Well, there is an important truth which is sometimes not seen by some people: its dazzling clarity makes it go unnoticed. This truth is a bright and shining one, which is the fact that in this 40-year challenge, the side which has been defeated represents the US and the side which has achieved victory represents the Islamic Republic. --This is a very important truth. What is the reason behind America’s defeat? The reason for their defeat was that it was they who began the attack. It was they who initiated corrupt actions. It was they who imposed sanctions, and it was they who launched a military attack, but they have not achieved their goals. --This is the reason why the US has been defeated.
By adopting those measures, the US pursued the goal of restoring the dominance they once had over our country during the time of the Pahlavis. They want to restore that dominance once more. That dominance and that control disappeared with the emergence of the Revolution and their hands were cut off from Iran. The goal of imposing that war, imposing sanctions, and exerting political and economic pressures was to restore that dominance. Well, they failed. And, again, it's been 40 years that they have been working hard against us, but they have not achieved a single thing.
Presently, the country wherein the US does not play a role whatsoever, in terms of decision-making and management, is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Well, this is a defeat for the US, and there is no clearer defeat than this. The purpose of imposing the war was to defeat the Islamic Republic in that confrontation with Saddam. They wanted to humiliate the Islamic Republic and say that the government and system of the Islamic Republic caused Iran's defeat; however, the opposite happened. In all the wars that Iran was involved in, during the past two centuries, Iran was defeated, but that eight-year war was the first and only war wherein Iran defeated the other side and foreigners failed to usurp even one inch of Iran’s soil. --This was the first war with such an outcome, and the result was the exact opposite of what the Americans wanted.
The purpose of imposing sanctions was to cripple the country and hold it back from advancements. They imposed sanctions so that they might cripple the economy and, consequently, the country. They wanted to hold it back, but what was the end result? The result was that the movement towards self-sufficiency in the country accelerated! Previously, we had gotten used to – the people of Iran had gotten used to – importing everything for years. Now, thanks to the sanctions they have imposed, we have gotten used to embarking on producing everything, first. --Later on, I will elaborate on this.
Today, hundreds of groups – active groups comprised of intelligent youth, whether students at universities or at schools – are busy carrying out important tasks in the country. As I said, I will refer to what they have done later. --This is because of sanctions: because they imposed sanctions on us, we thought of satisfying our own needs. So, sanctions ended in our advantage. The US was defeated by their own policy as well. Notice that these are continuous defeats for the American side.
I would like you, dear youth, to pay careful attention to this point – this is because you will be in charge of the future affairs of the country; therefore, you should pay careful attention. Even if we put aside the issue of the challenge between Iran and the US, at a broader level, when we look at the condition of the US, we see that America’s power, might, and awe is declining in the world. It has been declining over the years. America today is much weaker than that time when the Revolution achieved victory. America’s power is decreasing: this is an important point.
Many credible politicians and social scientists of the world believe that America’s soft-power is declining and disappearing. What is soft-power? Soft-power means the capability of a government to make others accept and believe its demands, opinions, and beliefs. This soft-power of the US is completely waning and declining, and this is happening in different areas. This was the case during the time of the Obama administration as well, but since that other gentleman took over, they are unambiguously opposing him. The world is opposing him in most areas of his decision making. --This is not just some opposition on part of the people – if they conduct a poll on a global scale, they will get negative opinions – but even those governments which have some considerations for the US are opposing him.