By Robert Fantina*
In a speech on November 2, 2017, Ayatollah Khamenei spoke clearly about the United States, and Iran’s relationship with that brutal, imperial regime. Ayatollah Khamenei’s incisive remarks are worth our attention. We will look at just a portion of his speech in some detail.
Ayatollah Khamenei said this: “There are some people who say that we should compromise with the US somehow and a little bit because this way, their enmities might decrease. This is not the case.” The U.S. has repeatedly proven that it cannot be trusted. The most recent example is the U.S. declaring that Iran is in violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite the fact that the rest of the international community agrees that Iran is in full compliance. Iran, although a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and whose leaders have always said the nation’s nuclear program was for peaceful purposes, accommodated the U.S by entering into the JCPOA. In exchange, the U.S. was to release unfair, unjust sanctions. Iran maintained its part of the agreement; the U.S. has violated its part.
“They have not even shown mercy on those who trusted, pinned their hopes on and referred to the US for assistance. Who for example? Dr. Mosaddeq. In order to fight and stand up against the English – this is what he wished to do – he turned to the Americans. He met with and negotiated with them and asked for their help. He trusted them. The coup d'état of the 28th of Mordad was not launched by the English, rather it was launched by the US against Mosaddeq.”
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overthrew the government of Mohammad Mosaddeg, despite U.S. assurances of assistance to him. He instituted democratic reforms, cutting the power of the brutal, U.S.-supported Shah. Additionally, Iran is an oil-rich nation, and that natural resource was coveted by the United Kingdom and the U.S. When it comes to power and profits, the U.S. has no regard for human life, human rights or self-determination. And any promises it makes are worthless. If Dr. Mosaddeg stood in the way of unfettered access to Iranian oil at whatever price the U.S. wanted to pay, then his government had to be eliminated. In 1953, he was overthrown by the U.S. government.
“They want servants, and docile and subservient agents. Who for example? For example, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. They want such individuals so that they rule over this rich, blessed, wealthy and sensitive country – in terms of its geographical position and various capabilities. They are looking for someone whose hands are tied and who submits to them. This is what the Americans want. If such agents do not act like this, they turn into enemies.”
U.S government officials proclaim their dedication to the democratic aspirations of people around the world. As Ayatollah Khamenei clearly points out, this is a complete falsehood. The long support that the U.S. gave to the brutal reign of the Shah, finally overthrown by a popular people’s movement in Iran, is clear evidence that the U.S. cares nothing about such democratic hopes and dreams. The continuing financing of the brutal apartheid regime of Israel, as it savagely oppresses the Palestinians, is another clear example of U.S. hypocrisy.
“On the issue of Tabas, they (the U.S.) showed enmity and they received a blow on their head. On the issue of destroying our passenger plane, they showed enmity. On the issue of sanctions, they have shown enmity since the first day. Today, they are showing enmity as well. They are acting in the most vicious way in the area of ruining the nuclear negotiations and their results –the agreement known as the JCPOA. So, they are enemies.”
Ayatollah Khamenei lists example after example of U.S. deceit, hypocrisy and barbarism. There is no depth to which the U.S. will not stoop to enrich itself and its elected officials, despite the cost in human lives, peace and justice. He is right to encourage complete distrust of the U.S.
Currently, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, makes outrageous accusations against Iran that are blatantly false. She accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism, for assisting its ally, Syria, in fighting U.S.-supported terrorists. She bemoans Iranian involvement in Iraq, ignoring the fact that the U.S. overthrew the Iraqi government, bombed its cities, killed close to a million of its people (some estimates put that number far higher), and drove millions more into refugee camps. She also ignores the fact that the U.S. is currently bombing seven counties; Iran has not invaded another nation since 1798.
The disreputable Haley represented the country on the United Nations Security Council that vetoed a resolution condemning U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of apartheid Israel, a resolution all other Council members supported. This further shows U.S. disdain for international law and international justice.
When the United States insisted on a meeting of the Security Council to discuss some internal disturbances in Iran last week, the other members criticized not Iran, but the United States, accusing it of misusing the Council for political purposes. U.S. government officials decry the deaths that resulted from those disturbances, yet remain silent on the hundreds of unarmed, mostly African-American, people killed every year by members of the U.S. police force, almost always with complete impunity.
It is now reported that the U.S. president, the racist, incompetent, war-mongering Donald Trump, will not void the JCPOA, but will issue new sanctions against Iran, unrelated to that agreement. Haley has accused Iran of living up to the letter of the law, but not the ‘spirit’ of the law. Is this not exactly what the U.S. is doing, by issuing more sanctions while leaving the JCPOA in place?
The U.S. will not be satisfied until Iran either establishes a puppet government, with the U.S. pulling the strings, or is reduced to rubble and chaos, as was done to Iraq.
It is hoped that more sensible people than Trump and Haley will be able to control their murderous and self-destructive urges. Iran is a heavily-populated, powerful nation, with important allies and a military force second to none. Any aggression towards it will not result in an easy victory for the U.S.; even the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a much smaller country with no effective military force, embroiled the U.S. in a destructive war that lasted for years.
When this writer visited Iran last summer, spending time in the beautiful cities of Tehran and Mashhad, he was impressed with all he saw. He is in complete agreement with the statements of Ayatollah Khamenei regarding the dishonesty, hypocrisy and lack of trustworthiness constantly demonstrated by the U.S. regime.
* Robert Fantina is an author and peace activist. His writing has appeared on Mondoweiss, Counterpunch, Trutout and other sites. His latest book is Empire, Racism and Genocide: a History of US Foreign Policy
The views, opinions and positions expressed on Op-Ed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Khamenei.ir.
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