Today, the United States has focused on waging an economic war against us. There is no military war, and there will not be one. But there is an economic war happening. Their focus is on the economic war now. Why? Because they have lost hope in a military war.
They even have no hope left when it comes to a cultural war. Look. During the 90's, the second decade after our revolution, a wicked cultural plot started against our country. I talked about the cultural assault at that time; I talked about a cultural camisade, in order for the youth to be aware and keep their eyes open: for the people to be alert. A vast plot was put in place and started in the 90's against our country. Now, look: those born in the 90's are going to defend and die for the holy shrine [in Syria], their bodies returning. Who would have guessed this? At the same time with that vast cultural assault, flowers blossomed in the garden of the Islamic Republic, and these trees grew. The like of Martyr Hojaji were created. So, we were the victorious side in the culture war and our enemies were defeated.
Another cultural war started in the 90's and early 2000's, to cause the glories of the holy defense [with Iraq] to be forgotten, and they persisted. The Islamic Republic was innovative with soft technology: the major movement of ‘The Journey to the Light’[1]. The Journey to the Light symbolizes technology, a technology of soft power. Millions of youth went to the front lines during the war era; to that center of knowledge and holiness: to that source of self-sacrifice. There, they saw what the situation had been and what had happened. It was explained to them, and they were made aware of the story of the holy defense. Yes, this is the Islamic Republic. It brings up defenders of the holy shrines. It starts the movement of the Journey to the Light. It created those attending the mosques for Itikaf, who are mostly young, as a prominent symbol of modesty and purity. --These didn't exist before. So, we were victorious in the cultural war against the enemy. And we were victorious in the military war as well.
We also won in the political-security war. Their [the enemies] political-security war occurred during the 2009 events. They worked many years towards those events; such events cannot be created in an hour or one day: they had worked on it for several years. The people of Iran and the Islamic Republic overcame and nullified the enemy's conspiracy.
Now the enemy has focused on the economic front, after being defeated on the cultural front, on the security front, on the political front, and on the military front. I reassure you that the enemy will also be defeated, by God’s Grace, on the economic front. They make every effort to win this war: they talk to the Iranian nation through treachery and deception. You may view a mentally incompetent person on a TV program, addressing the Iranian nation, saying "Your government is spending your money in Syria and Iraq.” he is ignorant.
These incompetent people are those whose boss [Donald Trump] said: "We spent seven trillion dollars in the region--that is, in Syria and Iraq--and we didn’t gain anything." They are right; according to them, they spent seven thousand billion dollars there, and they haven’t gained anything so far. The Islamic Republic has not done anything comparable! The governments of Syria and Iraq are our friends, they were threatened by the United States and by Saudi Arabia, but we helped them. We will also help them in the future: we will help any government that is our friend. It is not a matter of giving money or the like, [but] it represents normal exchanges between states when they take, give, buy, and sell. Nevertheless, he [Trump] talks in that manner cause the Iranian nation to become hesitant about the positions of the Islamic system and the government of the Islamic Republic.
Well, in the economic war, U.S.A.'s goal is to create dissatisfaction; they aim for it: they want to create dissatisfaction, in hopes of turning this discontentment into internal turmoil. I'll tell you a bit of news--this is not an analysis, this is actual news. You remember the events of last January--about six or seven months ago--for a few days, some people chanted slogans [against the Islamic Republic] and so forth. The US government had worked with the Zionists, along with the Saudis, three to four years to create these events. God only knows how much they spent! They had worked for three to four years to gather hundreds or thousands of people, in a few days, from a few cities in the country to chant their slurs. Then, the Iranian nation acted, without being asked to--indeed, the people moved. I also appreciated the nation’s action at that time; they did it on their own: they cleared all the impurities and defeated the rebels. The Iranian nation nullified years of the enemy’s endeavors at creating this event--within a few days! Then they [the enemies] decided their plan had some shortcomings; they decided to repeat their plot this year, in 2018, after fixing the shortcomings. The U.S. president said: “Within six months, you will hear important news from Iran.” “Six months” was, in fact, the month of August: the recent events in August, that's when some gathered to chant slurs against the nation. They [the Americans] are overspending; they are making efforts to create incidents: this is the result. The Iranian nation is aware: the nation is insightful. It is true that livelihood problems put pressure on the people; many are unhappy; however, the Iranian nation will never accept a conspiracy, the will of the United States, and the disgraced regime! The enemy is weak, the enemy is incapable, the enemy is defeated: surely, in the future, the enemy will be defeated at all times, provided that you and I are awake, provided that you and I act in accordance with our obligations, provided that you and I do not become disappointed.
[1] a spiritual journey to the abandoned war fields of the Saddam invasion of Iran, where martyrs sacrificed their lives to protect Iran
