Mediterranean Sea. It is very close to Europe. They want to establish a base in Libya so that they can rule this region and they do so under the pretext of fighting Gaddafi, which is a lie. That is to say, the goals that have been announced by the west are just a cover for their evil objectives. Therefore, when we use the words "justice" and "freedom", what we want to convey is different from what westerners mean by the same words. What they mean is false democracy. I say with certainty that the kind of democracy that is common in the west is mainly false democracy. It is not genuine democracy. Of course, there are certain exceptions in this regard. Therefore, our concepts should be interpreted according to Islamic and Quranic thought and according to Islamic teachings.
Therefore, one goal is to establish an Islamic society with the characteristics I described. This goal will always remain a goal. Demanding justice will never become obsolete. Since the beginning of human history up until today, human beings have been after justice. Wherever there is a popular uprising, it is often carried out against injustice and discrimination. Human beings are after freedom. Allah the Exalted created man to be free. "Do not become a servant to anybody because God has created you free." [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31] God created you free. Human beings are after freedom and this is an innate demand which cannot become obsolete.
Therefore, if you consider the goals and ideals of an Islamic system - namely, an Islamic society which enjoys the characteristics I mentioned - you will realize that these goals and ideals never become obsolete. Human beings will always be after these ideals. No matter how much progress they make, there will always be some room for human beings to make further progress. For example, one of your ideals is to make progress. There is no limit to progress. "And over every lord of knowledge there is one knowing more." [The Holy Quran, 12: 76] No matter how much knowledge you acquire, there will always be more to learn. That is to say, knowledge is not exhaustible. Therefore, these goals do not become obsolete, but establishing an Islamic government is a requirement for achieving these goals. Establishing an Islamic government means creating the necessary mechanisms and organizations in order to establish that society. But these mechanisms and organizations might become obsolete. For example, necessities of the outside world might make the mechanisms and structure of an Islamic system incomplete and unfavorable. It might become necessary to change these mechanisms and nothing is wrong with this. An Islamic system has this capacity. The ideals cannot become obsolete, but it might be possible to improve the mechanisms and organizations that are supposed to prepare the ground for achieving those ideals.
Of course, the need for reform does not mean that requirements and realities of the outside world require one thing at a particular time and quite a different thing the next day. The policies of Article 44 of the Constitution are a tangible example of this in the economic arena. One day distributing economic resources of the country was done on the basis of Article 44 of the Constitution. The names of certain organizations have been mentioned in the Article: some of them are considered as belonging to the public sector and some others are considered as belonging to the private sector. They specified these things in the Article, but it was also mentioned under this article that this categorization is valid as long as it helps the blossoming of our national economy. What does this mean? It means that if the conditions change in a way that this categorization does not contribute to our economic development, it will be possible to change the categorization. And we changed the categorization, which is an instance of reforming the structure of the Islamic Republic.
For example, there was a day when we had a position for both a president and a prime minister in our Constitution. Later on, we learnt from experience that this is not right. Imam Khomeini (r.a.) ordered a group of experts, academics, clerics, MPs and outstanding personalities to sit down together and change whatever that needed to be changed. And this was exactly what they did. The same thing was done with judicial matters. These things can be changed in the future as well.
Today our system is a presidential system. That is to say, our presidents are directly elected by public vote and this has proven to be a very good and successfully tested system. There will be no problem if one day in the near or distant future - probably in the distant future - it is felt that a parliamentary system is more favorable than a presidential system, which is common in certain countries in the world. The Islamic Republic will be able to change its structure, which will not make a difference [as far as the goals and ideals are concerned].
Of course, even this change must be based on the principles. Even this new perspective and reform must be based on the principles: it must originate from Islamic principles. Take the case of meritocracy. It might be felt that meritocracy would be implemented better in such a system. Similarly, it might be felt that justice would be administered better if the system were changed.
Regarding meritocracy, I would like to quote a hadith from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). After the capture of Mecca, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) put a 19-year-old youth in charge of Mecca. After he conquered Mecca, it was necessary for the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) to assign a ruler in charge of it. There were many old people and luminaries, but the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) decided to put a 19-year-old youth in charge of Mecca. Some people complained the youth was too young for the post and asked him why he assigned him as the ruler of Mecca. According to this narration, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) said that those who were opposed to the young man's rule should not base their reasoning on his young age because this kind of reasoning is not right. "Older is not better." He said that a person who is older is not necessarily better or more qualified. Rather, a person is more qualified should be preferred. This is an instance of meritocracy. It is necessary to pay attention to these things. This principle of meritocracy should be observed in every subsystem of the Islamic Republic - including the executive branch, the legislative branch, the judiciary branch, the Armed Forces and different organizations. Screening must be based on the standards and the qualifications of individuals, not on personal preferences. And this is a principle in Islam. All the changes that exist within the framework of Islam are based on this principle.
The same is true of our policies. The policies of the Islamic Republic might change. One day a certain economic policy might be followed in the country and the next day a different policy might be implemented based on the requirements. However, both policies must be based on Islam and the change must also be based on the Islamic principles. Our diplomatic policy might change in certain conditions. However, the change must be based on the Islamic principles. A person might have a certain tendency, his personal interests might be involved or his position of power might depend on certain factors, but these things do not give him the right to change a certain policy. No, it is necessary to base one's decisions on the standards. Of course, the necessary precautions have been specified in the Constitution to guard against these things.
Therefore, we can conclude that the ideals of the Islamic Republic cannot be changed and the reason is that the ideals are based on human nature. Our perspective of these ideals is not based on fleeting human passions. Rather, it is based on innate human needs and human nature. The need for justice, the need for freedom, the need for progress, the need for welfare, the need for good characteristics - all of these needs have been hardwired into human nature. This is what an Islamic society is and this is what we are after. These ideals cannot be changed, but the systems that can help us achieve them can probably be changed and they depend on the existing requirements.
From this perspective, the Islamic Republic is both stable and flexible. It is stable in the sense that it is moving towards the ideals in a steady way. There are no fluctuations. There is no inclination to change the path. The Islamic Republic is moving towards the ideals on a particular path, but the mechanisms might change. When a person decides to go somewhere, sometimes he might have to use a car. Other times he might have to take the train. Other times he might have to get on a plane. Yet other times he might have to walk. However, the way he travels does not change the destination.
In summary, in response to the question related to the aging of the Islamic Republic, we would say: first of all, it is possible to renovate the Islamic Republic, but this does not mean revising the ideals because these ideals are based on human nature. Second, renovation in the sense of reforming the subsystems, the mechanisms and the policies is possible and this reform is necessary in certain cases in that it prevents rigidity. However, the principles must be observed. The third point is that this change must be based on the principles. Therefore, the ideals which have inspired the basic structure of the Islamic Republic cannot be changed. This is how the Islamic Republic is. From this perspective, the Islamic Republic will not grow old or rigid over time. It will not fall by the wayside. It can remain young forever.
Of course, I would add that age is not the ideal standard. Certain systems are bad even when they are young. Monarchies, autocracies and systems that emerge out of coercion and coups d'état are rejected and cursed even when they are young. A system that is based on ethics, knowledge, Islamic principles and innate human ideals will not grow old even if it stays in power for hundreds of years. Such a system can remain lively and dynamic. It can remain progressive forever and this is the important point. You should look at the Islamic Republic from this perspective. Of course, only thirty years have passed since the establishment of our system. That is to say, compared with the governments that have been in power for 200, 300 years, our system is still young. Our system enjoys youthful dynamism in the real sense of the word. But even when we consider the future prospects, this youthful dynamism appear to be permanent. The Islamic Republic is a thriving, dynamic, progressive and non-aging system.
Another issue is the issue of leadership, which is not common in the world, unlike the Islamic Republic. The kind of Vilayat-e Faqih which was introduced, defined and implemented by our magnanimous Imam is a kind of dynamic, flourishing and progressive management. Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was a perfect manifestation of this Vilayat-e Faqih and over time his outstanding characteristics became clearer to whoever knew him well. Imam Khomeini (r.a.) promoted the idea of absolute Vilayat-e Faqih. Some people resorted to fallacious reasoning and tried to distort the issue in one way or another. They tried to impose a wrong meaning and interpretation on the concept. They said that absolute Vilayat-e Faqih means that in the Islamic Republic the Leader is above all the laws. They said that absolute Vilayat-e Faqih would give leaders of the Islamic Republic unlimited power to do whatever they wanted. This is not the case. Our magnanimous Imam was more committed than everybody else to observing the laws, the principles and the details of divine commands and this is the duty of the Leader. In the Islamic Republic, it is not the case that a certain person decides to remove the Leader from his position because he has lost the necessary qualifications: if the Leader does not have the necessary qualifications, he is automatically removed. This is a very important point. Leadership is a kind of management - of course, not executive management, which is a mistaken idea that has been promoted in certain propaganda campaigns since the beginning of the Revolution. It is wrong to think that the Leader is responsible for executive management. No, executive management has been clearly specified. Executive management in the executive branch of government has specific regulations and specific officials are in charge of it. The same is true of the judiciary branch, whose responsibility involves executive management. The case of the legislative branch is also clear. The Leader supervises them. In what sense? In the sense that the Leader is responsible for safeguarding the general orientation of the Islamic Republic.
In fact, leadership of the Islamic Republic is a kind of value-based macromanagement. As I pointed out, sometimes pressures, shortcomings and necessities force the management into certain unnecessary and unlawful deviations. The Leader must be cautious. He must not let such a thing happen. This is a very heavy responsibility. This responsibility is not an executive responsibility. It does not involve interference in other affairs either. Some people might want to keep repeating that certain decisions are not made without consulting the Leader. No, this is not the case. The officials who work for different sectors have specific responsibilities. The officials in charge of economic, political and diplomatic affairs have specific responsibilities and the same is true of members of the Majlis and our judiciary officials. The Leader cannot interfere in any of these areas. Neither does he have the right nor is he able to interfere in such matters: basically this is impossible. For example, the Leader may be opposed to many economic decisions, but he does not interfere. There are certain other officials who should take care of such issues. Of course, wherever the adoption of a particular policy would lead to a deviation in the path of the Revolution, the Leader would become responsible to step in. In the decisions and actions of the Leader, rationality must be at the service of the principles and realism must be at the service of idealism.
Regarding the nuclear issue, during the time when there were certain turbulences, certain measures were adopted which might not have been favorable. At that time, I said in a public address that if certain things were not done, I would have to step in. And this was what happened. This is the meaning of leadership and it is based on Islam. This is a positive point in the Islamic Republic.
Different organizations - including the judiciary, the executive branch and the legislative branch - are doing their legal responsibilities with full authority within the framework of the Constitution, as is the case with the rest of the world. But the Islamic Republic must not deviate from the path towards those ideals, otherwise the leadership will be held responsible. The Leader is the one who must answer for such deviations. The Leader has a duty to prevent such deviations. Of course, many examples can be mentioned in this regard, but because there is not enough time, I will only mention one example: the issue of forming relations with America. For different reasons, different administrations did so many things and made so many efforts over the past years. Well, this would harm the general movement of the system and it would not have a positive contribution to the living conditions of the people. It was prevented. There are other such issues.
There is another issue which I would like to discuss: the issue of political parties and partisan activities. I guess we do not have much time, so I will be brief. In the countries where the people have carried out a revolution, political parties are present in the arena. The question that comes to mind is, what is our perspective on political parties and partisan activities? We do not have much time and I cannot discuss the issue in detail. By Allah's favor, I will discuss the issue in detail some other time. In brief, I would say that we are not at all opposed to partisan activities. It is wrong to think that we are opposed to political parties and partisan activities. No, this is not the case. Before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, we ourselves established the foundations a big and active party. Of course, the party was dissolved for certain reasons. At that time, they used to criticize us: they used to say that partisan activities are against our social unity. I delivered a detailed speech at that time, which was transcribed and published later on under the title of "unity and partisan activities". It is possible to have partisan activities in society without undermining unity. Partisan activities and unity are not in conflict with one another. However, the kind of political party that we have in mind is an organization that plays the role of guiding the people towards certain ideals.
We have two kinds of parties. One kind of parties channel thoughts, be it political thought or religious and ideological thought. It is good if some people do this. Such people do not aim for power: they just want to help their society achieve a certain level of knowledge and political and ideological awareness. This is good. Of course, those who have such a capability would naturally attract votes in political competitions and in elections. They would win. However, this is not their goal. This is one kind of parties and we support it. The door is open to those who want to do these things.
The second kind of parties is an imitation of current western parties - I do not want to discuss the situation of past western parties. Current western parties are clubs for acquiring power. Basically, a party is an organization that is established for the purpose of gaining power. A group of people come together and make use of their capital and their financial resources - or they borrow money from others or engage in political collusion - in order to gain power. And they normally have a rival party whose members do similar things in order to remove them from power and take their place. Currently, parties are normally like this throughout the world. This is true of the two American parties that replace each other at the peak of power: they are in fact clubs for gaining power. Such parties do not have any merits. If certain people in our country go after such political activities, we will not stop them. It would be a blatant lie to claim that the Islamic Republic prevents people from establishing parties. There is no such thing in the Islamic Republic. However, I would not approve such parties. Such parties and such partisan activities would mean power struggle, which does not have any merits. But the first kind of parties would create appropriate channels in society in order to promote the right thoughts - be it ideological and Islamic thoughts, or political thoughts. And this kind of parties is very good. This kind of parties is not unfavorable. This is a brief account of the issue. By Allah's favor, I will discuss the details some other time.
I would like to make a point about the recent scenario invented by the Americans. The recent issue of assassination plot and the propaganda uproar is a scenario. The Americans said something and Europeans helped them in order to start a political game in the world. They used their mercenaries - those who depend on them in the region and outside the region - to create uproar. This is an American scenario. Of course, we will watch carefully. We will pay attention to see what is behind this scenario. And they should know that the Islamic Republic will stand up against any plot and any destructive and harmful move with all its power. Definitely, there are evil intentions behind the scenario. We have identified some of these intentions and we will identify more. We will watch carefully to see what they are planning to do. Of course, overshadowing the issues of America is probably one of their immediate goals. In eighty countries, the people are supporting the great movement that has started in America. They are supporting the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. This is not insignificant. It is very important. Definitely, the day European nations realize that their problems originate from the hegemony of Zionism, these movements will be strengthened.
Today many of the problems that exist in European countries - such as England, France, Germany and Italy - are due to the fact that these European governments are under the influence of the policies of the evil Zionist network. These European governments stand in awe of the Zionist capitalists and company owners who are not few and far between in the world. The same is true of America. Flattering the Zionists is a common technique among powerful people in America. The same is more or less true of Europe as well. When the people of nations - both the American nation and European nations - realize that many of these problems have been caused by the satanic and evil hegemony of this network, definitely their motivation will increase and their movement will be strengthened. America might manage to suppress the people with its police or army, which is not unprecedented. A few years ago, a movement was started in Chicago and they had to bring in the army to suppress it. I think it was during the time of Clinton, the administration that came to power before Bush. They are not afraid of doing such things. They bring in the army and suppress the people. They beat up and kill protestors. They pass harsh prison sentences. They might suppress the movement in this way, but they will not manage to wipe it out. The movement will stay alive. It is like fire under ash, which will flare up one day and the entire system of arrogance and capitalism will be burnt to ashes.
Of course, in the present situation, we would warn American officials against any inappropriate and satanic move - whether in political matters or in security matters. They should know that the Islamic Republic is awake. They have turned their back on their own people, but we have done the opposite. They are hated among the majority of their people, but the opposite is true of the Islamic Republic. These massive public gatherings are indicative of the firm determination of the people. We are all present on the scene. We are all part of the nation. We are all soldiers of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. They should know that we have a unified and firm structure that will stand up against any plot and that we will not be blackmailed. They are mistaken if they think that they will manage to blackmail us by exerting pressure on us. Of course, this is what superpowers normally do. This is among the common techniques used by international arrogant powers. They establish a government and put weak individuals in charge of it, individuals who do not depend on the people. And then they exert pressure on these individuals or start a rumor in order to blackmail them. The Islamic Republic has shown over the past 32 years that it will not be blackmailed and that it will not be affected by these pressures. "And when the believers saw the allies, they said: this is what Allah and His Messenger promised us and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. And it only increased them in faith and submission." [The Holy Quran, 33: 22] When we observe these pressures, when we observe that the most evil satans of the world are hatching these plots against us, we realize that the divine promise is right. We say, "This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us." God has promised that if believers move ahead on the righteous path, satans and misguided people will stand up against them. This is a case in point. God had informed us. Quranic verses had informed us and "Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth." God is truthful. "And it only increased them in faith and submission." And this will increase our faith in God's promises. God says, "And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause." [The Holy Quran, 22: 40] Anybody who assists God, anybody who assists God's religion, anybody who assists God's path, anybody who assists divine ideals, Allah the Exalted will definitely assist him and will bestow victory on him. You should know that this is awaiting the honorable Iranian nation.
This meeting was a very good meeting. This massive and enthusiastic gathering and these pure hearts are unforgettable to me.
Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household, bestow Your mercy and grace on these dear youth and on the dear people of Kermanshah. Dear God, destroy the enemies of the Iranian nation. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household, make us steadfast on Your righteous path. Make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age satisfied with us. Make the immaculate souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam satisfied with us.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings