TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said here Monday the enemies sought to destroy Iran’s progress and strengths through the recent violent riots in the country.
Addressing to a group of people from Qom on the anniversary of the popular uprising in the holy city against the former U.S.-backed Pahlavi regime in 1978, the Leader said the rioters did not actually take to the streets to protest against the economic hardships that the Iranian nation is going through as a result of Western sanctions.
“There is no doubt that we are beset with economic and livelihood problems now. But, can these problems be solved by setting trash cans on fire, taking to the streets, and instigating riots? They did not want to remedy the shortcomings, but rather, sought to obliterate the Iranian nation’s strengths,” the Leader noted.
Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that foreign enemies were overtly involved in the nationwide riots in the country while the United States and European countries openly fueled the unrest in one way or another.
“The most important tool that the enemy used in these riots was propaganda and the enticement of people through cyberspace and the Western, Arabic and Hebrew media.”
The Leader said the media hype against the Islamic Republic was aimed at creating the impression that rioters were discontent with economic problems and shortcomings in economic and other sectors of the country.
“They, however, did not want weaknesses to go away. The objective was rather to wipe out the country’s strengths,” he said.
The Leader pointed to attempts aimed at undermining Iran’s national security, stopping the country’s scientific progress through closure of educational and scientific centers, impeding the growth of domestic production, and harming booming sectors such as tourism as clear examples that back up his argument.
Ayatollah Khamenei noted that the enemies pushed their involvement in recent riots through cyber-based propaganda and via Western and certain regional media outlets.
The Leader said what the rioters did amounted to treason, calling on relevant institutions and state officials to seriously deal with any act of betrayal.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the victory of the Islamic Revolution and saving Iran from America’s heavy domination has been the main reason behind the United States’ enmity with the Islamic system.
The Leader touched on the publication of a recently declassified
document from a credible American center about former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s order to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
“According to this document, Carter ordered the CIA to overthrow the Islamic Republic, and the first strategy he mentions is the use of propaganda,” he said.
Over the past 43 years, Ayatollah Khamenei said, the U.S. has continuously made an effort to attack the Islamic Republic through various means.
“This includes issuing threats and imposing sanctions on Iran, engaging in acts of espionage and infiltration, putting pressure on the country, creating anti-Iranian alliances, and inciting anti-Iranian and anti-Shia sentiment.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said the enemy primarily uses propaganda in order to harm the Islamic Republic.