Statements in the Friday Prayer Sermons

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. I praise Him and seek His help. I ask for His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. I send blessings and peace upon His beloved, His chosen one among His creation, our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, the infallible and honored guides, especially the Awaited One of God among the inhabitants of the earth. And I send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

God, the Exalted, has said: "In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the supplicant when he calls upon Me."

First, I congratulate you, dear brothers and sisters who are praying and fasting, and to all our dear nation, whose faith and practical foundation in the Islamic world is, thanks be to God, distinguished. I hope this month will be blessed for this country, this nation, and these officials, and that the divine blessings—both spiritual and material—will encompass all. Secondly, I take this opportunity to remind myself and you and to invite you to God-consciousness (taqwa).

My dear ones! Let us appreciate the opportunity for fasting and the atmosphere of worship and spirituality, and let us draw ourselves closer to God. Staying away from sins, getting closer to acts of worship, and reviving human morals, behaviors, and qualities within ourselves are matters that can truly be a source of blessing for anyone and for any group in this month. Let us learn lessons from the Quran. Let us gain wisdom from the supplications. Let us reflect on the purpose of our creation, the great blessings of our God, and the immense responsibilities that rest upon us. Let us contemplate death, divine reckoning, and the value of worship and deeds—when accompanied by sincerity (ikhlas). Then, the month of Ramadan will truly become a blessed month, and I hope that such a thing will happen for all of us in this blessed month.

Today, in the first sermon, I want to speak briefly about God's promise regarding the acceptance of supplications. One of our duties in the month of Ramadan is to pray. Prayer brings a person closer to God; it makes knowledge enduring and effective in the heart; it strengthens faith. Besides the fact that the content of prayer—which is asking from God—will, God willing, be accepted and the supplicant's request will be fulfilled; that is, prayer has great blessings from several aspects. Therefore, in the Holy Quran, many times the topic of prayer and the prayers made by God's righteous servants have been discussed. All of this is to teach us. The divine prophets prayed in times of hardship and sought help from the Almighty: "So he called upon his Lord, 'Indeed, I am overcome, so help me.'" (Quran 54:10), as narrated from Prophet Noah (peace be upon him). Or as narrated from Prophet Moses (peace be upon him): "So he called upon his Lord, 'Indeed, these are a criminal people.'" (Quran 44:22). Moses complained to God and sought refuge in Him.

The Almighty God has promised in several verses of the Quran that He will accept prayers. One of the verses is this blessed verse: "And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'" (Quran 40:60); that is, your Lord has said to call upon Me, and I will respond. The acceptance may not necessarily mean that the request will be fulfilled one hundred percent. Sometimes the laws of creation do not necessitate that God must fulfill that need. In some cases, there are laws that make that request impossible to fulfill, or it may not be fulfilled soon. In other cases, God, the Exalted, will generally respond by fulfilling your request; just as it is indicated in the noble supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali—which is recited during the nights of Ramadan. The Quran states: "And ask Allah of His bounty. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things." (Quran 4:32); although God is All-Knowing and knows your needs, you should ask from God and present your requests to Him. This verse mentions this in the supplication. Of course, in the noble supplication: "Indeed, Allah is All-Merciful in all things," it has this; but in the Quran, it states: "He is All-Knowing of all things." Then it says: "And it is not from Your attributes, O my Lord, to command asking and to withhold giving." Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) says: "O Lord! It is not Your habit to command people to ask and then not give them what they asked for." That is, the meaning of divine generosity, divine mercy, and divine encompassing power is that if He says to ask, He has willed to respond to that request. This is the divine promise that is explicitly stated in the very verse I recited at the beginning of the sermon: "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the supplicant when he calls upon Me." (Quran 2:186); whenever My servants ask you about Me, say, O Messenger, I am near, and I respond to the call and request of the one who calls upon Me. Whoever calls upon God has a response in return: "For every question from You, there is a present hearing and an immediate answer." (Quran 2:186); every question from God, every request from God, has a definitive response. This is very important, and the believing servants of God should value it greatly. Now, someone who does not have faith will naturally not take advantage of this opportunity—like many other opportunities. This is a definite divine promise; that is, God, the Exalted, will respond to every request. This is a promise, and of course, every promise has conditions. Here, I have gathered verses about divine promises that I do not want to go into detail about; however, I will briefly remind you of some points:

The Almighty God has given many promises to His servants. For example, one of the divine promises is: "Whoever does a good deed, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is against it." (Quran 41:46); whoever does bad will have that evil return to himself and be against him. Another divine promise is: "Indeed, We do not waste the reward of the doers of good." (Quran 18:30); whoever does good, God will not waste his reward. It is not only in the Hereafter; it includes both this world and the Hereafter; either in this world or in the Hereafter. Another promise is: "Whoever desires the immediate [worldly benefit], We hasten for him therein what We will for whom We will." (Quran 17:18); whoever aims for the near good—meaning this world—and does not care about the Hereafter, "We hasten for him"; We help him achieve what he aims for; that is, We lead him to that goal: "What We will for whom We will." Of course, there are conditions: if he strives, if he works hard, and if he endeavors, he will reach those goals. Just as you see some nations have strived, worked hard, and made sacrifices, they have saved where they needed to save, and they have been able to reach great places. Following this verse, it says: "And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the necessary effort while being a believer, those are the ones whose striving is appreciated. Indeed, We extend to these and those." (Quran 17:20-19); both those who seek worldly gain, We help them, and those who seek the Hereafter. Here, they align worldly efforts with divine satisfaction. It says that We help them too. This is the divine law of creation; that is, if you strive and work hard, you will definitely achieve results. God, the Exalted, does not leave any effort without result; there will definitely be a result following it. Sometimes individuals can recognize that result, aim for it, and achieve it; but sometimes the result that is attached to that action is not recognized correctly, and they seek another result; but that action will yield its result, and ultimately they will reach a result. Therefore, God, the Exalted, has not left any effort without reward.

Another divine promise is: "Allah has promised those among you who have believed and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession upon the earth, as He granted it to those before them." (Quran 24:55). This is also a definite promise. Any nation, any people, and any group that has faith and righteous deeds will become God's vicegerent on earth; that is, they will hold power on earth. There is no doubt about it. Those who have faith, if they accompany it with righteous deeds, this event has occurred; just as it happened in Islamic Iran; just as it happened in any period of our history when such a thing occurred: "He will surely grant them succession upon the earth as He granted it to those before them and will surely establish for them their religion which He has preferred for them." (Quran 24:55). If there is faith but no righteous deeds, they will not become God's vicegerent on earth. Empty faith and faith without action yield no results; but if faith is accompanied by action, it will definitely be realized.

Another divine promise is: "And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways." (Quran 29:69). Whoever strives in the way of God, God will certainly show him the way. These are things that one day we ourselves, in our youth—when we were first getting acquainted with Islamic teachings and these words—read, said, and believed; but they had not happened clearly for us. We knew that God's words were true; however, we had not experienced it. Today it has been experienced. At that time during the struggles of the Islamic movement in Iran—of which you young people have no memory, and some middle-aged people remember, while others do not—if someone wanted to live as a Muslim in this country, which today is the cradle of Islam and the minaret of Islam, or in this Tehran, it was truly impossible; it was difficult! That is, if someone wanted to live fully as a Muslim without guiding and educating others, it could not be done, and there were all kinds of obstacles! If someone said that this movement that that gentleman started in Qom, and some clerics are around him, and they even shout, they would immediately arrest them and take them to prison, beat them, and torture them; no one would believe that one day, due to the patience and steadfastness of the men of God and the men of the right path and that leadership of the Awaited Mahdi, the entire country would turn to him, and all hearts would be attracted, and the masses would come to the scene. No one would believe it! And if they said that one day, thanks to the people's entry into the scene, the government would be an Islamic government, no one would believe it; but it was God's promise, and it was realized because it was acted upon.

It is not necessary for prayer to always disrupt natural laws and act contrary to natural laws; no. Prayer is accepted within the framework of natural laws, and your request will be fulfilled. This is God's power that arranges the laws, puts them together, and your intention is fulfilled. Of course, when your prayer collides with another divine law, it will not be accepted. The divine promise is true; however, that promise is also correct. People who are idle and do not strive for their goals have no guarantee of reaching their destination. Now you pray, and it is clear that this prayer has little chance of acceptance. Of course, there may be times when it is accepted; however, there is no guarantee. If you pray against a certain established natural law, it is not guaranteed to be accepted. Although in some cases, undoubtedly, prayer does break laws; however, it is not the case that when we say prayer is accepted, it means that your prayer will be accepted if it conflicts with other divine laws and is not accompanied by action, or even if the prayer itself is not made with attention; no. In prayer, asking and requesting from the Almighty God and truly demanding is necessary. This prayer will be accepted. If action and effort towards great goals accompany this prayer, the chance of acceptance of this prayer is truly greater. When prayer continues, the chance of acceptance of this prayer is certainly greater. If it is seen that a prayer has been repeated several times and has not been accepted, one should not despair; especially in major matters, especially in matters related to the destiny of individuals and the destiny of countries and nations; because sometimes the nature of great works is such that their realization takes time.

At the end of my speech, I want to share a Quranic story with you, both as a witness to this statement and to illuminate your hearts on this Friday of Ramadan by mentioning this story. When in that tyrannical and oppressive Pharaoh's government, the mother of Moses gave birth to Moses, and it was certain that they would kill this baby boy, this mother was left wondering what to do. If it were a girl, she would have been at ease. The heart of the mother is filled with love for her child, but she is left wondering what to do. Here, divine revelation reached this mother: "And We inspired to the mother of Moses, 'Suckle him.'" (Quran 28:7); feed him, do not fear. "But when you fear for him, cast him into the river." (Quran 28:7); when the danger becomes great and you fear that the enemy will take the child from you, do not let them take him; cast him into the river. In several places in the Quran, the Almighty God has mentioned this story. In each place, He has expressed it with certain subtleties and delicacies. This mother found herself in a situation where she realized that danger threatened. They stormed into the house of this honorable family of the Children of Israel to take the child. The mother of Moses realized that the child would ultimately be lost; it was then that she cast the child into the Nile. The Quran's expression is "into the river"; however, the indications show that it refers to the Nile. It is very important; how could a mother bear to place her child in a box and throw him into a raging river? But divine revelation told the mother: "Indeed, We will return him to you and make him one of the messengers." (Quran 28:7). Here, the Almighty God gave two promises to this mother: first, that We will return this child to you, and second, that We will make him one of the messengers. After she cast the child into the raging river, she told Moses' sister: "And she said to his sister, 'Follow him.'" (Quran 28:11); go follow him and see what will happen and where the fate of this child will end? They are worried; the child is small, an infant, just a few days old! Until this child reached near Pharaoh's house through the Nile. "And the family of Pharaoh picked him up." (Quran 28:9); God instilled in their hearts to keep him. The wife of Pharaoh said that we should keep this child for ourselves: "A comfort of the eye for me and for you." (Quran 28:9). "And We forbade him from nursing." (Quran 28:12); he did not take the breasts. No matter how many wet nurses they brought to feed this child, he did not take their breasts. He is hungry and wants milk. In the meantime, Moses' sister came and said: "Shall I direct you to a household that will be responsible for him for you?" (Quran 28:12); do you want me to find a wet nurse? See, when the Almighty God wants to accept a prayer and fulfill a promise, He arranges conditions like this; He instills courage in this girl to come and make such a suggestion to the Pharaoh's agents. They said it is fine. She went and brought Moses' mother and said that this woman is a wet nurse. They gave Moses to her; he smelled his mother and began to nurse! Here, the Pharaohs' suspicion was not aroused, and it did not occur to them that she might be the mother of this child. The Almighty God wants to fulfill His promise. "So We returned him to his mother." (Quran 28:13); We returned this child to his mother. "So that she might be comforted and not grieve." (Quran 28:13); so that her eyes may be brightened and she does not grieve. "And to know that the promise of Allah is true." (Quran 28:13); so that she knows that God's promise is true. This promise, which she saw with her own eyes, was true; but the second promise: "And We will make him one of the messengers." (Quran 28:13). In fact, the message of Moses' prophethood was given here after many years: all the Children of Israel should know that this child will become a prophet and will be sent to save you, and it happened. Of course, from the day that the Almighty God revealed to the mother of Moses that "And We will make him one of the messengers," until the day Moses received the position of prophethood and was commissioned to come and save the Children of Israel, there was perhaps a gap of thirty or forty years. Of course, there are things in the narrations, but one is not very confident about the chains of these narrations; however, what can be inferred from the indications of the verses is that there was at least a gap of about thirty years.

My dear ones! This is how the divine promise is fulfilled; however, after a period of time. The divine promise is that it will honor the Muslim nations. This cannot happen overnight; it cannot happen without effort and action. The divine promise was that any nation that struggles in the way of God and has faith will be victorious. Very well; you, the Iranian nation, had faith, struggled, and were victorious. The divine promise is that after this victory, you will confront the enemies of God, and if you persist, endure, and stand firm, you will be victorious again; that is, there is both the promise of victory and the promise of confrontation. Yes; when the divine power, the power of Islam, the power of the Quran, the power of spirituality, is raised in one place, those who oppose spirituality will show enmity; those who are unjust will show enmity; those who are corrupt will show enmity; those who cannot tolerate spirituality and religion will show enmity. "And when the believers saw the confederates, they said, 'This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.'" (Quran 33:22). When in the Battle of the Confederates, the Quraysh from one side, the Jews from another side, the Saqifah from another side, and various enemies attacked from all sides and besieged Medina, there the people were divided into two groups; the believers one way, and the non-believers and those who had "a disease in their hearts" (Quran 33:12) another way. Those who had disease in their hearts said: "Allah and His Messenger did not promise us anything but delusion." (Quran 33:12); we were deceived; Islam could not give us honor and security and save us. See; they had besieged the believers. These parties and groups of enemies, from the east, west, neighbors, and far away, all joined hands and attacked the Islamic government; but the believers said: "This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us"; we are not surprised. This is exactly what God and the Messenger promised us. The promise of God and the Messenger is that "those who have believed fight in the cause of Allah, and those who have disbelieved fight in the cause of falsehood." (Quran 4:76). You who are believers, fight in the way of God. Those who have no connection with God fight in the way of falsehood. Yes; they also fight; but "So fight against the allies of Satan. Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been weak." (Quran 4:76). If you fight, if you stand firm, if you do not lose your patience and steadfastness, you will be victorious; but if you give up, feel weak, feel hopeless, and retreat, no. Therefore, the presence of the enemy and the attack of the enemy is not surprising; "This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth, and it only increased them in faith and submission." (Quran 33:22). Therefore, the divine promise is certain; that is, both in the case of struggle, in the case of patience, and in the case of steadfastness, victory will be achieved, and also if you are sincere, the enmities will turn towards you.

You see how many countries in the world claim to be Islamic; however, in the foreign radios, in the propaganda of global arrogance and the world's propaganda empire, it has never been heard that those countries are criticized for being Muslims. The Islamic Iran, since the day of the victory of the revolution until now, has been attacked, criticized, slandered, and defamed in all propaganda outlets for being Muslim. If you are sincere in your path, this sincerity of yours in the way of God will certainly attract the enmity of the enemies of God; but if you stand firm, your victory over them will also certainly be realized. All of this is God's promise.

My dear ones! It is Ramadan; pray, value prayer, value time, consider great needs, the needs of the Islamic nation, the needs of your Islamic country, the needs of your nation, and your personal needs, and humbly and earnestly ask the Almighty God for them, and whoever commits to this prayer, whatever he needs from his performance, he should stand by it and say that I am ready to strive in the way of God. Of course, this effort does not always mean fighting and going to the front and getting beaten and such things—there are specific cases where that happens—but it always means being sincere, standing firm on the foundation and principle, being hopeful for the future, and recognizing the enemy as the enemy. Value the opportunity for prayer; the Almighty God will accept these prayers, and the requests will be fulfilled. If our society is a society of piety, prayer, and spirituality, many of its material problems will certainly be resolved.

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.' (Quran 112:1-4)

At the end of the first sermon, I will also make a few supplications: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. O Lord! We beseech You by Your sacred essence and by Your names and attributes and by Your saints that You make this Ramadan blessed for our nation. O Lord! Grant us the success of prayer, worship, supplication, fasting, recitation of the Quran, and contemplation in the Quran. O Lord! Illuminate our hearts with Your lights in this blessed month. O Lord! Grant victory to the Iranian nation in all fields. Remove the problems of the country and the nation with Your grace, generosity, mercy, and supreme power. O Lord! Remove the difficulties of the people at every level and in every form. O Lord! Grant the officials of the country power, determination, resolve, success, and Your help to accomplish great tasks. O Lord! Make the hearts of the people and the officials kinder to each other day by day; make the hearts of the people kinder to each other day by day. O Lord! Crush the enemies of this nation; defeat and subdue the enemies of Islam and Muslims. O Lord! Cut off the hands that reach out to attack and invade the Islamic nations and countries—especially our dear, noble, and faithful nation. O Lord! Guide those who harbor animosity towards Islam and Muslims in their hearts, and if they are not worthy of guidance, remove them from the path of Islam and Muslims. O Lord! Discipline the Zionists and the arrogant powers in every government and in every sector—especially the oppressive government of America—with Your whip of discipline. O Lord! Send down Your mercy, assistance, and kindness upon the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the deprived, and the oppressed nations—the oppressed nation of Afghanistan, the oppressed nation of Iraq, the oppressed nations of North Africa and other parts of the world; remove the burdens that have been imposed upon them. O Lord! Make the heart of the Awaited One kind towards us; make the supplication of that great one directed towards our condition and make the heart of that great one happy with us. O Lord! Make us among the supporters of that great one; hasten the emergence and establishment of his government. O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, forgive us in this month; include us in Your forgiveness and include our parents and predecessors in Your mercy. O Lord! In these blessed days and hours, place the pure souls of our esteemed martyrs in the highest heavens. O Lord! Gather the pure and radiant soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)—who opened this path for us and guided us on it—together with Your saints in this month.

And peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds. And blessings be upon our master Muhammad and the pure family. Especially upon Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, and Fatimah, the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, and Hasan and Husayn, the masters of the youth of Paradise, and Ali ibn Husayn, Zain al-Abidin, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, and Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim, and Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad, and Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi, and Hasan ibn Ali al-Zaki al-Askari, and the Awaited Mahdi. Your proofs over Your servants and Your trusted ones in Your lands, and send blessings upon the leaders of the Muslims, the protectors of the oppressed, and the guides of the believers.

I invite all brothers and sisters to observe God-consciousness in action, in speech, in thought, in listening, and in speaking, and I recommend benefiting from this month as much as possible. In the second sermon, I would like to present three necessary topics. Two topics are related to domestic issues, and one is related to the issues of the Islamic world and the world.

Regarding domestic matters, first, I am very pleased to hear recently that the esteemed President and the Cabinet have invited the people to moderation and frugality. I have also mentioned this point several times; however, this time, on the occasion of Ramadan, I want to once again make this request to all segments of the nation, especially to certain classes—which I will mention.

My dear ones! A nation has the right to live in comfort; it has the right to enjoy itself; it has the right to benefit from various divine blessings—there is no doubt about this—all segments of a nation should be able to benefit; however, even at times when a government and a nation are enjoying income, extravagance is harmful and condemned and is religiously forbidden; let alone when the income of a country temporarily decreases; like now, when the income of our country has decreased by almost half this year. Previously, we said that one-third of the income has decreased; then we carefully examined it and found that no, the income of the country has decreased by nearly half; because, unfortunately, it must be said that the income of the country is dependent on oil, and the fate of oil is in the hands of others! Among the misfortunes of nations that produce oil is this.

I once said in this Friday prayer that I hope one day we will close the doors of our oil wells and announce to the world that we want to stop selling oil for a while. Of course, this is a distant wish; achieving it is very difficult and not easy. God curse those who, from the very beginning of the discovery of oil wells in this country—especially when the price of oil became somewhat high—based the foundation of work in this country on oil income, which continued to some extent after the revolution due to various difficulties. For years, our governments—both the current government and previous governments—have been trying to reduce dependence on oil; they have made efforts, but it is a difficult task. Currently, the situation is that the government’s income is low.

It is not possible that when income is low, those who used to spend a lot continue to spend as if income is high; they must understand this. Therefore, my address is primarily directed at those who are affluent in the country; those who can afford it and can spend; they can buy meat, food supplies, living facilities, modern products, various electrical appliances, and expensive cars. "When income is not there, spend more cautiously." Do not say I have income; here, personal income is not the criterion; the income of the country is the criterion. When a nation’s income decreases, they must take this into account. Whenever we told the people not to waste, the majority of the people—who are the middle classes—listen and do not waste; however, those who should listen—namely the affluent and the wealthy, among whom there is often waste—are less inclined to listen. Now my address is to them. It is necessary for them to pay attention to the issue of moderation—meaning not wasting. Not wasting food supplies; how much food is wasted! Even not wasting in medicines; how many unnecessary medicines are bought and taken home and remain unused! The raw materials or the medicines themselves must be bought from abroad or produced with effort inside. These are the wealth and capital of the country and are wasted.

There are those who even waste in their recreational activities. For example, they travel abroad. Why!? Suppose there is a family that wants to travel, to have fun and recreation; why do they go abroad to have fun!? In this vast country, many cannot even enjoy this recreation. Some, as soon as they can afford it, travel abroad for their own recreation or their families’ recreation—to some foreign country (which I do not want to name now). This is definite waste; this is the same waste that is forbidden. Excessiveness means this. Excessiveness varies from time to time and in terms of clothing, living matters, and expensive cars. Therefore, our first address is to those who are affluent and have resources and can spend. We tell them to spend less; be considerate and do not waste.

My second address is to some government officials who must certainly create arrangements so that a lot of money is not wasted unnecessarily in the vast governmental apparatus. First of all, this includes large sums. Of course, I am aware that the government has made good savings in some areas—in foreign embassies, in foreign travels, and many other things—but arrangements must be made so that in all governmental sectors, from top to bottom, this matter is observed. Everyone must know their duty, and the institutions that can should prepare guidelines for how to spend non-wastefully for the people.

The second matter related to domestic issues—which I will also briefly mention—is the issue of unity. My dear ones! No matter how powerful a nation is, no matter how wealthy it is, if divisions take root among its members and the fire of disputes ignites, it will be miserable and wretched. When we speak of disputes, we do not mean differences of opinion. There are differences of opinion. If there are differences in line, direction, or taste, there is no problem. Disputes mean political conflicts that make the atmosphere tense. The reason I sometimes complain about some newspapers is because of this. Immediately, some people should not raise their voices that "freedom" has been restricted; no. For the slogan of freedom, we have often put our lives at risk! Those who are religious defend freedom more than anyone else. Therefore, the discussion is not about "freedom"; the discussion is that those who have this freedom, which has existed since the beginning of the revolution, should not use it to create tension in the atmosphere. When one looks at some newspapers, it seems that they have chosen these bold headlines in such a way as to incite one group against another! This is the role of those propaganda horns; this is bad. Newspapers should work to bring hearts closer together; they should bring political factions closer together. If political factions and groups are truly committed to a foundation and principle, they should strive to get as close as possible to their rival groups, be kind to each other, and resolve various issues together; not to constantly amplify disputes, exaggerate them, write about them, and speak about them. This will create a tense atmosphere.

Of course, I want to say a point to those gentlemen and to those who are spokespersons for various groups—or those groups themselves, or in the name of various groups. The ordinary people, who are the majority of this nation, do not pay attention to these factional divisions and line games at all; but their hearts break to see that at the top, the leaders and officials of the country have disputes and are at odds with each other. If they say their opinions are different, fine, what is the problem? This gentleman has his opinion, and that gentleman has his opinion; what is the problem? This gentleman should express his opinion, and that gentleman should express his opinion; there is no obstacle. However, if they are hostile to each other, want to undermine each other, constantly speak against each other, and worst of all, create a tense atmosphere that, oh, there is a fight now, this is such, that is such, this is exactly the role that foreign propaganda horns and foreign radios—if someone has listened, they know—play; that is, inciting one group against another.

I want to say that this nation is a nation that was able to bring about this revolution with a united word; with a united word, it was able to overcome a great calamity like the imposed war; with a united word, it has been able to stand against the enmity of the superpowers—especially the enmity of the American regime, which has fiercely opposed this nation and this government and this system and still does. Preserve the unity of the word and do not let the enemy create division among you with the proposal of misleading slogans, with the proposal of false attractions, with the proposal of false faces.

Thanks be to God, when I look at the higher levels, the officials have pure and clear hearts. The esteemed President, the heads of the legislative and judicial branches, the representatives of the parliament, and the members of the government are eager to serve and love to serve; but at the lower levels, that is, in the levels of political currents and political groups, which speak on behalf of everyone, their effort is to create a name and a word and an effect of themselves in society; now at any cost. The dear nation should value its unity of word. While we want to de-escalate tensions with other governments, do not let tensions arise among the members of the nation.

The third point relates to the recent events, primarily the attack on Iraq. America and, following America, England, came with a false pretext and began military attacks on this country. Of course, they first made a fuss that these attacks would continue, even if it took a month; Ramadan would not prevent us! They made such boasts, then a few days passed, and their internal problems and the collapse of their backlines caused them to retreat. It became clear that the whole operation was a whimsical act stemming from personal and party interests! This is also an example of the harms of division, even in a government like the American government. Their internal disputes also cause them great trouble. Even a government that is so wealthy and advanced technologically, etc., their disputes truly pressure them. Because of these party divisions and the party games that seek to gain power, they have created significant problems for themselves.

I want to convey this message to the Iranian nation—of course, I have said this many times, and you know it; but this is another witness—that in the current world, there is a government that wants to dominate this whole system; that government is America. I do not say this; the Americans themselves say this! The writers of major political articles in America explicitly state this, argue it, and say it. Yes; this notion of globalism that is said—that the world should be like a single homeland and a single power should be at its head—is now possible; it is now possible for this to happen. A government like the American government exists, which they say has never had such military power, such wealth throughout history, and we, the American people and the American government, should dominate the world! They explicitly state this, print it in the world, and publish tens and hundreds of thousands of copies! Now, in this vast world, in this diverse world, in this world of cultures, a so-called American theorist compares the world to a "global village." You said it, and I believed it! Yes, a village must have a headman! They say that communications have increased and made the world like a small village. No, sir, the world is much larger than that. Humans, nations, cultures, and hearts are much larger than that for a government to be able to dominate the world with an army of ideologues, theorists, writers, and the like, and a regime like the American regime—whose president is this—can rule over it and command it. No, sir, this cannot happen; but the Americans want it to be this way.

You see; the issue with America is not just with the Iranians and the Islamic Republic; no. Anywhere in the world, any government—whether in Europe, whether in Africa, which is less, or in Asia—that has a dispute with America, this dispute goes back to the fact that America wants to act like a tyrannical ruler. Of course, when it is facing governments like France and Germany and Japan, it has considerations; but when it is facing a government like some of the weak governments in the region—why should I name them?—then it takes bases from them, takes money from them, goes into their homes, threatens them, and brings all kinds of calamities upon them, using its sword against their neighbors! The basis and logic is tyranny! They want to justify tyranny within countries and among nations and have an individual named a sultan rule in a country, and since this is one of the most despised things in the eyes of nations and in the eyes of all wise people of the world, they want to sweeten it in the eyes of people! Whenever there is an issue in Afghanistan, America must intervene! Whenever there is an issue in the Persian Gulf, America must intervene! Whenever there is an issue in the Middle East, America must intervene! Whenever there is an issue in Europe, America must intervene! Why is it like this!? This "why" is in the hearts of many. The Islamic Republic of Iran has the characteristic that it boldly, courageously, and powerfully states this "why" and says that we do not accept this tyranny.

The issue is not whether a nation wants to use the experiences and knowledge and material and spiritual resources of another nation or not. Of course, it is clear that everyone wants to benefit from each other; there is no problem at all. The issue is not about the enmity of one nation with another nation. We have said many times that we do not have enmity with the American nation; we have no issue with individuals; we are concerned with the goals and intentions. These goals and intentions, wherever they are and belong to whomever, are important to us. We cannot be indifferent to this intention and goal that is clear to us and we see its performance all over the world, and we see it in our own country; we cannot be indifferent. Of course, sometimes if necessary, one of them may say a word, soften their tone, mention the Iranian nation—suppose they make a half-hearted compliment about the Iranian government or a person, not even a proper and substantial compliment—they do that; but it must be understood what their goals are. Their goal is domination, not relationship; their goal is plunder, not exchange; their goal is to restore the situation that the Americans enjoyed in this country for nearly thirty years—from August 19, 1953, onwards—clearly. They want to be the ones in charge of this country. It is clear that the Iranian government, the Iranian nation, this great revolution will not be satisfied with this; even if they provoke four ignorant people somewhere to say something; or make two or three of their dependents write something somewhere. Let them write; the revolution cannot retreat from its most important principles and issues because of these words!

The issue is not whether we want to use relations with governments or the world or not. It is clear that we want to have good relations with all the governments of the world. We have relations; day by day, by God's grace, we will have more. There was a day when it was thought that our relations with Europe would be cut off; there was a day when it was thought that we would never establish relations with Russia; no. Today you see that our relations with Europe are warm, with Asia are warm; our relations with Russia and major countries are good relations. Our issue with America is a different issue; it is not a matter of relations. For them, relations mean a prelude to this domination, and they are not satisfied with anything less! They bring up the name of relations as a slogan. It is clear that the prelude to each of these actions they want to take is relations.

Now, the same Iraqi government that was so trampled under the boot of America last week, does it not have relations with America? Yes, it has an ambassador here, and it has an ambassador there; they have relations. Relations do not prevent such harshness. The American government, which declares the Syrian government as one of the terrorist countries every year, do they not have relations? They have political relations. Relations do not prevent oppression and wrongdoing and such things. Relations are an excuse. The issue is to restore the same political, economic, and security power that the Americans had in this country for thirty years, which the revolution came to eliminate with the efforts of this nation and these youths and with the awareness of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified); this power was eliminated.

They think that the Iranian nation has turned back from the revolution. They think that the Iranian nation has turned back from Imam. They think that the Iranian nation has turned back from its ideals. They want to restore the past situation. The Americans should know that this nation, which began in the name of Islam, advanced in the name of Islam, and was able to remove all these obstacles from its path by the blessing of Islam, will not retreat in the face of your pressures, impositions, and wickedness, and will not submit to you. As long as this nation is with Islam, it will not come to terms with you.

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

By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.

And peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.