TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran’s enemies have pinned their hopes on protests to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but they are mistaken.
“The enemies have pinned their hopes on popular protests to damage the country,” the Leader told participants at a massive ceremony to mark the 33rd anniversary of the passing of Imam Khomeini.
“They are trying all kinds of tricks to turn the people against the Islamic Republic, including psychological work on the people, activities in the internet, spending money and recruiting mercenaries.
“But the enemies’ calculation is as wrong as many earlier ones,” the Leader said.
The Leader touched on some of the yet unrecognized aspects of Imam Khomeini’s personality, saying despite the many statements and writings about that wise guide, there are many unsaid things about his greatness, powerful character and leadership.
“The young generation of the country, which does not yet correctly know the Imam, must learn the instructive lessons of his school of thought in order to play a national, revolutionary role, take the second step of the Revolution and manage the country efficiently so that it will move toward the bright future of the country more confidently.”
Ayatollah Khamenei described the Islamic Revolution as the greatest revolution in the history of revolutions, spearheaded by Imam Khomeini.
“The powerful hand, steely personality, confident heart and brave tongue that was able to bring the great ocean of people into the arena, stir them to action, keep them in the arena without despairing and show them the correct direction to move in was the hand of our magnanimous, great Imam Khomeini.”
Imam Khomeini, the Leader said, was truly distinguished in terms of his personality traits.
“Purity and piety, spirituality and mystic sentiments, courage, wisdom and rationality, acumen, hope in the future, sincerity, punctuality and discipline, reliance on God and confidence in His promises, and having a fighting spirit were some of the distinctive characteristics of our late Imam.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said Imam Khomeini’s school of thought was based on rising up for the cause of God based on Qur’anic principles.
Imam Khamenei stated that the purpose of starting an uprising for the cause of God in all stages is to establish the truth, to administer justice and to promote spirituality, the Leader said.
“The Imam was a real fighter and was continuously present in the field of rising up for the cause of God. Imam’s movement during the revolutionary activities had some prominent points, including: fearlessness, honesty with the people, trusting in the people, appreciation for their efforts and breathing hope into their hearts.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said Imam Khomeini’s most important concern was to separate the Islamic Republic from western culture and traditions.
“Accordingly, the Imam stressed that the Islamic Republic was not indebted to Western ideas of a republic and democracy, and that it was formed on the basis of Islam instead.”
The Leader pointed to Imam Khomeini’s efforts to bring harmony between an apparently conflicting dualism.
“In the new model and political system presented by the Imam, there is both spirituality and people’s rights, the execution of divine rules and consideration for certain public exigencies, insistence on the administration of economic justice and attending to the poor, insistence on the production of wealth, the rejection of oppression and accepting oppression, the improvement of science and the economy, the improvement of the defensive mechanism of the country, national unity and solidarity, cherishing diversity and diverse political viewpoints, and an emphasis on the piety and purity of officials and their competence and skill,” he said.
“To what extent was Imam’s school and model realized during his time and afterwards?” the Leader assed.
“Based on my knowledge of the realities of the country, my response is that the Islamic Republic has accomplished great feats in all areas such as democracy, scientific achievements, diplomatic and economic affairs, and public services. Denying these achievements is an injustice. Of course, we have had our share of failures too. In other words, we have had both achievements and weaknesses and failures.”
Nevertheless, Ayatollah Khamenei said, the role of the far-reaching camp of the enemies from the time of the victory of the Revolution and up until today should not be ignored.
“It was not the Islamic Republic that gave birth to this enmity. Rather, because the Islamic Republic is opposed to oppression, arrogance, decadence and in favor of spirituality by nature, oppressors, the Arrogant Powers, the evildoers and those opposed to spirituality naturally show hostility toward it.”
The Leader said one of the main reasons behind enmities toward the Islamic Republic was the Imam’s determined separation from the West.
Support for Palestine, handing over the Israeli regime’s embassy to the Palestinian nation and also criticizing the hypocrisy and crimes of European countries and the U.S. are important examples of the Imam’s separation of the Islamic civilization, philosophy and system from western civilization and thinking, he said.
The Imam’s great distinction was the way he familiarized the people with the concept of resistance and injected a spirit of endurance into the Iranian nation.
“Thanks to the Imam, the Iranian nation has become a completely resistant, strong nation today. Resistance has become an outstanding term in the political literature of the world,” the Leader said.
The Leader pointed out two of the enemies’ plots against the Iranian nation.
“In the first plot, the enemies have pinned their hopes on popular protests to damage the country. They are trying all kinds of tricks to turn the people against the Islamic Republic, including: psychological work on the people, activities in the internet, spending money and employing mercenaries.”
The second plot, he said, involves promoting a wrong notion about the imminent decline of the Islamic Republic.
“Ill-intentioned people used to say in the beginning of the Revolution that the Revolution would fall in the space of six months. Later, when their calculation proved to be wrong, they promised that it would fall in the next six months. But today more than eighty of these six-month periods have passed in the life of the Revolution, and that thin sapling has turned into a sturdy, strong tree. Their current calculations are wrong just like they were in the past.
“In the Islamic Republic, the people are a very important factor, and the enemies will not be able to turn the nation against the Islamic Republic,” the Leader said.
Citing the reason behind the enemies’ continuous mistakes in their calculations, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the role of some treacherous Iranian counselors in making wrong calculations.
“These treacherous counselors betray not only their own country but also the Americans because they lead them to failure with their wrong counsel.”
In addition to the Americans, who make these statements under the influence of their unaware, treacherous counselors, there are some naïve people inside the country who express similar viewpoints in the media inside the country, the Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said today the people are more oriented toward religion and the Islamic Revolution than at the beginning of the Revolution, citing remarkable examples of the people’s honoring of resistance and clerics.
“The millions of people who participated in the burial ceremony of Martyr Soleimani, whose body had been torn apart, in order to respect that revolutionary man who fought for God and resisted, and the burial ceremonies for the demise of outstanding clerics such as Ayatollah Safi-Golpayegani and Ayatollah Behjat are not comparable with the memorial ceremonies held for political and artistic personalities. This shows the people’s belief in clerics, religion, struggle for the cause of God and resistance.”
The Leader said the enthusiastic presence of the youth in the centers for Itikaf, large spiritual gatherings, and the glorious rallies for the 22nd of Bahman and Quds Day are other signs of the nation’s loyalty to the path of our magnanimous Imam.
“Another example of the people’s religious zeal is the people’s – the elderly, the youth and children throughout the country - expression of love for the Imam of the Time (Imam Mahdi). A manifestation of this is the song that is being sung these days.”
The Leader advised Iranian youths not to let the enemy and anti-revolutionary forces erase the identity of the Islamic Revolution and distort truths about it.
He also called on Iranians to prevent Imam Khomeini’s memory from being forgotten or distorted in society.
The Leader further called for efforts to prevent reactionaries from increasing their influence.
“A reactionary attitude means a return to Western politics and the Western lifestyle. We should not let the country regress toward a reactionary attitude as a result of the influence of the western lifestyle that had dominated the country during the corrupt Pahlavi rule.”
The Leader touched on the importance of revealing the enemy’s lies and its psychological warfare.
“Some time ago, the Greek government stole some of our country’s oil due to an order from the Americans. But when the self-sacrificing, valiant soldiers of the Islamic Republic confiscated the enemy’s ship carrying oil, they accused Iran of theft through their extensive propaganda machines. But it was them who had stolen our oil. Taking back something that had been stolen is not an act of theft.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also warned against a campaign on the virtual space to insinuate a sense of disappointment.
“In the internet, some people only insinuate a sense of having come to a dead end inside the country. This is done either out of ignorance or for money. Of course, during the time of the Imam too, some people wrote in the newspapers that the country had reached a dead end. But the Imam stated that it was they who had reached a dead end, not the Islamic Republic.”
The Leader finally called on everyone to appreciate the value of revolutionary officials.
“As well as criticizing the executive officials, Imam would also explicitly thank them in certain cases. Therefore, now that the enemy is trying to damage the reputation of revolutionary officials, the heavy responsibility of appreciating these officials should be carried out.”
Referring to examples of valuable services rendered by officials in recent days, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “One of the Minister’s presence in Abadan for several days and the President’s and the Vice President’s meeting with those hurt by this tragedy to console them are valuable examples that deserve our appreciation. Of course, the agents behind the harm inflicted in the case of Abadan and other events must be punished as well.”