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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president President Ahmadinejad was interviewed recently in New York by Democracy Now

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran. JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities. The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue. The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran. AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran. Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more. Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic. Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs. We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place. A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another. But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number. So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free. JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that? AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break. [break] AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now. PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed. AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it. Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that. But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy. AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program? PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see. Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here. I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end. It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward. I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie. AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran. Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is. JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there? ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion. Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad. But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue. AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad. ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration. AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president

Unconventional weapons used against Gazans Doctor Mads Gilbert is a member of a Norwegian triage medical team present in the besieged Gaza Strip. The team has exposed that Israel has used depleted uranium weapons in its war on the impoverished territory which is home to 1.5 million Palestinians. He described the conditions inside Gaza in an exclusive Press TV interview. Press TV: What can you tell about the uranium findings? Dr. Mads Gilbert:The findings about the uranium I cannot tell you much about, but I can tell you that we have clear evidence that the Israelis are using a new type of very high explosive weapons which are called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) and are made out of a tungsten alloy. These weapons have an enormous power to explode. The power of the explosion dissipates very quickly and the strength does not travel long, maybe 10 meters, but those humans who are hit by this explosion, this pressure wave are cut in pieces. This was first used in Lebanon in 2006, it was used here in Gaza in 2006 and the injuries that we see in Shifa [Hospital] now, many many of them I suspect and we all suspect are the effect of DIME weapons used by the Israelis. On the long term, these weapons will have a cancer effect on those who survive. They will develop cancer we suspect. There has been very little research on this but some research has been among other places in the United States, which show that these weapons have a high tendency to develop cancer. So they kill and those who survive risk having cancer. Press TV: And what do you have to say about this? Dr. Mads Gilbert:All that is happening in Gaza here now is against international law, it is against humanity and I think it is against what it means to be a decent person. You don't treat other people like this. Even if you disagree with him… maybe even if you fight with them, you don't treat civilians, children and women like this. And I have an appeal to the Israeli doctors and nurses. They are my colleagues. We belong to the same international community, the medical community. I wish that the good doctors and nurses in Israel tell their government to stop these atrocities. We cannot continue with this. We may differ in opinions, but you cannot treat the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza in this way. Today, they were bombing in Gaza City; we received 150 wounded and more than 50 killed. Press TV: Only at Shifa?! Dr. Mads Gilbert:Yes, here in Shifa. I treated a ten-year-old boy. He had his whole chest filled with fragments from the bomb. On his lap was another person's leg that had been cut off. We resuscitated him and did everything we could do to save his life but he died between our hands. This is such a terrible experience and behind the numbers that you report all the time, there are human beings, families, women, grandmothers, children. That is in fact the reality in this situation. Those who are paying the price for the Israeli bombardments now are the common people, the Palestinian people. Half of the population in Palestine are below 15 years and 80 percent of the people in Gaza live below the level of poverty defined by the UN. Now they don't have food, they don't have electricity. It's cold they don't have warmth and in addition to that, they are killed. This must be stopped. Press TV How many people did you see that are effected by this weapon? Dr. Mads Gilbert: Almost all of the patients we have received have these sever amputations. They seem to have been affected by this kind of weapon. Of course, we have many fragment injuries and burns but those who have got their limbs cut off, constitutes quite a large proportion. You know we have a lot to do. Palestinian doctors, nurses and paramedics do an incredibly heroic job to save their people. Doctor Eric and I are just a small drip in the ocean, but we learn from them. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to do research, we have to save lives, but this question should be researched by the international community.

As if we needed any more proof that the international media deliberately avoids exposing anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian injustices, its suspect behavior during recent days has sealed the case. Even as we were being force-fed minute details of Michael Jackson's colorful life along with endless speculation as to the true parentage of his children, a former U.S. Congresswomen and presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, was languishing in an Israeli jail. Her 'crime' was boarding the Free Gaza Movement's aid vessel The Spirit of Humanity in Cyprus, in an effort to break Israel's cruel siege of Gaza, which even the U.S. President has condemned. Like several of her sister vessels, The Spirit of Humanity was attacked by the Israeli Navy in international waters before being boarded by Israeli commandos and dragged along with its crew and passengers towards Israel. Once there, 21 human rights advocates from the U.S., Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen, including McKinney, Noble Laureate Mairead Maguire, and documentary filmmaker Adam Shapiro, were incarcerated. Let's be realistic. If just about any other high-profile U.S. politician on any other mission had been detained within a cell block on foreign soil, the incident would have merited headlines. However, McKinney's abduction went almost unnoticed. Not only was the story relegated to the back pages, if it ran at all, there was a corresponding absence of comment from Congress and the White House. McKinney is now home after refusing to sign a statement in Hebrew that she was guilty of a violation, but the mainstream media is certainly not clamoring at her door for interviews. As far as I can tell, her ordeal has mostly been covered by left-wing outlets such as Democracy Now or Middle East networks including Al Jazeera and Press TV. A number of McKinney's supporters say the reason for the media blackout was the fact that she is a Black American. But, in fact, it's her cause that's the problem rather than her color. My analysis is based on the lack of media coverage given to the Viva Palestina aid convoy of trucks and ambulances from London to Gaza, led by British Parliamentarian George Galloway. The Herculean efforts of hundreds of ordinary Britons to deliver much-needed humanitarian supplies to war-torn Gaza earlier this year was a non-event as far as the media was concerned until Galloway was barred from entering Canada as a result. Unless you're a person who relentlessly digs on the internet, you probably are not aware that during McKinney's ordeal, Galloway, along with Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic, were meeting up with over 200 Americans in Cairo armed with $2 million (Dh7.35 million) that was raised in the U.S. to buy trucks and medical aid destined for Gaza. The Egyptian English-language paper Al Ahram Weekly dubs this ""the largest grassroots medical relief effort for Gaza in U.S. history"" but once again, this doesn't merit column inches in either U.S. or European mainstream papers. In a similar vein, is the way that the horrendous courtroom stabbing of 32-year-old Marwa Al Sherbini was considered inconsequential by the German media until it elicited angry protests in her hometown of Alexandria. There are so many aspects to this story, which should have been emblazoned across front pages. First of all it was a blatant race crime, which Germany is normally sensitive about. Second, it begs questions concerning court security. What were armed officers doing when Marwa was stabbed 18 times and why was her husband shot when he attempted to protect his pregnant wife? What kind of editors would bin reports of such a horrendous crime carried out in full view of the authorities? What were they thinking? Purely coincidentally, I was sitting at a table with one of Marwa's uncles in an Alexandria coffee shop when he received a call on his mobile and had to dash off because of a ""family emergency"". Today, this exceptionally close-knit family is devastated and hurt that the murder of one of their own wasn't initially treated with the weight the crime deserved. Egyptians are outraged at Germany's disinterest and the inaction of their own foreign office. The numbers who attended her funeral, who gathered outside the German embassy in Cairo and who demonstrated in Cairo and Alexandria speak for themselves. Because Marwa's dispute with her attacker was based on his objections to her Islamic headscarf, the death of the young pharmacist has become an emblem for the rights of Muslim women at a time when the French President is attempting to ban the burqa. Marwa loved life. She didn't plan to become a martyr. But in the eyes of Egyptians calling for a mosque and a street in Alexandria to be renamed in her honor, she is a heroine. If the U.S. and Europe are chronically supine when it comes to Muslim causes, then the governments and media throughout the Arab and Muslim world should embrace them clearly and loudly. With anti-Muslim hate crimes on the rise, Muslims need a strong united voice on the international stage. Shame on the world's media that appears to be united only in its anti-Muslim bias! Linda S. Heard is a specialist British writer on Middle East affairs. (Source: Gulf News

To defy Israel's four-year blockade of the impoverished Palestinian enclave, a Libyan aid ship departs for the Egyptian port of El-Arish en route to Gaza. The cargo ship Amalthea, which left the Greek port of Lavrio, southeast of Athens, late Saturday, is carrying 2,000 tons of food and medical supplies, including sacks of rice, sugar, corn oil and olive paste, intended for suffering Gazans. "We hope that the Israeli authorities would not ban the ship from entering the port of Gaza," said Youssef Sawani, Executive Director of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. The foundation is chaired by the son of Libyan Leader, Muammar Gaddafi. "I think the Israelis need to understand that we are not provoking any kind of action, we are not in military action, we are a peaceful organization, a humanitarian organization," he said. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said he has discussed the ship's planned trip with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday. The ship has nine crew members — six Libyans, a Moroccan, a Nigerian and an Algerian. This latest attempt comes after Israeli commandos attacked the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy on May 31 in international waters, killing 9 Turkish activists. The Israeli assault sparked a worldwide condemnation and a row between Ankara and Tel Aviv. Turkey's Prime Minister demanded that Israel apologize for the deadly attack on the Turkish-owned ship Mavi Marmara, offer compensation to the victims, agree to an international investigation and end the blockade of Gaza. It also recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and cancelled military exercises with Israel. It has also twice denied Israel the use of its airspace. Israel has refused to apologize, claiming its commandos only used force to defend themselves after being ambushed.

FM: Iran fully supports Lebanon, Syria Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has expressed Iran's full support for Lebanon and Syria in the event of any possible Israeli aggression. The Iranian government and nation is fully prepared to support the Lebanese and Syrian nations and governments in the face of a possible Israeli aggression, Mottaki said at a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Ali al-Shami in the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday. The Iranian minister further added that the three countries are constantly exchanging views about Israel's war threats and said Iran will offer any assistance to Lebanon and Syria. Mottaki strongly condemned the recent aggression by Israeli forces near Lebanon's southern border, saying, "Moves by the Zionist regime and the recent aggressions showed its desperation rather than an indication of a will and decision to display its strength." "Iran reserves the right for the Lebanese government, nation and army to stop any aggression in their defense and put all ways to pursue the case through international circles on their agenda," he said. Mottaki further added that that the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, failed to fulfill its duty and to prevent such aggressions. According to the Iranian minister, regional countries will not allow Israel's hit-and-run policies to continue. He noted that Iran and Lebanon enjoy common stance on regional and international issues and support the establishment of just systems in international relations.

The Bahraini Human Rights Centre Deeply Concerned About Opposition Activists Being Criminalised By the Bahraini Government - Press TV News Report - Detailed. Bahraini authorities have prevented international and local organizations from monitoring the media coverage of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The Bahraini Center for Human Rights has expressed extreme concern about the government's tight control over the media and its efforts to keep the elections in the dark by refusing international monitoring of the vote. Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/146846.html Amnesty International says more than 200 people, arrested as part of a clampdown against Shia political opposition in Bahrain, are at the risk of being tortured. Around 250 individuals in Bahrain, who are believed to have been detained, are at risk of torture, the group said in a statement on Monday. Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/146255.html

April 25, marks the anniversary of failure of US military aggression to Tabas. Thirty years ago on April 25, 1980, the US staged a military aggression against Iran's soil with a number of choppers and planes. The US administration, whose different plots to defeat the sacred Islamic system had failed, launched this military aggression with the goal of releasing the spies that had been detained throughout the seizure of US spy den in Tehran. Meanwhile, despite precise planning, usage of advanced equipment, and numerous exercises that the Americans had done in similar locations, this military assault failed due to occurrence of a sand storm throughout the deserts in the vicinity of the city of Tabas, central Iran, while a number of US choppers and planes caught fire; a number of US troopers were killed; and the rest of these US troopers fled Iran's soil. The Americans had planned to fly to Tehran with a chopper, after landing in the city of Tabas. The occurrence of a sand storm astounded the American officials, who had made all the essential arrangements and had even studied the weather conditions. In fact, with divine blessings, US military aggression was doomed to fail. Meanwhile, in reference to the humiliating military failure of the US in Tabas, the Founder of Islamic Republic of Iran late Imam Khomeini (May his soul rest in peace) noted now that the Great Satan has committed such an absurd act, the honorable Iranian nation should become fully prepared for confrontation with the enemies, with all its potential and through reliance on God's strength. April 25, 1980 is a memorable day for the Iranian nation. This date is unforgettable for the Iranian nation because on this day the Iranian people were blessed by the Almighty in the face of the enemy's plot and conspiracy. This day will also not be forgotten in US history, because it showed that sole reliance on military equipment in confrontation with faithful people will not bring about victory. Tabas incident paved the way for further unity and solidarity of Iran's revolutionary forces, while also proving Islamic Revolution's righteousness throughout the international community. Throughout the course of this incident, the true ominous visage of the enemy was revealed more than ever and the divine nature of Islamic Revolution was proved to the international community. In fact, this sand storm unveiled the ugly visage of Washington's rulers and displayed their clear aggression, which was in violation to international rules and regulations.

April 25, marks the anniversary of failure of US military aggression to Tabas. Thirty years ago on April 25, 1980, the US staged a military aggression against Iran's soil with a number of choppers and planes. The US administration, whose different plots to defeat the sacred Islamic system had failed, launched this military aggression with the goal of releasing the spies that had been detained throughout the seizure of US spy den in Tehran. Meanwhile, despite precise planning, usage of advanced equipment, and numerous exercises that the Americans had done in similar locations, this military assault failed due to occurrence of a sand storm throughout the deserts in the vicinity of the city of Tabas, central Iran, while a number of US choppers and planes caught fire; a number of US troopers were killed; and the rest of these US troopers fled Iran's soil. The Americans had planned to fly to Tehran with a chopper, after landing in the city of Tabas. The occurrence of a sand storm astounded the American officials, who had made all the essential arrangements and had even studied the weather conditions. In fact, with divine blessings, US military aggression was doomed to fail. Meanwhile, in reference to the humiliating military failure of the US in Tabas, the Founder of Islamic Republic of Iran late Imam Khomeini (May his soul rest in peace) noted now that the Great Satan has committed such an absurd act, the honorable Iranian nation should become fully prepared for confrontation with the enemies, with all its potential and through reliance on God's strength. April 25, 1980 is a memorable day for the Iranian nation. This date is unforgettable for the Iranian nation because on this day the Iranian people were blessed by the Almighty in the face of the enemy's plot and conspiracy. This day will also not be forgotten in US history, because it showed that sole reliance on military equipment in confrontation with faithful people will not bring about victory. Tabas incident paved the way for further unity and solidarity of Iran's revolutionary forces, while also proving Islamic Revolution's righteousness throughout the international community. Throughout the course of this incident, the true ominous visage of the enemy was revealed more than ever and the divine nature of Islamic Revolution was proved to the international community. In fact, this sand storm unveiled the ugly visage of Washington's rulers and displayed their clear aggression, which was in violation to international rules and regulations.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful As-Salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household and chosen companions and upon those who follow them appropriately until the Day of Judgment. Allah the All-Wise said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed and most surely Allah is well able to assist them. Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause only because they say our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s name is much remembered. And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayahs 39-40] I would like to welcome the all dear guests and the honorable audience. Among all the issues that deserve to be discussed by religious and political figures from across the world of Islam, the issue of Palestine enjoys special importance. Palestine is the primary issue among all common issues of Islamic countries. This issue has unique characteristics. The first characteristic is that a Muslim country has been taken away from its people and entrusted to foreigners who have come together from different countries and formed a fake and mosaic-like society. The second characteristic is that this historically unprecedented event has been accompanied by constant killings, crimes, oppression and humiliation. The third characteristic is that Muslims\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' original qiblah and many respected religious centers which exist in that country have been threatened with destruction, sacrilege and decline. The fourth characteristic is that at the most sensitive spot of the world of Islam, this fake government and society has played the role of a military, security and political base for the arrogant governments since the beginning up until today. And the pivot of the colonialist west - which has been opposed to the unity, development and progress of Islamic countries for various reasons - has always used it like a dagger in the heart of the Islamic Ummah. The fifth characteristic is that Zionism - which is a great ethical, political and economic threat to the human community - has used this foothold as a tool and stepping stone to spread its influence and hegemony in the world. Other points that can be added include: heavy financial and human costs that Islamic countries have paid so far, preoccupation of Muslim governments and people, the sufferings of millions of displaced Palestinians many of whom still live in refugee camps after the passage of six decades and putting an end to the history of an important civilizational center in the world of Islam. Today another key point has been added to these causes and this key point is the wave of Islamic Awakening which has engulfed the entire region and has opened a new and determining chapter in the history of the Islamic Ummah. This massive movement - which can undoubtedly lead to a powerful, advanced and coherent Islamic alliance in this sensitive part of the world and can put an end to the era of backwardness, weakness and humiliation of Muslim nations relying on Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and the firm determination of the followers of this movement - has borrowed an important portion of its force and courage from the issue of Palestine. The Zionist regime\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s increasing oppression and bullying and the cooperation of certain autocratic, corrupt and mercenary rulers on the one hand and the spirited Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the miraculous victories of faithful youth in the 33-day war on Lebanon and in the 22-day war on Gaza on the other hand - were among the important factors which made turbulent the seemingly calm ocean of the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan nations as well as other regional nations. It is a fact that the Zionist regime, which is armed to the teeth and claims to be invincible, suffered a decisive and humiliating defeat in Lebanon during an unequal war against the clenched fist of faithful and brave mujahids. Later on it re-tested its blunt sword against the innocent and determined resistance of Gaza and it failed. Serious attention should be paid to these points when analyzing current conditions of the region and the appropriateness of every decision should be evaluated against these points. Therefore, it is an accurate judgment to say that today the issue of Palestine has gained increased importance and urgency and the Palestinian nation has the right to expect more from Muslims countries in the current regional conditions. Let us take a look at the past and the present and prepare a road map for the future. I will discuss certain topics in this regard. More than six decades have passed since the tragic occupation of Palestine. All the main causes of this bloody tragedy have been identified and the colonialist English government is the most important cause. The policies, weapons and military, security, economic and cultural power of the English government and other arrogant western and eastern governments were put to the service of this great oppression. Under the ruthless clutches of the occupiers, the defenseless people of Palestine were massacred and forced out of their homes. Until today even one percent of the human and civil tragedy - which was carried out at that time by the claimants of civilization and ethics - has not been properly portrayed and this tragedy has not had its fair share in the media and visual arts. The owners of visual and cinematic arts and western movie mafias have not been willing to allow this to happen. An entire nation was massacred and displaced in silence. Certain instances of resistance emerged at the beginning, which were harshly and ruthlessly crushed. From outside Palestinian borders and mainly from Egypt, a number of men with Islamic motives made certain efforts which were not sufficiently supported and could not have an effect on the scene. Afterwards there were full-scale and classical wars between a few Arab countries and the Zionist army. Egypt, Syria and Jordan mobilized their military forces, but the unconditional, massive and increasing military and financial support of America, England and France for the Zionist regime overwhelmed Arab armies. Not only did they fail to help the Palestinian nation, but they also lost an important portion of their territories during these wars. After the weakness of Palestine\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Arab neighbors was revealed, cells of organized resistance were gradually established in the form of armed Palestinian groups and after a while they came together to form the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This was a spark of hope which shone brightly, but it did not last long. This failure can be attributed to many factors, but the essential factor was their separation from the people and from their Islamic beliefs and faith. Leftist ideology or mere nationalistic sentiments were not what the complicated and difficult issue of Palestine required. Islam, jihad and martyrdom were the factors that could have encouraged an entire nation to step into the arena of resistance and turned it into an invincible force. They did not understand this properly. During the first few months of the great Islamic Revolution, when the leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization had found a new spirit and they used to visit Tehran repeatedly, I asked a pillar of the organization why they did not raise the flag of Islam in their righteous battle. His answer was that there were a number of Christians among them as well. Later on that person was assassinated by the Zionists in an Arab country and I hope Allah the Exalted has bestowed mercy on him. But his reasoning was flawed. I believe a faithful Christian who fights alongside a group of selfless mujahids - who carry out jihad in a sincere way while having faith in God, the Day of Judgment and divine assistance - would be more motivated to fight than a Christian who has to fight alongside a group of people who lack faith, rely on unstable sentiments and lack loyal support of the people. Lack of firm faith and separation from the people gradually made them neutral and ineffective. Of course there were honorable, motivated and valorous men among them, but the organization went off in a different direction. Their deviation has been a blow to the issue of Palestine. Like certain treacherous Arab governments, they too turned their back on the ideal of resistance which has been the only way of saving Palestine. And of course not only did they deliver a blow to Palestine, but they also delivered a strong blow to themselves. As the Christian Arab poet says, لئن اضعتم فلسطيناً فعيشكم طول الحياة مضاضات و آلامٌ Thirty two years were spent in this misery, but suddenly God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s hand of power turned the tables. The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the year 1979 completely changed the conditions of this region and turned a new page. Among the amazing global effects of this Revolution and the strong blows that it delivered to arrogant policies, the blow to the Zionist government was the clearest and the most immediate. The statements of the leaders of that regime during those days are interesting to read and they show how unhappy and anxious they were. During the first few weeks after the victory, Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s embassy in Tehran was closed down and its staff was expelled. The embassy was officially given to the Palestinian Liberation Organization whose representatives are still there. Our magnanimous Imam announced that one of the goals of the Revolution was to liberate Palestine and to remove the cancerous tumor, Israel. The powerful waves of this Revolution, which engulfed the entire world at that time, conveyed this message wherever it reached: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Palestine must be liberated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Even the repeated and great problems that the enemies of the Revolution imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to discourage the Islamic Republic from defending Palestine. One instance of the problems that they caused was the eight-year war waged on Iran by Saddam Hussein who had been goaded by America and England and was supported by reactionary Arab governments. Thus, new blood was pumped into the veins of Palestine. Muslim mujahid groups started to emerge in Palestine. The Lebanese Resistance formed a powerful and new front against the enemy and its supporters. Instead of relying on Arab governments and seeking help from global organizations such as the United Nations, which were accomplices of the arrogant powers, Palestine started to rely on itself, its youth, its deep Islamic faith and its selfless men and women. This is the key to all achievements. Over the past three decades this process has been accelerated on a daily basis. The humiliating defeat of the Zionist regime in Lebanon in the year 2006, the humiliating failure of the arrogant Zionist army in Gaza in the year 2008, the Zionist regime\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s escape from South Lebanon and withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of the resistance government in Gaza and in brief, changing the Palestinian nation from a group of helpless and hopeless people to a hopeful, resistant and self-confident nation - these were the outstanding characteristics of the past thirty years. This general picture will be clear when attempts at compromise and treacherous activities - whose goal is to break down resistance and make Palestinian groups and Arab governments acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel - are also reflected upon in an appropriate way. These activities, which were initiated with the Camp David Accords by the treacherous and unworthy successor of Gamal Abdel Nasser, have always been aimed at undermining the steely determination of resistance forces. During the Camp David Accords, for the first time an Arab government officially acknowledged that the Palestinian lands belonged to the Zionists and it signed the papers according to which Palestine was recognized as the homeland of Jews. From that time until the Oslo Accords in the year 1993 and later on in complementary plans - which were imposed one after the other on compromising and careless Palestinian groups with the intervention of America and the cooperation of colonialist European governments - the enemy tried its best to discourage the Palestinian nation and Palestinian groups from resisting through the use of empty and deceptive promises and making them busy with amateur political games. The uselessness of all these accords was revealed very soon and the Zionists and their supporters repeatedly showed that they consider these accords as worthless pieces of paper. The goal of these plans was to create doubt among the Palestinians, make materialistic unbelievers greedy and cripple Islamic resistance. So far, the spirit of resistance among the Islamic Palestinian groups and the Palestinian people has been the antidote to all these treacherous games. They stood up against the enemy with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s permission and as promised by God, they benefited from divine assistance: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayah 40] The resistance of Gaza in spite of a comprehensive siege was an instance of divine assistance. The collapse of the treacherous and corrupt government of Hosni Mubarak was divine assistance. The emergence of the powerful wave of Islamic Awakening in the region is divine assistance. The removal of the mask of hypocrisy from the face of America, England and France and the increasing hatred of the regional nations towards these countries are divine assistance. The repeated and innumerable problems of the Zionist regime - from its domestic political, economic and social problems to its isolation in the world, to public and even academic hatred of the Zionists in Europe - are all instances of divine assistance. Today the Zionist regime is weaker, more hated and more isolated than ever before and its main supporter, America, is more embattled and confused than ever before. Today the general history of Palestine in the past 60 years is in front of our eyes. It is necessary to delineate the future by considering that general history and learning lessons from it. Two points should be clarified in advance. The first point is that our demand is the liberation of Palestine, not the liberation of a part of Palestine. Any plan to divide Palestine is completely unacceptable. The two-state idea which has been presented in the self-righteous clothing of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"recognizing the Palestinian government as a member of the United Nations\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is nothing but giving in to the demands of the Zionists - namely, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"recognizing the Zionist government in Palestinian lands\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This would mean trampling on the rights of the Palestinian nation, ignoring the historical right of the displaced Palestinians and even jeopardizing the right of the Palestinians settled in \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"1948 lands\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". It would mean leaving the cancerous tumor intact and exposing the Islamic Ummah - especially the regional nations - to constant danger. It would mean bringing back decades-long sufferings and trampling upon the blood of the martyrs. Any operational solution must be based on the principle of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"all of Palestine for all Palestinian people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Palestine is the land that extends \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"from the river to the sea\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", not one inch less than that. Of course it should be noted that through its elected government, the Palestinian people will run the affairs of the any part of the Palestinian soil they manage to liberate, just as they did in the case of Gaza, but they will never forget the ultimate goal. The second point is that in order to reach this lofty goal, what is necessary is action, not words. It is necessary to be serious, not to make ceremonial gestures. It is necessary to have patience and wisdom, not engage in a variety of impatient actions. It is necessary to consider horizons that lie far ahead and to move forward step by step with determination, reliance on God and hope. Muslim governments and nations and the resistance groups in Palestine, Lebanon and other countries can each identify their share of work in this general struggle and solve the puzzle of resistance with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s permission. The solution of the Islamic Republic to the issue of Palestine and this old wound is a clear and logical proposal that is based on political wisdom accepted by global public opinion and it has been presented in detail previously. We neither propose a classical war with the armies of Islamic countries, nor do we propose throwing Jewish immigrants into the sea or intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations. We propose a referendum among the Palestinian people. Just like any other nation, the Palestinian nation has the right to determine its own destiny and to elect its own government. All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants - should take part in a general and orderly referendum and determine the future government of Palestine whether they live inside Palestine or in camps or in any other place. The government that is established after the referendum will determine the destiny of non-Palestinian immigrants who migrated to Palestine in the past. This is a fair and logical proposal which global public opinion understands and it can receive support from independent nations and governments. Of course we do not expect the usurping Zionists to willingly accept this proposal and this is where the role of governments, nations and resistance organizations becomes significant. The most important pillar of supporting the Palestinian nation is to stop supporting the usurping enemy and this is the great duty of Islamic governments. After the people have stepped into the arena and shouted slogans against the Zionist regime in a powerful way, on what logical basis do Muslim governments continue their relations with the usurping Zionist regime? The proof of Muslim governments\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' honesty lies in their support for the Palestinian nation and in their decision to break off their overt and secret political and economic relations with the Zionist regime. The governments that host Zionist embassies or economic offices cannot claim to defend Palestine and no anti-Zionist slogan on their part will be considered serious and genuine. Today Islamic resistance organizations, which have been shouldering the heavy burden of jihad over the past years, are confronted with the same great responsibility. Their organized resistance is an active arm that can help the Palestinian nation move towards the ultimate goal. Brave resistance of the people whose homes and country have been occupied has been recognized in all international conventions and it has been praised. Allegations of terrorism by the political and media network affiliated with Zionism are hollow and worthless claims. The obvious terrorist is the Zionist regime and its western supporters. Palestinian resistance is a movement against the oppressive terrorists and it is a human and sacred movement. In the meantime, it is appropriate for western countries to evaluate the situation from a realistic perspective. Today the west is at a crossroads. It should either stop bullying and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian nation and refuse to follow the plan of the bullying and anti-human Zionists, or they should wait for stronger blows in the not so distant future. These crippling blows are not limited to the continual collapse of their puppet governments in the Islamic region. Rather the day when European and American peoples realize that the majority of their economic, social and ethical problems result from the octopus-like hegemony of international Zionism over their governments and that their statesmen give in to the bullying of parasitic Zionists who own companies in America and Europe for the sake of their personal and partisan interests, they will create a such hell for them in which no salvation will be imaginable. The US President says that Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s security is his red line. What factor has determined this red line? Is it the interests of the American nation or Obama\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s personal need for the money and support of Zionist companies to ensure his second term as US President? How long do you think you will be able to deceive your own nation? What will the American people do with you the day they realize you have agreed to give in to humiliation and obedience to wealthy Zionists for the sake of remaining in power for a few more days? What will they do with you when they realize that you have sacrificed the interests of a great nation at the feet of the Zionists? Dear brothers and sisters, know that this red line drawn by Obama and people like him will be crossed by Muslim nations that have risen up. What is threatening the Zionist regime is not the missiles of Iran or resistance groups, so they can build a missile shield here and there in order to confront it. The real and inescapable threat is the firm determination of men, women and youth in Islamic countries who do not want America, Europe and their puppets rulers, to dominate and humiliate them any longer. Of course those missiles will fulfill their duty whenever the enemy poses a threat. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Therefore, be patient. Surely the promise of Allah is true and let not those who have no certainty make you impatient.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, Sura ar-Room, Ayah 60] Wa salaam alaykum wa rahmat Allah http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful As-Salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household and chosen companions and upon those who follow them appropriately until the Day of Judgment. Allah the All-Wise said: \"Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed and most surely Allah is well able to assist them. Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause only because they say our Lord is Allah. And had there not been Allah\'s repelling some people by others, certainly there would have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah\'s name is much remembered. And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayahs 39-40] I would like to welcome the all dear guests and the honorable audience. Among all the issues that deserve to be discussed by religious and political figures from across the world of Islam, the issue of Palestine enjoys special importance. Palestine is the primary issue among all common issues of Islamic countries. This issue has unique characteristics. The first characteristic is that a Muslim country has been taken away from its people and entrusted to foreigners who have come together from different countries and formed a fake and mosaic-like society. The second characteristic is that this historically unprecedented event has been accompanied by constant killings, crimes, oppression and humiliation. The third characteristic is that Muslims\' original qiblah and many respected religious centers which exist in that country have been threatened with destruction, sacrilege and decline. The fourth characteristic is that at the most sensitive spot of the world of Islam, this fake government and society has played the role of a military, security and political base for the arrogant governments since the beginning up until today. And the pivot of the colonialist west - which has been opposed to the unity, development and progress of Islamic countries for various reasons - has always used it like a dagger in the heart of the Islamic Ummah. The fifth characteristic is that Zionism - which is a great ethical, political and economic threat to the human community - has used this foothold as a tool and stepping stone to spread its influence and hegemony in the world. Other points that can be added include: heavy financial and human costs that Islamic countries have paid so far, preoccupation of Muslim governments and people, the sufferings of millions of displaced Palestinians many of whom still live in refugee camps after the passage of six decades and putting an end to the history of an important civilizational center in the world of Islam. Today another key point has been added to these causes and this key point is the wave of Islamic Awakening which has engulfed the entire region and has opened a new and determining chapter in the history of the Islamic Ummah. This massive movement - which can undoubtedly lead to a powerful, advanced and coherent Islamic alliance in this sensitive part of the world and can put an end to the era of backwardness, weakness and humiliation of Muslim nations relying on Allah\'s favor and the firm determination of the followers of this movement - has borrowed an important portion of its force and courage from the issue of Palestine. The Zionist regime\'s increasing oppression and bullying and the cooperation of certain autocratic, corrupt and mercenary rulers on the one hand and the spirited Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the miraculous victories of faithful youth in the 33-day war on Lebanon and in the 22-day war on Gaza on the other hand - were among the important factors which made turbulent the seemingly calm ocean of the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan nations as well as other regional nations. It is a fact that the Zionist regime, which is armed to the teeth and claims to be invincible, suffered a decisive and humiliating defeat in Lebanon during an unequal war against the clenched fist of faithful and brave mujahids. Later on it re-tested its blunt sword against the innocent and determined resistance of Gaza and it failed. Serious attention should be paid to these points when analyzing current conditions of the region and the appropriateness of every decision should be evaluated against these points. Therefore, it is an accurate judgment to say that today the issue of Palestine has gained increased importance and urgency and the Palestinian nation has the right to expect more from Muslims countries in the current regional conditions. Let us take a look at the past and the present and prepare a road map for the future. I will discuss certain topics in this regard. More than six decades have passed since the tragic occupation of Palestine. All the main causes of this bloody tragedy have been identified and the colonialist English government is the most important cause. The policies, weapons and military, security, economic and cultural power of the English government and other arrogant western and eastern governments were put to the service of this great oppression. Under the ruthless clutches of the occupiers, the defenseless people of Palestine were massacred and forced out of their homes. Until today even one percent of the human and civil tragedy - which was carried out at that time by the claimants of civilization and ethics - has not been properly portrayed and this tragedy has not had its fair share in the media and visual arts. The owners of visual and cinematic arts and western movie mafias have not been willing to allow this to happen. An entire nation was massacred and displaced in silence. Certain instances of resistance emerged at the beginning, which were harshly and ruthlessly crushed. From outside Palestinian borders and mainly from Egypt, a number of men with Islamic motives made certain efforts which were not sufficiently supported and could not have an effect on the scene. Afterwards there were full-scale and classical wars between a few Arab countries and the Zionist army. Egypt, Syria and Jordan mobilized their military forces, but the unconditional, massive and increasing military and financial support of America, England and France for the Zionist regime overwhelmed Arab armies. Not only did they fail to help the Palestinian nation, but they also lost an important portion of their territories during these wars. After the weakness of Palestine\'s Arab neighbors was revealed, cells of organized resistance were gradually established in the form of armed Palestinian groups and after a while they came together to form the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This was a spark of hope which shone brightly, but it did not last long. This failure can be attributed to many factors, but the essential factor was their separation from the people and from their Islamic beliefs and faith. Leftist ideology or mere nationalistic sentiments were not what the complicated and difficult issue of Palestine required. Islam, jihad and martyrdom were the factors that could have encouraged an entire nation to step into the arena of resistance and turned it into an invincible force. They did not understand this properly. During the first few months of the great Islamic Revolution, when the leaders of the Palestinian Liberation Organization had found a new spirit and they used to visit Tehran repeatedly, I asked a pillar of the organization why they did not raise the flag of Islam in their righteous battle. His answer was that there were a number of Christians among them as well. Later on that person was assassinated by the Zionists in an Arab country and I hope Allah the Exalted has bestowed mercy on him. But his reasoning was flawed. I believe a faithful Christian who fights alongside a group of selfless mujahids - who carry out jihad in a sincere way while having faith in God, the Day of Judgment and divine assistance - would be more motivated to fight than a Christian who has to fight alongside a group of people who lack faith, rely on unstable sentiments and lack loyal support of the people. Lack of firm faith and separation from the people gradually made them neutral and ineffective. Of course there were honorable, motivated and valorous men among them, but the organization went off in a different direction. Their deviation has been a blow to the issue of Palestine. Like certain treacherous Arab governments, they too turned their back on the ideal of resistance which has been the only way of saving Palestine. And of course not only did they deliver a blow to Palestine, but they also delivered a strong blow to themselves. As the Christian Arab poet says, لئن اضعتم فلسطيناً فعيشكم طول الحياة مضاضات و آلامٌ Thirty two years were spent in this misery, but suddenly God\'s hand of power turned the tables. The victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the year 1979 completely changed the conditions of this region and turned a new page. Among the amazing global effects of this Revolution and the strong blows that it delivered to arrogant policies, the blow to the Zionist government was the clearest and the most immediate. The statements of the leaders of that regime during those days are interesting to read and they show how unhappy and anxious they were. During the first few weeks after the victory, Israel\'s embassy in Tehran was closed down and its staff was expelled. The embassy was officially given to the Palestinian Liberation Organization whose representatives are still there. Our magnanimous Imam announced that one of the goals of the Revolution was to liberate Palestine and to remove the cancerous tumor, Israel. The powerful waves of this Revolution, which engulfed the entire world at that time, conveyed this message wherever it reached: \"Palestine must be liberated.\" Even the repeated and great problems that the enemies of the Revolution imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran failed to discourage the Islamic Republic from defending Palestine. One instance of the problems that they caused was the eight-year war waged on Iran by Saddam Hussein who had been goaded by America and England and was supported by reactionary Arab governments. Thus, new blood was pumped into the veins of Palestine. Muslim mujahid groups started to emerge in Palestine. The Lebanese Resistance formed a powerful and new front against the enemy and its supporters. Instead of relying on Arab governments and seeking help from global organizations such as the United Nations, which were accomplices of the arrogant powers, Palestine started to rely on itself, its youth, its deep Islamic faith and its selfless men and women. This is the key to all achievements. Over the past three decades this process has been accelerated on a daily basis. The humiliating defeat of the Zionist regime in Lebanon in the year 2006, the humiliating failure of the arrogant Zionist army in Gaza in the year 2008, the Zionist regime\'s escape from South Lebanon and withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of the resistance government in Gaza and in brief, changing the Palestinian nation from a group of helpless and hopeless people to a hopeful, resistant and self-confident nation - these were the outstanding characteristics of the past thirty years. This general picture will be clear when attempts at compromise and treacherous activities - whose goal is to break down resistance and make Palestinian groups and Arab governments acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel - are also reflected upon in an appropriate way. These activities, which were initiated with the Camp David Accords by the treacherous and unworthy successor of Gamal Abdel Nasser, have always been aimed at undermining the steely determination of resistance forces. During the Camp David Accords, for the first time an Arab government officially acknowledged that the Palestinian lands belonged to the Zionists and it signed the papers according to which Palestine was recognized as the homeland of Jews. From that time until the Oslo Accords in the year 1993 and later on in complementary plans - which were imposed one after the other on compromising and careless Palestinian groups with the intervention of America and the cooperation of colonialist European governments - the enemy tried its best to discourage the Palestinian nation and Palestinian groups from resisting through the use of empty and deceptive promises and making them busy with amateur political games. The uselessness of all these accords was revealed very soon and the Zionists and their supporters repeatedly showed that they consider these accords as worthless pieces of paper. The goal of these plans was to create doubt among the Palestinians, make materialistic unbelievers greedy and cripple Islamic resistance. So far, the spirit of resistance among the Islamic Palestinian groups and the Palestinian people has been the antidote to all these treacherous games. They stood up against the enemy with Allah\'s permission and as promised by God, they benefited from divine assistance: \"And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause. Most surely Allah is Strong, Mighty.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura al-Hajj, Ayah 40] The resistance of Gaza in spite of a comprehensive siege was an instance of divine assistance. The collapse of the treacherous and corrupt government of Hosni Mubarak was divine assistance. The emergence of the powerful wave of Islamic Awakening in the region is divine assistance. The removal of the mask of hypocrisy from the face of America, England and France and the increasing hatred of the regional nations towards these countries are divine assistance. The repeated and innumerable problems of the Zionist regime - from its domestic political, economic and social problems to its isolation in the world, to public and even academic hatred of the Zionists in Europe - are all instances of divine assistance. Today the Zionist regime is weaker, more hated and more isolated than ever before and its main supporter, America, is more embattled and confused than ever before. Today the general history of Palestine in the past 60 years is in front of our eyes. It is necessary to delineate the future by considering that general history and learning lessons from it. Two points should be clarified in advance. The first point is that our demand is the liberation of Palestine, not the liberation of a part of Palestine. Any plan to divide Palestine is completely unacceptable. The two-state idea which has been presented in the self-righteous clothing of \"recognizing the Palestinian government as a member of the United Nations\" is nothing but giving in to the demands of the Zionists - namely, \"recognizing the Zionist government in Palestinian lands\". This would mean trampling on the rights of the Palestinian nation, ignoring the historical right of the displaced Palestinians and even jeopardizing the right of the Palestinians settled in \"1948 lands\". It would mean leaving the cancerous tumor intact and exposing the Islamic Ummah - especially the regional nations - to constant danger. It would mean bringing back decades-long sufferings and trampling upon the blood of the martyrs. Any operational solution must be based on the principle of \"all of Palestine for all Palestinian people\". Palestine is the land that extends \"from the river to the sea\", not one inch less than that. Of course it should be noted that through its elected government, the Palestinian people will run the affairs of the any part of the Palestinian soil they manage to liberate, just as they did in the case of Gaza, but they will never forget the ultimate goal. The second point is that in order to reach this lofty goal, what is necessary is action, not words. It is necessary to be serious, not to make ceremonial gestures. It is necessary to have patience and wisdom, not engage in a variety of impatient actions. It is necessary to consider horizons that lie far ahead and to move forward step by step with determination, reliance on God and hope. Muslim governments and nations and the resistance groups in Palestine, Lebanon and other countries can each identify their share of work in this general struggle and solve the puzzle of resistance with Allah\'s permission. The solution of the Islamic Republic to the issue of Palestine and this old wound is a clear and logical proposal that is based on political wisdom accepted by global public opinion and it has been presented in detail previously. We neither propose a classical war with the armies of Islamic countries, nor do we propose throwing Jewish immigrants into the sea or intervention of the United Nations and other international organizations. We propose a referendum among the Palestinian people. Just like any other nation, the Palestinian nation has the right to determine its own destiny and to elect its own government. All the original people of Palestine - including Muslims, Christians and Jews and not foreign immigrants - should take part in a general and orderly referendum and determine the future government of Palestine whether they live inside Palestine or in camps or in any other place. The government that is established after the referendum will determine the destiny of non-Palestinian immigrants who migrated to Palestine in the past. This is a fair and logical proposal which global public opinion understands and it can receive support from independent nations and governments. Of course we do not expect the usurping Zionists to willingly accept this proposal and this is where the role of governments, nations and resistance organizations becomes significant. The most important pillar of supporting the Palestinian nation is to stop supporting the usurping enemy and this is the great duty of Islamic governments. After the people have stepped into the arena and shouted slogans against the Zionist regime in a powerful way, on what logical basis do Muslim governments continue their relations with the usurping Zionist regime? The proof of Muslim governments\' honesty lies in their support for the Palestinian nation and in their decision to break off their overt and secret political and economic relations with the Zionist regime. The governments that host Zionist embassies or economic offices cannot claim to defend Palestine and no anti-Zionist slogan on their part will be considered serious and genuine. Today Islamic resistance organizations, which have been shouldering the heavy burden of jihad over the past years, are confronted with the same great responsibility. Their organized resistance is an active arm that can help the Palestinian nation move towards the ultimate goal. Brave resistance of the people whose homes and country have been occupied has been recognized in all international conventions and it has been praised. Allegations of terrorism by the political and media network affiliated with Zionism are hollow and worthless claims. The obvious terrorist is the Zionist regime and its western supporters. Palestinian resistance is a movement against the oppressive terrorists and it is a human and sacred movement. In the meantime, it is appropriate for western countries to evaluate the situation from a realistic perspective. Today the west is at a crossroads. It should either stop bullying and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian nation and refuse to follow the plan of the bullying and anti-human Zionists, or they should wait for stronger blows in the not so distant future. These crippling blows are not limited to the continual collapse of their puppet governments in the Islamic region. Rather the day when European and American peoples realize that the majority of their economic, social and ethical problems result from the octopus-like hegemony of international Zionism over their governments and that their statesmen give in to the bullying of parasitic Zionists who own companies in America and Europe for the sake of their personal and partisan interests, they will create a such hell for them in which no salvation will be imaginable. The US President says that Israel\'s security is his red line. What factor has determined this red line? Is it the interests of the American nation or Obama\'s personal need for the money and support of Zionist companies to ensure his second term as US President? How long do you think you will be able to deceive your own nation? What will the American people do with you the day they realize you have agreed to give in to humiliation and obedience to wealthy Zionists for the sake of remaining in power for a few more days? What will they do with you when they realize that you have sacrificed the interests of a great nation at the feet of the Zionists? Dear brothers and sisters, know that this red line drawn by Obama and people like him will be crossed by Muslim nations that have risen up. What is threatening the Zionist regime is not the missiles of Iran or resistance groups, so they can build a missile shield here and there in order to confront it. The real and inescapable threat is the firm determination of men, women and youth in Islamic countries who do not want America, Europe and their puppets rulers, to dominate and humiliate them any longer. Of course those missiles will fulfill their duty whenever the enemy poses a threat. \"Therefore, be patient. Surely the promise of Allah is true and let not those who have no certainty make you impatient.\" [The Holy Quran, Sura ar-Room, Ayah 60] Wa salaam alaykum wa rahmat Allah http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1527

The 4th International Investment Conference Sarajevo Business Forum 2013 opened in Sarajevo on May 17th, an opportunity to attract foreign investment and to strengthen economic ties. Bosnia Bank International in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank and other international partner organizations organized this year\'s Sarajevo Business Forum.

Israel issues tenders for more settler units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds. Settlement watchdog, Peace Now says the tenders were published for a total of 18-hundred-59 settler units. According to the NGO, about two-fifths of the units will be built in occupied east Jerusalem al-Quds. The announcement comes only days after Israel gave the final approval for 15-hundred new settler units in east Jerusalem al-Quds. Israel\'s settlement activities have been a main obstacle in the so-called peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Authority has condemned the move as a flagrant violation of international law, saying it plans to turn to the UN Security Council and international courts to stop Israel\'s illegal activities. Israel\'s settlement activities are illegal under international law.

Top Iranian computer science and software engineering students have gathered at Tehran\'s famous Sharif University of Technology. Based on 2011 & 12 statistics Iranian students were ranked top 14 in the world in computer engineering. The 2013 CSI International symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Signal Processing (AISP), Computer Networks and Distributing Systems (CNDS) and Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE) has started in the capital. The event was held by Computer Society of Iran and Sharif University of Technology. The three day conference will discuss recent advances in computer algorithms, theoretical computer science and computation, formal programming methods, software engineering, verification and architecture and information systems. The chairman of the symposium talked explained about Iranian student\'s recent advances in this field. These three symposiums in 2013 published 129 papers in Iran of which 27% were published in international computer science and software engineering journals. Last year Iranian student\'s finished 5th place in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) considered to be one most prestigious computer science competitions in the world, Iran earned 2 gold and 2 silver medals.

The Israeli high court has held its first session to determine the fate of two Palestinian villages which Israeli wants to divide and annex behind a controversial wall. The proposed wall which has already sparked an international outcry will cut directly through the villages of Battir and Cremisan, isolating villagers from their rich agricultural lands. One of the villages to be most adversely affected is Battir, where the wall will cut through and destroy ancient Roman terraces, a castle, and a Roman irrigation system which the villagers still use to irrigate their crops. Christians from the village of Cremisan have been demonstrating on a weekly basis in the \'Tent of Nations\' which has attracted international support. Villagers here claim that the Israeli is trying to grab the lands that belong to 58 families. The Bethlehem municipality filed the petition in the high court. Israeli claims the separation wall will be built for the so-called security reasons. However, the Palestinians call is yet another excuse to seize their lands. Following years of petitioning to keep their land and agricultural resources intact, residents of Battir and Cremisan say they would wait for the court\'s decision. However, they pledge to keep fighting for their rights and say that even IF the ruling is not in their favor they will continue to pressurize Israel through international petitions.

Israel is pushing ahead with plans to build more settler units in the occupied Palestinian land despite international outcries. A new statement by Tel Aviv says five-hundred fifty-eight more settler units will be constructed in East Jerusalem al-Quds. This is the latest in settlement projects which Israel has been speeding up over the past years. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The UN and much of the international community have condemned Israel\\\'s expansionism as illegal. They want an end to its settlement activities in Palestinian territories. The settlements are also one of the main obstacles in talks between Israelis and the Palestinian Authority.

Israel is pushing ahead with plans to build more settler units in the occupied Palestinian land despite international outcries. A new statement by Tel Aviv says five-hundred fifty-eight more settler units will be constructed in East Jerusalem al-Quds. This is the latest in settlement projects which Israel has been speeding up over the past years. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The UN and much of the international community have condemned Israel\\\'s expansionism as illegal. They want an end to its settlement activities in Palestinian territories. The settlements are also one of the main obstacles in talks between Israelis and the Palestinian Authority.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful‌ First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious officials who render many services in one of the outstanding arenas of the Islamic community - that is to say, the arena of hajj and visiting the House of God and the enlightened city of Madina. I hope that you will benefit from this great achievement in the hereafter. I hope that your actions and efforts in this auspicious arena will be so sincere that your performance sheet in the hereafter shines, like the sun, with the light of purity and sincerity. I express my gratitude to the honorable gentlemen for the efforts that they have made in the arena of hajj. The things that they have done - whether in cultural, spiritual, moral and educational areas or in practical and organizational areas - should really be appreciated. What is important is that we should know hajj is one of the strong points of the holy religion of Islam. Although there are not a few strong points in Islamic sharia, hajj plays an outstanding role because of the characteristics which it enjoys and which we are more or less familiar with. In fact, we can say that hajj is a source of power for the Islamic community and the Islamic Ummah. The day when we Muslims from different countries and with different denominations manage to achieve intellectual growth so much so that we can form the Islamic Ummah in the real sense of the word - unfortunately, we Muslims have not managed to achieve this moral, political and intellectual growth until today - and the day when we Muslims from eastern parts to western parts of the world of Islam manage to form one single ummah although we may have different governments, we understand how hajj can be a source of power, strength, transcendence and dignity for this Islamic Ummah. Today, the Islamic Republic should adopt such an outlook towards hajj. It should regard hajj as a means of power. What kind of power? By power, do we mean materialistic, political, military power or soft power such as cultural or linguistic power? The answer is no. The power of hajj is far beyond this. As well as showing the political and cultural power of the Islamic government, hajj provides a source of spiritual power. That is to say, it builds human beings from the inside, prepares them to overcome difficult obstacles and opens their eyes to realities which cannot be seen and felt without being present in the arena of hajj. By performing hajj rituals, one can understand a number of spiritual and educational realities of Islam. Hajj plays such a role. One of the requirements of hajj is that hajj pilgrims should behave in a brotherly - in the real sense of the word - way towards one another in the arena of hajj and this great Islamic obligation. They should not look at one another as outsiders and enemies. They should see themselves as people who are moving towards one goal, who pursue one thing, who revolve around one pivot. Allah the Exalted says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Let there be no obscenity, no wickedness and no quarreling in the Hajj.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 197] The meaning of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is not that we should not quarrel with the enemy. On the contrary, hajj is the manifestation of quarreling with the enemy. Some narrow-minded and pessimistic people say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There should be ‘no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' during hajj pilgrimage. Why do you hold a detestation ceremony during hajj pilgrimage?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The enmity which is reflected in this ceremony means enmity towards polytheism and atheism. This is one of the most fundamental principles of Islamic life. The kind of enmity which should not exist in hajj pilgrimage is enmity between brothers and believers and enmity between people who believe in monotheism. This enmity should not exist. Not only should we Muslims express in words that we have no enmity towards one another, but also we should feel this from the bottom of our hearts. This is the exact opposite of what the enemies of Islam are trying to do in the Islamic community. You should pay attention to this. The existence of differences between Islamic denominations and between Shia and Sunni Muslims will not create any problem as long as these differences are confined to ideological differences. One person may believe in something and another person may believe in something else. Problems arise when these ideological differences lead to behavioral differences, confrontation, hostility and enmity. The enemies of the world of Islam are after creating such a situation and hatching such a plot. They have properly understood that the Zionist regime can breathe easily if Islamic denominations in the world of Islam start confronting and fighting with one another. They have understood this truth perfectly and properly. On the one hand, they form groups which engage in takfirism - not only do these groups anathematize and curse Shia Muslims, but they also anathematize Sunni denominations - and on the other hand, they hire a number of mercenaries to add fuel to the fire of discord. You know and have heard about this plot. They provide these groups and mercenaries with different means of mass communication. Where do they do this? They do this in America and London. The kind of Shia Islam which is promoted from London and America is useless for Shia Muslims. Shia leaders - particularly the leaders who emerged after the victory of the Islamic Revolution - our Imam and other leaders placed great emphasis on preserving the unity of the Islamic Ummah and behaving in a brotherly way towards Muslims. This is while a number of people - who interfere in the affairs of Muslims for no reason - are after fueling the fire of discord. This is the thing which the enemy wants. This is the thing which the enemies of Islam - who are neither Shia nor Sunni - like to pursue. We should understand this condition properly and we should pay attention to it. Another important point is that Muslims should share and exchange their original Islamic cultures and their Islamic experiences with one another. This is another strong point of hajj and another source of power for it. We may have heard different things about such and such an Islamic country. But, hearing is different from sitting and talking directly to an individual from an Islamic country. This individual can also compare what he has heard about our dear Islamic Iran with what he sees in you and hears from you. This way, he can discover the truth about Iran. There are an enormous number of propaganda campaigns against the Islamic Republic. There are a large and surprising number of media networks who propagandize against the Islamic Republic with different methods. When a young individual from such and such an African, Asian, Arab or non-Arab country goes on the Internet, watches such and such an international channel or reads such and such an international newspaper, how can he or she understand that what such media networks say is false? Your presence in hajj and in this international arena gives you the opportunity to reveal the truth not only in words but also in action. It helps you to speak the truth about Shia Islam, the Islamic Revolution and the events which are happening today. Another important and crucial point about hajj is the thing which I referred to earlier: strengthening spirituality in our hearts and souls. My dear ones, we can put up a resistance in the arenas of jihad for the sake of God only if our hearts are filled with faith in God and reliance on Allah the Exalted. It is not possible to move forward without spirituality. It is not possible to take difficult paths without a strong faith. Without reliance on Allah the Exalted, it is not possible to ignore the superficial power of powerful countries and see the real power. Reliance on God, faith and belief in God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s promises are necessary. These things can be achieved in hajj. When people go on hajj pilgrimage they \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Witness the benefits (provided) for them.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28] These benefits are not only material benefits. There are otherworldly, spiritual and psychological benefits as well as material benefits in hajj pilgrimage. This is the significance of hajj. Well, today you can see that besides creating intellectual, psychological and ideological discord among Muslims throughout the world of Islam, the enemies fuel the fire of war as well. See how they fuel the fire of war in our neighboring countries with the pretext of Shia and Sunni differences. They do this in different ways in our neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. Even when the problem is not about Shia and Sunni, they say that it has occurred because of Shia and Sunni differences. I have given many examples in this regard. The enemies are prepared to set the region on fire for their own political interests. Superpowers are like this. They are not afraid that an explosion may take place in such and such a neighborhood of an Iraqi city and they are not afraid that 50 people may be killed in this explosion. They are not afraid that certain events may happen in Syria, Egypt or other countries which may turn them into a ruin. Superpowers - such as America and countries like America - do such things for their own illegitimate interests. We hope that the Americans are serious about their new outlook on Syria. We hope that it is not another political game. It is several weeks that they have been threatening the region to wage a war and create a serious conflict for the sake of the interests which they have defined for themselves. And they consider it legitimate to defend these interests no matter if they jeopardize the interests of ten other countries and nations. They are such people. They do not care about justice and the interests of human beings. They refer to such interests as national interests, but these are not really their national interests. Rather, these are the interests of the Zionists and the enemies of humanity. These are the interests of capitalists who have proved during the last 70, 80 years that they are not committed to any human principle and value. But they call it national interests and they are prepared to fuel all kinds of wars and fitnas for the sake of these proclaimed national interests. It is several weeks that they have been trying to cause great controversy by threatening the region with a war and bombardment. Well, if they are serious about their recent outlook, this means that they have turned back from the wrong path which they have been taking during the last few weeks. We hope that they are serious. This is the condition of the region and the world. The Islamic Republic takes a look at all these issues with open eyes and with its full attention. What we have understood is that as a nation with a total population of 70, 80 million people and with a sensitive geographical location in the world, we should strengthen our position by adopting the right outlook and by benefiting from our Islamic power. We should let the entire humanity see our lofty and human goals which have originated from Islam and we should invite all human beings to cherish the gift which Islam has offered to human beings. This is our responsibility. I have repeatedly said that strengthening the country from the inside is possible primarily with firm faith, unity of the people, appropriate actions by the officials of the country, cooperation between the people and officials and reliance on Allah the Exalted. That is to say, we should benefit from rationality, spirituality, reliance on God and diligence. Undoubtedly, this will influence the conditions of the region as it has influenced the region so far. I hope that what Islam wants for the Islamic Republic, people throughout the world, Muslims and non-Muslims will be achieved with your presence in different arenas - including your presence in the arena of hajj which manifests your rationality and your clear outlook. I hope that your presence in such arenas will bring about communal happiness. I ask all of you to pray for us. I hope that this year you will experience a good hajj pilgrimage and I hope that you, all Iranian hajj pilgrims and all the pilgrims who visit the House of God from throughout the world will benefit from divine blessings and mercy. I hope that your hajj pilgrimage will be accepted by God. Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with commanders and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 20th Congress of Officials and Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful First, I would like to welcome you and second, I congratulate you on this auspicious Eid. You turned our day into an Eid with your presence and warm breath and with the good programs that you performed. I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, your hearts will always be happy. I hope that your hearts will always remember God and achieve loftier positions. I would like to say a few things about our great Imam and knowledgeable member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (thousands of greetings and praise be upon him). In fact, we cannot understand the spiritual position of these holy personalities, let alone describe them in words. However, before our eyes and before the eyes of history, the lives of these great personalities are a practical, eternal and undeniable lesson. If, in certain cases, we take a look at the lives of the Imams (a.s.) and if we put great emphasis on their policies, the measures they took and their biographies, this does not mean that these are the most important parts of their lives. This is not the case. Their spiritual world, their effort to get close to God and the wisdom and love which radiated from their peerless hearts are other important parts of their lives. However, what is before our eyes is the lives of these great personalities and we should learn from them. Imam Ridha (a.s.) lived for almost 55 years. That is to say, he was born in the year 148 - the year when Imam Sadiq (a.s.) was martyred - and he was martyred in the year 203 of the Hijri calendar. The entire life of this great personality with all its greatness, depth and dimensions took place in this fairly short era. Nineteen, twenty years out of these 55 years constituted the era of the Imamate of this great personality. But if you take a look at this short era, you will see that it exerted a considerable influence on the world of Islam, it gave great depth to the true meaning of Islam and it helped people follow the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and get familiar with their teachings. This is an extraordinary phenomenon and it is like a deep sea. When that Imam achieved Imamate, his close friends and his followers said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What can Ali ibn Musa do in such an environment which is filled with Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s oppression?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" There is a narration which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Blood trickles from Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sword.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" These friends and followers used to say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In such conditions, what can this young Imam do to continue the jihad of Shia Imams and to carry out the great responsibility which falls on his shoulders?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the beginning of the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.). When you take a look, you will see that after the passage of 19, 20 years - when Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was martyred and his Imamate ended - the ideas and thoughts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the issue of commitment to the Imams were established, in the world of Islam, so firmly that the oppressive and dictatorial Abbasid regime could not confront it. Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha had done this. You have heard that De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee went to Merv in Khorasan and composed and recited a number of well-known poems in praise of Imam Ridha for which he was rewarded. He stayed in Merv and other cities of Khorasan for a few days and then he went towards Baghdad, Kufa and other cities that he wanted to visit. In the middle of the way, some bandits attacked and looted the caravan on which De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel was travelling. The travelers sat and watched the looting of their property. The chief of the bandits was sitting on a rock and proudly watching the prisoners and captives of this caravan and the things which they had stolen and collected. De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel heard that the chief was whispering a poem. He listened and he realized that it was his own poem. It was one of the couplets of the qasida that he had recited one month or one month and a half ago in Merv: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I see that their property has been looted and divided among outsiders and wicked people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Speaking in Arabic] In the middle of the way to Rey and Iraq, the chief of the bandits was reciting this poem from memory. De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel became happy. He stood up and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Who has composed the poem that you are reciting?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The chief said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"It belongs to De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, I am De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" When the chief saw that this person was De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee, he stood up, held De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel in his arms, kissed him and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Because of the presence of this person in the caravan, give them back all their property.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" They gave them back all their property, respected them and helped them move towards their destination. Well, this is a small event in history, but it has a great significance. The poem which was composed in praise of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was recited and memorized, in Rey and Iraq, by a bandit after the passage of almost one month or one month and a half since the poem was composed. What does this mean? It means that the ground for promoting the position of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the auspicious name of Imam Ridha was so prepared that, in a short time, this poem - at that time, poetry was one of the most effective means of communication - spread rapidly by word of mouth until it was picked up by a bandit in the middle of a desert. This indicates the great movement which was launched during the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha in order to promote the school of thought of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. During this time, the love of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household was shared by all individuals and the hearts of all people felt the presence and existence of the Imams in the Islamic community. The movement of the honorable children of the Imams towards Iran has a positive and meaningful dimension as well as a tragic dimension because of their martyrdom in the middle of the way to Iran. The reason for their movement towards Iran was the request of the people and their acceptance of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. As you know, when we speak about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, we mean the school of thought which was established by the Imams and the Islamic concepts which they introduced. It means a deeply cultural and spiritual achievement and a great ideological feat. This is the movement of Imam Ridha (a.s.). According to the events that you know and have heard about, Ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'mun finally feels that he has to martyr Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.) - he had forced that great Imam to leave Medina in order to get close to him and he did not plan to kill Imam Ridha at first - contrary to what he had planned. The divine will and plan to bury a member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household in this place, which was faraway from Medina, was exercised by the enemies of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. This is divine wisdom and engineering. In order to reach lofty goals, one should carry out his responsibilities in such a way. Long-term outlooks should be adopted with such intention, motives and hopes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has such a position. The issue is not that a new government was formed after the Revolution and that it has certain supporters and opponents and certain soldiers, guardians and armed forces. The issue is not this. It is beyond such things. The issue of the Islamic Revolution - which is protected by you members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - is beyond such things. First of all, I would like to say a few things about the experience of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over these many years. Then, I will raise the point which I had wanted to discuss with you dear brothers. The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over the past 30-plus years has been brilliant. I am not saying this as a ceremonial gesture, like the words of praise which are uttered in many places. This is a fact. The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps represents the experience of our nation. That is to say, the depth of the personality and identity of the Iranian nation can be seen in this performance because the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps enters the arena with faith and belief. What kind of arena? The arena of jihad and resistance. It has built the strongest and the most intelligent military commanders. During the war, those who became designers- and as foreigners say \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strategists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"- while they were young and below thirty years old and had not received any military education. It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who built them. It was this organization which created such a spiritual environment. It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which founded such an organization on the basis of faith and belief. It has built a number of outstanding personalities whom our nation and our history will never forget. This is the art of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. These are the things which this organization has done in the area of war. Besides these, we can see that it has built and introduced the wisest, the strongest and the best managers in non-military areas. The list of people that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has introduced to the ruling organizations of the Islamic Republic is very long and glorious. This is the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. One of the important parts of the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is that it lives a revolutionary life and it preserves its revolutionary nature. That is to say, different events have not been able to make this strong and powerful organization deviate from the main and the right path. It has not changed its path just because life and the world have changed. These are the excuses that a number of people make. These people make excuses for compromising their principles and they justify their mistakes. Their excuse is that the world has changed, that everything has changed. Well, certain things do not change. Since the beginning of history until today, the virtue of justice and the tendency of human beings to seek justice have not changed. The fact that oppression is bad and national independence and national dignity are great virtues has not changed. These things and many other principles cannot be changed. The fact that the world has changed cannot give us an excuse to change our behavior, our ideals and our goals. When our ideals change, our path changes too. When our ultimate goal changes, then it is absurd to follow the previous path. In such circumstances, we should move towards achieving a new goal and we should follow a new path. One of the most important strong points of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is its resistance and steadfastness on this enlightened path. These are the points which I wanted to raise about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Of course, one can say many things about this organization. We have said many things about it. Other people too have said many things. Of course, there are many points which have not been raised about this organization, but right now, I am not going to speak about this issue more than this. What is important is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the guardian of the Islamic Revolution. I do not want to say that this guardianship means the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should protect the Islamic Revolution in all arenas including scientific, intellectual, cultural and economic arenas. This is not what I mean. What I want to say is that as a living organism, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should know what it wants to protect and what this Revolution is. It is not necessary for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to engage in protection of the Islamic Revolution in political arenas, but it should gain a proper understanding of political arenas. Some people mix certain issues together. This should be clarified. It is not possible to describe a certain organization as the arm and the guardian of the Revolution, but make it ignore and close its eyes to different political orientations - while some of these orientations behave in a deviant way and become dependent on such and such a group and some of them do not. This is meaningless. Such an organization should know what it wants to protect. If we relegate the challenges that the Revolution is faced with to political and partisan challenges and to confrontation between certain people, this is negligence and carelessness. These are not the challenges that the Revolution is faced with. The main challenge of the Revolution is that it has introduced a new system for humanity. We are not saying that since the beginning, the Revolution addressed the entire humanity. This is not the case. At first, it was the Islamic Revolution of Iran and it only addressed issues which were related to Iran and fundamental changes in this country. However, the language and message of this Revolution could not naturally be confined to the borders of Iran. Through this Revolution, a message which was based on a universal and human truth was conveyed to the entire humanity. Anybody in the world who hears this message feels that they are attached to it. What is this message? If we want to describe the social and human function of this message in a phrase we should say that it is: confrontation with global arrogance. This is the message of the Revolution. Global arrogance is a system which divides the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. The logic of the Revolution, which is based on the logic of Islam, is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 279] You should not oppress others and you should not let others oppress you. Who in the world is not happy about and interested in this message? This message is: neither oppress other people nor let them oppress you. This is the exact opposite of the current order in the world which was imposed after the emergence of the new industrial civilization and the prevalence of industrial tools and the culture of domination. Any organization in the world which is dependent on global arrogance is against this message. Those who like to achieve domination over other countries - that is to say, oppressive governments and economic networks which suck at the resources of other nations - are against this message because they are oppressors. The dependent governments which rule over poor or rich nations, which follow global arrogance, which have no power but which follow and obey these arrogant powers are also against this message. Such and such a government which completely implements the policies of arrogant powers such as America or England is naturally against the message of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The international, multinational or domestic organizations which loot people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wealth are against this message. Those politicians who promote the three elements of war, poverty and decadence throughout the world are against this message. During the last two, three centuries, many of the wars which were waged were influenced by global arrogance. Global powers either waged a war against a certain country or made two other countries fight one another. They have done this for the sake of their own interests. Poverty too is the result of their policies. They are to blame for the situation that they have created in many poor countries where the people live in poverty and cannot benefit from their natural resources. With their political domination, these arrogant powers have prevented many countries from drawing on their own intellectual resources. You should read the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Glances at World History\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Jawaharlal Nehru. In the chapter which is about the interference of the English in India, he says that the kind of industry and science which existed in India was not inferior to the one in Europe, England and the west. Rather it was superior to European science. Well, Nehru was both trustworthy and well-informed. When the English entered India, one of their plans was to prevent the domestic industry of India from developing. Well, India ended up watching tens of millions of people in that era and hundreds of millions of people in future eras suffer from hunger in the real sense of the word. The same is true of Africa. The same is true of many Latin American countries. So, not only does global arrogance wage wars but it also brings about poverty. The great treasure which has been accumulated on the peaks of wealth and which belongs to the richest individuals in the world reminds us of this hadith: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I have not seen any kind of wealth which was accumulated without someone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s right being violated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Derasat fi Nahjul Balaghah, page 40] When they loot the oil, agricultural products and tea resources of a country, when they take control of financial sectors of a country in a way that the people have no access to it and when they do not let the people in such a country have control over production, industry and other areas related to national progress, this country and nation becomes poor. So, they are responsible for war, poverty and decadence. They are responsible for the prevalence of decadence and fueling the fire of sexual desire - which is a natural process and which can be ignited in all individuals. Each of these issues requires a long and detailed discussion. Well, global arrogance promotes war, poverty and decadence and it does this by dividing the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. Islam - that is to say, the Islamic Revolution which is based on Islamic concepts - says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" It rejects all these negative elements. This is the main challenge. This is the root of their enmity. This is why they fight the Islamic Revolution. Other issues are all excuses. We should adopt such an outlook on sanctions, domestic wars, coups d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and other events which have taken place during the recent years such as the nuclear issue. Contrary to what everyone thought, our Revolution achieved victory. Then it formed a government which managed to prevail. This was while everyone in the world thought that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in six months or in one or two years. Then they gave a generous figure and said that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in three, four years. Contrary to what they thought, it became stronger on a daily basis and its \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"root is firm and its branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]. It has turned into a regional power and a country which is influential in major international issues. They are against this. They raise the issue of nuclear weapons. Well, we do not believe in nuclear weapons, not because of such and such people and not because of America and other countries. Rather, we are against nuclear weapons because of our belief. No one should have nuclear weapons. When we say that other countries should not have nuclear weapons, it means that we ourselves should not and will not have them. But, their problem is something else. If certain countries emerge which put an end to their exclusive right, they will have no problems with that. Of course, they do not want to give up their self-proclaimed right, but if this happens, they will not create uproar about it. But when it comes to Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic, they create uproar. Why do they do this? It is because having such a capability and power is a source of support for the Islamic Republic which is based on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the main challenge. We should know and see this. With such an outlook, we should analyze and interpret the behavior of America, the west and such and such a country and orientation which is dependent on and attached to these powers. This is the Islamic Revolution. In the eyes of these enemies, no one is more hated than our magnanimous Imam who was an outstanding personality and who was like a shining sun. They looked at him with respect, but they also showed enmity towards him from the bottom of their hearts because he resisted and because he was perceptive and wise due to two unique characteristics that he enjoyed: complete wisdom and complete decisiveness. He put up resistance in a determined way and he was like a barrier in the way of their progress and in the way of the harm which they wanted to inflict. This was why they were his enemies. Of course, as I said, they looked at him with respect. They knew about his greatness, but the greater he was, the angrier they became. Today, the same situation exists. They show the same hatred towards anybody who is committed to these main values and principles - that is to say, values which determine the political identity of the Revolution such as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They hate anybody who realizes that the problems the enemies created for the Islamic Republic are based on this outlook and who takes this path by adopting such an outlook and showing such resistance. Of course, the world of diplomacy is the world of smiling. They smile and ask to negotiate with us. They themselves offer to negotiate with us. A few days ago, one of the western politicians was asked, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You want to negotiate with Iran. This is while Iran is your enemy.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, negotiations should be conducted with the enemy, not other people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" That is to say, they admit that they are the enemies of Iran and they say this openly. The reason for their enmity is not the behavior of certain people. Rather, the reason is the true nature and identity of the Islamic Revolution. Everything that they say should be analyzed, interpreted and identified from this perspective. We are not against proper and reasonable moves, whether in the world of diplomacy or in the world of domestic policies. I believe in the idea which was referred to as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Flexibility is necessary in many areas. It is very good and there is nothing wrong with it. But the wrestler who is wrestling against his opponent and who shows flexibility for technical reasons should not forget who his opponent is and what he is doing. This is the main condition. Our politicians too should know what they are doing, who they are faced with, who their opponent is and which area the opposing side wants to attack. They should pay attention to this point. Well, you are the guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The meaning of the guardian of the Islamic Revolution is not that you should be present in all arenas and you should have a responsibility in all areas. As it was reflected in the statements of the dear and honorable commander who delivered a speech today, you have a certain and clear responsibility. As he pointed out, it is an appropriate move to take a look on the scope of activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. I agree with what he said. But, first, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should always know what it wants to do and what it wants to protect. Second, it should preserve its stability and steadfastness which is the main characteristic of the glorious identity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. It should not forget this. Everybody, at all levels, should pay attention to this point. I have repeatedly pointed out that what the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps does is based on spirituality. Spirituality does not contradict scientific progress, systematic organization, new methods and different scientific and practical innovations. We should not think that when we pay attention to spirituality, we should ignore the material aspects of life. This is not the case. During the early Islamic era, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Muslims employed the best and the cleverest tactics in the arenas of war. In our own times too, revolutionary elements - whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army or other revolutionary elements - employed the cleverest tactics and methods during the Sacred Defense Era. Spirituality does not contradict the idea that we should pay attention to the material aspects of our work and the effective organization of things. This spirituality should be preserved because it is the essence of our work. The last point I want to raise is that, in my opinion, the future of the Islamic Revolution is a bright future. This is not a vain hope. I am saying this because we have taken everything into consideration. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is experience. Well, during the early years of the Revolution, we were in a terrible condition because of our lack of manpower, lack of material resources, lack of weapons, lack of executive experience and different other shortcomings. But, where are we now? Today, we benefit from a wealth of manpower, material resources, scientific and political progress and international dignity. Where were we 30-plus years ago and where are we now? All of our moves during the past 35 years were made while we were under pressure from the opposing side. That is to say, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, but we managed to move forward. On the path that we were taking, there were fierce and adverse winds, but we managed to move forward. Is this experience not good? Is it not enough? Hostile orientations cannot confuse or stop a nation who is united, determined and religious and who knows what is wants to do. On the issue of the regional events which recently took place in the world of Islam, wherever Muslims suffered a loss, it was because they did not know what they should do. In these events, there was not a clear guideline and therefore such things happened. Of course, it will not remain like this. The event which happened in regional and Islamic countries - that is to say, Islamic Awakening - is an unprecedented phenomenon and it will play its part in these events. So, our experience is the first reason. Another reason is that we are moving forward with rationality and scientific precision. Our opposing side suffers from increasing weaknesses and internal contradictions because of the wrong way the infrastructures of this civilization are built. They are retreating. Of course, they do not need to admit that they are retreating and it is not necessary to visibly and clearly see this in their statements. This is the truth of the matter. When a people move things forward with precision and by finding the right way, they will definitely achieve the desired results. We have said that we should promote the idea of building the Islamic Republic from the inside. We have said that knowledge should develop and spread. We have said that domestic production should be the essence of our work. We have said that we should adopt a serious outlook on the issue of optimism about the domestic capabilities of the country. We have said that talents should develop and blossom. These things are the essence of our work. When a country moves forward by relying on its domestic capabilities, its manpower, its knowledge, its faith and its unity, it will certainly achieve the desired results. Therefore, we have no doubts that we have a bright future ahead of us. Whether this future arrives sooner or later depends on you and I. If laziness, negligence, selfishness, materialism and attachment to superficial things divert our attention and if we do something to cause our downfall - whether individual downfall or social downfall - then this future will be achieved later than expected. But it will definitely be achieved and this is because of the efforts and sacrifices which were made. Thankfully, in the arena of sacrifices too, you have been very active. You have put in a good performance and made brilliant moves in this arena. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future. I hope that God will make you benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that He will make you and us the guardians of Islam and the Islamic Revolution in the real sense of the word. I hope that He will associate the pure souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam with His saints and with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.). Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings

And now you will witness first hand \"The Making Of Shaheed Malcolm X\", so hold on to your seats and buckle up. But before all that, it\'s good for you to know that with all the different current events going on in the world, we all really need a funny, relaxed, refreshing, and yet eye-opening commentary on it all. So, Sayyid Shahryar\'s here to humbly shed a little insight into all that\'s going on around the world; past, present, and perhaps even future. In this episode of \'Keepin\' It Real\', we\'re going to continue and hopefully finish talking about a human rights activist on a domestic and international level, who happened to be from the United States of America, and who was a proud Muslim by choice until his dying breath, and was a Resistance Fighter even before he knew it, commonly known as Shaheed Malcolm X. What virtuous and righteous attributes and concepts were making Shaheed Malcolm X incredibly dangerous for the Arrogant Powers, both on a domestic and international scale? What was program COINTELPRO, who created it, and what was it\'s notorious purpose? Why are civil rights movements, human rights movements, and other \'I want my God-given rights\' movements so incredibly dangerous for the Arrogant Powers, both on a domestic and international level? What unfortunate, yet pre-planned altercation, led to the martyrdom of Shaheed Malcolm X? With what weapons and how many times was Shaheed Malcolm X shot to death? What esteemed religious authority gifted the title of \'Shaheed\' to Shaheed Malcolm X? If you watch the episode, you will hear a beautiful excerpt of a speech of Shaheed Malcolm X, delivered a few years before his martyrdom, yet it is very relevant to the present-day? (sorry for the question mark) And how in the world is the Keepin\' It Real guy going to conclude this awesome two-part episode of Keepin\' It Real where we humbly spoke about the great Resistance Fighter known as Malcolm X? And finally, we had brought up just some of the things that will get definitely get you killed at the hands of the Federalis; but who in the world are the Federalis?! Hey, we\'re just \"Keepin\' It Real\", by \"Whatever Means Necessary\". #IslamicPulse #KeepinItReal #KIR #NewsCommentary #Islam #Allah #Quran #GlobalArrogance #Revolution #AhlulBayt #IslamicRevolution #ArrogantPowers #MalcolmX #MalikShabazz #NOI #NationOfIslam #WhiteAmerica #WhiteSupremacy #Zionism #MalcolmLittle #Malcolm #BlackHistory #GeorgeFloyd #BlackHistoryMonth #Hajj #BlackAmerica #BlackPower #BlackLivesMatter #BLM #AfricanAmerican #Muslims #Shia #Martyr #Martyrdom #Shaheed #Defense #Justice #Truth #Media #Evil #Freedom #SoftWar #Humanity #God #USA #West #Racism #Discrimination #Islamophobia #America

Millions of Iranians have staged anti-Israel rallies in the country to commemorate International Quds Day in support of Palestinians. According to a Press TV reporter, hundreds of thousands turned out in the capital city of the Islamic Republic to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. The late founder of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini, designated the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as 'Quds Day' to denounce the continuing Israeli oppression of the innocent and defenseless Palestinian nation. During the rallies, demonstrators made the slogans "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" reverberate throughout the country. The demonstrators in Tehran also issued a statement to condemn the atrocities of Israeli regime in the occupied Palestinian lands. Protestors also demanded the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland, the statement said. "The demonstrators also raised a lot of money for Palestinians in the refugee camps," Press TV reporter said. Muslims and non-Muslims in huge numbers all over the world also demonstrate to renew their dedication to support the Palestinians and to condemn the cruel and illegal Israeli occupation. According to our correspondents in al-Quds (Jerusalem) Palestinians stage the same demonstration to protest the six-decade-old occupation by the Jewish regime. The demonstrations came as the Israeli imposed siege of the Gaza Strip is causing a humanitarian crisis in the region. The 1.5 million residents of Gaza are trapped, lacking food and essential medical supplies. Since the Israeli occupation, over five million Palestinians have been forced to flee their homeland. The remaining five million residing in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem lack an official status; they have citizenship in no state. Israel refuses to acknowledge the 'Right of Return' that is reserved for Palestinian (and all other) refugees under international law, claiming it would threaten its so-called 'Jewish identity.'

In The Selling of a War 5 years later, a deconstruction of the communication strategies of the Americans to convince the international community to the necessity of the war in Iraq. The military, the international press and even the Coalition of the Willing, they were all part of the image, sometimes in the form of 'wallpaper', or extra advertising slogan

Sarkozy Gordon Brown and EU honcho Jose Manuel Barroso are talking up an international summit to discuss an urgent overhaul of the worlds financial architecture that is to say a new Bretton Woods to establish a brand spanking new international economic order called the new world order originally uploaded by syed nadeemi

In a statement on Sunday, Iran called for restraint and an immediate halt of the large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Israel attacked the impoverished strip on Saturday, leaving 800 people in a critical state. The Saturday attacks are widely believed to be one of the worst in the 60-year history of the Israeli occupation. "The international community is duty bound to defend Gaza civilians in the face of Israel's genocide and crimes against humanity," the Foreign Ministry statement reads according to press tv. "Tel Aviv's bombardment of the Gaza Strip is yet another brazen example of Israel's terrorist mindset and its gross violation of human rights," it adds. The statement condemns the barrage of Israeli attacks on civilian non-military targets as being in stark defiance of the Geneva Convention and UN resolutions. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that no protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed, hence collective punishment and all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. The Saturday onslaught came after a six-month truce between Israel and the democratically-elected Palestinian government of Hamas expired on December 19 - and after repeated violations by Tel Aviv. The Arab world reacted in shock to the Israeli incursion into Gaza and stepped up calls for retaliation against Israel. "Today everybody has to stand by the side of the Palestinian people and stop this blind military action," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Russia and France have also decried the large-scale operations, demanding that Israel immediately halt its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, however, snubbed international appeals for an end to the attacks and asserted that operations against Gaza will go on for "as long as necessary". "There is a time for cease-fires and a time to fight, and now is the time to fight," said Barak, adding that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and security forces have been masterminding the Gaza invasion "for months". In a televised speech on Sunday, Barak confirmed that Tel Aviv may even send ground troops into Gaza to help in carrying out fresh attacks on the coastal strip. The UN Security Council held emergency consultations Saturday night and early Sunday to outline a resolution, by which Israel would be obliged to halt its military operations "without delay".

Iran Urges Int'l Community to Halt Israeli Crimes TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi called on the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to take immediate measures to bring an end to Israel's brutal attacks in the Gaza Strip. About 220 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip on Saturday in massive air strikes carried out by the Zionist regime. This brutal and inhumane strike brings more shame upon Israel, MNA quoted Qashqavi as saying on Saturday. "Although this crime has apparently been committed to gain more votes in the election campaigns of the occupiers of the occupied territories, it also provides firm evidence that the Zionist regime's aggressive approach is continuing." He also criticized the members of the international community for their silence in the face of the disastrous situation in Gaza. "These crimes are the result of the painful silence of the international community in the response to the inhumane siege of oppressed men, women, and children in the Gaza Strip." The Foreign Ministry spokesman addressed the world bodies and so-called upholders of human rights, saying, "The important question in this issue is: Shouldn't attacking residential areas and massacring dozens of men, women, and children in the streets… cause any reaction or human feelings to arise, and shouldn't this be considered… a serious human rights issue?" Qashqavi also expressed his condolences to the Palestinians and emphasized that the Iranian nation and government strongly supports the oppressed Palestinian nation in their struggle against the Zionist regime.

More evidence of Israeli Army breaking laws - English. All kinds of international laws are broken by Israeli Army everyday. Again WHO CARES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL LAWS. Zionists DO NOT EVEN CARE FOR THE HUMANITARIAN LAWS.

10 February 2009 - International observers estimate that over 30 million Iranians marched across their country, creating a roaring human ocean. International media representatives described the march as perhaps the largest in human history. The February 10 march has become a revolutionary symbol in Iran since the 1979 revolution which toppled the CIA-installed pro-US government of Mohammad Reza Shah who had come to power 25 years earlier when the CIA engineered a military coup which toppled the democratically-elected government of Iranian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh.