Statements in Meeting with Officials of the System and Ambassadors of Islamic Countries

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family.

I congratulate the blessed Eid al-Fitr to all of you dear brothers and sisters who are present in this gathering, and to the esteemed ambassadors of Islamic countries who are here, and to the nation of Iran, which truly deserves to be congratulated wholeheartedly for this great, faithful, courageous, and devoted nation on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. We also extend our congratulations on this Eid to the great Islamic Ummah, which God Almighty has designated as a day of celebration for Muslims.

On this Eid, people are invited to two fundamental pillars: to monotheism and to unity. Monotheism is reflected in the profound and meaningful remembrance present in the Eid prayer, which is followed by almsgiving; that is, it includes both prayer and its complement, almsgiving; this symbolizes monotheism on this day. Unity, which indeed stems from this monotheism, is the solidarity of Muslims; bodies are together in prayer and in the gatherings of Eid, and hearts are directed towards one center, the center of divine greatness, the center of God's power and mercy; this day is such a day.

Unfortunately, today the Islamic world is deprived of unity, suffering from problems and conflicts. When chaos arises, when conflict among Muslims occurs, spirituality diminishes. Spirituality and faith, according to the logic of the Quran, largely require tranquility; He it is who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might increase in faith along with their faith. When there is tranquility, when there is peace, when there is security, it is time for people to increase their faith; through righteous deeds, through attention, through remembrance. When in an Islamic country and in an Islamic community, people fear for their lives, their wealth, their security, and are not safe, there is no tranquility there; where there is no tranquility, there is no increase in faith; today Muslims are in this situation.

In the sermon of the prayer, I told the people, today Baghdad is mourning. Many other Islamic countries are mourning due to wars, due to bloodshed; Syria is mourning, Yemen is mourning, Libya is mourning, Bahrain is mourning. The Islamic Ummah does not deserve all these problems.

Where do these problems come from? From what wicked and unblessed source do they arise? Who promotes this impure seed of terrorism in the Islamic world? In words, everyone seeks to disassociate from terrorism and sometimes, apparently, they even make a superficial show against terrorism - as the esteemed President described, they form a superficial and false coalition against terrorism - but in reality, it is not so; in reality, they promote terrorism. We have not forgotten those days when, in the early days of the Syrian events, the American ambassador went among the opposition to encourage them and incite them to turn a political dispute into a civil war. Is this a small act? Well, political disputes exist in many countries; why should they turn a political dispute into war? [Especially] a war within a nation and fratricide. Then, with money and with illicit oil revenues, they gather youths from various places [and direct them there]; in Syria in one way, in Iraq in another. Now that it has spread further; in Bangladesh, Turkey, and other places. These are what bring misfortune to the Islamic world and create this insecurity. Why do we not recognize our enemy?

Some think that our emphasis on America's enmity towards us is due to prejudice; no, it is due to understanding, it is due to experience. We have been experiencing this enmity for 37 years. From the very beginning of the revolution, they have been bent on opposing our great Imam (may his soul be sanctified) and his great movement; from the very beginning of the revolution, they started plotting, and they are still doing so: they tried to incite Iranian ethnic groups against the Islamic Republic, they did not succeed; they tried to incite dependent elements against the people, they somewhat succeeded, but the people overcame them; to this day, they continue this effort, but the nation is awake, the government is vigilant, and the officials are prepared.

Unfortunately, in other regions and countries, this plan has been implemented; some go to help terrorists with money, with contacts, with modern weapons. Where do terrorists get all these modern weapons? With what money do they buy them? These are the things that incapacitate the Islamic world, the Islamic Ummah; these must be understood, these must be recognized.

Today we observe that they are doing this in other regions as well. We have not intervened in the issue of Bahrain and we will not, but we are advising them; there too is a political dispute; they are doing things that will lead this political dispute to a civil war; if they have awareness, if they have knowledge, if political wisdom prevails over them, then they should not do these things. Political opposition and political disputes can exist in any country; why should they do things that force nations to clash and put people against each other? These are mistakes that, unfortunately, one observes today in some other Islamic countries.

Global arrogance, led by America, wants to keep this region preoccupied and distracted so that the Zionist regime can breathe easily; they want to make the issue of Palestine forgotten, they want to deny the existence of a geography and a nation. Palestine is not a fabricated country of today; Palestine has thousands of years of history, the Palestinian nation is a nation, it possesses a land, it possesses a geographical area; global arrogance wants to deny these and deny the Palestinian nation. The pressures that today the Zionist savages are inflicting on the Palestinian nation, they will taste the consequences of it; let them know this. The issue of Palestine is the central issue of the Islamic world, the issue of Palestine is one that no country should forget; no Islamic country, and even countries that possess human conscience, should forget that this is a fundamental issue, a core issue. A nation is oppressed, a nation is besieged, a nation has been subjected to oppression and tyranny for the past seventy years; this must not be forgotten. Other issues in the Islamic world, in our opinion, are often to make this issue of Palestine forgotten, and then they create catastrophes.

Well, consider the issue of Yemen. What is happening in Yemen is a catastrophe, a catastrophe. For over a year, these people have been attacked and bombed by a so-called Islamic country for a baseless reason, not that the fronts of war are being bombed; hospitals are bombed, people's homes are bombed, mosques are bombed, the country's infrastructure is being destroyed; this situation is not sustainable; the aggressor must cease its aggression, and the Islamic world must punish the aggressor so that others do not think of aggression.

The nation of Iran stands firm; the nation of Iran has shown in these 37 years that it stands firm. This is one, and it has shown that the path to progress is also steadfastness. If the nation of Iran had surrendered, shown weakness, bowed before the power-seekers of the world and the arrogant powers of the world, these advancements would not have been achieved; the path to progress is steadfastness and resilience, strengthening internal structures, strengthening national determination and will, and strengthening the connection with God.

My dear ones! Value the supplications of the month of Ramadan, value these prayers; these blessed nights of vigil, these pure tears that flowed on the faces during these nights of destiny and in these gatherings of prayer and supplication and entreaty and humility, value these; they are very precious; they strengthen the heart of the believer, increase his reliance on God. When you rely on God, you will no longer fear anyone other than God; when you do not fear anyone other than God, you will move firmly towards your lofty goals.

O Lord! Unite the pure soul of our great Imam who showed us this path and brought us into it, and the pure souls of the dear martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this path, with the Prophet and the family of the Prophet.

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