Statements in Meeting with Fifty Thousand Basij Commanders from Across the Country at Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) Prayer Ground

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One of God among the people. Peace be upon you, O Aba Abdullah, and upon the souls that have settled in your vicinity; may God's peace be upon you as long as I remain and as long as night and day endure, and may God not make this the last time I visit you. Peace be upon Hussein, and upon Ali ibn Hussein, and upon the children of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein, who sacrificed their lives for Hussein (peace be upon him).

This gathering is a very important one; the Basij is a manifestation of the greatness of the nation and an effective internal force in our country. This gathering is also a gathering of commanders; tens of thousands of Basij commanders have gathered here; the proud volume of the popular Basij can be inferred from such a gathering. You are a source of joy for the friends of the system, the revolution, and the country, a source of hope and trust, and for the ill-wishers, enemies, and haters, you are a source of fear and dread.

The coincidence of the Basij week with these days, which are the days of the great epic of Islamic history, is a desirable and valuable occurrence. By the great epic we refer to the epic of Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her), which complements the epic of Ashura; indeed, in a sense, the epic that Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) created became the reviver and preserver of the epic of Ashura. The greatness of Zainab al-Kubra's (peace be upon her) work cannot be measured in comparison with other great events in history; it must be measured in comparison with the event of Ashura itself; and honestly, these two are equal to each other. This great human being, this great lady of Islam and indeed of humanity, was able to maintain her stature and dignity in the face of the heavy mountain of calamities; not even a tremor appeared in the voice of this great lady from all these events; both in confronting the enemies and in facing the calamities and bitter events, she stood like a proud and steadfast peak; she became a lesson, a model, a leader, and a pioneer. In the market of Kufa, in a state of captivity, she delivered that astonishing sermon: "O people of Kufa, O people of treachery and betrayal, do you weep? Know that the tears will not cease, and the sighs will not calm down; your example is like that of the woman who unraveled her spun thread after it had been strong." The words are as solid as steel, and the meaning sinks into the depths of her soul like flowing water. In such a situation, Zainab al-Kubra spoke like Amir al-Mu'minin; she shook hearts, souls, and history; this speech remained in history; this was in front of the people in the state of captivity. Then, both in front of Ibn Ziyad in Kufa and a few weeks later in front of Yazid in Sham, she spoke with such power that she both humiliated the enemy and belittled the hardships imposed by the enemy. Do you want to defeat the family of the Prophet with your vain imaginations, to crush them, to humiliate them? "To God belongs honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers." Zainab al-Kubra is a symbol of honor, just as Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) was a symbol of honor in Karbala on the day of Ashura. Her perspective on events differs from that of others; despite all the calamities, when the enemy wants to reproach her, she says: "I saw nothing but beauty;" what I saw was beautiful; it was martyrdom, it was grief, but it was in the way of God, for the preservation of Islam, to create a movement throughout history so that the Islamic community understands what it must do, how it must move, how it must stand. This is the great work of the Zainabi epic; this is the honor of the friend of God. Zainab al-Kubra is among the friends of God; her honor is the honor of Islam; she honored Islam, she honored the Quran. Of course, we do not have that ambition, we do not have that determination to say that the behavior of this great lady is our model; we are smaller than that; however, our movement must, in any case, be in the direction of the Zainabi movement; our determination must be for the honor of Islam, the honor of the Islamic community, and the honor of humanity; the same that God the Almighty has ordained through religious laws and the teachings of the prophets.

What I want to briefly convey in the first part of my remarks to you dear Basijis and dear youth is that one of the factors that generated this spirit and this patience in Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) and in other friends of God who acted in this way is sincerity; sincerely engaging with the covenant of God the Almighty, sincerely dedicating the heart to the path of God; this is very important. In the Holy Quran, this sincerity is deemed necessary for the great prophets: "And when We took the covenant from the prophets, and from you, and from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary, and We took from them a firm covenant, so that He may question the truthful about their truthfulness;" O our Prophet, We took a covenant from you and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus - We took a covenant from all the prophets - and this covenant is a very firm and strong one - in "li yas'al" the "lam" in our terminology means the lam of consequence - and the result of this covenant is that these great prophets will be questioned about the truthfulness they showed in fulfilling this divine covenant; this is for the prophets; regarding ordinary people and believers, it also states: "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with God; some of them have fulfilled their vow, and some are still waiting, and they have not changed in the least, so that God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He wills." In the case of the great prophets, the opposite of the truthful is the disbeliever: "And He has prepared for the disbelievers a painful punishment." In the case of these believers, the opposite of the truthful is the hypocrites, which has its own points. They will also question us about the promises and covenants we made with God; we have a covenant with God. Now in this noble verse - "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with God" - this covenant that it speaks of is the one that believers have made with God, and some of the believers have fulfilled this covenant well and remained steadfast in their commitment to it, which is the same that a few verses earlier in this same blessed surah states: "And indeed, they had made a covenant with God before that, not to turn their backs." We all must pay attention to these points. They had made a covenant with God the Almighty not to flee from the enemy, not to turn their backs on the enemy. Abandoning positions and retreating in the face of the enemy is one of the things that the Quran emphasizes should not be done; in military warfare, in political warfare, in economic warfare, in any arena of confrontation, one must stand against the enemy; your determination must prevail over the enemy's determination, your will must dominate the enemy's will; and it can be done, and it is possible. In any kind of jihad and struggle, turning one's back on the enemy and retreating is forbidden in Islam and the Quran.

We have used the term "heroic flexibility"; some have interpreted it as meaning to abandon the ideals and goals of the Islamic system; some enemies have also used this as a pretext to accuse the Islamic system of retreating from its principles; this is incorrect, this is a misunderstanding. Heroic flexibility means a skillful maneuver to achieve the goal; it means that the traveler on the path of God - in any type of journey - moving towards various and diverse Islamic ideals, in any form and in any manner, must use diverse methods to reach the goal. "And whoever turns his back on that day, except for one who is maneuvering for battle or joining a group, has certainly incurred God's wrath;" any movement - whether moving forward or backward - like in a military battlefield, must be aimed at achieving predetermined goals. Goals exist; the Islamic system at every stage pursues one of these goals, for progress, for reaching the pinnacle and peak, for creating a great Islamic civilization; it must strive to reach this goal at this stage. Of course, there are transitional stages, it is piece by piece. Guides, thinkers, and relevant officials determine these pieces, set the goals, and collective movement begins. Everyone must strive to ensure that every movement at every stage reaches its goals. This is the correct system of logical movement. All political activists and senior management of the country must always keep this in mind; all of you dear Basijis - activists in the Basij arena - must also always remember this.

Now, when we say we want to move forward, does this mean the Islamic system is warlike? Does this mean that the Islamic system intends to challenge all nations, all countries of the world? Sometimes we hear that the enemies of the Iranian nation, including from the filthy mouth of the rabid dog of the region in the Zionist regime, claim that Iran is a threat to the whole world; no, this is the enemy's statement and is the exact opposite of the Islamic approach. The threat to the whole world comes from those evil and malevolent forces that have shown nothing but wickedness; including this illegitimate regime of Israel and some of its supporters. The Islamic system has learned a lesson from the Quran, a lesson from the Prophet of Islam, a lesson from Amir al-Mu'minin; it is a different lesson: "Indeed, God commands justice and good;" justice, kindness, doing good. Amir al-Mu'minin said to do good to everyone, because "either he is your brother in religion or he is similar to you in creation;" either he is your Islamic brother, or he is, in any case, a human being; this is the logic of Islam. We want to serve all human beings, to show kindness; we want to have friendly and loving relations with all human beings, with all nations; we even have no enmity with the American people - although the American government is arrogant, hostile, and malicious towards the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic - they too are like other nations. What opposes the Islamic system is global arrogance. The direction of the hostilities of the Islamic system is against the system of arrogance; we oppose arrogance, we fight against arrogance. Arrogance is a Quranic term that has been used in the Quran regarding figures like Pharaoh and groups that oppose truth and reality. Arrogance has existed in the past and continues to exist today. The backbone of arrogance has been the same throughout all periods; of course, the methods and characteristics and approaches differ in each era. Today, there is also a system of arrogance; the head of arrogance in the world is the government of the United States of America. We must recognize arrogance, we must know the characteristics of arrogance, we must understand the performance and direction of arrogance so that we can wisely adjust our behavior in response to it. We oppose unwise behavior in all arenas; we believe that in all arenas, in all planning, in all collective and individual orientations, we must act with wisdom and insight. If we do not recognize the scene, if we do not recognize friends, if we do not recognize enemies, if we do not recognize the system of domination today, if we do not recognize arrogance, how can we move wisely and insightfully? How can we plan correctly? Therefore, we must recognize.

What I am saying about arrogance are a few examples or indicators of the behaviors of the global arrogant system today, and in many cases, they share similarities with what has been the case in past centuries. One of the characteristics of the arrogant system is self-superiority. The arrogant groups - those who either head a country or lead an international system [or] a collection of countries - when they consider themselves superior to all other human beings, when they see themselves as the center, and everything else as secondary to themselves, a dangerous and erroneous equation arises in global interactions. When they consider themselves superior, when they see themselves as the center, when they consider themselves as the essence, the result is that they claim the right to intervene in the affairs of other human beings and other nations. What they consider valuable must be accepted by everyone in the world, and they must submit to it. If something they value is not accepted by others, they feel entitled to intervene in their affairs, impose it on them, and exert pressure. This self-superiority leads them to claim the guardianship of nations, to claim global management, to consider themselves the leaders of the entire world. You hear in the words of American officials and statesmen that they speak in a way as if they have authority over all countries; they say, "We cannot allow this to happen, we cannot allow this person to be or not to be!" They speak about our region in a way that suggests they own this region; they speak about the Zionist regime in a way that implies the nations of this region must inevitably accept this imposed and illegitimate regime; they treat independent nations and governments in a way that suggests they have no right to exist. This self-superiority, considering oneself to have a special status among the descendants of Adam, among nations, among human beings, is the foundation and the greatest problem of arrogance.

The result of this is that another characteristic and indicator of arrogance emerges, which is the refusal to accept the truth; they neither accept the truth nor the rights of nations; they are absolutely truth-refusing. In global discussions, it often happens that a true statement is made, and for some reason, America refuses to accept it; they reject the truth in various ways, they do not yield to the truth. Now one example of this is our current issues related to nuclear activities and nuclear industries; there is a true statement; if a person is a person of truth, a person of reasoning, a person of logic, when faced with reasoning, they should yield, but arrogance does not yield; it hears the truth but does not yield to it; this is one of its characteristics. Just as it does not accept the rights of nations; that nations have the right to choose, have the right to adopt the movement they want, the economy they want, the policy they want, they do not grant this to nations, they believe in imposing their will on nations.

Another indicator of colonialism and arrogance is that they consider committing crimes against nations and individuals to be permissible and do not give it importance. This is one of the great calamities of arrogance in the modern era; the modern era means the era of scientific advancement, the emergence of dangerous weapons, which have become a calamity for the lives of the world's nations since they fell into the hands of the arrogant; for the lives of human beings - any human being who does not accompany them, who does not submit to them, who does not obey them - they do not consider to have any value; examples are countless. One example is the treatment of the indigenous people of America; the very country whose financial resources, capabilities, and geographical position are all in the hands of non-indigenous people of that region. Here, there were indigenous people; the treatment of them was so brutal, so disgusting that it is one of the dark points in the history of modern America; they have written about it themselves; the massacres they committed, the pressures they exerted. The same issue occurred with the British in Australia. The British treated the indigenous people in Australia like animals, like kangaroos, hunting them for sport; they did not consider the lives of human beings to have any value. This is one example; of course, there are hundreds of examples that are documented in their own books, in their own histories. Another example is the bombing in 1945 - that is, the year 1324 in the Iranian calendar - when the Americans destroyed two cities in Japan with atomic bombs; hundreds of thousands of people were killed, many more have suffered from the effects of atomic radiation that has persisted until today; they had no valid justification for this act, which I will refer to later; they easily dropped atomic bombs. To date, atomic bombs have been used twice in the world, both times by the Americans, who now consider themselves the custodians of the nuclear issue in the world! They want this issue to be forgotten, but it cannot be forgotten. So many human lives were lost, and they did not value it. Human lives become worthless; committing crimes becomes easy for the arrogant regimes. In Vietnam, they committed murder; in Iraq, their security apparatus and mercenary security companies like Blackwater - which I referred to that year - committed crimes; in Pakistan, they are still committing crimes with drones; in Afghanistan, they bomb and commit crimes; wherever they can reach and where their interests dictate, they do not shy away from committing crimes; crimes through killing, crimes through torture; Guantanamo prison, which belongs to the Americans, still holds prisoners. For ten or eleven years, they have held a number of people there, captured from various parts of the world, without trial and under very harsh conditions and accompanied by torture! In Iraq, Abu Ghraib prison was one of the American prisons, where they would unleash dogs on prisoners and torture them.

Plundering the vital resources of nations is easy for them. Kidnapping and enslaving blacks is one of the heartbreaking stories of history that the system of American domination and its ilk do not want this story to be revived, [one example is] the issue of taking slaves and concubines from the people of Africa; they would bring ships from the Atlantic Ocean, keep them on the shores of West African countries like Gambia and others, then go with guns and weapons that the people of that day were unarmed against, capturing hundreds and thousands of old and young, men and women, under very harsh conditions, to take them as slaves to America. A free person who lived in his own home, in his own city, was captured; the blacks who are in America today are descendants of those people. For centuries, the Americans imposed this strange pressure, which has been documented in books; the book "Roots" is a valuable work for showing a glimpse of these atrocities. How can today's human forget these? With all these statements, there is still discrimination between blacks and whites in America.

One of the characteristics of arrogance that is another indicator is deception and hypocritical behavior; pay attention to this. All these crimes that have been mentioned, they try to justify them in their propaganda and present crimes in the guise of service! This arrogant system that intends to dominate nations uses this method routinely and commonly in all its life; the method of justifying crimes and cloaking crimes in the guise of service. [In] the same attack on Japan, that is, the two bombs that exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when the Americans apologize, they say that although with these two bombs that we dropped on these two cities, tens of thousands were killed at first, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, [but this act] was the cost of ending World War II; if we Americans had not dropped these bombs, the war would have continued; now if two hundred thousand [people] were killed, then two million would have been killed; therefore, we served by dropping these bombs! See, this is the statement that the Americans make in their official propaganda. Now perhaps 65 years have passed since that day; they have constantly repeated this statement. This is one of those deceptive and hypocritical statements and one of the strange lies that can only come from the arrogant systems. These bombs fell and exploded on these two cities in the summer of 1945, and this crime occurred; while four months before that - that is, in early spring of 1945 - Hitler, who was the main pillar of the war, committed suicide; two days before him, Mussolini - the President of Italy - who was the second pillar of the war, was captured, and the war had practically ended; Japan, which was the third party in the war, had announced two months earlier that it was ready to surrender; there was no war, yet these bombs exploded. Why? Because these bombs had been made, they had to be tested somewhere; they had manufactured a weapon, it had to be tested. Where to test it? The best opportunity was to use the pretext of war to drop these bombs on the heads of the innocent people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see if it worked properly or not! A deceptive face.

They claim to be supporters of humanity; they shoot down an Iranian passenger plane in the sky, killing nearly three hundred unaware passengers, destroying them, and do not apologize, and they even award a medal to the one who committed this crime! In recent weeks, you heard that the Americans - from the President down to others - raised a fuss about the use of chemical weapons in Syria, accusing the Syrian government of using chemicals. I do not intend to judge who used it; of course, the evidence suggested that terrorist groups used it, but in any case, they said that the government did this; they made a fuss and said that the use of chemical weapons is our red line! They have said this ten times or more; rightly so, [but] this same American government and the United States regime, during the criminal attacks that Saddam carried out against Iran and used chemical weapons, not only did they not oppose it, but they also provided Saddam with five hundred tons of deadly and dangerous chemical substances that could be converted into mustard gas - which many of our dear youths from that day are still suffering from the effects of - Saddam obtained from America; they helped him; of course, he also bought from other places, but he obtained five hundred tons of deadly chemical substances from America and used them; then when they wanted to issue a resolution against him in the Security Council, America prevented it. Hypocritical behavior means this; here chemical weapons become a red line, there chemical weapons - because they are against the independent Islamic system, because they are against a nation that refuses to submit to America - become a permissible matter that must even be supported! This is part of the characteristics and indicators; of course, the indicators of arrogance are more than this: they instigate wars, create divisions, clash with independent governments, even clash with their own people when the interests of specific groups dictate, during Saddam's war with Iran, they provided every possible assistance; I mentioned the chemical example, they provided intelligence; the head of intelligence for Saddam at that time later interviewed and said that I used to go to the American embassy in Baghdad three times a week, and they would give me a sealed envelope containing all the satellite intelligence related to the movements of Iranian armed forces, and we knew where they were. They provided such assistance.

The Islamic system is facing arrogance with these characteristics; the Islamic system is not facing nations, it is not facing people, it is not facing human beings; the Islamic system is facing arrogance. From the time of Abraham the Friend and Noah the Prophet and the great prophets and the Prophet of Islam until today, the front of truth has always stood against arrogance. Why? Why is the current confrontation of the Islamic system with arrogance? Because arrogance, with the characteristics we have mentioned, cannot tolerate an Islamic system like the Islamic Republic of Iran. Because the Islamic Republic was fundamentally established in protest against arrogance; the revolution arose in protest against arrogance and the agents of arrogance in Iran, and on this basis, it was formed, grew stronger, and challenged the logic of arrogance. [Arrogance] cannot tolerate it, except when it becomes hopeless. The Iranian nation, the youth of Iran, the activists of Iran, those who for any reason, even for non-Islamic reasons, have faith in their homeland and soil, must do something to create this hopelessness in the enemy; the enemy must be made hopeless. For the arrogant apparatus and today for the government of the United States of America, it is very difficult to see that in this sensitive region of the world, in West Asia - which is one of the most sensitive areas in the world; both politically and economically, events here affect the entire world - a country, a system, a nation has emerged that does not consider itself connected and subordinate to that superpower - which considers itself the eternal power - and moves independently; against it, so much opposition is raised, yet the Islamic system passes through all these problems and hardships and, by their own admission, challenges America's influence in this region and expands its own influence and becomes a model for the nations of the region; tolerating this is very difficult for them. They want to say that the lives of nations depend on relying on America; now a nation has emerged that not only does not rely on America, but all this enmity from America has not been able to affect it; everything the Americans could do from day one, they have done, yet it has not worked; it has grown day by day and has become stronger day by day. The hostilities that the government of the United States of America and various presidents have carried out against the Islamic system since the beginning of the revolution - no one should say this action happened during such and such president, it has not happened during the current president; no, they are all the same - have been carried out against the Islamic system during the terms of various presidents, but they are all of the same nature, they are all the same. First, they incited ethnicities within the country, then they prepared a coup, then they compelled Iraq to attack, then they assisted our enemy - which was the Saddam regime - in the war against us, then they raised the banner of sanctions, then they incited all the media of the world and lined them up against the Islamic system; this has been done during the terms of various presidents; it is still being done today. In the time of the current American president, during the sedition of 2009, one of these social networks - which could have been a factor for sedition and seditionists - needed repairs; the American government asked it to delay its repairs; they hoped that with these media and social network actions, they could overthrow the Islamic Republic; foolish and naive fantasies! Therefore, they did not allow its repairs to be carried out at that time, they said to delay it, for now, this work is more urgent. They lined up all the tools and means against the Islamic Republic. Sanctions are also one of these; sanctions are one of these tools; this tool is seen by them as a means to defeat the Islamic Republic. Their mistake is that they do not understand the Iranian nation; their mistake is that they do not recognize the factor of faith and solidarity among our nation; their mistake is that they have not learned from their past mistakes, therefore they hope that with sanctions and pressure and such things, they can bring this nation to its knees; of course, they are mistaken. What has been a permanent experience for the Islamic Republic over these 35 years is that the only factor that can eliminate the enemy's interference is the power of the nation and the steadfastness of the nation; this is the only factor that can push the enemy back. Of course, the enemy is the enemy; it uses all tools; just as we said, it also uses the tool of sanctions and has used it. We must know what path can lead us to our goal.

I want to say one sentence about the Basij; then I will briefly mention a point about the current issues of our foreign policy. The Basij - as we said - is a source of honor for the country and the system. Why? Because the meaning of the Basij is the presence of the people in the arenas of essential activities for the nation and the country. Any government and any country, when it has the people, wherever the people are present and move in a certain direction, victory is certain; this is a given. Countries suffer blows and defeat when their people are not present in the scene or do not have unity of action. Where the people are present and there is a bond and unity among the people, victory and progress are certain. The Basij is such an example; it is a manifestation of this popular presence in the scene and the bond among the people; this is how we should view the Basij.

The Basij has proven its sincerity - which I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks - in the imposed war, in the sacred defense when the country was in a difficult time, the Basij proved itself; after the sacred defense and subsequent events until today, the Basij has proven its sincerity everywhere. The Basij organization and the Basij community have shown that they are sincere. Of course, the Basij, in our view, is not limited to just those who are in the Basij organization; there are many who have their hearts with you, admire you, respect you, appreciate you, who are not within the Basij organization; they are also Basijis. Those who accept your values, respect those values, respect your efforts, your services, your struggles, they are also considered Basijis in our view. Presence in the scene is one of the most important tasks; the capabilities of the Basij are capable of solving problems and opening doors. Today, fortunately, within the Basij community, there are prominent scientific figures, artistic figures, social figures, political figures, social activists, and influential people among the people; the Basij has been a growing and developing human community until today; it must continue to be so.

What I recommend is that the capabilities of the Basij community must be enhanced; there are requirements: ethical requirements, behavioral requirements, practical requirements. Ethical requirements mean that we must cultivate good Islamic ethics within ourselves; among these ethics are patience, forgiveness, having forbearance and capacity, and humility; we must strengthen these qualities within ourselves. Behavioral requirements mean that we must apply these good qualities in practice with people, in practice with the environment, in interaction with society and human beings. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to his companions: act in such a way among the people that anyone who sees you says these are the companions of Imam Sadiq; may God's mercy be upon Imam Sadiq, may he be a source of admiration for us. The behavior of each of you dear Basijis, you youths, you pure elements, you pure and bright hearts, the behavior of each of you with all people - many of whom, as I said, are Basijis in the true sense of the word - must be such that they say these are nurtured by the Islamic system; they are a source of attracting love, a source of attracting respect for the Islamic system and for the Islamic Republic. These practical requirements, jihadist requirements, social requirements are tasks that must be carried out; that is, strengthening good traits within oneself, treating the environment with kindness and service, and inspiring admiration in all fronts - both in the field of science, in the field of public activities and services, in the field of work, in the field of politics, in the field of production - in every place you are present, work seriously and without feeling tired and avoiding laziness; let us work. This great community - which tens of thousands of commanders are gathered here today - can truly move the country positively in all directions, be a source of stability and security, and be a source of the system's dignity, which, thanks be to God, it is; today, the Basij is a source of the system's dignity, a source of pride for the system.

One point also about the recent issues and the discussions that are taking place in the arena of foreign policy and nuclear issues and negotiations and such matters. First of all, I insist on supporting the officials who are responsible for executing the work; I support all governments, I support the officials - both domestic and foreign officials - and it is our duty. I have been an executive official myself, I have been in the field, I have felt the weight and difficulty of the work with all my being; I know that managing the country is a difficult task. Therefore, they need help, and I will help them, I will support them; this is one side of the matter that is certain. On the other hand, I insist on affirming the rights of the Iranian nation, including the issue of nuclear rights; we insist that there should be no retreat from the rights of the Iranian nation. Of course, we do not interfere in the details of these negotiations; there are red lines, there are limits, these limits must be observed; we have told the officials, and they are obliged to observe these limits; they should not be afraid of the bluster of enemies and opponents and should not let fear enter their hearts.

Everyone must know that these sanctions imposed against the Iranian nation are primarily due to the spite of American arrogance; the American spite is like the spite of a camel. They intend to pressure the Iranian nation in the hope that they might be able to subdue the Iranian nation; they are mistaken; the Iranian nation will not submit to anyone under pressure. You have not recognized this nation; this nation, with the help and power of God, can endure pressures and turn your threats and pressures into opportunities; this is what the Iranian nation will achieve with divine assistance.

We have had weaknesses in economic decision-making and economic planning; these weaknesses have led the enemy to feel that with sanctions and such measures, they can create a breach; this is an opportunity for us to identify these weaknesses and eliminate them, and God willing, we will eliminate them. And sanctions are not effective for America; they should know this, and I believe they know it themselves. The reason we say they know that sanctions are not effective is that they also resort to military threats. Well, if sanctions could fulfill your objectives, then why do you threaten military action? This shows that sanctions do not fulfill their objectives; they are forced to also make military threats, which are very disgusting and repulsive actions; one after another, their president, that one, that one [makes military threats]. Instead of military threats from this and that, go fix your devastated economy; go do something so that your government does not remain idle for fifteen or sixteen days; go pay off your debts; think of a way to organize your economic affairs.

They should know - as we said - that the Iranian nation respects all nations of the world, "either he is your brother in religion or he is similar to you in creation;" but the Iranian nation's response to aggressors is a regretful response; it will strike such a blow to the aggressor that they will never forget it. In the face of the Zionist regime, in the face of the Zionist capitalist network, they feel obliged to sometimes throw out a statement, to say something that is also a source of disgrace and humiliation for them. The Zionist regime is, in fact, a regime whose foundations are extremely weak; the Zionist regime is doomed to decline; the Zionist regime is an imposed regime, created by force, and no phenomenon or entity that has been created by force can endure, and this one cannot endure either. The defense of those who are somehow indebted to the Zionist capitalist network of this miserable Zionist regime is a source of disgrace for them. Some Europeans, unfortunately, flatter; they go in front of these beings who are not worthy of being called human - these leaders of the Zionist regime truly resemble beasts, they cannot be called human - and they flatter them, they belittle themselves, they humiliate their nations. In Europe, the French nation once gained political credibility because the president of France at that time did not allow England, which is dependent on America, to enter the European common market; this became a source of credibility for France. At that time, the credibility of the French government increased because it stood against America and did not allow England - which was connected to America - to enter the European common market; this is how a nation's credibility is established. [Now] that the statesmen of the same country not only do not stand against America, [but] go in front of the filthy Zionists and show humility and submission, it is a source of disgrace for the French nation, which they must remedy.

I want to say one sentence to you dear youths. Youths! Know that without any doubt, the bright and hopeful future of this country and this system belongs to you; you will be able to bring your country and your nation to the peak of pride; you will be able, with divine assistance, to establish a complete model of the new Islamic civilization in this land; in order to fulfill these great responsibilities, you must promote and strengthen religion, piety, chastity, and spiritual purity among yourselves. Today's youth needs religion, piety, knowledge, enthusiasm for work, trustworthiness, chastity, social service, and sports; these are the qualities that today's youth needs, and you dear Basijis, God willing, will have the success to carry out this work.

O God! Bestow Your blessings upon this gathering and upon all the Basijis of the country. O God! Grant the Iranian nation day by day control over the peaks of pride. O God! Be pleased with the pure soul of the Imam from us and from this gathering; be pleased and satisfied with the pure souls of the martyrs. O God! Be pleased and satisfied with the sacred heart of the Awaited One; hasten the reappearance of that great one; make us among his companions, among the fighters alongside him, and among the martyrs in his path.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.