The powerful presence of the Islamic Republic, within the region, is a crucial element of national power. It reveals that the people are just as powerful as they are. They [the enemies] want to destroy this. A certain European president [French President Emmanuel Macron] – the Americans do not dare speak about negotiations with us – declares that they want to discuss Iran's presence in the region. Well, actually, we should discuss your presence in the region! Why do you yourselves want to be present in this region? This is a means of national power; they want to take it away from the Islamic Republic.
Today, the enemies often stir up falsehoods in political arenas. They fabricate stories about Iran's presence in the region. And, who is responsible for such claims? It is the US, the country who has a seditious and corrupt presence everywhere. Wherever the US goes, corruption is sure to follow. Wherever the US goes, sedition follows. The seditious and corruption-generating US government asks, "Why are you present in the region?" Well, if we are present in our region, must we ask for your permission? In order to be present in the region, we negotiate with regional governments [native to the region]. Why should we negotiate with you [US]? Whenever we decide to show up in the US, we will negotiate with you.
The same is true of European countries. They say that they want to negotiate with Iran over its presence in the region. What's it to you? Why are you, yourselves, present in the region? Is this our region or yours? If it is our region, what are you doing here? This is our own region, and we, ourselves, are negotiating with, speaking to, and making arrangements with regional peoples and governments. We have, thankfully, made arrangements; we have, thankfully, succeeded in doing so, and we have thankfully moved forward in this regard. By Allah's favor, we will continue to move forward. When I speak about political issues, these political issues are not confined to partisan and domestic issues: these are part of political issues as well: the people should know about these matters.
