Statements in Meeting with Students and Pupils on the 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 upon his pure and infallible progeny. Peace be upon Hussein, and upon Ali ibn Hussein, and upon the children of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein.

The gathering of dear youth, students, and pupils during these days, which are referred to as the days of confrontation and struggle against global arrogance, is very valuable. Those of you who are present here are a sample of the vigilant youth of our nation; and not only the youth but also aware individuals, analytical thinkers, and those with insight, all share the positions you have expressed today with your slogans and statements.

These days are related to Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him), the days of the historical fervor and excitement of the Muslim Ummah, which is not exclusive to the Shia; non-Shiites also regard the movement of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) as a great, monumental, educational movement, a model for nations, for those who are aware; the ignorant and uninformed are a different matter. One of the honors of our nation is that it is familiar with Sayyid al-Shuhada, familiar with Karbala, and aware of the important issues that arise in the context of the Ashura event.

These days are also the days of Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her), who kept the Ashura event alive, preventing it from being forgotten or obscured by the political enchantments of the ruling apparatus of that day; Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) kept the issue alive; thus, these are important days.

Our historical period is also a significant one; the Iranian nation is in the process of consolidating its dignity and charting its grand plan for progress towards its ideals. Therefore, the awareness of the youth is important, and insight into the current situation is crucial, and this gathering is an opportunity to discuss these matters a bit.

First, let me state that this is the foundation of many of our discussions. The struggle against global arrogance in the Islamic Revolution and among our nation is a rational and logical movement with a scientific backing, and a wise movement, contrary to what some want to portray as a merely rhetorical, emotional, and irrational movement. On the contrary, the movement of the Iranian nation is based on rationality. For now, we will set aside religious and Quranic verses and the religious inspirations; we will temporarily put aside "harsh against the disbelievers" and "merciful among themselves" and "fight the leaders of disbelief" because some do not believe in or accept these things; we will rely on the experience of the Iranian nation.

An incident occurred in our country in 1953 - the incident of the 28th of Mordad - which is one of the events that intertwines the Iranian nation with experiences, preventing it from making errors in its perspective; this incident provided a great lesson for the Iranian nation, which should never be forgotten; yes, sixty years have passed since 1953. First, during these sixty years, such incidents have been repeated; secondly, when a historical event carries a lesson, the passage of time does not diminish its significance, and we must learn from it. The incident was that the Mossadegh government, which managed to take the national wealth of the country, oil, from the hands of the British with the help of individuals like the late Ayatollah Kashani and others, made a historical mistake by relying on America. In the face of British enmity, he thought he needed international support, and that support, in his view, was America; he trusted the Americans; his hope was in the Americans. From this optimism and naivety, the Americans took advantage and orchestrated the 28th of Mordad coup. An American agent with a specific name and identity, which is well-documented and known, came here; he was American, went to the British embassy or the embassy of a Western country or perhaps Canada, distributed the money he had brought, and gathered some individuals with him; there were also treacherous internal elements; they initiated the 28th of Mordad coup and wasted all the efforts that the Iranian nation had made over two or three years during the nationalization of the oil industry. They arrested Mossadegh, imprisoned him, and brought back Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had fled Iran, and reinstated him to the throne; and for 25 years, from 1953 to 1979, this nation suffered under the yoke of the imposed and dependent Pahlavi regime, enduring various humiliations, pressures, and hardships; the Americans did this. Their military advisors took control of our army, their economic agents implemented their economic policies; in addition to these visible and apparent actions, they carried out unseen actions that our analysts have unfortunately not yet managed to address regarding the non-visible movements aimed at destroying the spiritual and human resources of the Iranian nation that were carried out by the Americans in Iran during these 25 years; they have not been able to do so yet. These are matters that require investigation and follow-up. Twenty-five years of oppression, pressure on the Iranian nation, wasting the human resources of this country, plundering its natural resources, and tarnishing the reputation of the Iranian nation among the Muslim nations in the region were actions taken by the Americans during this period. How many people were killed, how many were imprisoned, how many were tortured, and what treacherous policies were implemented against the Iranian nation, all under the shadow of the presence of the Americans and the American puppet government in Iran, due to the trust that that gentleman placed in America out of naivety.

Well, nations react to events in two ways; some nations feel the event, the hardship, the torture, but cannot form a correct analysis and summary for themselves that would compel them to take counteraction; some nations are like this. Nations that have capable and worthy leaders, however, endure hardships but alongside that, pursue awareness, insights, solutions, and the strengthening of correct and logical beliefs; the Iranian nation was of this kind. God Almighty granted this nation the great blessing of the leadership of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), who enlightened the nation, provided insight, endured hardships himself, went to prison, was exiled, and did not give up; gradually, this awareness and insight became widespread until it turned into a public movement among the Iranian nation in 1976 and 1977. This movement's target was not only the monarchy but also America. The nation understood, they knew that behind the atrocities being committed against them and their country, America was involved; they realized this. Our great Imam said in 1963, at the beginning of the Islamic movement: "The President of the United States is the most hated person in Iran today." He conveyed this meaning to public opinion; he clarified for the people that everything is orchestrated by America; the mischief is orchestrated by America. Well, this struggle bore fruit.

Wherever nations move, stand firm, and show patience and resistance, victory is certain; it is the same everywhere. The problem with movements that lead to failure is that either nations lack endurance and do not stand firm, or they do not have leaders who can properly manage them. In recent years, we have seen places where nations moved, demonstrated their determination, and achieved results; however, they lacked leaders who could manage them properly, correctly identify the goals, and accurately outline the path for the people, hence they failed; you all witnessed this in recent years; I do not want to name any country or place.

The Iranian nation followed the right path, carried out the movement correctly; a powerful, aware, determined leadership, relying on God, trusting in God's promise that "If you support God, He will support you" enabled this nation to achieve victory and bring down the oppressive, dependent, dark regime of the Pahlavi family and the shameful monarchy - which is a source of shame for any country in the correct human logic - in Iran; and it ended; the people became the masters of their own destiny.

The important point here is that the first government and state that began to oppose this people's movement seriously was America. Of course, there were other governments, they too might have been dissatisfied with the situation that arose in Iran, but they did not react in such a manner; some governments might have even been pleased, but the American government did not limit itself to mere dissatisfaction; in the early months of the revolution's victory, the U.S. Senate issued a harsh resolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran, practically starting its enmity; this was while the U.S. embassy in Iran was still open! Those who think that a relationship with America, friendship with America will protect them from America's harm should refer to this historical experience; the U.S. embassy was still in Iran, the Americans were freely coming and going within the country, the revolution had not yet led to the expulsion of the Americans from Iran; like other governments, they had embassies, agents, and were living here; at that time, the American government showed its enmity towards the revolution. In addition, they hosted Mohammad Reza, a definite enemy of the Iranian nation, in America, they took him to America and provided refuge to the enemy of the Iranian nation. Well, the reaction to this movement was the students' movement; they took over the U.S. embassy, it became clear that this was a nest of espionage, it became evident that during the months following the revolution's victory, this place had been a center of conspiracy against the revolution; this was demonstrated and confirmed by the documents published later from inside the U.S. embassy. Dear youth! Take the documents of the nest of espionage, read them; they are educational. The students who took over the embassy and realized that this was a nest of espionage, painstakingly gathered these documents - which they had tried to shred and destroy - and published them; seventy or eighty volumes of books have been published. These show that the Americans were constantly conspiring against the Islamic system, both during the peak of the movement and after the revolution had succeeded and the Islamic Republic was established; this is America. These matters pertain to the post-revolution period.

Before the revolution, during the great popular movement - now the events of the 17th of Shahrivar and the massacre of the people and these issues, which were all carried out by the American puppet government, are another matter - on the 8th of Bahman, just a few days before Imam's return to the country, people had gathered in the streets of Tehran, in this very Enghelab Street; General Hauser, who was the American envoy sent to Iran to see if he could somehow save the regime from the revolution, writes in his memoirs - these are historical documents - and says, "I told General Qarebaghi to lower the barrels of your guns in the face of the people;" meaning to kill the people, not to fire warning shots, to massacre the people. They did just that; they lowered the barrels of their guns, and some young people and teenagers were killed, but the crowd did not retreat. Hauser says; Qarebaghi later came to me and said that your plan was ineffective, the people did not retreat, then Hauser says I saw how childish the Shah's generals thought; they should have continued, they should have kept killing. See, this was the nature of the puppet regime. An American general gives orders for the massacre of compatriots to an Iranian army commander, and this is done at his command and advice, and when it proves ineffective, he goes to him and says it was ineffective; he also says these people are children, they think childishly. This summarizes the Pahlavi regime in Iran.

The Americans started with us like this; they began this way with the revolution. Then, throughout this period, they conspired as much as they could. Every group that could act against the revolution was supported by the Americans: the coup known as the Nojeh base coup in Hamadan was one of these cases; assisting those who, under the guise of ethnicities, moved against the revolution in various parts of the country was another example; then encouraging Saddam Hussein to attack Iran and providing him with eight years of support was one of these examples. Eight years! The Americans intensified their support during the war, especially after the second and third years, providing resources; both they and, unfortunately, their European allies. This is how the Americans acted against our revolution; their aim was to overthrow this foundation. Well, this was a mistake in analysis, a misunderstanding of the issue; they thought that this was like some African or Asian country where a coup occurs, they call it a revolution, and they can eliminate it; they did not realize that this revolution is, first and foremost, based on the people - this revolution is a people's revolution - and secondly, it is based on religious beliefs; they did not understand these. Therefore, throughout these 36 or 37 years, whatever the Americans did against the revolution, they failed; after this, God willing, they will continue to fail. The purpose of this statement is that we, as the Iranian nation, as a people who love our country, as a people who have envisioned a future for ourselves that we want to reach, must recognize America; this is the goal.

One of the actions of the Americans in recent years is to compel some to beautify the face of America; to make it seem as if the Americans, if they were enemies one day, are no longer hostile today; this is the goal. The goal is to keep the face of the enemy hidden from the Iranian nation so that they become oblivious to his enmity and he can carry out his hostility and stab them in the back; this is the goal. Some, of course, do this maliciously, and some do it out of naivety. The reality is that America's objectives regarding the Islamic Republic have not changed; they have not changed at all. Today, if they could destroy the Islamic Republic, they would not hesitate for a moment; however, they cannot, and God willing, with your efforts, dear youth, with your progress, with the expansion and depth of the Iranian nation's insight, they will not be able to do so in the future either. All their plans are directed towards this issue; of course, in the realm of politics and dialogue, they speak differently; where necessary, they show flexibility in their speech, but the essence of the matter is this; the essence of the matter is this. The Iranian nation must not forget this. In negotiations, on the pretext that we oppose war, they shed tears, they cry! In the recent nuclear negotiations, it was observed that an American official said he had been against war since his youth and cried. Well, some may naively say, "Wow, they have really become good people, like the cat that became a worshipper;" but this very person who is so averse to war that he cries at the mere mention of it, is one of those who, when hundreds of children are torn apart in Gaza and the Zionists mercilessly slaughter women, children, the elderly, and the young, they do not even frown! If you are so averse to war, say a word to this murderous, vile butcher who massacres people, children; they do not even frown, they encourage him! At the same time that they were carrying out those attacks in Gaza and today, in a different form, massacring people in the West Bank and Gaza, the Americans repeatedly stated that Israel has the right to defend itself. This means the Palestinian nation has no right to defend itself; they can destroy its farms, kill its youth, burn its homes, burn its infants' parents, and the Palestinian people have no right to respond. Today, they are also encouraging, aiding, and supporting the Zionist regime. For months, the people of Yemen have been under bombardment, their hospitals are being destroyed, their homes are being ruined, their vital infrastructure is being obliterated, people are being massacred by invading aircraft, yet the Americans do not say a word, do not frown, and even support! This is America; can the tears shed in front of the camera be considered a sincere act? Does anyone believe this?

The Iranian nation has found its path; the Iranian nation does not attack nations and governments that do not interfere with it and do not pose a threat; you can see this. There are governments - I am not talking about nations - that do not have a good relationship with the Islamic Republic, we know this, we understand it, it is completely evident, but they do not attack us, and we do not have any issues with them; we have relations, we trade, we sit down, we negotiate, but a government that attacks, a government that seeks to use any pretext to destroy the Iranian nation, to destroy the Islamic Republic, to destroy Islamic ideals, the Iranian nation cannot overlook it; it has no rational, legal, moral, or human right to sit in front of this enemy and view it as a friend; it is impossible to extend a hand of friendship to such a one! This is how the Americans are. With all their might, they are trying to prevent the Islamic Republic from following the path it is on; they have various methods; they are actively propagating today.

I mentioned that their first mistake in the early days of the revolution was that they did not understand why these people were so self-sacrificing in the field; gradually, they have come to understand this; they have realized that these are the beliefs of the people, these are the beliefs of the youth, these are their convictions, these are the lessons of religion and the Quran for them; thus, they have targeted these beliefs; today, they are attacking beliefs in various ways and with new means that did not exist back then; the youth must be aware of this. First, the youth, students, and pupils should pursue their studies diligently. Knowledge is a means of power; one of the most important components of national power is knowledge; they should pursue knowledge; they should prioritize public goals over personal desires; they should increase their awareness regarding the current situation, the recent historical past, day by day, and be able to observe the current scene of the world.

Today, the grand scene of the world is like this; the arrogant powers are on one side, with all their material capabilities, with the intimidation they exert, with the aura they project, and they subdue others to their might; they are on one side; there are also some weak governments that lack the courage to emerge; among them, there is one place that loudly condemns this situation, and that is the Islamic Republic. Today, the Islamic Republic, with a loud voice, without fear, without being intimidated by the enemy's threats, is crying out against oppression, against domination, against exploitation and arrogance, and the nations are hearing this and being influenced. Let me tell you this; nations are influenced by the movement of the Iranian nation, and this is evident in the world; especially in the Islamic world, it is evident; for the Iranian nation, for the great figures of the revolution, for our great Imam, they hold such esteem and respect that they do not hold for anyone else; this is because this loud voice reaches their ears; do not lose this loud voice. And know that your slogan, "Death to America," this cry that the Iranian nation raises, has a strong and logical backing; it has a rational foundation. It is also clear that the meaning of "Death to America" is not death to the American people; the American people are like other nations; it means death to American policies, death to arrogance; this is its meaning, and it has a rational foundation; our constitution attests to this, deep and logical principles support this, and when we explain this to any nation, they will appreciate and accept it.

Thanks be to God, the Islamic Republic has opened its path and is moving forward. I have no doubt that you, dear youth, will witness days when many of the lofty ideals that the Islamic Republic has envisioned for your country will be realized in your lives; I have no doubt that the future will be like this, and you will be able, God willing, to build your country and inspire other nations, and you will be able, with God's grace, to bring down these terrifying giants that frighten nations and free nations from under their shadow of fear and terror; you will certainly see this, God willing, provided that you continue on this path, provided that you move with faith and hope, and do not lose your insight, and in all the various issues of the country - which we have many issues to address later - keep the main criteria and standards in mind, which will ensure that you move in the right direction.

We ask God Almighty to unite our dear martyrs with the Prophet; to unite our great Imam with his saints; and to lead our dear youth day by day towards higher goals with greater success and victory.

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