Statements in Meeting with Officials of the System and Guests of the Islamic Unity Conference

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 virtuous family and his chosen companions, and those who follow them with goodness until the Day of Judgment.

I congratulate you on the auspicious and blessed birth of the noble Prophet of Islam and also on the happy birth of his son, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him and his forefathers), to all of you esteemed attendees, dear guests, ambassadors of Islamic countries present here, the honorable guests of the Unity Week, and to all the people of Iran and the entire Islamic Ummah and all the free people of the world; we hope that this day, this birth, will lead us all to a renewed awareness of our duties and the path that is before us today, thanks to the birth of the Prophet, which we must traverse.

The blessed existence of the Prophet was a mercy; he was a mercy to the worlds. This mercy extends to his followers and to those who accept his path and guidance; they become forgiven and receive divine mercy. He said: "I will write it for those who are pious and give alms and those who believe in Our signs; those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel." Those who follow this great figure, who move in his direction, and accept his guidance are encompassed by divine mercy; this is God's promise and it is unchangeable. The Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah have gone through many ups and downs, but they have benefited from divine mercy in this world and the hereafter when they have followed him; "Indeed, those who have believed in him, honored him, supported him, and followed the light that was sent down with him, they are the successful ones." Certainly, those who follow the movement of this great figure.

The noble Prophet brought goodness for all people; he brought salvation from bondage for all people; what the Prophet gifted to humanity is not exclusive to a group, it belongs to all of humanity. Those who benefit are those who follow him and obey him; these shackles that are tied around the necks and hands and feet of people prevent them from movement, from soaring, distance them from spirituality, and make life bitter for them, the Prophet of Islam frees people from these shackles. What are these shackles? These shackles are the bondage of the oppression of powers, the global arrogance of the arrogant powers, the existence of class differences, and the tyrannical and arrogant aristocracy; these are the things the Prophet confronted and fought against. Nations can continue this path if they stand firm, if they show perseverance; they can overcome the powers. Yes, today there are great conspiracies from the powerful of the world against the Islamic Ummah, but it is possible to stand against these conspiracies, it is possible to neutralize them. Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) said to the Almighty God: "Our Lord, indeed You have given Pharaoh and his people adornments and wealth in the life of this world, Our Lord, to lead them astray from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so they do not believe until they see the painful punishment." He cursed. Pharaoh was a supreme power against Prophet Moses; he had adornments, wealth, capabilities, weapons, money, everything at his disposal; Moses was alone; he requested from the Almighty God, he sought help; the Almighty God responded to Pharaoh: "Your prayer has been answered." But there is a condition: "So be steadfast and do not follow the path of those who do not know." Be steadfast, show perseverance. Perseverance in military warfare is one thing, in political warfare is another, in the warfare of wills is another; in all of these, perseverance is necessary. If nations and their elites and intellectuals do not forget perseverance, victory will certainly be theirs. Yes, today the Islamic Ummah is lined up against; America, global arrogance and its followers, Zionism, the Zionist regime, reactionaries, money-worshippers among Muslims who are dependent on those powers, all of these are lined up against Islam, against the path of the Prophet; indeed, You have given Pharaoh and his people adornments and wealth in the life of this world; yes, today these are the Pharaohs; today America is Pharaoh; today the Zionist regime is Pharaoh; today those followers of these powers in the region who gradually want to incite Muslims against each other and create war in the region, this is the plan of America today; everyone should pay attention to this, everyone should know. The American politicians themselves, in their analyses, in their words, have either willingly or unwillingly admitted that we must create war in the West Asia region, create discord, incite them against each other; so that the Zionist regime remains in a safe haven, comfortable; so that they cannot progress; so that so much blood flows from the body of the Islamic Ummah that it becomes weak, unable to stand; what should be done against this? "So be steadfast and do not follow the path of those who do not know." Let us not follow the path of the ignorant.

Today, unfortunately, there are rulers in this region and elites in this region who dance to the tune of America! They do what they want; they work against the Islamic Ummah and against Islam! This is detrimental to Islam! We have no motivation for discord with Muslim governments; we believe in unity, we are interested in unity. These days are the days of Unity Week. Our great Imam declared Unity Week; unity among Islamic sects. And we thank God that the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran have been able to practically create unity and brotherhood among themselves and their Muslim brothers from various Islamic sects. We have no problems or issues; but against this movement that seeks unity, and follows the movement that is interested in unity and aims for unity, there are those whose decision is to create discord and to create war; this is their policy and they are pursuing this.

So what should we do against them? What should be done against those who pursue America's policy in this region? Our language is the language of advice; yes, the ignorance of some of these governments towards the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic makes statements that are not worthy of attention; we do not intend to respond to their nonsense; we intend to advise. What some of the regional governments are doing today in service to America is detrimental to themselves; in fact, they are destroying themselves. The enemy will do whatever it can. Within our region, they unleashed these Takfiris to create what they thought was a religious war, but the Almighty God struck them in the mouth and a religious war did not start and will not start. We stood firm against the provocateurs of the enemy, we stood firm and thanks be to God we succeeded, but their issue was one of being mercenaries of the enemy; it was not a religious war, it was not a sectarian war, it was not a factional war. The enemy wanted this; the enemy wanted to incite a Sunni-Shia war, but "Thanks be to God who made our enemies foolish." The Almighty God has made our enemies foolish. In this region, the number of Sunnis that ISIS killed and destroyed was greater than the number of Shiites they killed! They wanted to start a Sunni-Shia war. The Almighty God struck them in the mouth. Our confrontation with the Takfiri forces was a confrontation with oppression, a confrontation with the distortion of Islam; it was a struggle against a savage group far from Islamic ethics and civilization and the truth of Islam that burned people alive, skinned people alive, took Muslim families captive, and was engulfed in all kinds of political, sexual, financial, and practical corruption. These were agents of America, agents of Zionism, and their followers wherever they are are agents of America and agents of Zionism. This is a reality; we stood firm against them. If the Islamic world wants to attain dignity, it must not lose unity and solidarity. If the Islamic world wants to attain power and dignity, it must stand against Zionism.

The issue of Palestine is today at the forefront of the political issues of the Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah. Everyone is obliged to defend Palestine and the freedom of Palestine and to strive for it. Certainly, the enemy is also helpless in this regard; know this. Now that they claim they want to declare Jerusalem the capital of the Zionist regime, this is due to their impotence, their inability. In the matter of Palestine, their hands are tied, and with this action, they will undoubtedly suffer a greater blow, and the Islamic world will stand against them; certainly, the enemy cannot achieve the success it desires in the matter of Palestine, and Palestine will be free; there is no doubt that Palestine will be free. It may be a little later, a little sooner, but certainly, this will happen, and the struggle of the Islamic Ummah for the liberation of Palestine, God willing, will come to fruition.

Thanks be to God, the Iranian nation has been able, with its courage, faith, insight, and perseverance, to traverse difficult paths and overcome many hard obstacles. Everyone should know, our friends around the world should know, our enemies should also know! In the paths we have taken, over these 38 years since the victory of the revolution, there have been problems that have brought nations to their knees, but these problems have not been able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees; and whatever problems they create for us in the future will certainly be less and smaller than our previous problems, and the capability and power of the Iranian nation to face problems is far greater than in the past. We will overcome the problems, with God's grace; the enemy cannot bring the Iranian nation to defeat and force it to retreat, and we will be able, God willing, to overcome all problems and show the Islamic dignity to all Muslim nations and raise the flag of Islamic dignity higher and more proudly than it is now.

May the Almighty God send His mercy upon the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who opened this path for us and may He bless the pure souls of our dear martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this path and may He grant us all success in fulfilling our duties and in what is expected of us at this juncture in time, so that we can act in the best possible manner.

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