Statements in Meeting with Students and Pupils on National Day of Struggle against Global Arrogance

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 his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One among the earth's inhabitants.

This session is very, very radiant due to your presence, young men and women; the reflection of divine lights in the pure hearts of the youth illuminates the atmosphere, making it shine, and individuals like myself benefit from the purity of your hearts and the brilliance of divine lights in your pure hearts. You are very welcome; you have started the session very well, with the beautiful and masterful recitation of our dear brother, the verses he selected, and then this beautiful collective anthem—both meaningful and melodious—has, thanks be to God, perfumed the session with the fragrance of your youthful innovations.

Well, this session is in commemoration of the thirteenth of Aban, which is tomorrow. The thirteenth of Aban, although it is the intersection of several events—the exile of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), the massacre of students in the streets of Tehran—what has made this day prominent is the event of the seizure and occupation of the American embassy, or more accurately, the nest of American espionage. Therefore, the thirteenth of Aban, which has been designated as the day of [struggle against] global arrogance in the country, in my opinion—while that name is indeed correct—is the day of the youth; the day of the faithful youth, the revolutionary youth, the courageous youth, the valiant youth, the innovative youth, the youth who undertake actions that prevent the enemy from innovating and moving forward. In this sense, it is the day of the youth.

Years have passed since that day, yet the meaning of that day remains. The fact that you heard Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) refer to this movement as the second revolution is not without significance; from the very first hours of the victory of the revolution, even before the revolution, the enemy sought to conspire. The Americans sent agents here a few days before the victory of the revolution, hoping to instigate a coup and neutralize the people's movement, which, of course, they could not achieve. After the revolution succeeded, they made various efforts; whether through official political efforts, where the U.S. Senate took a stance against the Islamic Republic from the very first days, declaring hostility and imposing sanctions—these were official and public paths—or through clandestine means, where they contacted their agents and mercenaries inside the country, hoping to exploit the presence of various ethnicities to create discord among the nation, which backfired. Both our ethnicities—our Arabs, our Turks, our Kurds, our Lors, our Turkmen, who were all targets of this conspiracy—stood against America, and so did the faithful youth, those who at that time were not yet called Pasdars (Revolutionary Guards) or Basijis (volunteers), but were, in the true sense of the word, defenders of the revolution and Basijis of the path of the revolution, who thwarted the American conspiracy. Therefore, the Americans began their actions from the very first hour, and all of this was separate from the activities that were taking place inside the American embassy right here in Tehran.

After our youth went and seized this center, and with great effort managed to gather the shredded papers, the documents that had been thrown into the shredder, to piece them together and turn them into a book, it became clear what conspiracies had existed within the American embassy during this time. These books amount to about seventy volumes; have you read them? Why is there no sign of the selected contents of these books in our schools, high schools, and universities? Why? This is one of my objections. The esteemed new Minister of Education is here in this session; why do you not include these in the textbooks? Why do you not allow our young generation, our new generation, to understand and know what America has done here and what conspiracies it has orchestrated?

The students' movement to seize the embassy was a reaction to all this malice that occurred victoriously; it meant stopping the movement of the arrogant superpower, the overbearing America, within the country; this is what revolution means. That superpower, which had been accustomed for 25 years, 30 years to have its will executed in Iran, to do whatever it wanted, believing that Iran belonged to it, that its government, its rule, its monarchy, its oil, its resources, its mines, its future, everything belonged to it, was now being taken away from it and was preparing to attack, only to find that the youth had stopped this attack, and the Iranian nation stood firm, with Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) being the leader of this great movement.

I was involved in the details of the events of that day; I repeatedly visited the nest of espionage during those days, came and went, sat down, talked with the youth who were there, with others, in the Revolutionary Council—at that time, we were members of the Revolutionary Council—I know what movements were being made from various corners to neutralize this movement; however, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) stood firm. My dear ones! This is the issue of America.

Today, I want to correct two errors. Two mistakes are being injected into the public consciousness of our people. The primary agents of this injection are, first and foremost, the system of domination and America, and secondly, some individuals inside; individuals who—I do not accuse everyone—some of them are affiliated with the intelligence or political services or specific American centers, while some are not; they are the disillusioned, the regretful, those who have caught a whiff of worldly pleasures. They are propagating these thoughts, these two errors, and these individuals are spreading them in various platforms, in different places; inside universities, outside universities, in the media, and in various places. I want to correct these two errors today.

One is that they propagate the idea that when Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) said, "Whatever you have to shout, shout it at America"—which is still the ruling decree today—it is out of prejudice and arrogance, meaning there is no logic behind it; they want to promote this. They want to say that our youth, our revolutionaries, our people, our officials, who stand firm against America and expose its conspiracies, are prejudiced people; their actions stem from the ignorance of tribal zeal and prejudice; this is what they want to convey. While, in fact, the reality is 180 degrees opposite. The statement that says, "Whatever you have to shout, shout it at America" is backed by a solid logic. That logic is that the foundation of American policy is based on greed and encroachment. The history of America over these 250 years of its existence shows this—of course, in the early years, it was much less, but for about a hundred years or slightly less than a hundred years, it has been much more—America's overall policy is to secure its internal security by encroaching upon the countries of the world and seizing areas of influence; this is how they operate; this is their policy. They implemented this policy in the region of West Asia, in Iran during the Pahlavi era, and in our neighboring countries. They had a power struggle with the former Soviet Union over this issue—one pulling towards itself, the other pulling towards itself—and Iran was America's area of influence. A little negligence after the victory of the revolution could have allowed the enemy, whom we expelled from the door, to return through the window; Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) did not allow this and prevented it.

The statement that says, "Stand against America, whatever you have to shout, shout it at America" means defending values; not just the values specific to Muslims, but defending human values. Today, by the admission of the Americans themselves, the American government and system are far removed from human values. Did you see the debate between the two candidates [for the presidency] of America? Did you hear the truths that they expressed? They exposed America. They stated many more things than we said, which some did not want to believe. Interestingly, the one who spoke more explicitly received more attention from the people. That man, because he spoke more clearly and explicitly, attracted more attention from the American people. The other side said he was populist; why populist? Because people were looking at his words and seeing that they were correct; they were witnessing it in the realities of their lives. Human values have been trampled and destroyed in that country; racial discrimination exists. Just a few days ago, that man stood in his election campaign and said, "If you are a person of color, if you are black or red-skinned, when you walk in the streets of New York, Chicago, Washington, and California, you cannot be sure that you will be alive in a few minutes." You see! This statement is made by someone who expects to go to the White House in a few days and manage America. This is American racism.

He also mentioned the poverty of Americans. He said 44 million people in America are hungry. He stated that less than one percent of the American people own ninety percent of America's wealth. Human values have been trampled in that place; discrimination, division, racism, and the trampling of human rights. "Death to America," which you shout, means death to these things. Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) said this because of these issues, that whatever you have to shout, shout it at America.

All of this is one side of the issue, and another important factor is that they prepared the ground for a major blow to the Iranian nation from the very first days, meaning they granted asylum to Mohammad Reza in America, to keep him there, to prepare the ground, to strengthen his agents here, so that he could be present, and then do the same thing they did on the 28th of Mordad in 1953—twenty-five years before that date. On the 28th of Mordad, Mohammad Reza fled Iran; the British and Americans worked hand in hand, secretly entered, used various embassies, took refuge, equipped their agents, prepared them, and took advantage of the people's negligence at that time, and brought Mohammad Reza back again, and that return was what drained the lifeblood of this nation for 25 years and caused the suffering of this people. They wanted to do this again, but Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) prevented it, blocked it, and awakened the Iranian nation, and the Iranian nation awakened. Therefore, this anti-American slogan, this shouting against America is not out of prejudice, not out of ignorance, not out of stubbornness; it is based on logic; it is supported by a solid logical and intellectual foundation. Thus, both our dear youth and those who write and speak and have platforms for speaking—whether in the media, in universities, in classrooms, or various platforms—should know and pay attention that if today the Iranian nation is shouting anti-American slogans and has been doing so for these thirty-some years, it is due to a solid logic.

Over these years, we also had an eight-year war with Saddam; the Americans stood firmly behind Saddam; they helped him in every way they could. [The Americans] acted one way after the war, one way before the war began, one way during the war, and continue to act one way today, in the case of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), and one way after the JCPOA [in their enmity]. Just a few days ago, the same American negotiator (John Kerry) explicitly stood and said—and it was broadcast on our television—that we imposed sanctions on Iran even after the JCPOA. This is America. The steadfastness of the Iranian nation against America is based on logic. [Thus] the first error was that they want to make it seem that people are standing against America out of stubbornness. The reality is the opposite; people are standing against America based on logic. This corrects the first error.

The second error; the erroneous and mistaken thought that is also being injected in a way by the Americans and some individuals inside, which is more dangerous, is that if we reconcile with America, our country's problems will be solved.

[This] is one of those strange and very dangerous mistakes. [They say] if we reconcile with America, the problems of the country will be solved. Well, now ten reasons can be listed to show that this statement is false, this statement is a lie, this statement is a deception. Reconciling with America will not solve the problems of the country; neither the economic problems, nor the political problems, nor the security problems, nor the moral problems, but will make them worse. There are ten to fifteen reasons that can be listed for this issue; the last of which is the JCPOA. How many times during the negotiations did I say that they are treacherous, they are liars, they do not stand by their word; now you see! Today, the one who says they are treacherous is not just me; the esteemed officials of the country, our negotiators who worked so hard, negotiated for over a year, went, sat, stood up; ten days, fifteen days, twenty days abroad, sweating at the negotiating table, worked hard, they are the ones saying this.

In the same session of foreign ministers that was held in New York about a month ago, our esteemed foreign minister also participated, and they participated as well; in that session, our foreign minister presented a large indictment against them; he said you did this which you should not have done, you did not do this which you should have done; a large indictment, a claim; they had no response; well, this is how they are; reconcile over Syria, reconcile over Hezbollah, reconcile over Afghanistan and Pakistan, reconcile over Iraq, reconcile over internal issues; with whom? With the one who does not spare a moment from enmity. Their goal is to prevent this nation from growing; their goal is to prevent the economic problems of this country from being solved; [then] they come to help solve the problems?

Firstly, the other side is a liar, a deceiver, a treacherous backstabber; while shaking hands with one hand, they have a fistful of stones in the other hand to strike the opponent. This is the kind of person they are. Secondly, does America want to solve the problems of the Iranian nation? America itself is in crisis; why do they not say this? All the important judgment-making institutions in these matters in the world, even the Americans themselves, are saying this. America is in crisis; economic crisis, international crisis, political crisis, moral crisis; it is in crisis. Today, the debts of the American government are nearly equal to the gross domestic product of America; this is a sign of crisis, economists say this. They say whenever the debts of a government approach the gross domestic product of a government, that government is in crisis; this is a crisis economy; today America is like this. The amount it owes is close to about sixty-some percent of its gross national product; who is it going to help? Is it going to suck from others, is it going to take from others to repair itself? Is it going to come to help the economy of a country? This is from an economic perspective.

From a political perspective, they are also in crisis. Today, without exception, in every corner of the world—this I say with certainty—when a nation rises, moves against a tyrant, against a government, against a regime, its slogan is "Death to America"; one day the slogan of death to America was only for here; today in the region of West Asia, in the region of East Asia, [even] in Europe, in Latin America, in Africa, the nations that rise, their first slogan is against America; this is the political situation of America. Is there a greater crisis than this?

America had a plan for the region of West Asia. You see, you may not remember, of course, it was not long ago, it was about ten or twelve years ago, but you young people do not remember that day either. The American Secretary of State came and said, "We want to create a Greater Middle East"; in the case of Lebanon and the 33-day war, she mentioned the name of the Greater Middle East. What does Greater Middle East mean? They refer to the region of West Asia as the Middle East; Greater Middle East means a region from about Pakistan to the Mediterranean, meaning all the countries in this region, the Middle East, and America had a comprehensive plan for all these countries to keep them under the control of Israel; this is what Greater Middle East means. Today, the situation of this Greater Middle East of that Secretary of State—who was a poor woman who made that statement—has reached a point where they are stuck in the case of Syria, stuck in the case of Iraq, stuck in the case of Lebanon, stuck in the case of North Africa, stuck in the case of Libya, and have gotten themselves involved in the case of Yemen [but] are stuck; this is the international political situation of America. Is there a greater crisis than this? Is this the one that wants to come to help you? Is this the one that wants to solve the problems of the country?

We are in opposition; thanks be to God; this is God's work; this is God's grace to this nation that gave them courage, gave them insight, gave them perseverance; they endured the problems, and the faithful men and women of this nation managed to act in such a way that today the Iranian nation stands proud in the Middle East. In Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen, in the Persian Gulf region, wherever you look, Iran is a shining face. [They] are in crisis economically, politically, internationally, and morally. From a moral perspective—whether in terms of sexual ethics or financial corruption—[based on] the statements they make themselves, published in their own press, the statements they make—of course, this is much less than reality—and what these two esteemed presidential candidates (Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton) say, one of whom will soon go to the White House and will manage America, surely does not speak without reason; they have both come together, but they have joined hands to expose America and to destroy America's reputation, and they have succeeded.

How can this country come to help Iran? Why do they plant this false idea in people's minds that "if we solve our problems with America and reconcile, the problems of the country will be solved"? No, dear sir! Reconciling with America will not solve the problems of the country; rather, it will increase them; if we have political problems, if we have economic problems; we must solve our problems ourselves; you must solve our problems, you young people.

Let me say a few sentences to you young people here; you are our dearest ones; you are like my children, you are our offspring, you are our youth, you are our hopes, the future of this country is in your hands. We will go; it is you who will remain; you are the ones who must manage this country. Let me say a few sentences to you. My dear ones! Prepare yourselves for the future; prepare yourselves to manage this country. The remedy for the problems of this country—whether the problems we have today, the problems we will have later, or the problems that every country and every nation has; after all, no country is without problems—and solving these problems depends on the emergence of will and perseverance from within the nation; from within the nation, will, perseverance, resolute determination, and steadfastness must arise; eyes open; spirits strong with reliance on God and self-confidence. If we rely on God and trust ourselves, our spirits will be strong; both in the scientific field and in the management field, and in the administrative field. What I emphasize is the spirit of revolutionary zeal; this spirit must be preserved. What does the spirit of revolutionary zeal mean? It means that a revolutionary person has courage, is proactive, takes action, innovates, breaks deadlocks, and solves problems; they are not afraid of anything, they are hopeful for the future, and they move towards a bright future with hope in God; this is revolutionary zeal; this [individual] is revolutionary; this spirit of revolutionary zeal must be preserved.

Some act contrary to this, some speak contrary to this, some manage contrary to this; they make the youth distrustful of the future, distrustful of the revolution, they distance the youth from the warm breath of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified); well, this will lead to ruin; and then they lament about the times! They lament about the times. Who creates the times? As Saeb says: "The crime of the times is greater than the times"; who creates the times? We and you create the times; we are the ones who make the times. If the times are bad, we must look at ourselves; we are the ones who create the times. When we do not take firm steps, when we ignore Imam Khomeini's (may his soul be sanctified) recommendations—his keen eye, his wise heart, his heart full of wisdom; he saw well, understood well, and made correct judgments; he illuminated the path for us; Imam Khomeini's will is at our fingertips; well, those who have doubts should look at this will; see what Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) said—when we distance the people from these teachings, when we distance the youth from these teachings, when we lead the youth who tend towards chastity towards carelessness regarding moral issues and such, well, the result will be bad, the times will be ruined. Of course, fortunately, until today, they have not been able to and will not be able to; our youth are very good. [If] we inject carelessness in the name of freedom, if we promote reconciliation and submission to the enemy in the name of reason and rationality, well, the times will be ruined; this path must be continued with firmness. Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful) in Nahj al-Balagha says: "Hearts deviate after steadfastness, and men go astray after safety"; some hearts were once straight, were on the right path, were moving correctly, but later they were turned back. Deviation means turning away; "Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate"—which is in the Quran—means, O God! Do not turn our hearts away; [if] we understood correctly, do not let us fall into misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Amir al-Mu'minin says: some were once moving correctly, but later they went astray. Now why do they go astray? God does not wrong anyone; it is we who become contaminated by worldly desires, we become contaminated by misplaced affections, we become contaminated by ambition, we become contaminated by factionalism and party politics, our hearts turn away from the right path, from the original steadfastness. I recommend to the youth to look with open eyes, to look with insight, and not to accept every word from every speaker. The starting point of the movement and the revolution is Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified); consider his words as proof; look and see what Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) said. Do not say that if Imam were here today, he would act this way; no, this is wrong; we were with Imam for many years and know him better than they do. If Imam were here today, he would still shout the same Abrahamic cry, the same cry of the idol breaker; the same cry that awakened the nation and brought it to revolution. Well, you who shout death to America, we agree, we have no objections.