The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei made an address at the inaugural ceremony of the 3rd International Conference on the Holy Quds and Support for the Palestinian People's Rights on Friday, April 14.
Hundreds of political, religious and cultural personalities from Iran and other countries in the Islamic world, the leaders of resistance groups and organizations and Iranian and foreign thinkers have attended the three-day conference in Tehran.
In his address, the Leader described the rising awakening of the Muslim Ummah and the increasing dynamism and liveliness of the faithful and valorous Palestinian nation as an auspicious and promising phenomenon. He emphasized that Palestine is the flag of the Islamic world's long-term and difficult struggle against aggressive and plunderous arrogant powers, and that the main prerequisite for victory in this great struggle is the insistence on principles.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the occupation of Palestine and the Holy Quds as the worst catastrophe that has happened to the Islamic Ummah in the present era. He also touched on the coincidence of the conference and the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his immaculate household).
"This coincidence in the year that has been designated by the Iranian nation as the 'Year of the Holy Prophet' should inspire all of us with a spirit of striving in the way of Allah, unity, determination and deep trust in divine promise and, God willing, it should prepare the ground for the bestowal of divine mercy and victory," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.
The Leader noted that the present age is the era of Islamic awakening, and that Palestine lies at the center of this awakening. He further presented a historical analysis of the ups and downs experienced by the Palestinian nation over the past sixty years of the occupation of Palestine and also of the various steps taken by the usurper Zionists and their supporters in the above period.
"Today, the product of this adventurous process, which was reliant all the time on the money and might of the United States and Britain and their shameful support for Zionist criminals, is the emergence of a new zealous generation of the brave Palestinian nation and the erupting volcano of the Intifada, on the one hand, and wavering and despair on the part of those ruling the usurper Zionist regime and their coming face to face with the sweeping wave of rising Islamic awakening, on the other," the Leader pointed out.
Ayatollah Khamenei added that a glance at what has happened over the past sixty years reveals a surprising reality, which serves as a lesson.
"This reality is nothing but a great change on the scene and the shift of power from one front to the other, with the result that the Palestinian nation is today in a position of strength, and Zionists are in a position of weakness, wavering and helplessness," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.