Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Students on the Occasion of 'National Day of Fight Against Global Arrogance'

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

I extend a warm welcome to the dear brothers and sisters, students, educators, and especially those who have traveled from afar. Today and these days are of great significance for the Iranian nation. It is the memory of the Iranian nation's confrontation with global arrogance, whose symbol is the embodiment of global arrogance and tyranny, namely the American government. It is remarkable that in these three incidents that have converged on the 13th of Aban, the confrontation is between these two sides. Some of these incidents are such that the Iranian nation was oppressed and wronged; while in others, the American side received the recompense for its previous injustices and oppressions. In my view, the incident of the seizure of the spy den by a group of faithful, militant, and brave young people of Iran should be approached in this manner.

Today, in the political discourse guided by the Americans, the issue is not presented in this way. They present it as if America, like all other countries, had an embassy in Tehran, and a group of ill-mannered and disrespectful individuals stormed and seized this embassy, which was the home of the Americans, and detained the diplomats. This is how they reflect the issue to the world. However, presenting the issue in this manner is contrary to reality and incorrect. The issue is not like this. The issue is that the American government brought a tyrannical regime to power in the coup of the 28th of Mordad in 1953 in Iran. For twenty-five years, they provided various supports to that tyrannical, oppressive, usurping, treacherous, and corrupt regime. In the very last year, that is, almost the last year that the illegitimate and corrupt regime was in power, the same gentleman who today presents himself as a friend of the people around the world and interferes in international affairs here and there, was the President of the United States. The Democratic President of America, while the Iranian nation was enduring the utmost hardships and difficulties from that corrupt usurping regime, came to Iran, ate the bread of the Iranian nation here, sat at the lavish table of the usurpers of government in Iran, enjoyed his pleasures, and then, in a state of intoxication, stood and declared: 'Iran has the best government. It is the safest place, and those in power are the best rulers!' As if the Shah's hands were not stained with the blood of this nation up to the elbows.

This is what the Americans did. After a while, on a day like this, a group of our students and teenagers, these flowers not yet fully bloomed, were crushed. They were the first to inflict this blow. Despite all this, the Iranian nation showed nobility: when the revolution triumphed, no one here harmed the Americans; they were not harassed; the embassy was not taken from them. They were sent off; they went home with respect. No one bothered them. Some of them even stayed inside the embassy. However, they began to conspire: contacting the opponents of the revolution; instructing the remnants and stranded elements of the Pahlavi regime who were hopeless about continuing their lives here. Well, the Iranian nation is vigilant. The Iranian nation is not heedless and understands what the issue is.

On the 13th of Aban 1979, the student youth, who were marching, went and eliminated this source of corruption. This is the issue. Today, I say that this action by our students in 1979 was one of the best actions taken in this revolution. Do not believe the suggestions of a group of people whom I believe can be truly defined as 'superficial and weak individuals.' We do not want to say they are dependent. We do not want to say they are malicious. No! They are weak. Revolutions are often destroyed by the weak. Countries are also often ruined by the weak. Powerful nations are often destroyed by the weak and cowardly who gain access to centers of power. A group of weak individuals should not come today and create doubts so that our youth, our students, think to themselves: 'What was the point of seizing the spy den?' No sir! One of the best actions taken in our revolution was that very action. Imam was not a young man for you to say 'he was emotional and said something.' Imam, that sage of wisdom and experienced wise man of the world, with his penetrating vision, praised the students' movement on that day in such a manner. So Imam had realized a truth that he expressed. We also confirm and endorse the same - not just out of obedience, but out of feeling, insight, and logic.

One of the best actions was that very action. Why? Because mainly after the Second World War, numerous revolutions occurred across the world. In Africa, in Asia, in Europe, many countries lost their governments. These countries were of two types: some were countries that completely surrendered themselves to the Eastern bloc, that is, to the Russians or later to the Chinese, and became dependent on them. During these fifteen years of the Islamic Republic's life, which God Almighty granted us the opportunity to see many of the world's officials up close, we saw in these countries, even their wise and prudent ones, had come to believe that they must be dependent on the Eastern bloc's organizations and did not even consider the strange and surprising future that occurred two years ago.

Some became like this; they went under the umbrella of the communists and the Eastern bloc and became part of a family. That too as a second-class member of that family, not a first-class member. One group was like this, whose revolutions and the efforts of their people were truly wasted. All those sacrifices of the people were essentially wasted and nullified. The other group of countries, even if they had some connection with the Eastern bloc, that connection was not so strong. Then, mainly the Americans began to infiltrate them. They changed the will of the people, the will of the leaders, and the general determination of the nations in such a way that gradually, the revolution that had taken place returned to its original state one hundred percent and even became worse. We have examples of this in countries in Africa and other places; I do not intend to name those countries.

If you look at the history of the last thirty or forty years, you will see these countries became dependent on the American regime. Through what means? Either by intimidating, enticing, making them dependent, or exerting pressure. They exerted various pressures on these independent countries and nations. They also did not completely sever the relationship. There was an ambassador, there were American officials. They would tempt, come and go, and even demoralize the leaders of the revolutions and the leaders of the nations. They would frighten them, intimidate them, and someone who is intimidated can be easily removed from the field with a slight threat.

This is the fate of, if not all, most revolutions. What we have seen up close, what we have read in contemporary news around the world, whether before the revolution or its aftermath, some of which we have seen after the revolution, is the same. What was the cause of this return? It was that the imposed connection between the dominant power of the aggressive and tyrannical American government and these countries was not severed. Because there was a relationship, that relationship itself caused the stronger side to use that relationship and constantly pressure the weaker side in negotiations, at the tables, in various transactions until finally forcing it to vacate the field in its favor. The issue of the spy den severed and cut this last possible connection between the revolution and America. This provided a great and valuable service to our revolution! It is possible that the young people who went and took that action at that moment did not see the deep and multi-level consequences of that action. This is possible. A young person acts out of faith and feeling. But God Almighty placed these great blessings in that action. Because it was an action done out of faith and sincerity, and God Almighty always places great effects on actions done out of faith and sincerity. Know this: any action you do out of sincerity, God will bless it. Any action you do based on material calculations is unstable. It may achieve results; often it does not. Unlike the action done out of faith and sincerity, for God, which 'Whoever is for God, God is for him.' Whoever is for God, the divine power is at his service and helps him. The issue of the embassy was of this kind and severed that relationship. Since then, until today, fifteen years after the victory of the revolution and fourteen years after the issue of the spy den, the Americans are still trying to re-establish that thin thread that was severed by the incident of the seizure of the spy den. They are still making that effort. Why? Because from that thin thread, the powerful side uses it to impose its demands on the weaker side. Look at the statements of the Americans! Today and yesterday, the Democratic President and the other side's President and various American officials all say this statement that I am telling you. None of them say: 'We want to establish a relationship with Iran.' No! When it comes to the relationship, they start setting conditions; if this happens, if that happens! I once said that there is a world of difference between our words and the words of the Americans. We say: 'We do not want to see their faces. We do not want to have a relationship with them until the end.' They say: 'If you want to have a relationship with us, you must do this; you must do that!' What is the relation between these two statements?! It is as if they are talking to a country that has put ten intermediaries in front to say 'we want to have a relationship with you.' They set conditions! What condition, sir? We have conditions for a relationship with a country that has such atrocities in its history. Our condition is the repentance of that country. Our condition is the cessation of all those atrocities for the world. Now you come and set conditions for us?! They make the relationship conditional, but the negotiation unconditional! Pay close attention!

I want our young people, you students; whether male or female, and even school students to think about and analyze these smallest political phenomena in the world. Suppose you give an analysis that is contrary to reality; so be it! God curse those hands that have tried and are trying to depoliticize our youth and university. A country whose youth are not political at all, are not aware of the world's political issues, do not understand the world's political issues, and do not have a correct analysis. Can such a country govern, move, and struggle on the shoulders of the people?! Yes; if it is a tyrannical government, it is possible. The tyrannical governments of the world benefit from the people not being political; the people not having political understanding and analysis. But a government that wants to carry out great tasks with the people's hands; wants to bring the system to its destination with the endless power of the people and considers the people to be everything to the system, can its people, especially its youth, and especially its student youth, be non-political?! Is it possible?! Even the most knowledgeable scholars and the most learned scientists, if they do not have political understanding and insight, the enemy can attract them to its side with a sour candy; attract them to itself, and place them in the direction of its goals! Our young people must understand these subtle points.

America says: 'Let's negotiate.' It does not say: 'Let's establish a relationship.' What does negotiation mean? It means re-establishing that connection that the Islamic Republic severed and cut, and that same connection caused all the sincere emotions of the world's nations to be drawn to this system, once again. It means, in the first place, inflicting a visible blow to the Islamic Republic; and since the propaganda is also in their hands, they reflect it to the world that 'the Islamic Republic has retracted its words!' For what reason? Because it has sat down and negotiated with America. Then, a general despair arises in all nations in Asia and Africa and various countries and even in Europe and America itself. Nations that have found hope, Muslims and even some non-Muslims become disillusioned; and that firm image of our great Imam, which covered the Islamic Republic and compelled them to move, becomes tarnished; and they say: 'No sir! The Islamic Republic also repented!' Or they say: 'Because the Imam left, the Islamic Republic of Iran repented!' If you remember, after the Imam's passing, one of the enemy's main propaganda themes was that 'the Imam left; and they have abandoned the Imam's path.' To create the same feeling within the nations; or they say this, or even more than this. They say: 'When did the Imam say we should not negotiate with America?! When did the Imam say such a thing?! The Imam only said it for his time! He only said it for a short time! When did the Imam forbid us?' That is, they even manipulate the Imam's views, which have been expressed in hundreds of speeches and clear and explicit statements.

The first blow they wanted to inflict with this action was to strip the Islamic Republic of its dignity; from that dignity and firmness and power and stature that it has found in the faces and memories of the Muslim nations in the world. Is the Iranian nation a small nation? The Iranian nation is not the European or African nation that has emerged from under a bush! It is an ancient and rooted nation with thousands of years of history. For thirteen or fourteen hundred years, after Islam, it has always been at the peak of Muslim nations. Then this nation, with this revolution, with those words, put everything aside and repented?! It started negotiating with America?! Just for the Islamic Republic to say 'yes; we accept negotiation.' Or to imply this, or to act in such a way that it is clear it has no problem negotiating with America, this is the first blow. And then, the impositions begin.

When you are estranged from someone, when you do not speak to someone, you have no reservations with each other. There is no expectation in front of each other. But when you start negotiating with someone; you sit at the table; you have a coffee together; you have a friendly chat alongside it; you sit together in an international gathering and have a little heart-to-heart; then reservations arise. Then, it is the beginning of the impositions. The miseries of the world's revolutions and the dominance and influence of America, as I mentioned, started from here. Like the countries that I do not want to name. Today, those poor countries often have very bad faces. This is why they pressure for negotiation. They insist that 'why doesn't Iran come and negotiate with us?' Some people, who are simple-minded, or I don't know, intimidated, or uninformed, or non-political, repeat these words inside our own country. I don't know if they understand what they are saying?!

Of course, I believe: these words that are sometimes spoken are from some second and third-degree officials of the Islamic Republic system. Thanks be to God, the government and the President and the ministers, by the grace of the Lord, are in that real and correct spiritual and moral power and stand for God. But some of these second and third-degree individuals, who are often irresponsible people, sometimes whisper: 'Why don't they negotiate with America? Why don't they say? Why don't they go and talk? What harm is there in talking?!' They think talking is like two ordinary people sitting in a corner and talking. They do not understand what great dangers this negotiation, which the enemy insists on so much, poses for the Islamic Republic; which I have mentioned some of them.

I believe that repeating these words from them is also a bad thing. I say this. This is my opinion. I believe: to make a sin common in practice, one of the ways is to make that sin common in language. They say it so much that its ugliness disappears! Look at the issue of Palestine and the unfortunate fate that some Palestinians have accepted for themselves and the Palestinian nation! Today, this is a very great experience and a great lesson. Because someone said something here and there, and others did not rebuke him! They kept saying: 'What is the harm in us talking to Israel?!' They no longer said: 'The usurping enemy!' They did not say: 'This is the usurping enemy. This is sitting in the house of the Palestinians. What negotiation?! Negotiation with him is to say, you so-and-so, get out of our house!' Negotiation with the usurper is this. Negotiation with the oppressor is to say: 'You so-and-so, why do you oppress so much?!' Negotiation means this. Otherwise, friendly negotiation, where they go and laugh and he says something and this one says something and then they haggle, and to say 'we no longer have these words with the usurper,' what does it mean?! No one even rebuked those who kept bringing up the name of negotiation with Israel, until its defect and ugliness disappeared in the eyes and it finally reached this bitter and dark day. Let it not be that those who keep bringing up the name of negotiation here and there and within the Iranian nation have these intentions! The Iranian nation is a nation that does not need negotiation and interaction and connection with the arrogant enemy. Are you weak?! Is the Iranian nation a small nation?! Does the Iranian nation not have the power to defend itself?! What need do we have to go to the door of the arrogant, tyrants, and international dictators?! Last year I said: These gentlemen who bring up the name of democracy and supposedly raise the flag of democracy for their nations, that too is a lie and real democracy does not exist in such countries. They create a great and bloody dictatorship at the international level. They enter wherever they want, they investigate wherever they want, and unfortunately, a device has also been set up there as a tool in their hands. That is, the United Nations and the Security Council! What need do we have to go to the dictators; to bow before them and say: 'Please negotiate with us?!' No sir! This dictator is the same dictator that this nation, when it had nothing, with empty fists and slogans, expelled from its home. This is the same dictator.

On the day when the world was bipolar, of course, they say: today it is unipolar, it was more dangerous for us. Because those two poles disagreed on a hundred issues, but on the issue of Iran, they had no disagreement. You saw the example that both helped Iraq in the war. Both the Americans helped, and the Soviets. 'NATO' also helped. 'Warsaw' also helped. Everyone helped Iraq. Today, there are many countries that are not so much under America's control. Of course, they have a slight dependence. But on that day when the Soviet Union existed, all of Western Europe was, in a sense, under America's control. Eastern Europe was also under the control of the other one. The rest of the world was the same. The whole world, led by America and the Soviet Union, agreed that day to defeat Iran in this war and they could not. This is not from the distant past. This is from just a few years ago. The people of Iran saw it with their own eyes. Wasn't it that these two powers united to perhaps separate Khuzestan from Iran?! Perhaps they could humiliate, weaken, and overthrow the Islamic Republic and they could not?! Is it not so?! That day there were two powers, both strong, both united on the issue of Iran and they could not do anything. Today, what can they do?! Why are you afraid?! Why don't we read the Quran which repeatedly says: 'Those to whom the people said, 'Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.' But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, 'Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.'' Why are you afraid of the enemy?! The weak enemy, the powerless enemy, the enemy who even today, to put pressure on Iran, is begging Europe. It goes to this European country and that one saying 'come and join us, maybe we can put pressure on Iran.' Isn't this proof that it cannot put pressure on its own?! Isn't this proof that this great nation, with this spiritual and Islamic power, has so far overcome its material power?! Why don't they think?!

We thank God that our nation is awake. We thank God that our youth are awake. We thank God that you students are awake. But students! Stay awake. This university situation that exists today, let me tell you frankly: I do not approve of this situation. A student who does not understand what is happening in the world at all, this student is not a student of his time; he is not a man of his time. A student must have political feelings, political understanding, and political analysis. I have repeatedly said in the events of Islamic history that what defeated Imam Hassan Mujtaba, peace be upon him, was the lack of political analysis among the people. The people did not have political analysis. What created the sedition of the Khawarij and put Amir al-Mu'minin, peace be upon him, under such pressure and made the most powerful man in history so oppressed, was the lack of political analysis among the people, otherwise, not all the people were irreligious. They did not have political analysis. The enemy would spread a rumor; immediately this rumor would spread everywhere and everyone would accept it!

Why should it be like this?! If the nation has the necessary vigilance, the enemy's rumor is like snow and ice under the sun. Who should do this? You young people should do it. I am completing God's proof with you, our dear young people. I told you and said.

O Lord! I feel this way about this nation. I am also like this; we will not turn away from your path and will because of the enemy's will. This nation is moving in this way and I observe this. With the power of this nation, we do not feel weak in front of any great world power.

I see the enemy wants to advance its work by intimidation. We, relying on divine power, which is embodied in the power of our great nation, are not afraid of the arrogant, arrogant enemy. We believe it cannot do anything. 'Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been weak.' This is the Quran. The Quran must be believed. The plot of Satan is weak. If one day we read this in the Quran and accepted it only out of faith and devotion, O God, you are a witness that today we have accepted it from experience as well. Experience also shows the same. If Satan were not weak, he would not tolerate the Islamic Republic. See how much they are hostile to the Islamic Republic. You see that 'Hatred has already appeared from their mouths.' Look at the President of America! Look at his ugly Foreign Minister! When they talk about the Islamic Republic, the hatred and enmity of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic pour from their faces. But why, with all this hatred, can they do nothing wrong? Why? What is the reason? Who has kept you? Who has prevented them from striking? Who has prevented them from imposing a complete and total economic blockade and, as they say, bringing the Iranian nation to its knees? Then some of these simple-minded, weak-spirited people also repeat the same things that 'Sir! They will bring the Iranian nation to its knees!' They are wrong! Can they bring the Iranian nation to its knees?! These are the ones whom the Iranian nation has brought to their knees. Therefore, they are weak. They do not have such power. Of course, the condition is that the Iranian nation, as it has been on the scene until today, remains on the scene. The condition is that the whisperers and the insinuators do not fall among the people, demoralizing them by saying 'Sir, this happened, Sir, that happened. Sir, they will hit, Sir, they will take.' No sir! What are these words?! We are a strong and solid nation. We are not that two or three million country in some corner of Africa where they can do whatever they want with us. We are a nation at the center of the historical civilization of the world, and today we are also at an important crossroads of the world's crossroads.

God has placed us this way. We are sixty million, thanks be to God. Our people are brave people; they are strong people. The imposed war also completely clarified everything. Fortunately, the nations around us also have the same feeling towards our nation. You saw when our President went to these few countries where they had worked for eighty years to make Islam forgotten, they came and welcomed him like a dear and beloved! Why is this? Do they like the names of individuals? Do they like specific people? No! It is because of Islam. It is because this nation is Muslim, they love the leader of this Muslim nation. It is because of the Islamic Republic. This is our international situation. Of course, it is the same in other places as well. Wherever we went in the world, it was the same. Know this! Our international situation is this. Our internal situation is this. Our spiritual situation is this. The capabilities of this country are this.

The individuals of this nation must join hands and build their country with power. We do not need anyone. We are not afraid of anyone. They should not force us unnecessarily and put us in a position of embarrassment and pressure and the like, saying 'it cannot be done! After all, it is America. What can be done?' What do these words mean?! Let them think to themselves and say: 'This is Iran. Nothing can be done about it. We must somehow come to terms with it.' Thanks be to God, this has also happened. By the grace of God and as long as the attentions of the Imam of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him, are upon you, the nation, which God willing, these attentions will always be, know that no harm can come to you.

I hope God protects our youth, our students, our schoolchildren, our people, our dear ones; especially a group of Lebanese brothers who are here and saves the nations of Lebanon and Palestine and always keeps you dear ones successful and supported.

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