Ayatollah Khamenei:
God Brought on U.S. What It Wanted for Iran
Kayhan Int’l Political Desk
TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday said the United States is in chaos, citing its election fiasco, police killing of black Americans and growing poverty.
"The election fiasco, the human rights under which a black person falls victim every few days, the exposure of the nature of America’s alleged values that have become a matter of ridicule even by America’s friends, a paralyzed economy and tens of millions of unemployed, hungry and homeless people reflect the chaotic situation of America,” the Leader said.
"This is not strange, of course. What is strange is that some people still wish for America and regard it their qibla,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"Some people think that if we reconcile with the United States, the country will be a paradise. These people should look at the Iran before the revolution and see how U.S. support prevented the country from progressing and led to the spread of economic and scientific poverty, and promotion of of corruption and cultural hedonism. At the same time, the situation of the regimes that sacrifice themselves for America today is clear to everyone,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on U.S. pressures on the Islamic Republic for the past 42 years, saying Washington’s main goal is to return to its "hellish domination” of Iran in the years before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
"The difference between the United States and some Europeans is that the Americans, because of their previous dominance over Iran and the region, seek to repeat the situation, and everyone must be vigilant against this sinister goal.”
The Leader said as long as the Americans have not dominated the region, "they seek their interests in provoking instability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other regional states”.
"They pursue this goal at one time through such exploits as the 2009 sedition in Iran and at another through the formation of Daesh,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, referring to riots that gripped the Islamic Republic after presidential elections.
"In 2009, the U.S. wanted to make Iran unstable, but they failed and God brought the same thing to them in 2020,” the Leader said, apparently referring to the breach of the U.S. Capitol by a large mob on Wednesday, during which at least five people were killed.
"You saw the people who breached U.S. Congress. The Americans sought to do the same in Iran. They wanted to create chaos and trigger a civil war,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
U.S. Return to JCPOA
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran is in no hurry to see the U.S. return to a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers after Joe Biden takes office this month.
According to the Leader, it is not a question of "whether the United States returns or not”, it is a matter of it lifting its unilateral sanctions.
"We are in no rush and we are not insisting on their return. Our demand, which is both logical and rational, is the lifting of sanctions” that outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump imposed after quitting the deal in 2018.
Biden, who is set to replace Trump on January 20, has signaled a willingness to return the United States to the deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran could welcome the return of the Americans to the JCPOA, but only after they lift sanctions.
"We are talking about a right which has been stolen from the Iranian nation,” the Leader said. "If the sanctions are lifted, the return of the Americans makes sense.”
"But if the sanctions are not lifted, their return to the JCPOA may be even to our detriment,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks came shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps unveiled one of its "strategic missile bases” located on the "shores of the Persian Gulf”.
In his speech, the Leader reiterated Iran’s position that the missile program is developed to "defend” the country against any threats from outside.
"Today our defense power is so much that the enemies have to take into account Iran’s capabilities in their calculations. When our missile can shoot down the intrusive American aerial vehicle that had entered our airspace, and when our missiles can pound the Ain al-Assad airbase in such a way, the enemy has to count on these capabilities of Iran in its military decisions,” the Leader said.
"We have no right to leave our country defenseless. We should not do something that emboldens the enemy, and makes us unable to respond,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
Since 2019, Iran has gradually suspended implementation of its obligations under the nuclear deal, which set strict limits on its activities in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Other parties to the agreement, notably Britain, France and Germany, have pressed Iran to return to its commitments in a bid to rescue the deal, but Iran has repeatedly demanded that the United States first lift its sanctions or help it circumvent them.
"When the other party meets practically none of its obligations, it is not logical for the Islamic republic to honor all of its commitments,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"If they return to their commitments, we will return to ours.”
Iran’s Influence in Region
The Leader further pointed to Iran’s regional presence and said,
"Our establishment is duty-bound to behave in a way that its friends in the region are reinforced.”
"This is our duty. Our presence is meant to strengthen our friends. We should not do anything to weaken those loyal to the Islamic Republic in the region,” he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran’s presence creates stability, and that was proved in fighting Daesh terrorism and the like. "Therefore, Iran’s regional presence is definite, and will continue to exist,” the Leader added.
No American or British Vaccine
Ayatollah Khamenei further voicced his opposition to the import of COVID-19 vaccines produced by the U.S. and Britain.
"I have already said it to government officials, and now announce it publicly. The import of American and British vaccines is prohibited,” the Leader said.
"Had the Americans managed to produce a vaccine, they would not have faced such a mess today in their own country. In one day, some 4,000 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S.,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"I really don’t trust them. Sometimes they want to test the vaccine on other nations,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said he is not optimistic about France after it sold HIV-infected blood kits to Iran in the early 1990s.
The Leader stressed, however, that the Iranian government is allowed to supply the COVID vaccine from other reliable sources.
Ayatollah Khamenei also hailed the domestically-developed Iranian coronavirus vaccine, calling it a source of pride and honor. The Leader noted that first human trials of the Iranian vaccine were successful.
"This should not be denied … The vaccine has gone under human trials. God willing a better version will also be developed in Iran. This is a source of pride and dignity,” the Leader said.
TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday said the United States is in chaos, citing its election fiasco, police killing of black Americans and growing poverty.
"The election fiasco, the human rights under which a black person falls victim every few days, the exposure of the nature of America’s alleged values that have become a matter of ridicule even by America’s friends, a paralyzed economy and tens of millions of unemployed, hungry and homeless people reflect the chaotic situation of America,” the Leader said.
"This is not strange, of course. What is strange is that some people still wish for America and regard it their qibla,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"Some people think that if we reconcile with the United States, the country will be a paradise. These people should look at the Iran before the revolution and see how U.S. support prevented the country from progressing and led to the spread of economic and scientific poverty, and promotion of of corruption and cultural hedonism. At the same time, the situation of the regimes that sacrifice themselves for America today is clear to everyone,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on U.S. pressures on the Islamic Republic for the past 42 years, saying Washington’s main goal is to return to its "hellish domination” of Iran in the years before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
"The difference between the United States and some Europeans is that the Americans, because of their previous dominance over Iran and the region, seek to repeat the situation, and everyone must be vigilant against this sinister goal.”
The Leader said as long as the Americans have not dominated the region, "they seek their interests in provoking instability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other regional states”.
"They pursue this goal at one time through such exploits as the 2009 sedition in Iran and at another through the formation of Daesh,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, referring to riots that gripped the Islamic Republic after presidential elections.
"In 2009, the U.S. wanted to make Iran unstable, but they failed and God brought the same thing to them in 2020,” the Leader said, apparently referring to the breach of the U.S. Capitol by a large mob on Wednesday, during which at least five people were killed.
"You saw the people who breached U.S. Congress. The Americans sought to do the same in Iran. They wanted to create chaos and trigger a civil war,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
U.S. Return to JCPOA
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran is in no hurry to see the U.S. return to a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers after Joe Biden takes office this month.
According to the Leader, it is not a question of "whether the United States returns or not”, it is a matter of it lifting its unilateral sanctions.
"We are in no rush and we are not insisting on their return. Our demand, which is both logical and rational, is the lifting of sanctions” that outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump imposed after quitting the deal in 2018.
Biden, who is set to replace Trump on January 20, has signaled a willingness to return the United States to the deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran could welcome the return of the Americans to the JCPOA, but only after they lift sanctions.
"We are talking about a right which has been stolen from the Iranian nation,” the Leader said. "If the sanctions are lifted, the return of the Americans makes sense.”
"But if the sanctions are not lifted, their return to the JCPOA may be even to our detriment,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks came shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps unveiled one of its "strategic missile bases” located on the "shores of the Persian Gulf”.
In his speech, the Leader reiterated Iran’s position that the missile program is developed to "defend” the country against any threats from outside.
"Today our defense power is so much that the enemies have to take into account Iran’s capabilities in their calculations. When our missile can shoot down the intrusive American aerial vehicle that had entered our airspace, and when our missiles can pound the Ain al-Assad airbase in such a way, the enemy has to count on these capabilities of Iran in its military decisions,” the Leader said.
"We have no right to leave our country defenseless. We should not do something that emboldens the enemy, and makes us unable to respond,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
Since 2019, Iran has gradually suspended implementation of its obligations under the nuclear deal, which set strict limits on its activities in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Other parties to the agreement, notably Britain, France and Germany, have pressed Iran to return to its commitments in a bid to rescue the deal, but Iran has repeatedly demanded that the United States first lift its sanctions or help it circumvent them.
"When the other party meets practically none of its obligations, it is not logical for the Islamic republic to honor all of its commitments,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"If they return to their commitments, we will return to ours.”
Iran’s Influence in Region
The Leader further pointed to Iran’s regional presence and said,
"Our establishment is duty-bound to behave in a way that its friends in the region are reinforced.”
"This is our duty. Our presence is meant to strengthen our friends. We should not do anything to weaken those loyal to the Islamic Republic in the region,” he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran’s presence creates stability, and that was proved in fighting Daesh terrorism and the like. "Therefore, Iran’s regional presence is definite, and will continue to exist,” the Leader added.
No American or British Vaccine
Ayatollah Khamenei further voicced his opposition to the import of COVID-19 vaccines produced by the U.S. and Britain.
"I have already said it to government officials, and now announce it publicly. The import of American and British vaccines is prohibited,” the Leader said.
"Had the Americans managed to produce a vaccine, they would not have faced such a mess today in their own country. In one day, some 4,000 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S.,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"I really don’t trust them. Sometimes they want to test the vaccine on other nations,” the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said he is not optimistic about France after it sold HIV-infected blood kits to Iran in the early 1990s.
The Leader stressed, however, that the Iranian government is allowed to supply the COVID vaccine from other reliable sources.
Ayatollah Khamenei also hailed the domestically-developed Iranian coronavirus vaccine, calling it a source of pride and honor. The Leader noted that first human trials of the Iranian vaccine were successful.
"This should not be denied … The vaccine has gone under human trials. God willing a better version will also be developed in Iran. This is a source of pride and dignity,” the Leader said.