Our dear youth have not seen the Shah era. I will tell you dear youth that throughout the past 50, 60 years – during the time of the Pahlavi rule and a little before that – first the English and later on, the Americans had all the affairs of the country in their hands and they used to do whatever they wanted. For example, they brought the Pahlavi regime and Reza Khan to power. Later on, they became angry at him because of some reasons. So, they ousted him and replaced him with Mohammad Reza. In a country with this greatness and magnificence, the Americans and the English used to easily oust the head of our country and replace him with another, based on their own wishes and whims and contrary to the wishes of the people. This was their condition in Iran.
Well, how had they managed to achieve this domination? They had built some trenches in the country. First the English regime and after that – years and decades after the English domination - the American regime used to use these trenches in order to continue their domination over our country. However, the Revolution appeared and destroyed and annihilated these trenches with its own youth and in place of these trenches, it built other trenches to protect the Revolution, the Islamic Republic and national interests. They want to come and repair those ruined trenches again and to destroy the trenches that have been created by the Revolution, revolutionary individuals and the youth. This is the goal.
Who brought the Pahlavi regime to power in Iran? Who installed Reza Khan as ruler in this country? Today, the answers to these questions are quite clear, since today everybody knows that Reza Khan was brought to power by the British, who also deposed him when they felt he could no longer serve their purposes, and who instead brought his son Mohammad-Reza to power in Iran. This is one of the clear chapters of our contemporary history. Those who installed Pahlavi rulers in this country also tried to keep them dependent on themselves through certain policies. When Mosaddeq's movement, which was a national movement, took place in Iran, it was the British rather than the Pahlavi regime that felt the most threatened. And when the British noticed that they were not able to cope with Mosaddeq alone, they invited the Americans to interfere in the situation in Iran. The United States intervened and turned into the dominant power in this country. An American official with a suitcase full of dollars came to our country and overthrew the national government by creating a superficial crisis. Consequently, the Pahlavi regime managed to bring the situation under control. The documents indicating this interference are now available to the public.
Imam Khamenei, April 19, 2005
