TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday met with a number of people from Isfahan province, saying the West looted the world under the guise of liberal democracy for 200 years.
“Invading countries and looting resources under the pretext of spreading freedom and democracy, Europe got rich at the expense of wealthy countries like China and India. In Iran too, they did whatever they could,” the Leader said.
Afghanistan is a current example in front of your eyes of this plundering, where the U.S. committed various crimes, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“After 20 years, the same government they were fighting against returned to power in Afghanistan. They gave them control and left the country in disgrace.”
The Leader said the problem that the arrogant powers have with the Islamic Republic of Iran is that if the Islamic Republic makes advances, thrives, and shines in the world, the Western world’s logic of liberal democracy will be invalidated.
“NATO, the U.S., the former Soviet Union and some European countries backed Saddam during the eight-year war on Iran. In fact, the whole world was on one side and the Islamic Republic on the other side. But Iran won this war with bare hands by relying on the determination of the people,” he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Westerner powers looted the entire world for more than two centuries as part of their liberal democracy mantra.
“They made interventions, claiming there was no freedom in one place or there did not exit democracy in another. They plundered the national assets and resources of the country as a result,” the Leader said.
“Poor Europe became rich at the expense of many rich countries like India and China. Iran was not directly colonized, but they did everything they could here,” the Leader added.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the establishment which has rejected the idea of liberal democracy, given its nation an identity, awakened and empowered its people, and stood up against Western schools of thought, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“Should we have not made any progress, had not had a strong presence in the region, our voice had faltered in the face of America and its arrogance and we had been ready to accept its bullying, the ongoing pressures would have been much less,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said attempts against Iran have been much

greater each and every time the Islamic Republic has vociferously stood up to the enemies.
Washington, he said, has always been at the forefront of the anti-Iran campaign and its European allies are supporting it.
Despite all their attempts, the Leader added, the enemies have failed even though they have caused problems through sanctions, assassination of nuclear scientists, application of various political and security ploys, and even bribing some people inside the country to speak out against the Islamic establishment.
“But they have not been able to stop the Iranian nation from advancing.”
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the enemy’s massive media modus operandi such as satellite networks, virtual space and mercenary TV channels to destroy people’s hopes, saying despite all these attempts, “hope and drive for progress in the country is fortunately alive.”
The Leader said the enemy is trying to make not only the people and the youths, but also the officials lose hope as they use newspapers and cyberspace to instill hopelessness and despair.
He touched on Iran’s advancements in recent weeks, citing new method invented by the country’s scientists to treat leukemia, an oil and gas extraction equipment built by Iranian experts, a rail line opened in Sistan and Baluchistan province linking with the North-South corridor, opening of numerous factories, the operation of Iran’s first refinery abroad and six power plants in the country, one of the largest telescopes in the world built in Iran and the country’s recent launch of a satellite-carrying rocket.
Such achievements, Ayatollah Khamenei said, came while the enemy was trying to hamper the country’s progress through instigating riots.
The Leader touched on the recent acts of vandalism and destruction in the country by rioters, saying they create problems for people and businesses but the masterminds of the recent seditious acts are too insignificant to harm the Islamic Republic.
“This spree of thuggery will definitely be cleared away and the Iranian nation will continue moving ahead in the arena of the country’s progress with more strength and a fresher spirit,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.