The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “We have already spoken about the Islamic Republic’s policy on the JCPOA. Today, I only wish to say that we have heard many good words and promises, but in practice, they have not been honored. On the contrary, they have acted against those promises. There is no use in talking. There is no use in giving promises. This time, only actions matter. If we see action on the part of the other side, we will take action too.”
Imam Khamenei added, “This time, the Islamic Republic will not be convinced with hearing such and such words and promises. Things will not be like the past.”
Elsewhere in his statements, His Eminence stated, “From the beginning, the Islamic Revolution faced the enmity of the superpowers. When we speak about superpowers, the former Soviet Union too was in agreement with the US on the issue of the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolution and the system established by Imam despite the fact that it was in disagreement with the US on hundreds of other issues. The same was true of the European powers. The same was true of those who were following them - regional reactionaries and others.”
He also added, “The only reason behind their enmity was that the Islamic government had rejected the norms established by the Domineering Powers. The Domineering Powers were ruling over the world at that time. What is the system of the Domineering Powers? It is the division of the world into two parts: the oppressor and the oppressed. The oppressor should be dominant. Its politics, its culture and its economy should be dominant. And the oppressed should submit to the oppressor. Countries in the world were thus divided into the oppressor and the oppressed. That was a norm that had become established in the world. They had divided the world.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution continued on to say, “One part of the world was in the hands of the Americans. One part was in the hands of the Soviet Union of those days, and another part was in the hands of lesser powers that were following their lead. That was the situation in the world. But the Islamic Republic, the Islamic government and the Islamic Revolution rejected this system. Well, that was the vein that was feeding the Arrogant Powers. The norms established by the Domineering Powers were like a vein that gave life to the Arrogant Powers. The life of the Arrogant Powers depended on this. But the Islamic Republic and the Islamic government rejected this. Therefore, the superpowers stood against it. The main point is that the Islamic government is not willing to be a partner to the global system of domination, and it does not wish to cooperate with them in their oppressor-oppressed division of the world. The Islamic government is against oppression and hegemony.”
Imam Khamenei emphasized that the main enemy of the global oppressors is the Islamic ideological infrastructure, saying, “This infrastructure is based on Islam and has been explained in detail in Imam’s statements. The ideological forces of the Islamic government should promote this infrastructure on a daily basis.”
Referring to the achievements of the Revolution, His Eminence stressed, “One achievement is that the Revolution was able to change our country into a free, independent, dear country with great achievements in today’s sciences. Before this, Iran was a scientifically backward country. Iran used to be at the bottom of the list of countries in scientific ranking. And politically speaking, it was a parasite attached to the global powers. Economically speaking, it was dependent on the big powers. In other words, our economy was in the control of the Americans, and at one time it was in the control of the British. However today, Iran is among the top five, six, or ten countries in important scientific fields. The country has progressed in these areas and has turned into an independent, free, dignified country.”
He went on to say, “The Islamic Revolution changed the management of the country from a dictatorial monarchy run by one individual to a popular republic run by the people. Today, the people are the ones in charge of their own destiny. It is they who choose. They may make bad choices, but it is they who choose. This is a very important matter. But on that day, they did not have this right and the country was a dictatorship. Everything was in the hands of the regime.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the power of the country’s military and its defensive forces after the Islamic Revolution, stating, “Iran used to be a country that could not resist for more than a few hours in the face of an attack launched by a limited number of English and non-English forces. However, all the global powers – the US, Soviet Union, England, France, Germany and reactionary countries, with the money that they provided, fought against Iran under the name of Saddam. It was a global war in the true sense of the word, but they could not do a single thing over a period of eight years. And they were expelled from our borders by our military forces and our people.”
Imam Khamenei emphasized, “Today, our military forces are thankfully ten times better, no a hundred times better, than those days. Today, in the eyes of the world’s public opinion, our country is thankfully a regional power in terms of defensive capability.”
His Eminence stressed, “We need to make up for shortcomings and weaknesses with our achievements. However, the enemy says the opposite. He highlights the shortcomings and says, ‘You should focus on the shortcomings and forget about the achievements. You should abandon the path of the Revolution.’”
Elsewhere in his statements, he touched on the issue of elections, saying, “When the people participate in elections and show their revolutionary enthusiasm, this brings about security for the country. It pushes the enemy to step back and to be less greedy about the country. The more enthusiastic the elections are and the higher the turnout is, the more benefits and advantages it will have for the country and for the people themselves.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “Of course, the enemies do not want this. Whenever election time approaches – in all election times, we have held approximately 40 elections over the course of all these years – they begin to say things against us. Sometimes they say there is no freedom, sometimes they say such and such people have interfered, sometimes they claim that the elections have been engineered by such and such people, and sometimes they say other things in order to discourage people from participating.”
