Well, my dear brothers, my dear children and youth, today we have truly become a Government of Resistance. A "Government of Resistance" is extremely important, because it is unlike certain organizations and orientations of resistance in some other countries; a "Government of Resistance" is not that same as a "resistant personality" -- of course, the enemies are opposed to all of these things. The Global Arrogant Front – oriented towards greed and transgression, which hopes to possess all worldly and otherworldly sources of wealth – is opposed to every element of resistance. They are opposition towards organizations and individuals of resistance, these things [organizations and individuals] however, cannot be compared to a powerful government formed around the basis of resistance.
The Islamic Republic is, therefore, a Government of Resistance: it's a conglomerate of resistance built on politics, an economy, and international action; and it's an extensive influence zone inside and outside the country. Hence, its overall value cannot be compared with any other resistance element. That is why all enmities throughout the world – whether on the part of power seekers or on the part of their servants – are aimed at the Islamic Republic.
What does it mean to be a Government of Resistance? It means refusal to give into bullying and greed; it means adopting a position of power. Notice, as well, that the government of resistance has no interests in showing transgression, in seeking dominance, and in possessing the wealth of other nations and countries; nor is it interested in adopting a defensive and passive position: its interests centers around none of these things.
Some people believe that if we wish to dismiss the accusation that we are interested in seeking international and regional dominance, then we should adopt a defensive approach. This is not our goal, we will not adopt a defensive approach. And, we will not adopt a passive position, rather we will adopt the position that is stated in the following ayah: "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war to strike terror into the hearts of enemies, enemies of Allah and your enemies" [The Holy Quran, 8: 60].
What does the Arabic phrase "Tarhebuna behi" mean? It has similar meaning to what is referred to as a "deterrent power" in today's political literature. The Islamic Republic is in a position where it benefits from "deterrent power": it has the power to deter; therefore, they [the enemy] want to take away this power.
Whatever the Islamic Republic has achieved, so far, it has achieved through its own innovations and determination, and it is not indebted to any other government and power, it has made achievements in order to deter and in order to have deterrent power. From now on, it will continue to take the same path. From now on, too, we will move forward towards a path increasing this deterrent power, as much as we can, with all our effort and with all of our human resources – which are not few in number.
We will persist so that the enemy will not think of transgressing, so that if he even behaves in a transgressing manner, he will receive a harsh blow and response. Long ago, I said that the time of "hit and run" against the Islamic Republic is over [Supreme Leader's speech delivered on September 22, 2007]. This is not a case where others can commit a "hit and run." If they hit us, they will face trouble. They might be the ones to start it, but they will not be the ones to finish it: they will not gain this power. And this is the power that our enemies fear: This is the power that the enemy does not want the Islamic Republic to own.
