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A new study reveals a rising trend in job discrimination against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories. The report funded by Bank of Israel shows the jobless figure among Arab men is twice that of their Jewish peers. It also says Jewish men earn roughly twice as much as their Arab counterparts. The situation is even worse for Palestinian women, as they are three times less likely to have a job than Jewish women. Experts blame the inequality on what they call ghetto-ization of Arabs by Israeli authorities.

[11 June 2015] Saudi warplanes hit Yemen\'s port city of Aden twice - English

Learn how to make Twice Baked Potatoes. Go to I hope you enjoy this easy Twice Baked Potatoes recipe!

We follow the fiqh/Ahkam (the jurisprudential rules of Islam) BECAUSE ALLAH HAS COMMANDED IT. Simple as that. Now, with that in mind - what could be part of the wisdom behind why we perform Sujood twice? Shaykh Muzaffer explains… #IslamicPulse #QuranTactics #Quran #Ahlulbayt #Islam

3 Home Remedies for Common Cold,Flu & Cough . Stay healthy and enjoy the winter. #HealthyCookingToYou written Recipe: https://goo.gl/uGEQar More Recipes: http://www.foodfusion.com 3 Home Remedies for Common Cold,Flu & Cough Recipe in English: Ingredients: Ginger & Lemon: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Adrak (Ginger) grated ½ tbs -Lemon slices 3-4 -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -In kettle,add water and bring it to boil. -Add ginger and simmer for 4-5 minutes. -Add lemon slices,mix well and simmer for 2 minutes. -Pour in a serving cup through strainer,add honey,mix well & serve. -Drink twice a day. Ginger & Turmeric: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Laung (Cloves) 3-4 -Darchini (Cinnamon sticks) 2-3 -Adrak (Ginger) sliced 1 inch piece -Kali mirch (Black pepper) crushed ¼ tsp -Pink salt 1 pinch -Haldee powder (Turmeric powder) ½ tsp -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -In kettle,add water and bring it to boil. -Add cloves,cinnamon sticks,ginger,black pepper crushed,pink salt,turmeric powder and mix well. -Cook on low flame for 10 minutes. -Pour in a serving cup through strainer,add honey,mix well & serve. -Drink twice a day. Ginger & Black pepper: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Kali mirch (Black pepper) crushed ½ tsp -Adrak (Ginger) sliced 1 inch piece -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -In kettle,add water and bring it to boil. -Add black pepper crushed and ginger,mix well. -Cook on low flame for 10 minutes. -Pour in a serving cup through strainer,add honey,mix well & serve. -Drink twice a day. Recipe in Urdu: Ajza: Ginger & Lemon: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Adrak (Ginger) grated ½ tbs -Lemon slices 3-4 -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -Kettle mein pani dal ker ubal lein. -Adrak dal ker 4-5 minutes kliya simmer karein. -Lemon slices dal ker ache tarhan mix karein aur 2 minutes kliya simmer ker lein. -Serving cup mein strain ker ka dal dein,honey dal ker ache tarhan karein & serve karein. -Din mein do dafa piyein. Ginger & Turmeric: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Laung (Cloves) 3-4 -Darchini (Cinnamon sticks) 2-3 -Adrak (Ginger) sliced 1 inch piece -Kali mirch (Black pepper) crushed ¼ tsp -Pink salt 1 pinch -Haldee powder (Turmeric powder) ½ tsp -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -Kettle mein pani dal ker ubal lein. -Laung,darchini,adrak,kali mirch crushed,pink salt aur haldee powder dal ker ache tarhan mix ker lein. -Halki ancch per 10 minutes kliya paka lein. -Honey dal ker ache tarhan karein & serve karein. -Serving cup mein strain ker ka dal dein,honey dal ker ache tarhan karein & serve karein. -Din mein do dafa piyein. Ginger & Black pepper: -Pani (Water) 2 Cups -Adrak (Ginger) sliced 1 inch piece -Kali mirch (Black pepper) crushed ½ tsp -Honey ½ tsp or to taste Directions: -Kettle mein pani dal ker ubal lein. -Kali mirch crushed aur adrak dal ker ache tarhan mix ker lein. -Halki ancch per 10 minutes kliya paka lein. -Serving cup mein strain ker ka dal dein,honey dal ker ache tarhan karein & serve karein. -Din mein do dafa piyein.

The point of the video is to make people more conscious of these silly actions so they will think twice before they do it during the next Ramadan. Reminding myself before anyone else Ramadan is a blessing so lets try not to take it for granted but rather take advantage of it by increasing our Iman - faith - so we can become better Muslims even after Ramadan is over InshAllah. Courtesy ummahfilms youtube

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks out against Western efforts that seek to dramatize the post-election unrest in the country. Washington and a slew of European powers, in recent days, have lashed out at governmental moves to restore security in the country. "We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people" The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching," said US President Barack Obama said in a Saturday statement. Britain, France and other European countries have also taken a similar stance on the Iranian elections. In a Sunday address to foreign reporters, Mottaki responded to "irresponsible and intrusive remarks" made by certain Western countries. He focused much of his criticism on France, Germany and Britain, advising them to "think twice before questioning the democratic process of the recent election." Mottaki criticized the British foreign secretary for his inappropriate and illogical comments on Iran's elections. He blamed Britain for causing insecurity in the Middle East by helping create the Zionist regime decades ago. The foreign minister also criticized France for what he called irresponsible remarks on Iran's elections and demanded an apology from Paris. Germany also came under criticism. Mottaki said Berlin's position on Iran indicated that German officials were intimidated by Israelis. He said policymakers in the West need to have "a clear picture" of the historic elections, which saw Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected for a second term in office. Presidential contenders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi reject the result as fraudulent and demand a re-run. Their supporters have staged rallies, which have largely grabbed headlines in most media outlets. In response to recent claims of election irregularities, Mottaki said that the election process and the whole structure observing the polls is such that makes the possibility of vote rigging 'close to zero'. Mottaki, however, asserted that due to the government's respect for democracy, Iranian authorities would look into the protests lodged against the election results and present the findings by the end of the week.

A special episode of Press Tv Program Iran Today. This program is a twice weekly analysis of major political economic cultural and social events concerning Iran

Iran Today program of Press Tv is a twice-weekly analysis of major political economic cultural and social events concerning Iran.

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.

This is a ‘meccan’ surah. At takathur signifies, \"the contending among people for superiority in the amount of property or number of children and men.\" It keeps man heedless of the hereafter, having no time for spiritual life. It is reported that the people of Bani Abd Munaf, Bani Qu-asi and Bani Sahm had an inordinate craving for acquisition of more and more wealth and adherents or supporters. When once they dug up the graves of their followers to count even the dead to prove the superiority of one tribe over the other this surah was revealed. Rivalry in such things monopolises the attention of individuals and communities and leaves no time for higher purposes of life and spiritual attainments, therefore a clear warning is given in this verse for devotion of some time to spiritual attainments also. The Holy Prophet (saw) said that whoever recites this surah before going to sleep at night will be saved from the torments of the grave. If this surah is recited in faraa’idh prayers, the reciter will get the reward of a hundred martyrs. If recited in the nawafil prayers, he will get the reward of fifty martyrs. It is especially recommended to recite surah at-Takathur in the ‘Asr prayers and the person who does this remains under the protection of ALLAH (swt) until the day ends. Recitation of this surah is a cure from headaches. Another way of reciting salaat al-Wahshat (apart from the commonly known way) is to recite Ayatul Kursi once and surah al-Ikhlas twice after the Surah al-Hamd of the first rak’aat and then recite surah at-Takaathur ten times after the Surah al-Hamd of the second rak’aat.

The holy month's beginning is based on sighting of the moon which is usually confirmed by religious authorities. However in multicultural Ukraine, some Muslim communities go ahead with the date announced by their countries of origin and others follow the date of their country of residence. The holy days of Ramadan begin and end with the prayers. The evening prayer is followed by the fastbreaking iftar. In Ukraine Iftar menu is as multicultural as Ukrainian Muslims are. Fasting is intended to remind Muslims of self-discipline and self-restraint. During Ramadan, Muslims avoid from eating, drinking and smoking during the daylight. They have food twice a day, one before sun rises and the other after the sun set. Fasting in Ukraine has its own features, says this mufti. For instance the daylight length in the country may climb to 18 hours. Ukrainian Muslims also point to the high humidity of the climate which makes people feel the heat. However most Muslims in Ukraine don't see any problem in this This year Ukrainian Muslim communities invited muftis from Saudi Arabia and Egypt to perform readings during Ramadan. The holy month will be also marked by charities and sharing food with the needy.

Martyred professor, Allameh Morteza Motahhari, was born on February 2, 1919 in the town of Fariman, 75 kilometers from the holy city of Mashhad. At the age of twelve, he set off for Mashhad seminary to embark on learning the basics of Islamic sciences. In 1937, despite Reza Khan’s intense confrontation with clergymen and also opposition by some of his friends and relatives, he left for Qom seminary to complete his studies. During 15 years of his stay in Qom, he benefited from the presence of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi (in jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence), Imam Khomeini (12 years in the philosophy of Molla Sadra, gnosis, ethics and principles of jurisprudence) and Allameh Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Tabatabaiee (in philosophy). He had also benefited from the presence of the late Ayatollah Haj Mirza Ali Aqa Shirazi in ethics and gnosis. Among other teachers of professor Motahhari mention can be made of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hojjat (in principles of jurisprudence) and the late Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Mohaqqeqdamad (in jurisprudence). While he was in Qom, in addition to education, he participated in socio-political affairs as well and he was in contact with Fadaiyan-e-Eslam group. In 1952, he migrated to Tehran though he was one of the renowned teachers and among the future hopes of the seminary. In Tehran, he taught at Marvi School and delivered well-researched speeches. In 1955, the first session of the exegesis of the holy Qur’an in the Students\\\' Islamic Association was held by professor Motahhari. In the same year, he began teaching at the faculty of divinity and Islamic teachings of Tehran University. In 1958-59 concurrent with the establishment of the Physicians\\\' Islamic Association, professor Motahhari was one of the main speakers of the Association and during 1961-1971 he was the only speaker of the Association leaving behind a number of important deliberations. In 1962, with the start of Imam Khomeini’s uprising, professor Motahhari accompanied him to the extent that one can consider the organizing of the June 5th uprising in Tehran and its coordination with Imam Khomeini’s leadership as being indebted to him and his companions. Having given an enlightening speech against the Shah on Wednesday, 5th of June 1963, Ayatollah Motahhari was detained by the police at 1 a.m. and sent to the interim police headquarters and was imprisoned with a number of Tehrani clergymen. 43 days later, following the migration of Ulema from other provinces to Tehran and public pressure, he was freed together with other clergymen. After the formation of groups called “Mo’talefe Eslami”, which was among the combatant groups of the time, Imam Khomeini called on martyr Motahhari to lead these groups along with a number of clergymen. Following Imam Khomeini\\\'s exile, professor Motahhari and his companions shouldered a heavier responsibility. At that time, he wrote books covering social requirements and delivering speeches at universities, the Physicians\\\' Islamic Association and mosques. Professor Motahhari made a lot of ideological efforts to Islamicize the content of the movement and strongly fought against diversions and falsehoods. In 1967, he established Hosseinieh Ershad with the help of some friends. In 1969, after releasing an announcement signed by him, Allameh Tabatabai and Ayatollah Haj Seyyed Abolfazl Mojtahed Zanjani calling for collection of aid for the displaced Palestinians and because of publicizing it during a speech in Hosseinieh Ershad, he was detained and held in solitary confinement for a short while. From 1970-72 he supervised publicity works by Al-jawad mosque where he was the main speaker until the mosque and the Hosseinieh were closed and professor Motahhari was detained for a while. Later, Ayatollah Motahhari gave speeches at Javid, Ark and a number of other mosques. After a while Javid mosque was also closed. Around the year 1974 he was forbidden to speak which lasted till the triumph of the Islamic revolution. Presenting genuine Islamic ideology through teaching, speech and writing books were among the valuable activities of professor Motahhari reaching its climax particularly during the years 1972-78; since in those years the leftists had increased their propaganda and groups of leftist Muslims and also those with a hotchpotch of ideas had emerged. After Imam Khomeini, professor Motahhari was the first figure who found out the ideological deviation of the heads of the so-called “Mojahedin-e-Khalq” organization and prevented others from cooperating with them and even foresaw their change of ideology. In those years, upon Imam Khomeini’s recommendation, professor Motahhari traveled to Qom twice a week to teach at its seminary where he taught important courses and at the same time he taught some courses at home in Tehran. In 1976, following an ideological dispute with a communist teacher of the faculty of divinity, he became retired prematurely. Furthermore; in those years Ayatollah Motahhari, in collaboration with some clergymen, established “Jameye Rohaniat-e-Mobarez” of Tehran hoping that such an institution would be gradually established in other cities as well. Although professor Motahhari’s contact with Imam Khomeini continued after the Imam’s exile in France via letters and other means, in the year 1976 he managed to travel to the holy city of Najaf and consulted with Imam Khomeini on the important issues of the revolution and also seminaries. After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Khomeini and the start of the new phase of the Islamic revolution, professor Motahhari fully devoted himself to the revolution and hence played a fundamental role in all of its phases. At the time of Imam Khomeini’s stay in Paris, Ayatollah Motahhari traveled to France where he spoke with the Imam on the important issues of the revolution and it was then that Imam Khomeini urged him to shape the Islamic Revolution Council. Upon Imam Khomeini’s return to Iran, he personally took the responsibility of the welcoming committee and till the victory of the revolution and after that he always acted as a supporter of the leader of the Islamic revolution and served as a kind and trusted advisor for him. But at 22:20 p.m. of Tuesday, 1st of May 1979 he was martyred by a grouplet called “Forqan” after leaving an ideological and political gathering. This caused profound sorrow and grief for Imam Khomeini and the Islamic Ummah who had a lot of hopes for this great man’s future. There remain tens of works by Ayatollah Motahhari. These works deal with a variety of religious issues and offer responses to many of the important questions of religious society so much so that we can name his works as a reliable source concerning the Islamic ideology system. Some of Imam Khomeini’s Words on Martyr Allameh Morteza Motahhari [Motahhari] was rare in Islamology and different Islamic and Qur’anic sciences. I have lost a very dear child. I am mourning for him who was one of the figures who was considered the fruit of my life. Martyrdom of this righteous child and immortal clergyman created a vacuum in the dear Islam that cannot be filled by any means. Motahhari, who was rare in purifying spirit, the strength of belief and the power of speech, flew to the ethereal world, but the ill-wishers should know that his Islamic, scientific and philosophical personality won’t perish with his departure. Motahhari was a dear child for me and a firm stronghold for the religious and scientific seminaries and a useful servant for people and country. I recommend the students and the committed intellectuals not to let this dear professor’s books be forgotten by non-Islamic schemes. In his short life, [Motahhari] left behind immortal works which stemmed from a wakeful conscience and a spirit filled with the love for religion. He embarked on educating and training the society with an eloquent style and an able thought in analyzing Islamic subjects and explaining philosophical facts with a popular diction and without uncertainty. His oral and written works are unexceptionally instructive and inspiring; and his advice and admonitions, which sprang from a heart filled with faith and belief, are useful both for the Ulema and the laymen. Late Motahhari was an individual who had different aspects of personality; and few people have done the service to the young generation and others as Motahhari has done. All his works are unexceptionally good and I don’t know anybody else whose works I could call unexceptionally good. His works are unexceptionally good and constructive for humans. Professor Motahhari from the Viewpoint of Ayatollah Khamenei Interview with the Supreme Leader on Martyr Motahhari ‘I consider myself Mr. Motahhari’s pupil’ As you know late professor Motahhari was a philosopher; the science sought by him was mostly the philosophical science. Later on; however, he got to the subjects of theology, i.e. he dealt with Islamic issues with new argumentation method of modern philosophy. But he spent most of his time on philosophical matters. He was considered the philosophical student of Imam Khomeini and Allameh Tabatabaiee. Thus what he maintains in theology is Hekmat Mota’aliah, i.e. the Philosophy of Molla Sadra. His behaviour was like that of the mystics who would set out to find a perfect instructor. Basically his spiritual and moral condition was in such a way. He would search to know for example if a perfect elderly instructor is somewhere in the world, and he would go to him to stay by him. Indeed, spiritually, such a situation was fitting him. Yet he had found such a perfect instructor in Iran. He was absorbed in Imam Khomeini and Allameh Tabatabaiee. He was captivated by their love and regarded their scientific and mystic status very high. Morally, late Motahhari was a prominent man; and a pure-hearted, enlightened, just, self-possessed and mature person. In his personal bonds with God he was a mystic, a man of God’s remembrance, journey towards God and worship. He used to say: “I have learnt paying attention to and worship of God from my father.” Professor Motahhari had a lot of historical information especially about the recent history, and particularly on the issues related to the Ulema, seminaries, scientific, spiritual, philosophical and mystic figures. These pieces of information were not registered in any book and are heard from the professors and great figures and kept in mind. Since he knew all professors and Ulema of Najaf, Samarra and Isfahan, he was well-informed about their events and he would talk of them in the gatherings and visits held on different occasions. Supereme Leader’s Words on Professor Motahhari’s Personality and Works “As time passes from his martyrdom, his spiritual and ideological works and bounties manifest more fresh dimensions. The ideological and scientific works of that grand clergyman become clearer in the scene of the country press and religious knowledge; and one understands that an intellectual clergyman with responsibilities could have so fruitful life.” Martyr Motahhari with his strong and decent thought stepped in the fields of Islamic subjects that hitherto nobody had stepped; and considering the ideas that had prevailed or were going to prevail in the country---through translation and import from the west and east, he entered a profound, vast and interminable scientific challenge. He both embarked on a very clever struggle to confront with the Marxists and entered the scene to confront with the western and Liberalist thoughts. This role is very important; it needs both courage and self-confidence, it requires both thinking strength and Ijtihad (being well- qualified in jurisprudence and different theological fields), it both needs certainty and resolute belief. This great man had all these together; he was both a learned man and very faithful, he was firm in his belief and had self-confidence, too; these are all necessary.” Leader’s Visit with Martyr Motahhari’s Family (1996) He had three characteristics regarding ideological issues: First, he had a strong thought and he was a true thinker. Secondly, while presenting and spreading the ideological principles, he had no intention but God’s nearness, promotion of the truth and fighting against the false. There was sincerity in him and his personal actions which would naturally make the second characteristic tangible. For example think of some people who are thinkers, yet do not present their thought for God’s sake, but they present it to show that they are knowledgeable, to draw people’s attention and to say that they are philosophers. Martyr Motahhari was not such. He would present thought for God’s sake and for Islam. He would truly burn up [like a candle] and would gush forth [like a fountain] and would present [Islamic ideas]. The reason for his survival is his second characteristic. It means that sincerity will have its impact and the Almighty God will grace any deed done with sincerity. The third characteristic was his working hard and his inexhaustibility. The truth is that he wouldn’t sit till he might be referred to; but rather he would himself go after activity. He had these three characteristics.” Leader’s Visit with Martyr Motahhari’s Family (1998) “We should introduce Mr. Motahhari to the world especially the Islamic world. And if we want to introduce him, which points should be highlighted? I think this is your most important job. Some aspects of a figure’s personality are either unique that must be highlighted or are very outstanding that should be stressed. In the life of the late Martyr Ayatollah Motahhari, his personality and his scientific identity there are numerous examples of these. One point, that in my opinion has the prime importance, is the new interpretation of the Islamic teachings. This is apart from his philosophical aspect and his strong and compelling arguments in the footnotes of ‘The principles of philosophy’ by ‘Ayatollah Tabatabaiee. This is another point. He elucidated Islamic concepts and teachings with a novel diction and expression which was much needed. I don’t say that if the works of the predecessors were pondered and scrutinized signs of this exegesis would not be found. Really if one had attentively studied the works of the Ulema he would have found some hints and cues; but I want to say that nobody had done this. As far as we know, nobody had done it before Mr. Motahhari. Even the modernist writers, who had emerged in the Arab countries, and we knew some of them, had not done this. These Egyptian authors, who were modernists and would write things with a broader sight and who knew the world somewhat more than Martyr Motahhari, most of them had traveled a lot and had visited different universities. Yet he [Ayatollah Motahhari] was not so, he was confined. I mean he was inside Iran and Tehran but his profound vision of the Islamic issues and his novel understanding of the verses [of Qur’an] and the narrations [of the Ahl-ul-Bayt], in my opinion, was one of his most outstanding aspects. It was he who, for the first time, substantively expressed the subjects related to principles of ideology, piety, patience, love, fairness, justice, and so on in the ideological atmosphere of Iran. We thank God that Mr. Motahhari’s name was not forgotten in our society and the mental atmosphere of this country; but rather it became more prominent day by day. Many of the world phenomena are naturally perishable and by the lapse of time they become older. Most of the world phenomena are such. Yet there are some phenomena that not only do not fall into oblivion via lapse of time but become brighter, more manifest, more spectacular and more impressive. The phenomena based on reality are usually such. I clearly feel that, thank God, Martyr Ayatollah Motahhari’s thoughts are such.” Memoirs of Dr. Ali Motahhari (Martyr Motahhari’s Son) Night Supplication in front of the Word Allah As it is said he didn’t give up midnight vigilance, midnight prayer, and wakefulness since his youth till the end of his life. It was his practice both at the time of studentship and after that and even at the time of martyrdom. I remember that facing our house there was the house of one of the previous regime’s officials which was usually guarded by two police officers. Apparently since the official had seen that the lamp of our house was lit at midnight, had worried to find the reason and it was important for him from the security point of view. He had told the guards to look for the reason. Professor [Motahhari] had a neon board of Allah which was green when lit. He would turn it on and perform his midnight prayer in its light. After the revolution one of the officers said, we had examined several nights and I had looked through the window to see what was going on inside the house. At the end I myself saw that he came at midnight and started worshipping for an hour. We were somehow absorbed by the professor, and despite much negative propaganda against the clergymen and him in particular to make us pessimist to them, we became very interested in him so much so that some would say we got our salary from the government but it was as if we were guarding him. A Voice vis-à-vis MHe was very sensitive against ideological deviations and believed that we were seeking Islamic revolution and not mere revolution. It is not important that Shah goes but it is important to see what system is established after his going. Because if after the ouster of the Shah, for example the Mojahedin-e-Khalq take the lead, it is much better not to stage a revolution at all. Thus the deviated groups had found out professor Motahhari’s sensitiveness and had become his enemy. Three or four months before the victory of the Islamic revolution, a person, who had some tendencies to Mojahedin-e-Khalq and the leftists and was intended to be religious, too, was freed from the prison. Professor [Motahhari] said we had better visit him. I was with the professor. There was a man by the name of Ashuri as one of the heads of the Forqan group. He spoke of Islam and Marxism and said: ‘These two religions say one single thing and their content is the same with different forms. They speak of the laborers and we speak of the oppressed. Therefore our word is the same. We should unite to topple the regime of Shah and basically there is no difference between Islam and Marxism, etc.’ Professor was very upset and that man knew that professor Motahhari would answer him. That’s why he rose to leave. The professor said: ‘No, Be seated! Be seated!’ He made him sit and explained him in detail that our path is fundamentally separate from that of the Marxists. In no way can the forms be different with the same content. And we cannot unite with the Marxists in any way. Immortal among People Prior to the victory of the Islamic revolution, at the time of Imam Khomeini’s staying in Paris, it was heard everywhere that the regime of Shah wanted to arrest the leaders and prominent figures of the revolution. Some people told him [Ayatollah Motahhari] it was better to go somewhere else to hide. He said: ‘Such actions are not good for clergymen. It is not good for us to escape from one place to another to hide; such things are not good for us.’ He stayed at home like before and nothing happened. His Method of Training Children One of the features of the professor’s training method for his children was that he would never resort to force and coercion and he would let them to realize and choose the right path with their own thought and wisdom. About choosing the field of education and the way of spending leisure time and the like he would never force us to do something necessarily; but he would show us the way. As the holy Qur’an says: ‘…be he grateful or ungrateful.’ And it was we who would choose the way. There was never force over our heads and we would choose one way with interest and free will. The Professor’s Arrest after anti-Israel Speech I have another memory from the year 1969 when he delivered the provocative speech on Palestine in Hosseinieh Ershad. This speech has been broadcast many times by IRIB. It was a very provocative, important and interesting speech which shook the regime of Shah; and it required a lot of courage to deliver such a speech when the regime of Shah was in the zenith of power and had the highest level of relations and unity with Israel. When the Israeli planes would refuel in Iran’s airport(s) during the 1967 war and would fly over the heads of the Arabs and Muslims, much bravery was needed to give such a speech and we saw that professor Motahhari gave that speech and was promptly arrested and taken away. When he was freed he said, ‘They made me sit in a car and blindfolded me and the car set out. I told them there is no need to blindfold and I will not look. If you want me not to look I will close my eyes. But they didn’t agree. Yet I realized the route till Ferdowsi square but didn’t realize after that.’ Apparently they had taken him to the committee of the SAVAK which was presumably located in the same Ferdowsi Street. Allameh Tabatabaiee’s Message on the Occasion of Ayatollah Motahhari’s Martyrdom In the name of the Almighty God In memory of a scientific and philosophical personality who cast a world into grief and made the world of science and merit mournful with his departure. Late Motahhari, who was a scientist, a thinker and a researcher with an overflowing intellect, a bright thought and a realistic mind, has left behind marvelous works and researches written about scientific and argumentative purposes that are seen in his books. Late Motahhari, through his precious and blissful life that was abundant with scientific effort and philosophical thinking, sends an expressive and valuable message to the enthusiasts of science and philosophy never to repose from effort towards perfection and never forget scientific struggle for perfection; and in the market of realities turn their life--which is the best human commodity-- to the spiritual life— which is the lofty human life and is lasting till the world exists; and not to be absorbed and deceived by fabricated and imaginary personalities in this short life. Yes, a narrow route opened by a scientist towards realities will bestow eternal life upon him and this is more valuable than the world and what it contains.

Full English Voice-over of the speech of the secretary general of Hizbullah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah(HA) delivered on May 9, 2013 on the 25th Anniversary of the al-Nour Radio Station. Syria is to supply Hizbullah with game-changing weapons despite Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s air strikes reportedly aimed at cutting off the flow of arms, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday, vowing to back \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Syrian popular resistance in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. You Israelis say your objective is to stop the capability of the resistance from growing ... but Syria will provide (Hizbullah) with game-changing weapons it has not had before, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s al-Nour radio station. We declare that we are ready to receive any game-changing weapons and we\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re competent to possess and protect such type of weapons and we will use them to defend our people, he added. Nasrallah said the shipments of new types of weapons would serve as the Syrian reaction to Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s airstrikes. Syria has long been a conduit for Iranian weapons bound for Hizbullah. Israeli officials say the Lebanese group has tens of thousands of rockets, but that most of them are unguided. Israeli officials said the shipments targeted twice last week included precision-guided missiles. After the Israeli attacks, there had been speculation about whether Syria would retaliate, at the risk of drawing Israel into Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s civil war. This is the Syrian strategic reaction, said Nasrallah of future weapons shipments. This is more important than firing a rocket or carrying out an airstrike in occupied Palestine, he said. Israel never formally acknowledged the airstrikes, but Israeli officials have said Israel would keep striking any shipments of advanced weapons meant for Hizbullah. Everyone knows what Syria has offered to resistance movements, especially the Palestinian resistance. Israel knows that the source of strength of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine is Syria, that\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s why it wants to remove it from the equation and to besiege the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, said Nasrallah. The response was foiling the objectives of the aggression and this is what the Syrian leadership did, although friends and foes wanted Syria to respond and bomb the enemy, added Nasrallah. He noted that Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s highly-strategic response against Israel involves the decision to open the door to popular resistance in the Golan. The same as Syria stood by Lebanon, we in the resistance declare that we will stand by the Syrian popular resistance that is aimed at liberating the Syrian Golan, Nasrallah pledged. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m not speaking out of enthusiasm or sentiments, but a calm evaluation says that the stances issued by the Syrian leadership prove its strength of nerve, said Hizbullah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s leader. He pointed out that Syria has \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"a wise leadership that oversees the battle with the Israelis through a strategic mind, not through anger. Commenting on the joint Russian-U.S. effort to organize a conference to end Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s two-year-old conflict, Nasrallah said it is shameful that the U.S. is being depicted as Syria\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s savior through the proposed political solution. But he added that any time wasted means \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"further destruction and losses and this is all in the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s interest. Addressing the Palestinians, Nasrallah said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t find anyone to stand by your side other than those who have stood by you since years. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians benefit from any serious efforts to achieve a political settlement in Syria and prevent its fall into the hands of the Takfiris, the Americans and the Israelis, he said. Nasrallah stressed that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the only choice is resistance for those who want to preserve al-Aqsa Mosque and the Christian holy sites and for those who want to give back Jerusalem to the Palestinian people and to the Ummah. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The choice is neither the Arab League nor the U.N., the choice has always been the resistance, he said. Nasrallah lamented that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"today, after this Arab Spring, the Arab regimes are more willing to offer compromises to the enemy. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Palestinians were hoping that the Arab Spring would make Arabs less willing to offer compromises, but the scene of the Arab foreign ministers making a dangerous compromise, with the U.S. secretary of state sitting in the middle, indicates that the Palestinian cause is in danger, Nasrallah added. Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem has said an Arab League delegation that met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington last month recognized the possibility of a land swap. His statement was welcomed by the United States, the main broker in talks between the Palestinians and Israel, and by Israel itself. The Palestinians have played down a shift in the Arab League\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s stance, saying they had already agreed in past talks with Israel on minor land swaps in which Israel would retain some settlement blocs in the West Bank.

Series 1: [6/6]: The End of Negative Suffering - Br. Khalil Jaffer Uploaded on May 4, 2011 Be warned! Both these series are simply out of this world and heavy duty. So be prepared to listen to them at least twice. Surah Anfal, Chapter 8, Verse 24: \\\'O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.\\\' (8:24)

Series 1: [5/6]: The End of Negative Suffering - Br. Khalil Jaffer Uploaded on May 4, 2011 Be warned! Both these series are simply out of this world and heavy duty. So be prepared to listen to them at least twice. Surah Anfal, Chapter 8, Verse 24: \\\'O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.\\\' (8:24)

Series 1: [5/6]: The End of Negative Suffering - Br. Khalil Jaffer Uploaded on May 4, 2011 Be warned! Both these series are simply out of this world and heavy duty. So be prepared to listen to them at least twice. Surah Anfal, Chapter 8, Verse 24: \'O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.\' (8:24)

India continues to support Iran on international forums --this time it is for Iran\'s presidency of the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament. Indian officials called it an honor to speak during the presidency of Iran. Though, in the past, India voted twice against the Islamic at International Atomic Energy Agency.

Over one billion Muslims around the world are now fasting in the month of Ramadan. As it is called the month of fasting, Muslims are obliged to refrain from having any kind of food and drinks, from dawn until dusk. They should also abstain from any wrongdoings. Not only is Ramadan the month of fasting but it is also the month in which the whole Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammad. Therefore, during this month, Muslims read Quran more, and try to recite the entire Quran once or twice. Tens of Quran exhibitions are also held in different cities across the country. The capital hosts 21st International Holy Quran Exhibition in its Grand Prayer Grounds. Exquisite Quranic works and products are being showcased; and different expert forums are being held to illustrate the role of the Holy Quran in building an Islamic lifestyle. In this edition of the show, we will take a closer look at the Iranians\\\' lives In Ramadan and the 21st Quran expo being held in Tehran.

Protest Against The Attack on the The Holy Shrine Syeda Zainab (s.a) Saturday July 27th @3:00pm Holland Park, Surrey BC Zainab Binte Ali (as) was a symbol of empowerment for women and an image of resistance to the oppression as well. On Friday, several mortar shells fired by foreign-backed terrorist groups hit the holy shrine of Syeda Zainab Binte Ali (as) of killing custodian of the facility. Saudi and foreign-backed insurgents have stepped up their attacks on religious sites around Syria, which many believe is part of a plot sponsored by western and regional supporters of the militants to fire flames of sectarian war in Syria to pull it in an even deeper crisis. Who was Zainab Binte Ali (as) ? Zainab Binte Ali (as) (AH 5--62; 626/7--682 CE), daughter of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ, was the first granddaughter of the prophet Muḥammad. She is best known for her courageous and eloquent role supporting her brother Imām Ḥusayn, at the time of his martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala, and for protecting his family in the following months of Umayyad imprisonment. Syrian rebels, dominated by Takfiri elements have earlier targetted the shrine twice in 2008 and 2012 causing extensive damage to it. They aslo detonated another shrine revered by Shi\\\'ites. Shrine of Hujr Bin Adi, a close companion of Prophet of Islam, was dynamited by the militants who view shrines as symbols of apostacy. A rocket strike on the revered Islamic shrine in Damascus killed its custodian, activists and residents Al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front terrorists also destroyed the historic mausoleum of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) with bulldozers in the eastern town of Ayn al-Arous in the province of Raqqa. Attacks on mosques in different cities have also left hundreds of people dead, most of them while offering daily prayers. \\\"Attackers in all these crimes claim that they are Muslims while not only they insult Islamic holy sites and figures, but act in ways that are strongly rejected by Islamic laws,\\\"

The End of Negative Suffering - Br. Khalil Jaffer Uploaded on May 4, 2011 Be warned! Both these series are simply out of this world and heavy duty. So be prepared to listen to them at least twice. Surah Anfal, Chapter 8, Verse 24: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' (8:24)

The End of Negative Suffering - Br. Khalil Jaffer Uploaded on May 4, 2011 Be warned! Both these series are simply out of this world and heavy duty. So be prepared to listen to them at least twice. Surah Anfal, Chapter 8, Verse 24: \\\\\\\'O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.\\\\\\\' (8:24)

Latest market data show India has drastically increased oil imports from Iran-- in a clear proof of Iran\'s success in defying sanctions that have targeted its oil trade. Figures show India imported about 200-thousand barrels per day of Iranian oil in September. This is roughly twice the figure for August. Earlier, similar market data showed that Iran had succeeded in becoming the top oil exporter to China in September after a series of slowdowns over the past months. Iran\'s Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had earlier said that serious plans were on agenda to boost the country\'s oil exports by four times. That would be in the face of illegal sanctions by the U-S and its allies that primarily target Iran\'s oil trade.

Exploding pumpkins are SO awesome, we did them twice! Check out this ingenious way to carve pumpkins from the inside out. About Steve Spangler Science...

 Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in 2005 and prompted more than 1,000 related YouTube videos. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler\'s popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. Check out his pool filled with 2,500 boxes of cornstarch!
 Cool Science Toys - http://www.SteveSpanglerScience.com
Sign up for the Experiment of the Week - http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/e...
Watch Spangler\'s Science Videos - http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/v...
Attend a Spangler Hands-on Science Workshop for Teachers - http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/t...
Visit Spangler\'s YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/stevespanglers...
 Join the conversation on Steve Spangler\'s blog - http://www.SteveSpangler.com
 Additional Information: On the education side, Spangler started his career as a science teacher in the Cherry Creek School district for 12 years. Today, Steve travels extensively training teachers in ways to make learning more engaging and fun. His hands-on science boot camps and summer institutes for teachers inspire and teach teachers how to prepare a new generation for an ever-changing work force. Over the last 15 years, he has also made more than 500 television appearances as an authority on hands-on science and inquiry-based learning. 
 On the business side, Spangler is the founder and CEO of Steve Spangler Science, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of educational toys and kits and hands-on science training services for teachers. The companys unique business strategies and viral creations have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Wired and TIME Magazine where online readers voted Steve Spangler #18 in the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year for 2006 (what were they thinking?). You\'ll find more than 140 Spangler created products available online at SteveSpanglerScience.com and distributed to toy stores and mass-market retailers worldwide.
 Spangler joined NBC affiliate 9News in 2001 as the science education specialist. His weekly experiments and science segments are designed to teach viewers creative ways to make learning fun. His now famous Mentos Geyser experiment, turning 2-liter bottles of soda into erupting fountains, became an Internet sensation in September 2005 when thousands of people started posting their own Mentos explosions on YouTube.com.
 As founder of SteveSpanglerScience.com, Spangler and his design team have developed more than 140 educational toys and science-related products featured by mass-market retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R\' Us, Discovery Channel Stores and over 1,400 independent specialty toy stores. His educational science catalog and on-line business offers more than a thousand science toys and unique learning resources. Recently, Spangler has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, WIRED, the History Channel, Food Network and TIME Magazine where on-line readers voted Steve Spangler #18 in the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year for 2006.
 His recent appearances on the Ellen DeGeneres Show have taught viewers how to blow up their food, shock their friends, create mountains of foam, play on a bed of nails, vanish in a cloud of smoke and how to turn 2,500 boxes of cornstarch and a garden hose into a swimming pool of fun.

That well known candy-house in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale has captured the imagination of many of us when we were children. And now the world\'s largest-ever gingerbread house is bringing back those memories. The tasty house is located in the US state of Texas and it\'s nearly the size of a tennis court. And of course it has an edible exterior. This house was built by a group of volunteers, all in the name of charity. And now it holds the Guinness World Record for the world\'s largest gingerbread house. The group used thousands of pounds of sugar, eggs, butter, flour and other ingredients, as well as 23 thousand pieces of hard candy, decorating the outside of the house. But you might want to think twice before grabbing a bite as the structure packs in a staggering 36 million calories. Better to look, and not touch!

The Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran will not back down an iota from its rights and will never give in to pressure. Ayatollah Khamenei said the rights of the nation including its nuclear rights must be recognized. The leader expressed his support for the Iranian government and officials including the nuclear negotiating team. Ayatollah Khamenei also said he will not get involved with the details of the negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. But he said there are red lines and limitations that the Iranian negotiators will have to heed. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in an address to commanders and members of the Basij volunteer force in Tehran. Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Basij Commanders Print 20/11/2013 Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Basij CommandersThe following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 20, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with fifty thousand Basij commanders. The meeting was held at the Musalah in Tehran. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth. Greetings be upon you Abi Abdullah and upon those who laid down their lives for you. I will send you God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s eternal greetings as long as I live and as long as night and day prevail. May God not make this prayer my last covenant with you. Greetings be upon Hussein, upon Ali ibn al-Hussein, upon the children of Hussein and upon the companions of Hussein - those who laid down their lives for Hussein (a.s.). This meeting is a very important meeting. Basij is the manifestation of the greatness of our nation and the domestic capability of our country. This meeting is the meeting of commanders. You tens of thousands of commanders of Basij have gathered in this place and one can guess from this large gathering how glorious Basij is. You are a source of satisfaction, hope and trust for the supporters of the Islamic Republic, the Revolution and the country and you are a source of intimidation and fear for the ill-wishers, enemies and those who bear a grudge [against the Revolution and the Islamic Republic]. The coincidence of Basij Week with these days, which are the days of the great epic of the history of Islam, is a good and valuable occasion. What I mean by this great epic is the epic created by Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) which complements the epic of Ashura. The epic that Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) created revived and preserved the epic of Ashura. The greatness of what Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) did, cannot be compared to other great events in history. It should only be compared to the event of Ashura itself and truly, these two events complete one another. This great personality and this great lady of Islam and all of humanity managed to stand firm in the face of the great mountain of hardships and there was not even a tremble in her voice because of all these events. She stood firm like a glorious mountain peak both in the face of enemies and in the face of hardships and bitter events. She became a lesson, a role model, a leader and a pioneer. At the bazaar of Kufa, while she was held captive, she made this astonishing speech: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Oh people of Kufa, who are treacherous and disloyal, do you cry for us? May your tears not dry and may your moans not stop. You are like a woman who loosens her threads after she pulls them together\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [al-Ihtijaj, Volume 2, page 303]. The words are as firm as steel and the meaning flows like a river and it influences hearts and souls. In such conditions, Zaynab al-Kubra delivered a speech, which was like the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), and she shook hearts and souls and she shook history with these words. This speech became eternal in history. It was delivered in front of the people while she was held captive. After that, she delivered a speech in front of Ibn Ziad in Kufa and a few weeks later, she spoke in front of Yazid with such strength that it both humiliated the enemy and the hardships which the enemy had imposed. She said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Do you foolishly think that you can defeat, suppress and humiliate the household of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the believers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 63: 8]. Zaynab al-Kubra is the manifestation of dignity, as Hussein ibn Ali (a.s.) was the manifestation of dignity in Karbala on the day of Ashura. The way she looks at events is different from the way other people look at those events. Despite all those hardships, when the enemy wants to taunt her, she says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I did not see anything except for beauty\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Lohuf, page 160]. She said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What I saw was beautiful. It was martyrdom. Although it was difficult, it was in the way of God and it was done for preserving Islam. It was the creation of an epic in history so that Islamic Ummah knows what it should do and how it should move forward and stand firm\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This is a great achievement made by the epic of Zaynab (s.a.). This is the dignity of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s saint. Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) is one of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s saints. Her dignity is the dignity of Islam and she made Islam and the Holy Quran valuable. Of course, we are not as aspirational and determined as Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) and therefore we cannot say that the behavior of this great lady is our model. We are too inferior to say such things, but anyway, our movement should be in line with the movement of Zaynab (s.a.). Our efforts should be focused on bringing dignity for Islam, the Islamic community and the entire humanity. This is the same responsibility that Allah the Exalted has entrusted to prophets through Islamic obligations and rules. In the first part of my speech, what I want to briefly discuss with you dear basijis and dear youth is that one of the factors which brought about this spirit and this patience in Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) and other divine saints - who moved forward with such spirit and patience - is sincerity and honesty. It is very important to honor our promises to Allah the Exalted and to devote our hearts to the path of God in a sincere way. In the Holy Quran, this sincerity is necessary for divine prophets as well: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And remember We took from the prophets their covenant, as We did from you, from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary: We took from them a solemn covenant, that (Allah) may question the custodians of Truth concerning the Truth they (were charged with)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 7-8]. God says that this covenant is very firm and serious. In the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Leyasala\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" lam signifies results and consequences. The result of this covenant is that these great prophets will be questioned about their sincerity in this covenant. That is to say, our Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and other great prophets should prove before God the level of their sincerity concerning the conditions of this covenant. This part is related to prophets. God also says to ordinary people and believers: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (fully), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least, that Allah may reward the men of Truth for their Truth, and punish the Hypocrites if that be His Will\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 23-24]. When addressing great prophets, God referred to unbelievers as the opposite of honest individuals: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And He has prepared for the unbelievers a grievous Penalty\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 8]. And when addressing these believers, He referred to hypocrites as the opposite of honest individuals and there are important points in this comparison. You and I will be questioned about our promise to God. We have a covenant with God. In the holy ayah \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", the pledge that believers made to God and that was honored by them is the same as another ayah in this holy sura: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And yet they had already covenanted with Allah not to turn their backs\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 15]. All of us should pay attention to such points. Believers promised Allah the Exalted not to escape in the face of the enemy and not to turn their backs. The Holy Quran stresses that abandoning one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s positions and retreating in the face of the enemy are among the things which should not be done. One should stand up against the enemy in any military, political and economic war and in any arena which is a test of strength. Your determination should overcome the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s determination. Your willpower should overcome the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s willpower. This can be done and this is possible. From the viewpoint of the Holy Quran and Islam, running away and retreating from the enemy are forbidden in any arena of jihad and confrontation. When we used the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", some people defined it as abandoning the ideals and the goals of the Islamic Republic. Some of the enemies too used it to accuse the Islamic Republic of betraying its principles. These interpretations were wrong and they misunderstood this phrase. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" means an artful maneuver for reaching one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s goal. It means that the followers of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s path - any divine path - should utilize different methods, in any way possible, in order to reach their goal and this should be done whenever they move towards the different ideals of Islam. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If any do turn his back to them on such a day - unless it be in a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 8: 16]. Like the arena of war, any movement - whether forward or backward - should be launched in order to reach one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s predetermined goals. There are certain goals and at each stage, the Islamic government pursues one of these goals in order to make progress, achieve transcendence and create the great Islamic civilization. The Islamic government should try to achieve this goal at this stage. Of course, there are certain stages and phases to reach these goals. Experts, intellectuals and officials in charge of this are identifying these phases and goals and, as a result, our collective movement will begin. Everyone should try to make any movement, at any stage, reach its goal. This is a proper system which is based on logical and rational measures. All activists in the arena of politics and macromanagement of the country should always keep this in mind. All the people and you dear basijis too - who are activists in the arena of Basij - should always keep this in mind. Well, when we say that we want to move forward, does this mean that the Islamic government is warmongering? Does this mean that the Islamic government wants to confront all nations and all countries in the world? Sometimes one hears that the enemies of the Iranian nation - specifically the najis-mouthed dirty dog of the region, the Zionist regime - move their jaws to say that Iran is a threat for the entire world. This is the claim of the enemy, but this is exactly the opposite of Islamic principles. On the contrary, those evil and malevolent forces - including the fake Zionist regime and some of its supporters - that show nothing except for malevolence, are a threat for the entire world. The lesson that the Islamic government learned from the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) and the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) is a different lesson: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allah commands justice and the doing of good\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 16: 90]. Allah the Exalted invites us to administer justice and do good. The commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said that we should be kind to everyone because \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those who have the same religion as you have, they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, they are human beings like you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 53]. People are either your Islamic brothers or human beings like you. This is the logic of Islam. We want to render services and show kindness to everyone. We want to establish a friendly and kind relationship with all human beings and all nations. We even have no enmity with the American people despite the fact that the government of America is an arrogant, hostile and evil government which bears a grudge against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. The American people are like other peoples. What the Islamic Republic is opposed to is arrogance. The hostility of the Islamic Republic is oriented towards global arrogance. We are opposed to and fight against arrogance. Arrogance is a Quranic word and it has been used in the Holy Quran to refer to people like Pharaoh and the groups of people who are ill-wishers and who are opposed to truth. Arrogance existed in the past as well and it has continued to prevail until the present time. In all eras, arrogance has had the same structure. Of course, it has used different methods and tactics in different eras. There is arrogance today as well and it is led by the United States of America. We should know arrogance and its characteristics. We should know the methods and the orientation of arrogance so that we can organize our behavior in the face of arrogance. We are opposed to unreasonable behavior in all arenas. We believe that we should move forward with wisdom and acumen in all arenas, in all collective and individual orientations and in all plans. If we do not know the scene, if we do not know our friends and our enemies, if we do not know imperialism and arrogance in the present time, then how can we move forward with wisdom and acumen? How can we make accurate plans? Therefore, we should know these things. What I am saying about arrogance is a few examples regarding the behavior of today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s global arrogance in the world. In many of these examples and cases, today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s arrogance shares the characteristics of arrogance in previous centuries and previous eras. One of the characteristics of arrogance is egotism. When arrogant groups - those people who have taken everything in their hands as the highest-ranking individuals in a country, in a group of countries or in a global system - consider themselves to be superior to other people, when they regard themselves as the pivot, when they place everyone, except for themselves, on the periphery, then a wrong and dangerous equation will be formed in global interactions. When arrogance views itself as superior and as the pivot and core [of everything], then the result will be that it grants itself the right to interfere in the affairs of other people and other nations. If arrogance considers something to be a value and if other people do not, this will grant it the right to interfere in their affairs and bully and pressure them. This egotism makes them claim to be the guardian of nations and to be responsible for global management. It also makes them consider themselves to be the boss of all the people in the world. As you can hear, American officials and politicians speak about the government of America as if it were the leader of all countries. They say that they cannot let this be done. They say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We cannot allow this person to be or not to be in charge\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They speak about our region in a way that it seems they are the owners of this region. They speak about the Zionist regime in a way that it seems regional nations have to accept this imposed and fake regime. They behave towards independent nations and governments as if they did not have the right to live. This egotism and this attitude of considering oneself to have a special position among all people, all nations and all human beings is the main foundation on which arrogance has been built and this is its biggest problem. This egotism will lead to another characteristic and another criterion for arrogance which is the tendency to ignore other people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights. They neither accept truth nor the rights of other nations. They do not at all acknowledge other people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights. In international negotiations, someone says something which is right, but America does not accept it. It tries to deny such rights with different methods and it does not accept truth. This has happened many times. In the present time, one of the examples of this behavior is our current issues related to nuclear activities and industries. Imagine that someone says something which is true. If one is fair, reasonable and rational, he should give up when he faces the truth. But arrogance does not give up. It hears the truth, but it does not accept it. This is one of its characteristics. It does not acknowledge the rights of other nations either. It does not acknowledge the right of a people to choose, to do what they want and to adopt those economic and political measures which they want. They believe in imposing things on other nations. Another characteristic of colonialism and arrogance is that it condones crimes against nations and the entire humanity and that it is indifferent towards such crimes. This is one of the greatest disasters of arrogance in modern times. Modern times means the era of scientific progress and the era of the emergence of dangerous weapons. When these weapons became available to arrogant powers, they created a disaster for all nations. They do not attach any value on the lives of individuals - those individuals who do not follow, obey and surrender to them. There are many examples in this regard. One example is the behavior of arrogant powers towards Native Americans - those people whose financial and natural resources, whose geography and whose entire properties are in the hands of non-natives now. Well, there were native people in America. Their behavior towards these Native Americans was so violent and so disgusting that it is one of the darkest points in the history of modern America. The Americans themselves have written many things about the massacres that took place and the pressures that they exerted. The same thing was done by the English in Australia. The English hunted people, for pleasure, like animals and like kangaroos. They did not attach any value on the lives of human beings. This is only one example. There are hundreds of examples which have been recorded in their own history books. Another example is the nuclear bombardment that was launched in the year 1945 of the Christian calendar - that it to say, the year 1324 of the Hijri calendar - when the Americans destroyed two Japanese cities and, as a result, hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Over the course of time, the number of people who suffered from deformities and different diseases because of nuclear radiations was several times larger than this and these problems have persisted until the present time. They did not have any cogent reason for this - I will refer to this later on. They easily dropped these bombs. Until now, atomic bombs have been used twice and both times, they were used by the Americans who consider themselves to be the main responsible party for the nuclear issues of other countries. They like to forget these events, but it is not forgettable. All these lives were destroyed, but it was not at all important to them. For arrogance, the lives of human beings have no value and it is easy for arrogant regimes to commit crimes. They massacred the people in Vietnam. In Iraq, their security services and their mercenary security agencies - such as Blackwater which I referred to in the year 1390 - committed certain crimes. They are still committing crimes in Pakistan with their drones. In Afghanistan, they conduct a number of bombardments and they commit crimes. They are not afraid of committing crimes in each area they can get their hands on and in each area their interests dictate. These crimes include murder and torture. The Guantanamo prison - which belongs to the Americans - still has prisoners. It is 10, 11 years now that they have been arresting a number of people from different countries and putting them in this prison on different charges. They have been keeping them in this prison without any trial and with extremely difficult conditions and they have been torturing them. In Iraq, the Abu Ghraib prison was one of the American prisons. In this prison, they used to torture and set dogs on prisoners. Looting the vital resources of other nations is easy for them. Capturing and enslaving Africans is one of the tragic events in history which American imperialism and other such regimes do not like to be reviewed. They do not like the issue of enslaving the people of Africa to be reflected on. They used to sail ships from the Atlantic Ocean and anchor them on the coast of West African countries such as Gambia and other countries in this continent. Then, they used to go and capture hundreds of thousands of men and women and old and young people with guns and other weapons which were not available to people at that time. While these people were in difficult conditions, they were taken to America on such ships for slavery. They captivated free people who were living in their houses and in their own cities. In the present time, the black people who live in America are the descendents of those slaves. For several centuries, the Americans exerted such an eccentric pressure and there are many books in this regard such as the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Roots\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Alexander Haley. This book is a very valuable book for showing part of these crimes. How can today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s modern man forget such events? Despite all these crimes, the white people continue to discriminate against blacks in America. Another characteristic of arrogance is deception and hypocritical behavior. You should pay attention to this issue. They try to justify the crimes which were referred to and they try to show that they were rendering services by committing these crimes. Global arrogance, which intends to dominate all nations, is frequently using this method in its entire life: the method of justifying crimes and taking on the appearance of rendering services. When the Americans want to apologize for their attack on Japan - that is to say, the two bombs which exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - they say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Although tens of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of people were killed by the two bombs that we dropped on these two cities, this was the cost of ending World War II. If we the Americans had not dropped these bombs, the war would have continued. If we had not done this, then two million people - instead of the 200 thousand people who were killed as a result of these bombs - would have been killed. Therefore, we rendered a service by dropping these bombs\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Notice that this is a statement which the Americans make in their official propaganda. Now, around 65 years have passed from that day, but they have repeatedly said this. This is one of the deceptive and hypocritical statements and one of the elaborate lies that is not made and told by anyone except arrogant regimes. These bombs were dropped on and exploded in these two cities in the summer of the year 1945 of the Christian calendar and this crime was committed in that year. This was while four months before that - that is to say, in the early spring of 1945 - Hitler, who was the primary warmonger, had committed suicide. Moreover, Mussolini - the president of Italy at that time, who was the second important element in the war - had been arrested and the war was practically over. Japan too, which was the third important element in the war, had announced that it was ready to surrender. Therefore, there was practically no war, but these bombs were dropped anyway. Why? It is because these bombs had been built and they must have been tested somewhere. Certain weapons had been built and they must have been tested somewhere. Where should they test them now? The best option was to drop these bombs on the innocent people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the excuse of war so that it becomes clear whether these bombs work properly or not. Such is their deceit. They claim to be the supporters of human rights, but they target the Iranian passenger plane in the air and they kill about three hundred passengers who are unaware of this. Moreover, they do not apologize and they award a medal to the person who commits this crime. You have heard that in recent weeks, the Americans - from the President to lower-ranking politicians - have created uproar about the use of chemical weapons in Syria. They accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons. I do not want to judge who has used these weapons. Of course, evidence shows that terrorist groups have used them, but anyway, they said that the Syrian government has used such weapons. They created uproar about this and they said that the use of chemical weapons is our red line. American officials said this 10 times or more. But not only did the government and the regime of the United States of America not express any opposition to Saddam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s use of chemical weapons during its criminal attacks on Iran, but it also provided him with 500 tons of hazardous and lethal chemicals which could be turned into mustard gas. Many of our dear youth of those times are still suffering from the effects of those chemicals and it is several years that they have been suffering from various diseases. The Americans helped Saddam to be equipped with such chemicals. Of course, he had bought such chemicals from other countries as well, but it was America that provided Saddam with 500 tons of lethal chemicals - which could turn into mustard gas - and that helped him to use it. After that, when the United Nations Security Council decided to issue a resolution against Saddam, it was America that prevented this. This is the meaning of hypocritical behavior. On the issue of Syria, the use of chemical weapons is a red line, but on the issue of Iran, it can be allowed and supported. This is because on this issue, chemical weapons are used against an independent Islamic government and against a nation which does not want to give in to America. These are some of the characteristics of arrogance. Of course, the characteristics of arrogance are more than these. Arrogant powers wage wars, create discord and confront independent governments. They even confront their own people when the interests of specific groups dictate so. During the war that Saddam waged against Iran, they offered all kinds of help - which was possible for them - to Saddam. I referred to the case of chemicals, but they also gave him secret information about Iran. After the war, when the head of intelligence services of Saddam was interviewed, he said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I used to go to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad three times a week and they gave me a sealed package in which all satellite information about the movements of the Iranian Armed Forces existed and therefore, we knew where they were\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They offered such kinds of help to Saddam. The Islamic government is opposed to such arrogance. The Islamic government is not opposed to people and nations. It is not opposed to human beings. Rather, it is opposed to arrogance. This opposition has existed since the time of Abraham - God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Friend - Noah, the Holy Prophet of Islam and other great prophets and it has continued until today. Since that time, the camp of right has confronted arrogance. Why is that? Why does today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Islamic government confront arrogance? It is because arrogance with the characteristics that I described cannot tolerate an Islamic government such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is because the Islamic Republic of Iran was formed on the basis of opposition to arrogance. The Revolution was carried out in Iran in opposition to arrogance and the agents of arrogance. It was formed on the basis of this opposition. It grew, it became strong and it challenged the logic of arrogance on the basis of this opposition. Arrogance cannot tolerate this unless it is frustrated. The Iranian people, the Iranian youth, the Iranian activists and those Iranians who believe in their homeland and their country for any reason - even if it may be a non-Islamic reason - should do something to make the enemy hopeless. The enemy should become hopeless. It is very difficult for global arrogance and for the government of the United States of America in the present time to see that in this sensitive region - in West Asia, which is the one of the most sensitive regions in the world in terms of politics and economy and which influences the entire world - a country, a government and a people have emerged who do not consider themselves to be dependent on and to be the followers of this self-proclaimed superpower. This Islamic government is independent and despite the strong opposition that it is faced with, it overcomes all problems and hardships. As the Americans themselves admit, this government is challenging the influence of America in the region and it is extending its own influence. This Islamic government is becoming a role model for regional nations and this is very difficult for the Americans to tolerate. The Americans want to say that the lives of all nations depend on America. Now a people have emerged who not only are not dependent on America, but who also have not been influenced by all these hostilities. From the first day, the Americans did whatever they could, but it was not effective. These people have achieved growth and they have become stronger on a daily basis. The hostilities that the government of the United States of America has shown against the Islamic Republic happened during the time of different presidents, but all of these hostilities are of the same nature. All of these hostilities are the same. Therefore, no one should say that such and such a plot was hatched during the time of such and such a president and this plot has not been hatched during the time of the current President of America. This is not the case. All of these presidents behave in the same way. First, they provoked ethnicities in Iran, then they launched a coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and after that, they made Iraq attack us. The next thing that they did was to help our enemy - which was the regime of Saddam - in his war against us and after the war, they imposed sanctions on us. Then, they provoked all media networks in the world and they made them align themselves against the Islamic Republic. All of these things have been done during the time of different presidents of America and now too, these things are being done. In the fitna of the year 1388 - during the term of the current President of America - one of the social networks, which could be used to further the goals of fitna and those who provoked the fitna, needed to fix some technical problems. The government of America asked this network to delay fixing these technical problems because they hoped to overthrow the Islamic Republic with the help of media activities and networks such as Facebook, Twitter and other such networks. They had these foolish delusions. Therefore, they did not let this network fix its technical problems and they said that it should delay it and attend to this task which is more important. They used all kinds of tools against the Islamic Republic and sanctions are one of these tools. From their viewpoint, this tool is enough for defeating the Islamic Republic. Their mistake is that they do not know the Iranian nation. Their mistake is that they do not know the element of faith and unity among our people. Their mistake is that they did not learn a lesson from their past mistakes. Therefore, they hope that they can bring the people of Iran to their knees by imposing sanctions, exerting pressures and other such measures. Of course, they are making a mistake. The permanent experience of the Islamic Republic during the past 35 years shows that the only way to get rid of the interference of the enemy is national power and national resistance. This is the only factor which can make the enemy retreat. Of course, the enemy is the enemy. He uses all kinds of tools. As I said, he has used and is using sanctions. We should know what it is that can help us achieve our goal. I would like to say a few things about Basij and after that, I would like to briefly speak about the current issues regarding our foreign policies. As I said, Basij is a source of dignity for the country and the Islamic Republic. Why? It is because the meaning of Basij is the presence of all the people in arenas of fundamental activities for the sake of the people and the country. Any government that has people by its side and any country in which the people show their presence and move towards a specific direction, will definitely achieve victory. This is completely clear. Countries receive a blow and they are defeated whenever the people are not present on the scene or whenever they do not have unity of action. Whenever the people are present on the scene and whenever there is unity among them, victory and progress will be certain. Basij is the example of such presence. Basij is the manifestation of the presence of the people on the scene and the unity of the people. We should adopt such an outlook towards Basij. On the issue of sincerity, which I referred to in the beginning of my speech, Basij has emerged victorious out of the test of sincerity. Basij was put to this test during the imposed war and the Sacred Defense Era which was a time when the country was in difficult conditions. Also, during the different events that took place after the Sacred Defense Era until the present time, Basij has emerged victorious out of the test of sincerity. The Basij organization has shown that it enjoys sincerity. Of course, in my opinion, Basij is not confined to this number of people who are active in the Basij organization. There are many people whose hearts are with you. They praise and respect you and they appreciate your value. These people are not active in the Basij organization, but they are basijis as well. In my opinion, those people who believe in and respect your values and who respect your efforts, your services and your jihad are basijis as well. Being present on the scene is one of the most important tasks. Moreover, the capabilities of Basij help us solve problems. Fortunately, today inside the organization of Basij, there are many scientific, artistic, social and political personalities and there are many social activists and people who can influence the people. Until today, Basij has represented a group of people who have been achieving growth and transcendence on a daily basis and it should act in the same way from now on too. What I recommend is that we should increase the capabilities of Basij. There are certain prerequisites for this: moral, behavioral and practical prerequisites. Moral prerequisites means that we should build and develop Islamic virtues in our hearts and souls. A number of these virtues are patience, forgiveness, fortitude, self-control and humility. We should strengthen these characteristics in ourselves. Behavioral prerequisites means that we should utilize these virtues when we interact with the people, the environment, society and human beings in general. Imam Sadiq (peace and greetings be upon him) used to say to his companions, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You should act in a way that whenever people see you, they say, ‘These people are the companions of Imam Sadiq. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon Imam Sadiq. You should make us be proud of you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [al-Kafi, Volume 2, page 233]. Each and every one of you dear basijis, you dear youth with your pure and enlightened hearts and souls should behave towards all the people - as I said, many of the people are basijis in the real sense of the word - in a way that they say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"These people are students of the Islamic government. They are a source of respect for the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". And practical, jihadi and social prerequisites are the tasks that should be carried out. That is to say, we should strengthen these virtues in ourselves. It means that we should behave in a kind, diligent and praiseworthy way towards the [social] environment. It means that we should act in a serious way in all arenas including the arena of science, the arena of social services, the arena of work, the arena of politics and the arena of production. Wherever you are, you should work in a serious way without any feeling of tiredness and any laziness. We should work. This great group of basijis - tens of thousands of people from this great group are present in this meeting - can move the country towards positive paths in the real sense of word. This group of people can be a source of solidity and stability. It can be a source of grandeur for the Islamic Republic and thankfully it is playing such a role today. Today, Basij is a source of grandeur and honor for the Islamic Republic. I would like to raise a point about the recent contentions over the arena of foreign policies, our nuclear issues, the current negotiations and other such things. First of all, I insist on supporting the officials who are in charge of this. I support all administrations and all officials - whether officials in charge of domestic affairs or officials in charge of foreign affairs - and this is our responsibility. I myself have been an executive official. I have been in the middle of the arena and I felt with all my heart the difficulty of the work. I know that the responsibility of managing the country is difficult. Therefore, these officials need help and I help and support them. This is one part of the issue which is clear. On the other hand, I also insist on establishing the rights of the Iranian nation including the issue of our nuclear rights. We insist that these officials should not even take one step back on the rights of the Iranian nation. Of course, we do not interfere in the details of these negotiations. There are certain red lines and limits in this regard. These limits should be observed. We have said this to officials in charge and it is their responsibility to observe these limits. They should not be afraid of the fuss that the enemies and opponents make. They should show no fear in the face of such fuss and uproar. Everyone should know that primarily, the sanctions which have been imposed on the Iranian nation result from the arrogant grudge of America. The grudge that the Americans bear against us is like the grudge of a camel. They want to exert pressures on the Iranian nation in the hope that they can perhaps make the Iranian nation surrender. They are making a mistake because the Iranian nation will not surrender to anyone under pressure. You Americans have failed to know the people of Iran. They are a people who can, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, endure these pressures and who will turn these threats and pressures into an opportunity. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the Iranian nation will do this. We have had certain weak points in the area of economic decisions and plans. These weak points have made the enemy feel that he can create a rift. This is an opportunity for us to know and eliminate these weak points and, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will eliminate them. The Americans should know and I think they know that sanctions do not work. The reason why we say they themselves know that sanctions do not work is the military threats they issue. Well, if sanctions can serve the purpose, then why do they issue military threats? This shows that sanctions have not served the purpose and that they do not work. They have to issue military sanctions. Of course, the act of issuing military threats is a very disgusting and despicable act. Instead of issuing military threats against different countries, you Americans should go and improve your own devastated economy. You should do something so that your government will not be shut down for 15, 16 days. You should go and pay your debts. You should think of improving your own economy. As I said, the Americans should know that the Iranian nation behaves in a brotherly way towards all nations: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those who have the same religion as you have, they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, they are human beings like you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". The people of Iran respect other nations, but they behave towards transgressors in a way that they become regretful. They slap transgressots across the face in a way that they will never forget. The Americans consider themselves responsible for saying something in support of the Zionist regime and the capitalist Zionists and this is a source of weakness and humiliation for them. In fact, the Zionist regime is a regime whose foundations are extremely shaky. The Zionist regime is doomed to destruction. It is a regime which is imposed [on regional nations] and it has been formed on the basis of bullying. Any phenomenon and any organism which has come into being by use of force cannot survive and this regime cannot survive either. The support of the Americans - who are indebted to Zionist capitalists - for the wretched Zionist regime is a source of disgrace for them. Unfortunately, a number of European countries flatter this regime. These Europeans go and flatter these creatures who do not deserve to be called human beings and they humiliate themselves and their people in front of these creatures. The leaders of the Zionist regime are really like wild animals and one cannot call them human beings. One day in Europe, the French nation gained a good political reputation because the president of France in those days did not allow England to enter the European Community due to the fact that England was dependent on America. This became a source of dignity for France. On that day, the dignity of the French government increased because it stood up against America and because it did not let England - which was dependent on America - enter the European Community. A people achieve dignity in such a way. Today, the politicians of this country [France] go and humble themselves not only before America, but also before these damned and dirty Zionists. This is a source of humiliation for the French nation. Of course, the people of France themselves should find a cure for this problem. I would like to speak to you dear youth about a few things. You youth should know that without a doubt, the bright and promising future of this country and the Islamic Republic belongs to you. You will manage to help your country and your people reach the peak of glory. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you will be able to build a perfect model of the modern Islamic civilization in this country. In order to carry out these great tasks, you should promote and strengthen - as much as you can - religion, piety, morality and purity of soul among yourselves. Today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth need religion, piety, science, enthusiasm, trustworthiness, morality, social services and physical exercise. These are the things which today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth need and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you dear basijis will succeed in doing this. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), bestow Your blessings on these people and on all the basijis of our country. Dear God, make the Iranian nation conquer the peaks of honor on a daily basis. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), make the immaculate soul of Imam satisfied with us and with these people. Dear God, make the pure souls of martyrs satisfied and pleased with us. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age satisfied and pleased with us and hasten the re-appearance of this great Imam. Make us be among his companions and his accompanying mujahids and make us be martyrs by his side. Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings. Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1839&Itemid=4

Palestinian political prisoner and long term hunger striker Samer al Issawi was greeted by hundreds of supporters, friends and family as he was released from an Israeli jail following the longest hunger strike in Palestinian history. Samer al Azawi was originally captured by the Israeli army and handed a 26 year sentence in 2002. He was released as part of the Gilad Shalit deal alongside over a thousand other prisoners in exchange for 1 Israeli prisoner. However, Asawi was arrested again in July 2012 and held in administrative detention without charge or trial. Following his detention, Asawi went on a 260 day hunger strike in protest against the Israeli\\\'s threatening to renew his original prison sentence for breaking the terms of his parole. Israeli forces raided his family\\\'s home twice just before his release. On Sunday, Israeli authorities gave notices to Issawi\\\'s brother and father, demanding they meet requirements by the Israeli intelligence. Israeli intelligence agents, accompanied by soldiers, told the family they were not allowed to organize any celebrations for Issawi\\\'s release. Samer al Azawi will now join his family in Jerusalem al Quds following a 9 months hunger strike which prompted the Israeli authorities to release him. He stressed the importance of applying international pressure on Israel to release over 4800 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says Tehran has built a new generation of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran has built two kinds of second generation centrifuges with capacity twice as the ones before. He says the second-generation centrifuges have been installed but under the Geneva deal, Iran will not inject gas into them for six months. He also says if Iran needs 20 percent enriched uranium for its nuclear facilities, the country has the right to enrich it. Salehi confirmed that Tehran has negotiated the construction of four new nuclear facilities with Moscow. Under an interim nuclear deal reached in Geneva in November, Iran has agreed not to bring new centrifuges into operation for six months. But the deal does not stop it from developing centrifuges.