Statements in Meeting with Thousands of Students

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 chosen family, the guided and the Mahdi, especially the Remaining One of God on the earth.

Welcome, dear brothers, dear sisters, my dear children, the youth, students, and scholars.

Before I begin my remarks, I would like to refer to the suggestions made by these dear youth regarding the confrontation with global arrogance. I want to express this clearly so that everyone knows, especially our dear youth, that in confronting global arrogance, we will do everything necessary for the preparedness of the Iranian nation, whether in military terms, in terms of armaments, or in political actions. Everything that is needed will certainly be done, and thanks be to God, the officials are currently engaged in these tasks. Rest assured that the overall movement of the Iranian nation and the officials of the country in confronting global arrogance and the criminal apparatus governing today's world order will not falter in any way; be assured of this. This is not merely a matter of revenge; it is a logical movement, a confrontation that aligns with religion, ethics, and international laws, and the Iranian nation and the officials of the country will not delay or falter in this regard; be assured of this.

The gathering of youth is naturally a radiant assembly. The hearts of the youth have less pollution and more radiance. It would be a pity not to offer you a spiritual piece of advice in this vast gathering of dear youth. My recommendation is to engage in "remembrance" and "gratitude." The path we are on is not a short one; it is not an easy path; it is a path where the main responsibility for traversing this path lies with you, the youth. The world of tomorrow belongs to you, the country of tomorrow belongs to you, the global order of tomorrow will be in your hands; your task is heavy. In this path, determination is necessary, knowledge is necessary, effort is necessary, but above all, spiritual support is required; I summarize that spiritual support today in these two phrases: "remembrance" and "gratitude."

Remembrance means the remembrance of God; do not be heedless of the remembrance of God. Do not distance yourself from supplication, prayer, and the recitation of the Quran. My constant recommendation is to become familiar with the Quran, to acquire Quranic knowledge; this will assist you on this great path. Gratitude means recognizing God's blessings and not forgetting them. Today, you have received great blessings from God; the blessing of having a system and organization whose endeavor is to fight against oppression, against global arrogance, against tyranny, and against the crimes of international gangs; this is the greatest blessing, and there are many other blessings as well. In various supplications, there is the phrase: "Do not make me forget Your remembrance in what You have bestowed upon me and do not let me be heedless of Your kindness in what You have given me"; let us not be heedless of divine kindness; let us not forget divine blessings and favors. This very awareness, this very preparedness, this very spirit, this very sense of capability that exists within you, that you feel you can move forward, you can advance, you can confront the hollow material powers of the world, this is a great blessing from God; do not lose this blessing. Recognize the blessing and use it in its proper place; this is what gratitude means. Remember that with the help of the Almighty God, with the companionship of the Almighty God, with the guidance of the Almighty God and the pure and righteous servants of the Lord, we can traverse this path. We seek help from the spirits of the Prophet Muhammad, his honorable family, the martyrs of this path, the martyrs who were martyred before our eyes, such as Martyr Nasrallah, Martyr Haniyeh, Martyr Soleimani, Martyr Sinwar, and our other dear martyrs; let us seek their assistance and move forward on this path. This is our first point.

This occasion is a very important one; it is appropriate that all intellectual and practical efforts be made to preserve this occasion. The fact that the Islamic Republic has designated a day as the "Day of Confrontation with Global Arrogance" is to ensure that the Iranian nation does not forget this historical experience; otherwise, the struggle against global arrogance is not limited to a single day; it is a permanent matter. You must make the struggle against global arrogance, the struggle against the signs of oppression and transgression, the struggle against the oppressive global order a part of your life and understand this; therefore, there is no specific day for struggle, but we have designated this day. This is to ensure that the historical memory of the Iranian nation is not neglected and that we do not forget.

There are hands at work to cast doubt on the conscious and courageous movement of the Iranian nation in confronting the global tyrant America and its agents in the region, and then to deny it; we must not allow this. The historical memory of the Iranian nation rejects this. The issue of the spy den cannot be questioned or doubted; a group is spreading this doubt among the public, especially the youth, saying, "Why did our students take over the embassy of a country? This was an act contrary to international regulations." They are spreading this claim. The truth that they deliberately conceal is that the American embassy, at the beginning of the revolution and until it was seized by our students, was not merely a place for diplomatic activity, but rather a center for intelligence operations. Yes, all embassies in the world transmit the public and secret news of the country they are in to their centers; that was not the issue; the issue was that the American embassy was a planning headquarters for inciting internal unrest against the revolution and destroying the revolution, and even threatening the life of the revered Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Our youth initially did not pay attention to this point and entered the embassy for another reason, but when they went there and obtained the embassy documents, they saw these facts.

The reason I emphasize that the youth should read books, examine documents, and become aware of the truths is because of this. The American embassy from the very first hours of the revolution, from the very first days of the revolution, was a center for networking and plotting against the revolution. Of course, at first, they were confused; they did not understand what was happening, but as soon as they came out of their confusion, they began planning for a coup, for inciting ethnicities, for creating discord, gathering the remnants of the SAVAK of the Pahlavi regime to fight against the revolution. The embassy was not merely an embassy; it was a center for fighting against the revolution, fighting against the Iranian nation, to defeat the great movement that the Iranian nation had undertaken with its revolution; thus, this incident is a prominent event, a historical event, an unforgettable event, and a turning point in our history. Even if those who carried out this act have now become hesitant—just as some of them may have become hesitant—the reality is that this act was a great act, a necessary act; for this reason, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) approved this act with his keen insight, he endorsed the students' movement; this act was necessary.

What is the Iranian nation's struggle against American arrogance based on? This is a question. The clear, obvious, and documented answer is that it stems from the arrogant and shameless domination of the American government over our dear nation and our dear country of Iran; the confrontation has been due to this. The effort of the deviating historians is to claim that the conflict between Iran and America began on the thirteenth of Aban 1358 (November 4, 1979); this is a lie. The Americans clashed with the Iranian nation from the very beginning of the revolution and even before the revolution and for years before the revolution; at least since the twenty-eighth of Mordad. Now, before the twenty-eighth of Mordad 1332 (August 19, 1953), the presence of the Americans and their efforts is a lengthy story, but what has been evident to all is the twenty-eighth of Mordad. A popular national government was in power in Iran, and the Americans, betraying the trust of that government which had naively trusted America, intervened and overthrew that government, establishing the tyrannical rule of the Shah. The Iranian nation felt the enmity of America for many years; the twenty-eighth of Mordad was felt by the Iranian nation. You dear youth should read the events of 1332 (1953), the national movement, and the presence of America in the books. Those who are researchers and writers should investigate and write. These are turning points for our nation, turning points in our history. The Americans staged a coup in Iran, established SAVAK in the 30s, which became a center for torture and pressure on the fighters and freedom-seekers. How many youths, how many faithful individuals, how many freedom-seekers were either killed, maimed, or tortured in the tortures of the agents and criminals of SAVAK—the Shah's intelligence center? The Iranian nation has witnessed these closely. Who established SAVAK? The Americans established SAVAK; they taught the methods of torture. They brought in tens of thousands of advisors to Iran to both exploit and intervene in the affairs of the army, intelligence, and government, to spy, to infiltrate, and to change the culture of the nation, increasing America's domination over the country day by day.

The treacherous Pahlavi regime, with the help of America, was one of the root causes of the establishment of the usurping Zionist regime. On the day when almost all the governments in this region had severed relations with the Zionist regime, the Shah's regime was supplying oil to the Zionist regime, providing facilities, and supporting it; this treachery is unforgettable. Today, unfortunately, some are doing the same; today, the Zionist regime is committing the most heinous crimes in the region, and instead of opposing it, instead of standing up, instead of supporting the nations—supporting the Palestinian nation, supporting the Lebanese nation—they are aiding the wicked, oppressive enemy; they are providing economic assistance, and some even military assistance! The aid-givers are from the region; now America is another matter. The issue is the confrontation with international oppression. For the Iranian nation, inspired by Islamic teachings, confronting oppression is a duty, and confronting global arrogance is a duty. Global arrogance means comprehensive economic, military, and cultural domination and the humiliation of nations. The Iranian nation was humiliated, humiliated for years; hence, the struggle of the Iranian nation has been against global arrogance and will certainly continue to be.

A fundamental point in this regard is the success of the Iranian nation and the progress of this work. Some create doubts: "Is it possible to confront a powerful, advanced, modern system like the American system and government? Can we fight against them?" Yes, the Iranian nation fought, and I tell you that the Iranian nation has certainly succeeded until today. Today, the Iranian nation has been able to weaken this great enemy, this significant power that could intimidate nations with its might and threats and push them back. Today, it has reached a point where scientific associations of students within America are issuing statements against Western civilization, against American civilization, against American efforts; this has happened. In a statement published by a large number of scientific associations of students in America, they say: "It is us, we Westerners, who are shouting against Western civilization and culture and have entered the field in favor of oppressed countries and nations"; this was included in their statement; it is from just a few months ago. And this will intensify day by day. Certainly, the Iranian nation and the oppressed nations and the resistance front will progress.

Of course, today the atrocities occurring in the region are immense; what is happening daily in Lebanon, what is happening in Gaza, 50,000 martyrs in the span of a year, most of whom are women and children, is this a small matter? The Americans, under the pretext of human rights, shamelessly support these crimes; not only support, but they participate in these crimes. The weapons are American weapons, the plans are American plans, the international efforts are American efforts; the Americans shamelessly say: "We support and back the Zionist regime"; they state this explicitly.

This struggle is a rational, wise struggle that aligns with logic. Short-sighted and narrow-minded individuals—I do not say traitors, I do not accuse them of intent and treachery; at the very least, they are short-sighted—should not try to portray the Iranian nation's movement against global arrogance as an illogical movement; no, it is a logical and correct movement that aligns with sound, rational, human, and international logic. That is why, in the public opinion of the nations of the world, the Iranian nation is esteemed. Yes, the news and media apparatus of the enemies, the propaganda apparatus of domination, try to show the opposite, but the reality is this. When you carry out the promise of the truthful, people in the streets of countries that are even distant from you rejoice; what does this mean? It means that the movement of the Iranian nation is a movement that is accepted by international logic, human logic, and of course, Islamic and Quranic logic. This movement must continue, but the continuation of this movement must be carried out with a correct plan.

You dear youth, students, boys and girls, throughout the country can play a role in this regard; strengthen thoughts, advance knowledge; without knowledge, without thought, without a roadmap, correct work cannot be done. We need scientific progress in various sectors, we need technological advancement.

Of course, those who are making their utmost efforts with the available resources are engaged in work and will not relent in confronting the enemy, nor will they leave any enemy action unanswered; be assured of this. It is not the case that the enemy's actions will be forgotten by those who are working as representatives of the Iranian nation in confronting the enemy; no, it will not be forgotten. The enemies—whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America—will certainly receive a crushing response for what they do against Iran and the Iranian nation and against the resistance front.

Today, the American human rights that are trumpeted in various outlets no longer deceive anyone. The situation today in Lebanon, the situation in Gaza, the situation in Palestine, the crimes that the agents of the Zionist regime are committing in this region with the help of America, with the intervention of America, with the participation of America, have not allowed the false, meaningless claims of American human rights to be validated or confirmed by anyone in the world. Human rights no longer have meaning. Those who claim human rights while committing these crimes label great individuals, luminous figures like Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, like Haniyeh, like Soleimani, like other great martyrs as terrorists, while the terrorist gang is themselves, their own criminal gang; today the world understands this, and thanks be to God, they have realized and understood.

What must happen is a general movement of nations in this path. Our youth should connect with their counterparts in other countries; our students should connect with students in Islamic countries in the region, our students should connect with students in Islamic countries, countries in the region, and even beyond the region. Today, the means of communication are abundant; you can establish connections; clarify the truths for them; remind them of what is the duty of all the youth of the world, the duty of all the youth of countries, so that a massive and public movement against global arrogance arises, and it will arise, and with God's grace, the Iranian nation and this public Islamic and humanitarian movement of the resistance front will find its place in the world and will certainly defeat the enemy.

Today was a very good day for me. This meeting is a very sweet meeting, and we hope, God willing, that God preserves and supports all of you, and I pray for all of you; we hope, God willing, that the Almighty God bestows His successes upon you.

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