Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah - Speech - August 14 2020 (Post Beirut...
Important points of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Speech
14-08-2020
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
The Resistance in Lebanon is not a complementary...
Important points of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Speech
14-08-2020
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
The Resistance in Lebanon is not a complementary element to existence, it is the one crucial element of our existence and protection.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
I will speak about the new peace treaty between the UAE and israel. There has also been talk of links israel has had to the explosion in Lebanon. I will tackle this then speak on domestic issues in Lebanon.
Sayyed #Nasrallah:
The Zionists targeted a Hezbollah personality in Syria, martyr, Ali Kamal Mohsen. This is part of our \"punishment\" for aiding in Syria. This has left them waiting on the border on a leg and a half. I tell them to keep waiting. Our strategy has not changed.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
What the UAE has done is considered an election promotion for Trump and Netanyahu. Those 2 are losing their popularity. Netanyahu awaits his lawsuit on corruption...
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
We should not be surprised if more countries sign such treaties. Trump will milk those countries of their honor and dignity for the sake of his troubled friend, Netanyahu, the same way he milked them of their money before.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
Those countries will do anything to please America, and America says, \"Please israel and we are satisfied.\"
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
This act is strongly condemned. It is a betrayal to Islam and Arabism. But I tell the Palestinians and the people of the Resistance not to feel distraught, for those hypocrites need to be exposed. \"Lest you hate a thing when it is good for you.\"
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
There were several theories on the causes of the Beirut explosion. One being that it was a planned attack, and the other being that it was a result of negligence and irresponsibility.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
Many theories were raised, but the mere fact of leaving fireworks and other flammable material in this manner is negligence, but also a crime!
Sayyed #Nasrallah:
Many were quick to blame Hezbollah and accuse us of knowing that israel was planning this. They claimed that we knew and that we would not respond had this been an attack. Hezbollah would not leave an attack on a single person, let alone an attack this enormous
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
If israel really was behind this incident, then the participation of the FBI in the investigations will be for the sake of covering up any evidence against israel. We are Lebanese too, and we do not trust the FBI. The Lebanese people need answers.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
If this was a planned attack, whoever planned it was not betting on the attack itself, but on its outcome. There was a huge campaign aiming to overthrow the entire system.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
At the time the Lebanese people needed every bit of help they could get, the media immediately took advantage of the situation to feed their agendas, push for a civil war, overthrow the presidency, parliament, and entire system.
Sayyed #Nasrallah:
There were certain political groups in Lebanon, serving foreign agendas, who working hard on igniting strife. They cannot expect someone with a history like president Aoun, who did not surrender before threats of getting his house bombed, to simply surrender now.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
I have to thank PM Hassan Diab and every minister in his council who agreed on taking on the responsibility despite all the odds and remaining firm despite all the obstacles.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
The coming government should be supported by all political parties. Its priorities should be reform, rebuilding after the port explosion, electricity, environment, public schools, the economic crisis...
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
The government should insist on the investigations in the port explosion.
This government cannot be a neutral one. All of us understand the reality of the Lebanese society. We do not believe in the existence of a neutral individual in Lebanon.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
Anyone calling for a neutral government is only trying to waste time. We all know what works and doesn\'t work in the country. Anyways, I am only putting this out there for the people to know.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
Those (members of parliament) who resigned during those difficult times dared to throw accusations at the ones who chose to still carry their responsibilities.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
If you want to abandon your responsibilities, quit politics. You cannot weasel out now and abandon your responsibilities when it is your policies that led the country to its current situation.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
There was a huge campaign targeted at the people of the Resistance. I tell you all to remain patient. Remain furious, but remain patient, for we might need this rage one day.
Sayyed #Nasrallah:
On the 18th, the ICJ will issue its judgment (on the Rafiq Hariri assassination case). We do not acknowledge this court & if they were to blame any of our personnel, we will back them up because we insist of their innocence. We need to remain patient at those times.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
At the end, I want to stress on the importance of abiding by all the necessary measures and instructions that have to do with the coronavirus. The situation is getting worse and our hospitals cannot withstand the pressure.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah:
We never know what might happen in the future or what new events might occur in the Zionist entity. Some would claim that Hezbollah is worried or perplexed. We are calm, collected, and certain of everything.
Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah
speaking of the nature of the Ashura commemoration, avoiding gatherings, and ensuring social distancing.
End
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Movie - The Battle of Khaybar - The Victory of Ali - Arabic sub English
Movie - The Battle of Khaybar - The Victory of Ali - Arabic sub English. A short film depicting the conquest of the Fort of Khaybar by the Muslim...
Movie - The Battle of Khaybar - The Victory of Ali - Arabic sub English. A short film depicting the conquest of the Fort of Khaybar by the Muslim Army, led by the Holy Prophet and Imam Ali. After the failure of Abu Bakr and Umar to succeed in conquering the fort, the banner of Islam fell to Ali, who single handedly killed Marhab, the chief of the Jews, and then went on to slay Harith, the commander of the Jews. After the death of the two "lions" of the Jewish tribe, the fortress the Jews had been hiding behind was conquered and the Muslims were victorious. It was the courage of Ali, instilled in him due to his immense and unswerving faith in Allah which brought the Muslims victory, it was in this battle that the Prophet announced that the fortress of Khaybar would be conquered by a man whom Allah and His apostle love dearly, it was in this battle that the Prophet of Islam cured the eye ailment of Ali with his own spit, it was in this battle that the Companions of the Prophet remained awake all night yearning to receive the banner of Islam from the Prophet, only to have their hopes shattered when the Prophet called out "Where is Ali, bring Ali to me". It was in this battle that Ali manifested the strength endowed upon him by Allah and tore through the ranks of the Jews, killing those who challenged him and inflicting awe into those who fled from him, leaving none with the strength to stand in front of him on the battlefield, as Ali himself says "I swear by Allah that whoever approaches me in battle shall not leave the battlefield alive, and whoever does shall not have the courage to return and face me". Read more about the battle here: http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=3046 The Hadiths from Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 520 and Number 521 prove the victory occurred at the hand of Ali, and NONE but Ali, with the power of Allah. Read the Hadiths from Sahih Bukhari here: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/059.sbt.html#005.059.520 "Narrated Salama: Ali remained behind the Prophet during the Ghazwa of Khaibar as he was suffering from eye trouble. He then said, "(How can) I remain behind the Prophet ," and followed him. So when he slept on the night of the conquest of Khaibar, the Prophet said, "I will give the flag tomorrow, or tomorrow the flag will be taken by a man who is loved by Allah and His Apostle, and (Khaibar) will be conquered through him, (with Allah's help)" While every one of us was hopeful to have the flag, it was said, "Here is 'Ali" and the Prophet gave him the flag and Khaibar was conquered through him (with Allah's Help)." "Narrated Sahl bin Sad: On the day of Khaibar, Allah's Apostle said, "Tomorrow I will give this flag to a man through whose hands Allah will give us victory. He loves Allah and His Apostle, and he is loved by Allah and His Apostle." The people remained that night, wondering as to who would be given it. In the morning the people went to Allah's Apostle and everyone of them was hopeful to receive it (i.e. the flag). The Prophet said, "Where is Ali bin Abi Talib?" It was said, "He is suffering from eye trouble O Allah's Apostle." He said, "Send for him." 'Ali was brought and Allah's Apostle spat in his eye and invoked good upon him. So 'Ali was cured as if he never had any trouble. Then the Prophet gave him the flag. 'Ali said "O Allah's Apostle! I will fight with them till they become like us." Allah's Apostle said, "Proceed and do not hurry. When you enter their territory, call them to embrace Islam and inform them of Allah's Rights which they should observe, for by Allah, even if a single man is led on the right path (of Islam) by Allah through you, then that will be better for you than the nice red camels. "
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[English] [03 Nov 13] Speech to Students on National Day of Fighting...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 3, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 3, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with high school and university students. The meeting was held on the occasion of the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"National Day of Fighting Against Global Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Students on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"National Day of Fighting Against Global ArroganToday, the warm presence of you dear youth in this hussainyyah is a reminder and a manifestation of the epic and enthusiasm which has been the supporter and guarantee of the revolutionary movement of the Iranian nation over the course of many years- from the beginning of the Revolution until today. The great blessing of God on our country and on the Islamic Republic is the existence of youth with their clear, strong and reasonable motives, with their pure hearts and with their sincere intentions.
Our meeting today has been scheduled on the anniversary of the events of the 13th of Aban which occurred over the course of different years - before and after the victory of the Revolution in the country. There are three events: Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s exile in the year 1343, the ruthless slaughter of students in Tehran in the year 1357 and the courageous movement of students in capturing the Den of Espionage in the year 1358.
Each of these three events was in some way related to the government of the United States of America. In the year 1343, Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) was exiled because of his opposition to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"capitulation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", which meant preserving the security of American agents in Iran and their judicial immunity. So this event was related to America.
In the year 1357, the regime which was dependent on America killed students on the streets of Tehran and the asphalt of these streets was colored with the blood of our teenagers. This was done by America in order to defend the regime which was dependent on it. This event was also related to America.
The event in the year 1358 was a counterattack. Our courageous and religious youth attacked the U.S. embassy and discovered the truth and identity of this embassy, which was the Den of Espionage, and presented this fact to people throughout the world.
In those days, our youth called the U.S. embassy the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Den of Espionage\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Today, after the passage of 30-plus years since that day, the name of U.S. embassies in countries which have the closest relationship with America - that is to say, European countries - has become the den of espionage. This means that our youth are 30 years ahead of the rest of the world. This event was related to America as well. These three events were related, in different ways, to the government of the United States of America and its relations with Iran. Therefore, the 13th of Aban - which is tomorrow - was named \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Day of Fighting Against Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
What does arrogance mean? Arrogance is a Quranic term. The word \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" has been used in the Holy Quran. An arrogant individual, an arrogant government and an arrogant group of people means those individuals and those governments which intend to interfere in the affairs of other human beings and other nations. They interfere in all the affairs of other nations in order to preserve their own interests. They think they are free to do anything and they grant themselves the right to impose different things on other nations and to interfere in the affairs of other countries. And they do not answer to anyone. This is the meaning of arrogance.
At the opposite end of the scale, there is a group of people who fight against arrogance. What does fighting against arrogance mean? Primarily, it means refusing to give in to this bullying. The meaning of fighting against arrogance is not convoluted and it is not complicated. Fighting against arrogance means the refusal of a nation to give in to the interference and imposition of an arrogant power, individual or government. This is the meaning of fighting against arrogance. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, when I have the opportunity in the future, I will have a detailed discussion about arrogance and fighting against arrogance with you youth and students. Now, there is no time. This is a brief definition of arrogance and fighting against arrogance.
The people of Iran consider themselves to be fighters against arrogance because they have not given in to the imposition of the government of America. The government of America is an arrogant government. It grants itself the right to interfere in the affairs of other countries. It wages wars and it interferes in the affairs of other countries. Today, you see that this goes beyond the borders of Asian, African and Latin American countries. It has reached Europe. They interfere in their affairs as well. The Iranian nation stood against the arrogance that the government of the United States of America showed. It stood against the interference and bullying that it caused and it stood against the domination that it had achieved over our dear country in the course of many years.
The taghuti and monarchical regime was a regime which was dependent on America without any domestic support. By relying on America, they did whatever they wanted in Iran. They oppressed the people, they usurped their rights, they practiced discrimination among them. They prevented the country from achieving growth and making progress - which was the natural and historical right of the people - in order to promote the interests of America in Iran. The Iranian nation stood firm and it carried out a revolution. Then, it cut out the roots of arrogant powers in the country. It was not like a number of other countries which confronted arrogance at first, but which left it unfinished. Of course, these countries have received a blow because of this.
When I was present in a country - whose name I do not want to mention - which had fought against the English for many years, which had put an end to the oppression of the English by fighting against them and which had achieved independence, I saw that they had put up the statue of an English commander in an important recreational center. I said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What is this?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" And this center was named after this arrogant and colonialist commander who had committed thousands of crimes in that country. Of course, they did not gain any benefit from this consideration and compromise. That is to say, this country was and still is under pressure.
Compromising and showing leniency towards arrogant powers will bring no benefit for any country. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the great Revolution carried out by the people of Iran confronted American arrogance and it did not leave this task unfinished because it had felt the blow which the Americans had dealt, over many years, on its skin and flesh. It knew who and what these people are.
The arrogant outlook which the Americans have adopted and which has continued since decades ago until today has made all nations in the world have a feeling of mistrust and hatred towards the government of America. This is not particular to our country. Any nation which trusted America received a blow, even those who were America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s friends. In our county, Dr. Mosaddeq trusted and relied on the Americans so that he could free himself from the pressure of the English. Instead of helping Dr. Mosaddeq who had trusted them, the Americans allied themselves with the English.
They dispatched their agents to our country and they launched the coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état of the 28th of Mordad. Mosaddeq trusted them and he received a blow for that. Even those who were on friendly terms with America and who had trusted this country received a blow. The taghuti regime had a very close relationship with America. However, the greed of America exhausted them as well. As I said, they imposed \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"capitulation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" - the judicial immunity of American agents - on this regime and they had to accept this because they had no other source of support except for America.
The meaning of capitulation is that if an American sergeant slaps a high-ranking Iranian officer across the face, no one has the right to sue him. If an American agent of low rank shows transgression towards a honorable Iranian man or woman, no one has the right to sue him. The Americans say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You do not have the right to do this. We ourselves will resolve the issue\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
A people cannot be humiliated more than this. They imposed this on Iran which was their friend. They did not even show mercy to their friend. They threw Mohammad Reza out of their country after he fled from Iran and spent a short time in America. They did not let him stay. They did not show even this bit of loyalty to him. They are such people.
Nations and even governments do not trust America because of this behavior and this attitude which can be seen in its policies. Anyone who trusted America received a blow. Therefore, today, America is the most hated global power among nations. If a fair and healthy public opinion poll is carried out among all nations in the world, I do not think that the negative scores of any nation equal the negative scores of the government of America. Today, this is the condition of America throughout the world. You have heard the statements that the Europeans make against the Americans.
Therefore, the issue of fighting against arrogance and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The National Day of Fighting against Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is a fundamental issue, one that is based on correct analyses and statements. And you dear youth and the millions of youth throughout the country, who are students like you, should have a correct analysis of these events. Well, the youth of the early years of the Revolution did not need analyses. Everything was clear to them because they had witnessed everything with their own eyes. They had witnessed the presence of the Americans and SAVAK, which had been taught by the Americans themselves. But today, you should think, analyze and be careful. This should not be only in words. It should be clear why the people of Iran are opposed to arrogance, why they are opposed to the positions of the United States of America and what their hatred results from. Today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth should understand this correctly by carrying out research.
Well, I would like to raise a few points about our current issues with America, which is a source of discussions these days. There are certain questions in the minds of the people. First, I want to offer an important and necessary piece of advice: no one should think that the negotiating team of our country have compromised with the other party which includes America - the six governments which are known as the P5+1. This is wrong. They are the agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are our own children and they are the children of the Revolution. They are carrying out a mission and the responsibility which they have undertaken is difficult. They are carrying out this responsibility, which falls on their shoulders, with many efforts. Therefore, one should not weaken and insult them and use certain terms - which we sometimes hear such as the notion that they have compromised with the enemy and other such things - against an agent who is carrying out a task and who is in charge of an affair. The things that are said against them are not true.
You should pay attention to the fact that the current negotiations with these six countries - including America - are only about the nuclear issue and nothing else. In the beginning of this year, I said in Holy Mashhad that there is nothing wrong with negotiations on particular issues. But I said that I do not trust these negotiations and I am not optimistic about them. However, if they want to negotiate, they can do it and, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will not suffer a loss in these negotiations.
The Iranian nation benefits from a certain experience which I will refer to in brief. This experience will increase the intellectual capability of our nation, like the experience that we gained in the year 1382 and 1383 in the area of suspending our enrichment activities. At that time, during negotiations with the Europeans, the Islamic Republic agreed to suspend its enrichment activities for a while. But this turned out to be to our benefit. Why? It is because we found out there is no hope at all that our western partners will cooperate with us if we suspend our enrichment activities. If we had not accepted that optional suspension - of course, it was imposed in a way, but we and our officials accepted it anyway - some people would have said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you had retreated a little bit, all problems would have been solved and Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s nuclear file would have become normal\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
That act of suspending our enrichment activities brought us this advantage: it became clear that problems will not be solved by retreating, suspending enrichment activities, postponing our work and cancelling many of our plans and programs. It became clear that the other side is after something else. We noticed this and therefore we started our enrichment activities again.
Today, the condition of the Islamic Republic has dramatically changed compared to its condition in the year 1382. In those days, we used to bargain for two, three centrifuges, but today several thousand centrifuges are working. Our youth, our scientists, our researchers and our officials made great efforts and moved things forward. Therefore, we will not suffer a loss as a result of today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s ongoing negotiations.
Of course, as I said, I am not optimistic and I do not think that these negotiations will produce the results which the Iranian nation expects. However, it is an experience. This will broaden and strengthen the experience of the Iranian nation. It is alright to hold these negotiations, but it is necessary for the Iranian nation to be vigilant. We strongly support our officials, who are active in the camp of diplomacy, but our people should be vigilant. They should know what is happening so that some mercenary promoters of the enemy and some promoters who receive no rewards and who further the goals of the enemy out of naivety cannot mislead public opinion.
They want to instill the idea into the minds of the people that if we surrender to the other side on the nuclear issue, all economic, financial and other such problems will be solved. This is one of the methods which they use and one of the lies which they spread. They are promoting this idea.
Of course, foreign promoters promote such ideas with very efficient methods. Inside the country too, some people promote the idea that if we back down and surrender to the other side on this issue, all economic and other such problems will be solved. Some of these people do it out of naivety without any bad intention and some people promote this idea intentionally. However, this idea is wrong. Why is it wrong? There are a few reasons why it is wrong. I would like you - including the people who are present in this meeting, our wise, well-informed and highly motivated youth and our university and school students throughout the country - to think about such issues. As I once said, you are the officers of the soft war.
One reason is that the enmity of America towards the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic is not at all about the nuclear issue. It is wrong to think that America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s hostility towards us is based on the nuclear issue. This is not the case. The nuclear issue is an excuse. Even long before the nuclear issue - that is to say, since the beginning of the Revolution - these hostilities and oppositions existed. Even if one day the nuclear issue is resolved - imagine that the Islamic Republic retreats, which is the thing they want - you should not think that these hostilities will be over. No, they will gradually make tens of other excuses.
For example, they will say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you have missiles?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you have drones?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why are you on unfriendly terms with the Zionist regime?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you not officially recognize the Zionist regime?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you support resistance groups?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" in, as they call it, the Middle East region and why and why and why...
The issue is not that they have disagreements with the Islamic Republic about its nuclear program. This is not the case. America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sanctions began since the beginning of the Revolution and these sanctions increased on a daily basis so much so that today, it has reached a high level.
They showed other kinds of hostility as well. They brought down a plane which belonged to the Islamic Republic and they killed 290 humans. During the early years of the Revolution, when the people were still enthusiastic about the victory of the Revolution, they launched the coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état based in Shahid Nojeh military base. They launched a coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état against the Revolution and they supported anti-revolutionary elements in different corners of the country. They gave weapons and other such things to the anti-revolutionary camp. This is the same thing that they did in other countries later on. Their enmity is not based on the nuclear issue. The issue is something else. The Iranian nation said no to the requests of America. The Iranian nation said that America cannot do a damn thing against us.
The Americans are opposed to the identity of the Islamic Republic. They are opposed to the influence and power of the Islamic Republic. Recently, one of the American politicians and intellectuals said - his speech was broadcast and this is not a confidential issue - that Iran is dangerous, no matter if it is atomic or non-atomic. This person openly said that the influence and power of Iran - as they say, the hegemony of Iran - is dangerous in the region. This is the kind of Iran which enjoys dignity, respect and power today. They are opposed to this kind of Iran. They will be satisfied when Iran becomes a weak, abandoned, isolated, untrustworthy and humiliated nation. Their enmity is not based on the nuclear issue. This is one point.
Another point is that in order to solve the economic issues of the country, all our efforts should be focused on domestic issues. The kind of progress and the kind of solution is valuable which is reliant on the domestic power of a nation. If a people rely on their own power and capabilities, they will no more descend into chaos when another country frowns at and imposes sanctions on them. We should solve this. All that we want to say to officials - whether past or present officials - is that they should look at domestic capabilities in order to resolve the issues and the problems of the country including economic problems. We have certain capacities in the country. These capacities - which include human, natural and geographical resources and regional location - should be utilized.
Of course, we support diplomatic dynamism. When we say problems should be solved from the inside, this does not mean that we should close our eyes, that we should not benefit from diplomatic dynamism and that we should not interact with the world. Diplomatic dynamism and diplomatic presence are very necessary. The officials who do these things are part of the work, but we should rely on domestic issues. In diplomatic arenas, that country can be successful which relies on its innate power. That government which relies on its innate power and innate capacities can make others accept what it says at the negotiating table and achieve the desired results. Such governments are taken into consideration.
An important point which should receive attention in this regard is that we have never become desperate in the face of our enemies during these years and we will never become desperate in the future. During the first decade after the Revolution, particularly during the first years, we did not have access to many material resources. We did not have money, we did not have weapons, we did not have experience, we did not have organization, we did not have competent armed forces and we did not have military equipment. This was while our enemy was at the peak of his power and capability, whether the enemy which fought against us in the arena of war or the enemy which stood behind him - that is to say, the Ba\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ath regime of Saddam and America, NATO and the Soviet Union of those days. At that time, the Reagan administration was one of the strongest and most powerful governments throughout the world in political and military arenas. This was while we lived in poverty and with difficult conditions, but they could not do anything to us.
Today, the situation has changed. Today, the Islamic Republic has weapons. Today, it has money, it has science, it has technology, it has the power to produce, it has international dignity, it has millions of youth who are ready to work and it has millions of talents. Today, we have such a condition. Today, our condition cannot at all be compared with 30 years ago. This is while the situation is the exact opposite of this for the opposing camp.
In those days, the Americans were at the peak of their power, but today they are not. Recently, one of the current American government officials, who is a well-known personality, said that today America has reached a point where its friends do not respect it and its enemies do not fear it. It was he who said this, not us. They themselves mention such things.
Recently, they have had some political problems. You have seen the disagreement of American politicians about the government\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s budget which shut down the government for 16, 17 days. They sent 800,000 employees on involuntary leave. This is a weakness. This is inefficiency. They have the biggest economic and financial problems. Our problems are nothing compared to their problems.
And I will tell you that in the year 2001 or 2002 of the Christian calendar - that is to say, 10, 11 years ago - the financial officials of America made a certain prediction. They predicted that in the year 2011 or 2012, they would have a surplus of 14 trillion dollars. Pay careful attention to this. In 2001, their prediction for 2011 and 2012 was this: they said that in 2011 and 2012 they would have a surplus of 14 trillion dollars. Now, it is 2013, but they have a deficit of around 17 trillion dollars and they do not have any surplus. That is to say, they miscalculated this figure up to 30 trillion dollars. This is their economic condition. This is the way they calculate. This is the condition in the opposing camp.
Moreover, as you can see, they have many disagreements. It is mutual interests which have connected them - the Americans and the Europeans - to one another. Otherwise, deep inside, they are on unfriendly terms. The French nation hates the Americans. In different events such as the issue of Syria, the Americans could not establish a partnership with a government which has the closest relationship with them. That is to say, even the English said that we would not take part in this issue. This is while about 40 governments cooperated with them when they attacked Iraq. When they attacked Afghanistan, about 30 governments cooperated with them. The Americans have such a condition in the present time.
We have a very good condition. We have made progress, we have become powerful and our people have become a well-informed people. Of course, they exert pressures on us. We should endure and pass through these pressures by relying on our domestic capabilities. This is a wise thing to do and it is being done. Of course, as I said earlier - and I would like to repeat this - we approve of the efforts that the honorable administration and the officials of the country are making. This is an important task and experience and it is most probably a valuable course of action. They can do this. If they achieve results, then so much the better. But if they do not achieve results, this should mean that the county must stand on its own feet in order to solve its problems. I would like to repeat my previous advice: you should not trust the enemy which smiles at you. We would like to offer this advice to our officials, who are our children. Those officials who are working in the arena of diplomacy are our own children and our own youth. This is our advice to them: you should take care not to be misled by a deceptive smile. You should see the subtleties of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plans.
Today, the Americans have the most troubles with the deviated Zionist regime- more than any other regime. They have the most consideration for Zionist lobbies. They show consideration for them and we see the situation. The claws of wealthy and powerful Zionist individuals and companies have such domination over the U.S. government and the U.S. Congress that they have to show consideration for them. We do not have to show consideration for the Zionists.
Since the first day we said - and we say it today and we will say it in the future - that we consider the Zionist regime to be an illegal and bastard regime. It is a regime which has come into being with conspiracy and it is being preserved and guarded with conspiracy and conspiratorial policies. The Americans show consideration for this regime. The reason why they do this requires another detailed discussion. The money, power and capital of the Zionists is doing a good job and it is influencing these poor Americans. Therefore, the Americans have to show some consideration for them.
It is not only the Americans who have such a condition. Many other western politicians, these poor creatures, have the same problem. They too have the same problem. Therefore, our officials should pay attention and they should look at their statements. On the one hand, they smile and they show interest in negotiations and on the other hand, they immediately say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All options are on the table\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". So what? What move can they make against the Islamic Republic?
If they are serious about these negotiations, they should control themselves. They should stop those people who open their mouth to talk nonsense. A certain wealthy American politician had the audacity to say that they should drop an atomic bomb in such and such a desert in Iran and that they should issue such and such threats. Well, they should smash this person\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mouth!
A government which suffers from the delusion that it has a responsibility towards all the issues in the world and a government which considers itself responsible for dealing with the nuclear issue of such and such a country should not dare to issue nuclear threats - particularly in such a time - against a country with such a good condition. They should stop those people who talk nonsense.
Anyway, our people are, thankfully, a vigilant people and our officials are the officials of these people. They too are vigilant and they pay full attention. We support whatever action which is to the benefit of the country and we support, help and pray for those officials who carry out such actions. But we also advise both the people and officials - particularly you dear youth - to open your eyes and ears. Any nation can achieve its lofty goals with wisdom, vigilance and watchfulness.
And I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) will be a source of support for you and I hope that the immaculate soul of Imam and the pure souls of our martyrs pray for you. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you youth will take the country in your own hands with your enthusiastic spirits and I hope that it will be your turn to reach the peaks with your innovation.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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President Ahmadinejad Interview Sept 08 with Democracy Now - Part 2 -...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities.
The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue.
The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran.
Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more.
Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president.
AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic.
Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs.
We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place.
A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another.
But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number.
So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that?
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now.
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed.
AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it.
Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that.
But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy.
AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see.
Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here.
I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end.
It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward.
I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie.
AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion.
Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad.
But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad.
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president
7m:52s
48747
Leader Speaks to University Students - National Day of Fighting Against...
Supreme Leader Meets with Students on National Day of Fighting Against Global Arrogance
The following is the full text of the speech delivered...
Supreme Leader Meets with Students on National Day of Fighting Against Global Arrogance
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 3, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with high school and university students. The meeting was held on the occasion of the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"National Day of Fighting Against Global Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Students on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"National Day of Fighting Against Global ArroganToday, the warm presence of you dear youth in this hussainyyah is a reminder and a manifestation of the epic and enthusiasm which has been the supporter and guarantee of the revolutionary movement of the Iranian nation over the course of many years- from the beginning of the Revolution until today. The great blessing of God on our country and on the Islamic Republic is the existence of youth with their clear, strong and reasonable motives, with their pure hearts and with their sincere intentions.
Our meeting today has been scheduled on the anniversary of the events of the 13th of Aban which occurred over the course of different years - before and after the victory of the Revolution in the country. There are three events: Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s exile in the year 1343, the ruthless slaughter of students in Tehran in the year 1357 and the courageous movement of students in capturing the Den of Espionage in the year 1358.
Each of these three events was in some way related to the government of the United States of America. In the year 1343, Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) was exiled because of his opposition to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"capitulation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", which meant preserving the security of American agents in Iran and their judicial immunity. So this event was related to America.
In the year 1357, the regime which was dependent on America killed students on the streets of Tehran and the asphalt of these streets was colored with the blood of our teenagers. This was done by America in order to defend the regime which was dependent on it. This event was also related to America.
The event in the year 1358 was a counterattack. Our courageous and religious youth attacked the U.S. embassy and discovered the truth and identity of this embassy, which was the Den of Espionage, and presented this fact to people throughout the world.
In those days, our youth called the U.S. embassy the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Den of Espionage\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Today, after the passage of 30-plus years since that day, the name of U.S. embassies in countries which have the closest relationship with America - that is to say, European countries - has become the den of espionage. This means that our youth are 30 years ahead of the rest of the world. This event was related to America as well. These three events were related, in different ways, to the government of the United States of America and its relations with Iran. Therefore, the 13th of Aban - which is tomorrow - was named \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Day of Fighting Against Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
What does arrogance mean? Arrogance is a Quranic term. The word \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" has been used in the Holy Quran. An arrogant individual, an arrogant government and an arrogant group of people means those individuals and those governments which intend to interfere in the affairs of other human beings and other nations. They interfere in all the affairs of other nations in order to preserve their own interests. They think they are free to do anything and they grant themselves the right to impose different things on other nations and to interfere in the affairs of other countries. And they do not answer to anyone. This is the meaning of arrogance.
At the opposite end of the scale, there is a group of people who fight against arrogance. What does fighting against arrogance mean? Primarily, it means refusing to give in to this bullying. The meaning of fighting against arrogance is not convoluted and it is not complicated. Fighting against arrogance means the refusal of a nation to give in to the interference and imposition of an arrogant power, individual or government. This is the meaning of fighting against arrogance. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, when I have the opportunity in the future, I will have a detailed discussion about arrogance and fighting against arrogance with you youth and students. Now, there is no time. This is a brief definition of arrogance and fighting against arrogance.
The people of Iran consider themselves to be fighters against arrogance because they have not given in to the imposition of the government of America. The government of America is an arrogant government. It grants itself the right to interfere in the affairs of other countries. It wages wars and it interferes in the affairs of other countries. Today, you see that this goes beyond the borders of Asian, African and Latin American countries. It has reached Europe. They interfere in their affairs as well. The Iranian nation stood against the arrogance that the government of the United States of America showed. It stood against the interference and bullying that it caused and it stood against the domination that it had achieved over our dear country in the course of many years.
The taghuti and monarchical regime was a regime which was dependent on America without any domestic support. By relying on America, they did whatever they wanted in Iran. They oppressed the people, they usurped their rights, they practiced discrimination among them. They prevented the country from achieving growth and making progress - which was the natural and historical right of the people - in order to promote the interests of America in Iran. The Iranian nation stood firm and it carried out a revolution. Then, it cut out the roots of arrogant powers in the country. It was not like a number of other countries which confronted arrogance at first, but which left it unfinished. Of course, these countries have received a blow because of this.
When I was present in a country - whose name I do not want to mention - which had fought against the English for many years, which had put an end to the oppression of the English by fighting against them and which had achieved independence, I saw that they had put up the statue of an English commander in an important recreational center. I said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What is this?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" And this center was named after this arrogant and colonialist commander who had committed thousands of crimes in that country. Of course, they did not gain any benefit from this consideration and compromise. That is to say, this country was and still is under pressure.
Compromising and showing leniency towards arrogant powers will bring no benefit for any country. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the great Revolution carried out by the people of Iran confronted American arrogance and it did not leave this task unfinished because it had felt the blow which the Americans had dealt, over many years, on its skin and flesh. It knew who and what these people are.
The arrogant outlook which the Americans have adopted and which has continued since decades ago until today has made all nations in the world have a feeling of mistrust and hatred towards the government of America. This is not particular to our country. Any nation which trusted America received a blow, even those who were America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s friends. In our county, Dr. Mosaddeq trusted and relied on the Americans so that he could free himself from the pressure of the English. Instead of helping Dr. Mosaddeq who had trusted them, the Americans allied themselves with the English.
They dispatched their agents to our country and they launched the coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état of the 28th of Mordad. Mosaddeq trusted them and he received a blow for that. Even those who were on friendly terms with America and who had trusted this country received a blow. The taghuti regime had a very close relationship with America. However, the greed of America exhausted them as well. As I said, they imposed \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"capitulation\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" - the judicial immunity of American agents - on this regime and they had to accept this because they had no other source of support except for America.
The meaning of capitulation is that if an American sergeant slaps a high-ranking Iranian officer across the face, no one has the right to sue him. If an American agent of low rank shows transgression towards a honorable Iranian man or woman, no one has the right to sue him. The Americans say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You do not have the right to do this. We ourselves will resolve the issue\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
A people cannot be humiliated more than this. They imposed this on Iran which was their friend. They did not even show mercy to their friend. They threw Mohammad Reza out of their country after he fled from Iran and spent a short time in America. They did not let him stay. They did not show even this bit of loyalty to him. They are such people.
Nations and even governments do not trust America because of this behavior and this attitude which can be seen in its policies. Anyone who trusted America received a blow. Therefore, today, America is the most hated global power among nations. If a fair and healthy public opinion poll is carried out among all nations in the world, I do not think that the negative scores of any nation equal the negative scores of the government of America. Today, this is the condition of America throughout the world. You have heard the statements that the Europeans make against the Americans.
Therefore, the issue of fighting against arrogance and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The National Day of Fighting against Arrogance\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is a fundamental issue, one that is based on correct analyses and statements. And you dear youth and the millions of youth throughout the country, who are students like you, should have a correct analysis of these events. Well, the youth of the early years of the Revolution did not need analyses. Everything was clear to them because they had witnessed everything with their own eyes. They had witnessed the presence of the Americans and SAVAK, which had been taught by the Americans themselves. But today, you should think, analyze and be careful. This should not be only in words. It should be clear why the people of Iran are opposed to arrogance, why they are opposed to the positions of the United States of America and what their hatred results from. Today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth should understand this correctly by carrying out research.
Well, I would like to raise a few points about our current issues with America, which is a source of discussions these days. There are certain questions in the minds of the people. First, I want to offer an important and necessary piece of advice: no one should think that the negotiating team of our country have compromised with the other party which includes America - the six governments which are known as the P5+1. This is wrong. They are the agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are our own children and they are the children of the Revolution. They are carrying out a mission and the responsibility which they have undertaken is difficult. They are carrying out this responsibility, which falls on their shoulders, with many efforts. Therefore, one should not weaken and insult them and use certain terms - which we sometimes hear such as the notion that they have compromised with the enemy and other such things - against an agent who is carrying out a task and who is in charge of an affair. The things that are said against them are not true.
You should pay attention to the fact that the current negotiations with these six countries - including America - are only about the nuclear issue and nothing else. In the beginning of this year, I said in Holy Mashhad that there is nothing wrong with negotiations on particular issues. But I said that I do not trust these negotiations and I am not optimistic about them. However, if they want to negotiate, they can do it and, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will not suffer a loss in these negotiations.
The Iranian nation benefits from a certain experience which I will refer to in brief. This experience will increase the intellectual capability of our nation, like the experience that we gained in the year 1382 and 1383 in the area of suspending our enrichment activities. At that time, during negotiations with the Europeans, the Islamic Republic agreed to suspend its enrichment activities for a while. But this turned out to be to our benefit. Why? It is because we found out there is no hope at all that our western partners will cooperate with us if we suspend our enrichment activities. If we had not accepted that optional suspension - of course, it was imposed in a way, but we and our officials accepted it anyway - some people would have said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you had retreated a little bit, all problems would have been solved and Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s nuclear file would have become normal\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
That act of suspending our enrichment activities brought us this advantage: it became clear that problems will not be solved by retreating, suspending enrichment activities, postponing our work and cancelling many of our plans and programs. It became clear that the other side is after something else. We noticed this and therefore we started our enrichment activities again.
Today, the condition of the Islamic Republic has dramatically changed compared to its condition in the year 1382. In those days, we used to bargain for two, three centrifuges, but today several thousand centrifuges are working. Our youth, our scientists, our researchers and our officials made great efforts and moved things forward. Therefore, we will not suffer a loss as a result of today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s ongoing negotiations.
Of course, as I said, I am not optimistic and I do not think that these negotiations will produce the results which the Iranian nation expects. However, it is an experience. This will broaden and strengthen the experience of the Iranian nation. It is alright to hold these negotiations, but it is necessary for the Iranian nation to be vigilant. We strongly support our officials, who are active in the camp of diplomacy, but our people should be vigilant. They should know what is happening so that some mercenary promoters of the enemy and some promoters who receive no rewards and who further the goals of the enemy out of naivety cannot mislead public opinion.
They want to instill the idea into the minds of the people that if we surrender to the other side on the nuclear issue, all economic, financial and other such problems will be solved. This is one of the methods which they use and one of the lies which they spread. They are promoting this idea.
Of course, foreign promoters promote such ideas with very efficient methods. Inside the country too, some people promote the idea that if we back down and surrender to the other side on this issue, all economic and other such problems will be solved. Some of these people do it out of naivety without any bad intention and some people promote this idea intentionally. However, this idea is wrong. Why is it wrong? There are a few reasons why it is wrong. I would like you - including the people who are present in this meeting, our wise, well-informed and highly motivated youth and our university and school students throughout the country - to think about such issues. As I once said, you are the officers of the soft war.
One reason is that the enmity of America towards the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic is not at all about the nuclear issue. It is wrong to think that America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s hostility towards us is based on the nuclear issue. This is not the case. The nuclear issue is an excuse. Even long before the nuclear issue - that is to say, since the beginning of the Revolution - these hostilities and oppositions existed. Even if one day the nuclear issue is resolved - imagine that the Islamic Republic retreats, which is the thing they want - you should not think that these hostilities will be over. No, they will gradually make tens of other excuses.
For example, they will say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you have missiles?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you have drones?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why are you on unfriendly terms with the Zionist regime?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you not officially recognize the Zionist regime?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"why do you support resistance groups?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" in, as they call it, the Middle East region and why and why and why...
The issue is not that they have disagreements with the Islamic Republic about its nuclear program. This is not the case. America\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sanctions began since the beginning of the Revolution and these sanctions increased on a daily basis so much so that today, it has reached a high level.
They showed other kinds of hostility as well. They brought down a plane which belonged to the Islamic Republic and they killed 290 humans. During the early years of the Revolution, when the people were still enthusiastic about the victory of the Revolution, they launched the coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état based in Shahid Nojeh military base. They launched a coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état against the Revolution and they supported anti-revolutionary elements in different corners of the country. They gave weapons and other such things to the anti-revolutionary camp. This is the same thing that they did in other countries later on. Their enmity is not based on the nuclear issue. The issue is something else. The Iranian nation said no to the requests of America. The Iranian nation said that America cannot do a damn thing against us.
The Americans are opposed to the identity of the Islamic Republic. They are opposed to the influence and power of the Islamic Republic. Recently, one of the American politicians and intellectuals said - his speech was broadcast and this is not a confidential issue - that Iran is dangerous, no matter if it is atomic or non-atomic. This person openly said that the influence and power of Iran - as they say, the hegemony of Iran - is dangerous in the region. This is the kind of Iran which enjoys dignity, respect and power today. They are opposed to this kind of Iran. They will be satisfied when Iran becomes a weak, abandoned, isolated, untrustworthy and humiliated nation. Their enmity is not based on the nuclear issue. This is one point.
Another point is that in order to solve the economic issues of the country, all our efforts should be focused on domestic issues. The kind of progress and the kind of solution is valuable which is reliant on the domestic power of a nation. If a people rely on their own power and capabilities, they will no more descend into chaos when another country frowns at and imposes sanctions on them. We should solve this. All that we want to say to officials - whether past or present officials - is that they should look at domestic capabilities in order to resolve the issues and the problems of the country including economic problems. We have certain capacities in the country. These capacities - which include human, natural and geographical resources and regional location - should be utilized.
Of course, we support diplomatic dynamism. When we say problems should be solved from the inside, this does not mean that we should close our eyes, that we should not benefit from diplomatic dynamism and that we should not interact with the world. Diplomatic dynamism and diplomatic presence are very necessary. The officials who do these things are part of the work, but we should rely on domestic issues. In diplomatic arenas, that country can be successful which relies on its innate power. That government which relies on its innate power and innate capacities can make others accept what it says at the negotiating table and achieve the desired results. Such governments are taken into consideration.
An important point which should receive attention in this regard is that we have never become desperate in the face of our enemies during these years and we will never become desperate in the future. During the first decade after the Revolution, particularly during the first years, we did not have access to many material resources. We did not have money, we did not have weapons, we did not have experience, we did not have organization, we did not have competent armed forces and we did not have military equipment. This was while our enemy was at the peak of his power and capability, whether the enemy which fought against us in the arena of war or the enemy which stood behind him - that is to say, the Ba\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ath regime of Saddam and America, NATO and the Soviet Union of those days. At that time, the Reagan administration was one of the strongest and most powerful governments throughout the world in political and military arenas. This was while we lived in poverty and with difficult conditions, but they could not do anything to us.
Today, the situation has changed. Today, the Islamic Republic has weapons. Today, it has money, it has science, it has technology, it has the power to produce, it has international dignity, it has millions of youth who are ready to work and it has millions of talents. Today, we have such a condition. Today, our condition cannot at all be compared with 30 years ago. This is while the situation is the exact opposite of this for the opposing camp.
In those days, the Americans were at the peak of their power, but today they are not. Recently, one of the current American government officials, who is a well-known personality, said that today America has reached a point where its friends do not respect it and its enemies do not fear it. It was he who said this, not us. They themselves mention such things.
Recently, they have had some political problems. You have seen the disagreement of American politicians about the government\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s budget which shut down the government for 16, 17 days. They sent 800,000 employees on involuntary leave. This is a weakness. This is inefficiency. They have the biggest economic and financial problems. Our problems are nothing compared to their problems.
And I will tell you that in the year 2001 or 2002 of the Christian calendar - that is to say, 10, 11 years ago - the financial officials of America made a certain prediction. They predicted that in the year 2011 or 2012, they would have a surplus of 14 trillion dollars. Pay careful attention to this. In 2001, their prediction for 2011 and 2012 was this: they said that in 2011 and 2012 they would have a surplus of 14 trillion dollars. Now, it is 2013, but they have a deficit of around 17 trillion dollars and they do not have any surplus. That is to say, they miscalculated this figure up to 30 trillion dollars. This is their economic condition. This is the way they calculate. This is the condition in the opposing camp.
Moreover, as you can see, they have many disagreements. It is mutual interests which have connected them - the Americans and the Europeans - to one another. Otherwise, deep inside, they are on unfriendly terms. The French nation hates the Americans. In different events such as the issue of Syria, the Americans could not establish a partnership with a government which has the closest relationship with them. That is to say, even the English said that we would not take part in this issue. This is while about 40 governments cooperated with them when they attacked Iraq. When they attacked Afghanistan, about 30 governments cooperated with them. The Americans have such a condition in the present time.
We have a very good condition. We have made progress, we have become powerful and our people have become a well-informed people. Of course, they exert pressures on us. We should endure and pass through these pressures by relying on our domestic capabilities. This is a wise thing to do and it is being done. Of course, as I said earlier - and I would like to repeat this - we approve of the efforts that the honorable administration and the officials of the country are making. This is an important task and experience and it is most probably a valuable course of action. They can do this. If they achieve results, then so much the better. But if they do not achieve results, this should mean that the county must stand on its own feet in order to solve its problems. I would like to repeat my previous advice: you should not trust the enemy which smiles at you. We would like to offer this advice to our officials, who are our children. Those officials who are working in the arena of diplomacy are our own children and our own youth. This is our advice to them: you should take care not to be misled by a deceptive smile. You should see the subtleties of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plans.
Today, the Americans have the most troubles with the deviated Zionist regime- more than any other regime. They have the most consideration for Zionist lobbies. They show consideration for them and we see the situation. The claws of wealthy and powerful Zionist individuals and companies have such domination over the U.S. government and the U.S. Congress that they have to show consideration for them. We do not have to show consideration for the Zionists.
Since the first day we said - and we say it today and we will say it in the future - that we consider the Zionist regime to be an illegal and bastard regime. It is a regime which has come into being with conspiracy and it is being preserved and guarded with conspiracy and conspiratorial policies. The Americans show consideration for this regime. The reason why they do this requires another detailed discussion. The money, power and capital of the Zionists is doing a good job and it is influencing these poor Americans. Therefore, the Americans have to show some consideration for them.
It is not only the Americans who have such a condition. Many other western politicians, these poor creatures, have the same problem. They too have the same problem. Therefore, our officials should pay attention and they should look at their statements. On the one hand, they smile and they show interest in negotiations and on the other hand, they immediately say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"All options are on the table\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". So what? What move can they make against the Islamic Republic?
If they are serious about these negotiations, they should control themselves. They should stop those people who open their mouth to talk nonsense. A certain wealthy American politician had the audacity to say that they should drop an atomic bomb in such and such a desert in Iran and that they should issue such and such threats. Well, they should smash this person\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mouth!
A government which suffers from the delusion that it has a responsibility towards all the issues in the world and a government which considers itself responsible for dealing with the nuclear issue of such and such a country should not dare to issue nuclear threats - particularly in such a time - against a country with such a good condition. They should stop those people who talk nonsense.
Anyway, our people are, thankfully, a vigilant people and our officials are the officials of these people. They too are vigilant and they pay full attention. We support whatever action which is to the benefit of the country and we support, help and pray for those officials who carry out such actions. But we also advise both the people and officials - particularly you dear youth - to open your eyes and ears. Any nation can achieve its lofty goals with wisdom, vigilance and watchfulness.
And I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) will be a source of support for you and I hope that the immaculate soul of Imam and the pure souls of our martyrs pray for you. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you youth will take the country in your own hands with your enthusiastic spirits and I hope that it will be your turn to reach the peaks with your innovation.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1837&Itemid=4
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[17 Sep 13] Supreme Leader’s Speech in Meeting with Commanders of IRGC...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution,...
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on September 17, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with commanders and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 20th Congress of Officials and Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First, I would like to welcome you and second, I congratulate you on this auspicious Eid. You turned our day into an Eid with your presence and warm breath and with the good programs that you performed. I hope that, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, your hearts will always be happy. I hope that your hearts will always remember God and achieve loftier positions.
I would like to say a few things about our great Imam and knowledgeable member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, Imam Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (thousands of greetings and praise be upon him). In fact, we cannot understand the spiritual position of these holy personalities, let alone describe them in words. However, before our eyes and before the eyes of history, the lives of these great personalities are a practical, eternal and undeniable lesson. If, in certain cases, we take a look at the lives of the Imams (a.s.) and if we put great emphasis on their policies, the measures they took and their biographies, this does not mean that these are the most important parts of their lives. This is not the case. Their spiritual world, their effort to get close to God and the wisdom and love which radiated from their peerless hearts are other important parts of their lives. However, what is before our eyes is the lives of these great personalities and we should learn from them.
Imam Ridha (a.s.) lived for almost 55 years. That is to say, he was born in the year 148 - the year when Imam Sadiq (a.s.) was martyred - and he was martyred in the year 203 of the Hijri calendar. The entire life of this great personality with all its greatness, depth and dimensions took place in this fairly short era. Nineteen, twenty years out of these 55 years constituted the era of the Imamate of this great personality. But if you take a look at this short era, you will see that it exerted a considerable influence on the world of Islam, it gave great depth to the true meaning of Islam and it helped people follow the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and get familiar with their teachings. This is an extraordinary phenomenon and it is like a deep sea.
When that Imam achieved Imamate, his close friends and his followers said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What can Ali ibn Musa do in such an environment which is filled with Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s oppression?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" There is a narration which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Blood trickles from Harun\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s sword.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" These friends and followers used to say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"In such conditions, what can this young Imam do to continue the jihad of Shia Imams and to carry out the great responsibility which falls on his shoulders?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the beginning of the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.). When you take a look, you will see that after the passage of 19, 20 years - when Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was martyred and his Imamate ended - the ideas and thoughts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the issue of commitment to the Imams were established, in the world of Islam, so firmly that the oppressive and dictatorial Abbasid regime could not confront it. Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha had done this.
You have heard that De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee went to Merv in Khorasan and composed and recited a number of well-known poems in praise of Imam Ridha for which he was rewarded. He stayed in Merv and other cities of Khorasan for a few days and then he went towards Baghdad, Kufa and other cities that he wanted to visit. In the middle of the way, some bandits attacked and looted the caravan on which De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel was travelling. The travelers sat and watched the looting of their property. The chief of the bandits was sitting on a rock and proudly watching the prisoners and captives of this caravan and the things which they had stolen and collected.
De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel heard that the chief was whispering a poem. He listened and he realized that it was his own poem. It was one of the couplets of the qasida that he had recited one month or one month and a half ago in Merv: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I see that their property has been looted and divided among outsiders and wicked people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Speaking in Arabic] In the middle of the way to Rey and Iraq, the chief of the bandits was reciting this poem from memory. De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel became happy. He stood up and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Who has composed the poem that you are reciting?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The chief said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"It belongs to De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, I am De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" When the chief saw that this person was De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel-e Khozayee, he stood up, held De\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'bel in his arms, kissed him and said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Because of the presence of this person in the caravan, give them back all their property.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" They gave them back all their property, respected them and helped them move towards their destination.
Well, this is a small event in history, but it has a great significance. The poem which was composed in praise of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha was recited and memorized, in Rey and Iraq, by a bandit after the passage of almost one month or one month and a half since the poem was composed. What does this mean? It means that the ground for promoting the position of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household and the auspicious name of Imam Ridha was so prepared that, in a short time, this poem - at that time, poetry was one of the most effective means of communication - spread rapidly by word of mouth until it was picked up by a bandit in the middle of a desert. This indicates the great movement which was launched during the Imamate of Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha in order to promote the school of thought of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. During this time, the love of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household was shared by all individuals and the hearts of all people felt the presence and existence of the Imams in the Islamic community.
The movement of the honorable children of the Imams towards Iran has a positive and meaningful dimension as well as a tragic dimension because of their martyrdom in the middle of the way to Iran. The reason for their movement towards Iran was the request of the people and their acceptance of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. As you know, when we speak about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household, we mean the school of thought which was established by the Imams and the Islamic concepts which they introduced. It means a deeply cultural and spiritual achievement and a great ideological feat.
This is the movement of Imam Ridha (a.s.). According to the events that you know and have heard about, Ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'mun finally feels that he has to martyr Ali ibn Musa ar-Ridha (a.s.) - he had forced that great Imam to leave Medina in order to get close to him and he did not plan to kill Imam Ridha at first - contrary to what he had planned. The divine will and plan to bury a member of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household in this place, which was faraway from Medina, was exercised by the enemies of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (s.w.a.) household. This is divine wisdom and engineering.
In order to reach lofty goals, one should carry out his responsibilities in such a way. Long-term outlooks should be adopted with such intention, motives and hopes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has such a position. The issue is not that a new government was formed after the Revolution and that it has certain supporters and opponents and certain soldiers, guardians and armed forces. The issue is not this. It is beyond such things. The issue of the Islamic Revolution - which is protected by you members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - is beyond such things.
First of all, I would like to say a few things about the experience of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over these many years. Then, I will raise the point which I had wanted to discuss with you dear brothers.
The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over the past 30-plus years has been brilliant. I am not saying this as a ceremonial gesture, like the words of praise which are uttered in many places. This is a fact. The performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps represents the experience of our nation. That is to say, the depth of the personality and identity of the Iranian nation can be seen in this performance because the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps enters the arena with faith and belief. What kind of arena? The arena of jihad and resistance. It has built the strongest and the most intelligent military commanders. During the war, those who became designers- and as foreigners say \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strategists\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"- while they were young and below thirty years old and had not received any military education.
It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who built them. It was this organization which created such a spiritual environment. It was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps which founded such an organization on the basis of faith and belief. It has built a number of outstanding personalities whom our nation and our history will never forget. This is the art of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. These are the things which this organization has done in the area of war. Besides these, we can see that it has built and introduced the wisest, the strongest and the best managers in non-military areas. The list of people that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has introduced to the ruling organizations of the Islamic Republic is very long and glorious. This is the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
One of the important parts of the performance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is that it lives a revolutionary life and it preserves its revolutionary nature. That is to say, different events have not been able to make this strong and powerful organization deviate from the main and the right path. It has not changed its path just because life and the world have changed. These are the excuses that a number of people make. These people make excuses for compromising their principles and they justify their mistakes. Their excuse is that the world has changed, that everything has changed. Well, certain things do not change.
Since the beginning of history until today, the virtue of justice and the tendency of human beings to seek justice have not changed. The fact that oppression is bad and national independence and national dignity are great virtues has not changed. These things and many other principles cannot be changed. The fact that the world has changed cannot give us an excuse to change our behavior, our ideals and our goals. When our ideals change, our path changes too. When our ultimate goal changes, then it is absurd to follow the previous path. In such circumstances, we should move towards achieving a new goal and we should follow a new path. One of the most important strong points of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is its resistance and steadfastness on this enlightened path. These are the points which I wanted to raise about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Of course, one can say many things about this organization. We have said many things about it. Other people too have said many things. Of course, there are many points which have not been raised about this organization, but right now, I am not going to speak about this issue more than this.
What is important is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the guardian of the Islamic Revolution. I do not want to say that this guardianship means the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should protect the Islamic Revolution in all arenas including scientific, intellectual, cultural and economic arenas. This is not what I mean. What I want to say is that as a living organism, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should know what it wants to protect and what this Revolution is. It is not necessary for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to engage in protection of the Islamic Revolution in political arenas, but it should gain a proper understanding of political arenas. Some people mix certain issues together. This should be clarified. It is not possible to describe a certain organization as the arm and the guardian of the Revolution, but make it ignore and close its eyes to different political orientations - while some of these orientations behave in a deviant way and become dependent on such and such a group and some of them do not. This is meaningless. Such an organization should know what it wants to protect.
If we relegate the challenges that the Revolution is faced with to political and partisan challenges and to confrontation between certain people, this is negligence and carelessness. These are not the challenges that the Revolution is faced with. The main challenge of the Revolution is that it has introduced a new system for humanity. We are not saying that since the beginning, the Revolution addressed the entire humanity. This is not the case. At first, it was the Islamic Revolution of Iran and it only addressed issues which were related to Iran and fundamental changes in this country. However, the language and message of this Revolution could not naturally be confined to the borders of Iran. Through this Revolution, a message which was based on a universal and human truth was conveyed to the entire humanity. Anybody in the world who hears this message feels that they are attached to it. What is this message? If we want to describe the social and human function of this message in a phrase we should say that it is: confrontation with global arrogance. This is the message of the Revolution.
Global arrogance is a system which divides the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. The logic of the Revolution, which is based on the logic of Islam, is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 279] You should not oppress others and you should not let others oppress you. Who in the world is not happy about and interested in this message? This message is: neither oppress other people nor let them oppress you. This is the exact opposite of the current order in the world which was imposed after the emergence of the new industrial civilization and the prevalence of industrial tools and the culture of domination. Any organization in the world which is dependent on global arrogance is against this message.
Those who like to achieve domination over other countries - that is to say, oppressive governments and economic networks which suck at the resources of other nations - are against this message because they are oppressors. The dependent governments which rule over poor or rich nations, which follow global arrogance, which have no power but which follow and obey these arrogant powers are also against this message. Such and such a government which completely implements the policies of arrogant powers such as America or England is naturally against the message of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The international, multinational or domestic organizations which loot people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wealth are against this message. Those politicians who promote the three elements of war, poverty and decadence throughout the world are against this message.
During the last two, three centuries, many of the wars which were waged were influenced by global arrogance. Global powers either waged a war against a certain country or made two other countries fight one another. They have done this for the sake of their own interests.
Poverty too is the result of their policies. They are to blame for the situation that they have created in many poor countries where the people live in poverty and cannot benefit from their natural resources. With their political domination, these arrogant powers have prevented many countries from drawing on their own intellectual resources.
You should read the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Glances at World History\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Jawaharlal Nehru. In the chapter which is about the interference of the English in India, he says that the kind of industry and science which existed in India was not inferior to the one in Europe, England and the west. Rather it was superior to European science. Well, Nehru was both trustworthy and well-informed. When the English entered India, one of their plans was to prevent the domestic industry of India from developing. Well, India ended up watching tens of millions of people in that era and hundreds of millions of people in future eras suffer from hunger in the real sense of the word. The same is true of Africa. The same is true of many Latin American countries. So, not only does global arrogance wage wars but it also brings about poverty.
The great treasure which has been accumulated on the peaks of wealth and which belongs to the richest individuals in the world reminds us of this hadith: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I have not seen any kind of wealth which was accumulated without someone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s right being violated.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Derasat fi Nahjul Balaghah, page 40] When they loot the oil, agricultural products and tea resources of a country, when they take control of financial sectors of a country in a way that the people have no access to it and when they do not let the people in such a country have control over production, industry and other areas related to national progress, this country and nation becomes poor. So, they are responsible for war, poverty and decadence. They are responsible for the prevalence of decadence and fueling the fire of sexual desire - which is a natural process and which can be ignited in all individuals. Each of these issues requires a long and detailed discussion.
Well, global arrogance promotes war, poverty and decadence and it does this by dividing the world into the oppressed and the oppressor. Islam - that is to say, the Islamic Revolution which is based on Islamic concepts - says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Deal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" It rejects all these negative elements. This is the main challenge. This is the root of their enmity. This is why they fight the Islamic Revolution. Other issues are all excuses. We should adopt such an outlook on sanctions, domestic wars, coups d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and other events which have taken place during the recent years such as the nuclear issue.
Contrary to what everyone thought, our Revolution achieved victory. Then it formed a government which managed to prevail. This was while everyone in the world thought that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in six months or in one or two years. Then they gave a generous figure and said that the Islamic Republic would be destroyed in three, four years. Contrary to what they thought, it became stronger on a daily basis and its \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"root is firm and its branches are in heaven, yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 14: 24-25]. It has turned into a regional power and a country which is influential in major international issues. They are against this.
They raise the issue of nuclear weapons. Well, we do not believe in nuclear weapons, not because of such and such people and not because of America and other countries. Rather, we are against nuclear weapons because of our belief. No one should have nuclear weapons. When we say that other countries should not have nuclear weapons, it means that we ourselves should not and will not have them. But, their problem is something else. If certain countries emerge which put an end to their exclusive right, they will have no problems with that. Of course, they do not want to give up their self-proclaimed right, but if this happens, they will not create uproar about it.
But when it comes to Islamic Iran and the Islamic Republic, they create uproar. Why do they do this? It is because having such a capability and power is a source of support for the Islamic Republic which is based on \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This is the main challenge. We should know and see this. With such an outlook, we should analyze and interpret the behavior of America, the west and such and such a country and orientation which is dependent on and attached to these powers. This is the Islamic Revolution.
In the eyes of these enemies, no one is more hated than our magnanimous Imam who was an outstanding personality and who was like a shining sun. They looked at him with respect, but they also showed enmity towards him from the bottom of their hearts because he resisted and because he was perceptive and wise due to two unique characteristics that he enjoyed: complete wisdom and complete decisiveness. He put up resistance in a determined way and he was like a barrier in the way of their progress and in the way of the harm which they wanted to inflict. This was why they were his enemies. Of course, as I said, they looked at him with respect. They knew about his greatness, but the greater he was, the angrier they became. Today, the same situation exists. They show the same hatred towards anybody who is committed to these main values and principles - that is to say, values which determine the political identity of the Revolution such as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"[D]eal not unjustly, nor shall you be dealt with unjustly\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They hate anybody who realizes that the problems the enemies created for the Islamic Republic are based on this outlook and who takes this path by adopting such an outlook and showing such resistance.
Of course, the world of diplomacy is the world of smiling. They smile and ask to negotiate with us. They themselves offer to negotiate with us. A few days ago, one of the western politicians was asked, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You want to negotiate with Iran. This is while Iran is your enemy.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" He said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Well, negotiations should be conducted with the enemy, not other people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" That is to say, they admit that they are the enemies of Iran and they say this openly. The reason for their enmity is not the behavior of certain people. Rather, the reason is the true nature and identity of the Islamic Revolution. Everything that they say should be analyzed, interpreted and identified from this perspective.
We are not against proper and reasonable moves, whether in the world of diplomacy or in the world of domestic policies. I believe in the idea which was referred to as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Flexibility is necessary in many areas. It is very good and there is nothing wrong with it. But the wrestler who is wrestling against his opponent and who shows flexibility for technical reasons should not forget who his opponent is and what he is doing. This is the main condition. Our politicians too should know what they are doing, who they are faced with, who their opponent is and which area the opposing side wants to attack. They should pay attention to this point.
Well, you are the guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The meaning of the guardian of the Islamic Revolution is not that you should be present in all arenas and you should have a responsibility in all areas. As it was reflected in the statements of the dear and honorable commander who delivered a speech today, you have a certain and clear responsibility. As he pointed out, it is an appropriate move to take a look on the scope of activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. I agree with what he said. But, first, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should always know what it wants to do and what it wants to protect. Second, it should preserve its stability and steadfastness which is the main characteristic of the glorious identity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. It should not forget this. Everybody, at all levels, should pay attention to this point.
I have repeatedly pointed out that what the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps does is based on spirituality. Spirituality does not contradict scientific progress, systematic organization, new methods and different scientific and practical innovations. We should not think that when we pay attention to spirituality, we should ignore the material aspects of life. This is not the case. During the early Islamic era, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Muslims employed the best and the cleverest tactics in the arenas of war. In our own times too, revolutionary elements - whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army or other revolutionary elements - employed the cleverest tactics and methods during the Sacred Defense Era. Spirituality does not contradict the idea that we should pay attention to the material aspects of our work and the effective organization of things. This spirituality should be preserved because it is the essence of our work.
The last point I want to raise is that, in my opinion, the future of the Islamic Revolution is a bright future. This is not a vain hope. I am saying this because we have taken everything into consideration. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is experience. Well, during the early years of the Revolution, we were in a terrible condition because of our lack of manpower, lack of material resources, lack of weapons, lack of executive experience and different other shortcomings. But, where are we now? Today, we benefit from a wealth of manpower, material resources, scientific and political progress and international dignity. Where were we 30-plus years ago and where are we now? All of our moves during the past 35 years were made while we were under pressure from the opposing side. That is to say, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, but we managed to move forward. On the path that we were taking, there were fierce and adverse winds, but we managed to move forward. Is this experience not good? Is it not enough? Hostile orientations cannot confuse or stop a nation who is united, determined and religious and who knows what is wants to do.
On the issue of the regional events which recently took place in the world of Islam, wherever Muslims suffered a loss, it was because they did not know what they should do. In these events, there was not a clear guideline and therefore such things happened. Of course, it will not remain like this. The event which happened in regional and Islamic countries - that is to say, Islamic Awakening - is an unprecedented phenomenon and it will play its part in these events. So, our experience is the first reason.
Another reason is that we are moving forward with rationality and scientific precision. Our opposing side suffers from increasing weaknesses and internal contradictions because of the wrong way the infrastructures of this civilization are built. They are retreating. Of course, they do not need to admit that they are retreating and it is not necessary to visibly and clearly see this in their statements. This is the truth of the matter.
When a people move things forward with precision and by finding the right way, they will definitely achieve the desired results. We have said that we should promote the idea of building the Islamic Republic from the inside. We have said that knowledge should develop and spread. We have said that domestic production should be the essence of our work. We have said that we should adopt a serious outlook on the issue of optimism about the domestic capabilities of the country. We have said that talents should develop and blossom. These things are the essence of our work. When a country moves forward by relying on its domestic capabilities, its manpower, its knowledge, its faith and its unity, it will certainly achieve the desired results. Therefore, we have no doubts that we have a bright future ahead of us. Whether this future arrives sooner or later depends on you and I.
If laziness, negligence, selfishness, materialism and attachment to superficial things divert our attention and if we do something to cause our downfall - whether individual downfall or social downfall - then this future will be achieved later than expected. But it will definitely be achieved and this is because of the efforts and sacrifices which were made. Thankfully, in the arena of sacrifices too, you have been very active. You have put in a good performance and made brilliant moves in this arena. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, it will be the same in the future.
I hope that God will make you benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). I hope that He will make you and us the guardians of Islam and the Islamic Revolution in the real sense of the word. I hope that He will associate the pure souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam with His saints and with the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.).
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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Movie - Imam Al-Hasan Al-Mujtaba (a.s) - 10 of 18 - Arabic
A movie about the life of second Imam. Imam Al-Hasan (a.s) Ibn e Ali (a.s) Ibn e Abi Talib (a.s). May our souls be...
A movie about the life of second Imam. Imam Al-Hasan (a.s) Ibn e Ali (a.s) Ibn e Abi Talib (a.s). May our souls be sacrificed for our beloved Imam (a.s). My oppressed Imam (a.s) suffered a lot because his companions did not help him the way they should have. May we be able to help the Imam of our time - Imam Al Mehdi (a.t.f.s) - and not leave him alone.
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Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and Television Uni Print
17/08/2015
The...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Members of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Islamic Radio and Television Uni Print
17/08/2015
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on August 17, 2015 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with the participants of Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and the members of Islamic Radio and Television Union.
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.
I would like to welcome the honorable participants and the dear brothers and sisters, the brothers and sisters from Ahlul Bayt World Assembly, the brothers and sisters from the Islamic Radio and Television Union and the honorable families of martyrs who are present in the meeting. I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow His blessings on all of you.
I would like to raise a few points about the Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and the Islamic Radio and Television Union. As for the Ahlul Bayt World Assembly, its significance originates from the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (a.s.) household. Allah the Exalted says something - in a very explicit manner - about the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.) in the Holy Quran: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you members of the Family, and to make you pure and immaculate\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 33]. This description has been used for few groups of people in the Holy Quran. The Ahlul Bayt\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s understanding and knowledge lies in their divine purity. Well, this purity has many dimensions. If a group of people associate themselves with the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.), they should observe certain criteria. This is what we want to say: these groups should observe certain criteria. The efforts of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) revolved around these pivots- first, reviving the original teachings of Islam. They wanted to keep Islamic principles alive. Oppressive governments and taghuts always tried to destroy or change and distort Islamic teachings. One of the most important moves of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household was to resist this attempt. They wanted to preserve and revive Islamic teachings. This was one of their tasks.
Another task that the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) did was to implement divine laws. They did so whether during the time when they ruled or during the time when they were removed from government. Their efforts were focused on implementing divine laws in society. This was another task. Another task that they carried out was to engage in jihad in the way of God. You read in the ziarat of the Imams, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I testify that you strove [jihad] in the way of God, such a striving is due to him.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" This means that they did not show any negligence in fighting in the way of God. They engaged in jihad in the way of God with all their power and capability. This was another task.
An important part of this jihad - which is a separate chapter in itself - was fighting against oppression and oppressors. The lives of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (a.s.) were imbued with fighting against oppression and oppressors. The reason behind all those pressures and poisoning attempts and all that martyrdom was this- they fought against oppression and oppressors. This is the life of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household. Now, we want to be their followers. Therefore, we should observe these things. These things should be observed. We should promote Islamic teachings. We should consider implementing divine laws as one of our goals. We should engage in jihad in the way of God with all our power. We should fight against oppressors. We should fight against and confront oppressors. This is our responsibility.
Well, jihad is not confined to a military war. Jihad includes all kinds of fighting, ranging from cultural to political and economic fighting. All these kinds of fighting are included in jihad. Our minds should not only switch to a military war. Sometimes, it is possible that a military war breaks out, but jihad is not only this.
In our opinion, today, the manifestation of jihad for us Muslims and followers of the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household is fighting against the plots of arrogance in this Islamic region. Today, this is the greatest form of jihad. We should fight against the plots of arrogance. First, we should identify these plots and study the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s thoughts so that we know what he is going to do. After that, we should plan on how we want to fight against his goals. And this is not confined to defense. Fighting includes both defense and offense. Sometimes, it is necessary for us to adopt a defensive position and sometimes, it is necessary to adopt an offensive position. In both cases, the goal is fighting against the plans of arrogance - which is the main enemy - in the region.
This fighting should take place in the entire Islamic region - particularly in this region which is West Asia. The Europeans insist on referring to this region as the Middle East region. In other words, they locate east on the basis of Europe. To them, a region is Far East, another is Middle East and another region is Near East. Because of the Europeans\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' arrogance, this region has been called, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Middle East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" from the beginning. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Middle East\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is a wrong name. This is West Asia. This is Asia - a large continent - and we are in West Asia. This region is a very sensitive region. It is a very important region in terms of strategy, military power, important underground resources and connection between three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa. It is an important region for which they have certain plans. We should see what these plans are and then we should confront them. This is jihad. The Holy Quran says to us, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And strive hard in the way of Allah, such a striving is due to Him\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 78]. Today, this is jihad in the way of God.
Hatching plots against the world of Islam and this region in particular is not a new development. Since many years ago - since 100 years ago: since World War I until today - this region has been exposed to many pressures by arrogant powers. One day, it was England, one day it was America and one day it was France. It is 100 years or more now that arrogant powers have been pursuing their goals here. However, these pressures, plans and plots have been reinforced since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This is because the victory of Islam in an important, great and sensitive country like Iran was confusing for arrogance. In the beginning, they lost the power to analyze events. We used to pursue events and we were witness to this. In the beginning, they were confused. Later on, when they collected themselves, they began to exert pressure and the pivot of this pressure was the Islamic Republic of Iran. First, they focused their efforts on preventing this experience from being repeated in other countries. They were after this. This was why they thought of increasing pressures on Iran. It is 35 years now that we have gotten used to the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s pressures. The people of Iran have gotten used to pressures. It is 35 years now that we have been facing threats, sanctions, security pressures, different political plots and all kinds of pressures.
This began with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. However, after the emergence of Islamic Awakening - that began four, five years ago in North African countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and other African countries - the enemies increased their pressures. That is to say, the enemy became anxious and uneasy in the real sense of the word. They adopted many measures that are continuing in the present time. Of course, they think that they have suppressed Islamic Awakening, but this humble person believes that Islamic Awakening is not suppressible. Although they have adopted some measures, this movement exists and it will find its true position sooner or later. In any case, they have increased their efforts in the recent years. They have adopted many measures and they have brought new elements into the equation.
The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plans are based on two things. First, I will tell you that when we say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" we do not refer to an imaginary and fictional creature. By \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" we mean global arrogance and arrogant powers: powers whose existence depends on dominating others, interfering in their affairs and possessing their financial and vital resources. These are arrogant powers or in other words, the leaders of global arrogance. We have a term in our political literature which is global arrogance. It means the division of the world into \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the oppressor\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the oppressed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This is global arrogance. Those who are the leaders of this system are enemies.
If we want to give an example of who this enemy is in the outside world, we should refer to the regime of the United States of America. This regime is the epitome of global arrogance. Of course, others are part of global arrogance as well, but the clearest and the most obvious example is the regime of the United States of America. It knows nothing about human morality and it is not ashamed of committing any crime - of any nature. It covers these crimes, pressures and violent acts behind its smiles and its good and beautiful words. The manifestation of global arrogance is this regime. Therefore, when we say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", it means this.
This enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan in the region is mainly based on two things. Of course, it has many branches, but these are the main two. One is creating discord and the second it exerting influence. This is the basis of the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan in the region. They want to create discord between governments and - after that - between nations which is more dangerous than discord between governments. They want to make peoples bear grudge against each other and establish biased groups with different names. One day, it was \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Iranism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Arabism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"pan-Turkism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and other such orientations and today, it is the issue of Shia and Sunni, takfirism and other such things. They create discord with anything they can. This is only item of their measures and they are working on it in a very serious way. Of course, the English were the first experts of this measure. They have expertise in creating religious discord. The Americans have learned this from them and they are working on it today with all their power.
All the takfiri groups that you see are their handicraft. Of course, we have been saying this for several years, but some people had doubts. Today, the Americans themselves are acknowledging this. They are acknowledging that it was they who created DAESH, al-Nusra Front and other takfiri groups. A bunch of simple-minded - although sincere - Muslims were deceived by them. This is the important point. What is very instructive to us and what we should pay attention to is that sometimes well-intentioned individuals work inside the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan because of lack of vigilance. This has happened. One clear example of this is the issue of Syria. When taghuti governments were overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt with Islamic slogans, all of a sudden the Americans and the Zionists decided to use this formula for destroying resistant governments and countries. Therefore, they turned to Syria and as a result, a group of simple-minded and naïve individuals became the target of this plan. They made Syria reach the current situation. It is four, five years now that Syria has been experiencing this tumultuous situation and it is not clear when it will come to an end.
This was what the enemy did and simple-minded individuals were incorporated in this plan. They filled in the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s puzzle. This happens in many cases. It was they who created takfiri groups. It was they who created thuggish and violent groups and set them on the Islamic Ummah. They pretend that this is a denominational war. I will tell you that the conflicts that they are trying to label as denominational conflicts in Iraq, Syria and other countries are not denominational at all. They are of a political nature. The war in Yemen is a political war, not a religious one. They falsely claim that the issue is about Shia and Sunni while this is not the case. Some of those people who are losing their children, women, infants and their hospitals and schools in Yemen under the bombardment of the Saudis are Shafi\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'i and some of them are Zaidi . So, the issue is not about Shia and Sunni. The conflict is a political conflict, the conflict between policies. Today, they are creating such a situation in the region. It was they who created discord.
We should try to eliminate these differences and conflicts. We have said to everyone in an outspoken way that we extend the hand of friendship to all regional and Muslim governments. We have no problems with Muslim governments. Of course in the present time, our relations with many of our neighbors are already friendly and brotherly. The countries to the north, south, east and west of the Islamic Republic of Iran have good relations with us. Of course, some countries - near and far away - have certain differences with us. They behave in an obstinate way and show malevolence. This exists as well, but our principle is based on establishing good relations with neighboring countries, governments and - particularly - peoples. Our country has very good relations with peoples.
Of course, we believe that we should be committed to principles. We say that principles should be preserved. It was with commitment to principles that our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) managed to achieve victory, preserve the Revolution and give stability to the Islamic Republic. He was committed to principles. One of these principles is \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"They are strong against unbelievers, compassionate amongst each other\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 48: 29]. This is one of the principles. We do not make peace with our enemies - with arrogance - and we do not show enmity towards our Muslim brothers, rather we behave in a friendly and brotherly manner towards them because we believe that we should be \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"strong against unbelievers, compassionate amongst each other.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
This is the lesson of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.). This is the clear line of the Islamic Republic. In supporting the oppressed, we do not look, have not looked and will not look at the other side\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s religion and denomination. This is our magnanimous Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s (r.a.) guideline. Imam behaved towards Shia resistance in Lebanon in the same way that he behaved towards Sunni resistance in Palestine. He behaved towards them without any difference. We supported our brothers in Lebanon in the same way that we supported our brothers in Gaza without any difference. The former were Sunnis and the latter were Shias. The main issue for us is defending Islamic identity and supporting the oppressed. The main issue for us is the issue of Palestine which is the main issue for Muslims in the present time. This is the main issue for us.
We behave in the same way towards our enemies. Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) fought against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was apparently a Shia. Likewise, he fought against Saddam Hussein who was apparently a Sunni. Of course, the former was not a true Shia and the latter was not a true Sunni either. Both of them were separate from Islam, but the former was apparently a Shia and the latter was apparently a Sunni. Imam (r.a.) fought against them in the same way. Therefore, the issue for us is not the issue of Sunni, Shia, denominational bias and other such things. The issue is the issue of Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s principles: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Be an enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 47]. This is Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s command. This is our path. This is our line.
Intensifying discord in the world of Islam is forbidden. We are opposed to the behavior of some Shia groups, as it leads to discord. We have said outspokenly that we are opposed to insulting the holy beliefs of Sunnis. Some people from both sides intensify and fuel the fire of enmities. Many of them have good intentions, but they do not have foresight. Foresight is necessary. We should see what the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s plan is. The enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s first plan is creating discord and his second plan is exerting influence. They want to have decade-long influence in Islamic and regional countries. Today in the region, America does not enjoy the reputation that it did in the past and therefore, it wants to retrieve it. They have the same intention in our country. They have the same intention in Iran. They thought that they could use the nuclear negotiations to exert influence inside our country. Now, the fate of this nuclear agreement is not clear either in Iran or in America. It is not clear whether it will be approved or not in both countries. They wanted to use it as a means to exert influence in our country, but we blocked their path and we will definitely block their path in the future as well [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"].
We will not allow the Americans to have economic or political influence in our country, nor will we allow them to have a political presence and cultural influence in our country. We will confront them with all our power which is thankfully great in the present time. The same is true of the region. In the region too, they want to exert influence, have an excuse to show their presence and pursue their goals. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, we will do our best to prevent this. Our policies in the region are the exact opposite of the Americans. The territorial integrity of regional countries is very important to us. The territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria is very important to us. On the contrary, they are after dismembering these countries. I have said before that the Americans are after dismembering Iraq, but some people expressed surprise. Recently, the Americans themselves have acknowledged that they are after dismembering Iraq. They want to dismembering Iraq. If they can, they want to dismember Syria as well.
Their purpose of doing this is to create small and obedient countries, but by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor and grace, this will not happen [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"]. We will defend the Resistance in the region. We will defend the Palestinian Resistance which is one of the most prominent chapters in the history of the Islamic Ummah throughout these years. We will defend this group. We will support anyone who fights against Israel, who condemns the Zionist regime and who approves of the Palestinian Resistance. We will offer all kinds of support, within the scope of our capabilities, to such people. We will offer all kinds of possible support to anyone who confronts the Zionist regime. We will support the Resistance. We will support the territorial integrity of countries. We will support all those individuals who resist the divisive policies of America. We confront all those people who create discord.
We do not approve of the kind of Shia whose headquarters are in London [audience chant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allahu Akbar\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"] because it is not the kind of Shia that the Holy Prophet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s household (greetings be upon them) promoted. The kind of Shia that is based on creating discord and on clearing the road for the presence of the enemies of Islam is not real Shia, rather it is deviation. Shia is the epitome of original Islam and the Holy Quran. We will support all those people who help unity and we will oppose all those who act against unity. We will support all the oppressed. We will not leave the arena just because they say that we interfered in the affairs of Bahrain and other countries. We did not interfere at all, but we will support them. We feel for the oppressed people of Bahrain and Yemen. We pray for them and we will offer any kind of help we can.
Today, the people of Yemen are really oppressed. They are destroying a country just because of some arrogant and political polices which are pursued in a foolish manner. They could have pursued political goals in a different manner, but they are pursuing them foolishly. The events of Yemen and many other events in the world of Islam - in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other such countries - are really painful for us. And these events are too many and they are really painful. The world of Islam should cure such problems with vigilance and foresight.
As for the Islamic Radio and Television Union, I want to say that this union is very important. The task that you have begun - that is to say, establishing this union - is a very important task. Notice that in the present time, at least 70, 80 percent of the people in Muslim countries are committed to religious principles and beliefs. If you take a look at Islamic countries, you will see that the people are committed to and believe in their religion. To what extent are the radio and television networks in such countries - which should be the representatives of the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s wishes and demands - committed to religion? There is a shocking gap and rift. Seventy, eighty percent of the people are religious, but radio and television networks in such countries do not move in a religious direction and they do not reflect the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s demands. This is very strange. They reflect the same things that the dangerous media empire of arrogance wants. Today, arrogance has created a great media empire. They distort and cover up news and they tell lies. This way, they promote their policies. This is while they constantly say that they take an impartial position. The English radio claims that it is impartial, but they are lying. They are not impartial at all. They move in the exact direction of arrogant and colonialist policies - whether American or English policies.
Audio and print media, news agencies and the complicated means of mass communication that exist today are all at the service of their policies. They are at the service of arrogance, Zionism and their goals. We should do something in the face of this dangerous empire and this large media mafia that is in the hands of American and Zionist capitalists and cartels. What you are doing is the beginning of a movement and therefore, it should be pursued and strengthened on a daily basis. You should bring your partners and colleagues into the arena as well.
By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, a good future is awaiting us. I will tell you that despite the boastful behavior of arrogance and the great efforts that arrogance and its allies and followers are carrying out in financial, military, political and security areas, the future belongs to Islam in the region and in the entire world of Islam. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s dignity and power will increase on a daily basis. Of course, it is necessary to show diligence. Thankfully, there are many mujahid men, women and youth in the entire world of Islam. Therefore, we should appreciate their value and we should use our slogans, our moves, our words and our activities in this direction. If we do so, Allah the Exalted will definitely help: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you help the cause of Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7].
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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[Audio] A Brief Account of the Life of Martyr Allameh Motahhari - English
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...
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.
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[16Aug13] Anniversary of July 2006 War Speech - Syed Hasan Nasrallah -...
Hezbollah Secretary General, his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a speech on Friday, August 16th, 2013, marking the 7th anniversary of...
Hezbollah Secretary General, his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a speech on Friday, August 16th, 2013, marking the 7th anniversary of the July 2006 Victory of the Islamic Resistance against the Israeli army.
Sayyed Nasrallah to Takfiris: We will Capture You, We will Put an End to Terror
Sara Taha Moughnieh
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah delivered a speech on Friday, during a ceremony celebrating the seventh anniversary of victory in the July 2006 war.
Sayyed NasrallahHis eminence started his speech with a greeting to the martyrs and wounded who fell only one day before the celebration in the terrorist blast which hit Ruwais street in the Southern Suburb of Beirut.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I pray for the recovery of all the wounded from the large and dangerous terrorist attack, and I offer my condolences to the families of martyrs who fell, and to all those who were affected physically, mentally, spiritually, and on the material level yesterday. We highly appreciate, admire, and respect the patience of people and the citizens of Dahieh who held responsibility, and were conscious, disciplined, and civilized,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he said.
As he expressed gratitude for all those who stood in solidarity and denounced this painful event, Sayyed Nasrallah condemned the silence of some countries, considering that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"days will prove that they support terrorism, murder, and crime taking place in our region\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
July 2006 victory put an end to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Greater Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" project
Sayyed Nasrallah initiated his statement with words about the victory, pointing out that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the celebration was arranged to take place in Aita Al-Shaab, because it overlooks occupied Palestine, and its air is Palestinian air. Hence, you are smelling the air of occupied Palestine, and you are gathering only a stone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s throw away from the enemy.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
His eminence further stressed that Aita\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s significance was with its symbolic representation, especially with its good hearted and firm people, its brave heroes, its martyrs, and liberated captives.
Sayyed Nasrallah talked about the faithfulness of the resistance fighters who were located in Aita Al-Shaab, referring to the devoutness of those men to the path of Master of Martyrs, Imam Hussein (pbuh).
July 2006 victory celebrationHe also paid gratitude to the citizens of this village, who returned to their land just hours after ceasefire in 2006, and built tents over the ruins of their houses, to sit in them.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Your historic victory in the 25th of May 2000 defeated the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"greater Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" project, because the Israeli army, which failed to stay in Lebanon, the weakest Arab country, cannot build a state from the Nile to Furat. Then the 14th of August 2006 victory , defeated Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s project of being a great country, which dominates and imposes its decisions on the region and on Iran,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Sayyed Nasrallah added.
Hezbollah Secretary General added that the July 2006 victory also proved that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"this organized popular resistance, which is embraced by its people, is capable of forming real defense, at a time when the country does not have the capacities and technologies which the attacking enemy has, and the evidence on that was presented in the July war.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah warned the Israeli enemy that the resistance will not allow one Israeli soldier to set a foot in the Lebanese territories, indicating that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"we will not be tolerant in defending our villages, lands, and people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
He further addressed the Israelis, saying: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The era of Israeli military tourism on the borders with Lebanon, and inside the Lebanese territories is over, with no return.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Response to Dahieh blast is by duplicating number of fighters in Syria
In another context, Sayyed Nasrallah tackled the recent assaults on Dahieh, specifically Thursday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s tragic attack which left over 20 killed and hundreds wounded.
He indicated that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"targeting people and citizens in Dahieh and other places is nothing new. When the enemy failed, it always resorted to hitting people, even those who had no relation with the resistance. The history of Israeli wars in Qana, Dahieh, Sheyah, and other places in July war is a clear witness on that. The enemy takes such action because it knows that this is our point of weakness when it fails in confronting us militarily.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"This is a point of pride for us, as it points out that the relation between the resistance and the people is an emotional, humanitarian, moral, and spiritual relation, and that both are one. The resistance had never acted like it was an imported resistance, like some fighters act these days, hence they don’t care about people. Not at all, as throughout the past years, the resistance had never performed a military or resistance operation without taking into consideration the responses, and protecting people, until April Accord came out to protect them,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Sayyed Nasrallah added.
From this point, his eminence considered that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"when there is a resistance, and people whom it shares their feelings, and suffers from their pains, this is a point of power on one hand, and a point of weakness on the other, which the enemy uses. What happened yesterday was an attack on people. It wasn’t an assassination. There wasn’t any Hezbollah official or location targeted, but the side which committed the massacre in Dahieh wanted to leave behind the largest number of casualties among people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
He stated that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the bomb weighted over 100 KGs, and at this location in specific, like the case in Bir Al-Abed explosion, the goal was only to kill people.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Sayyed NasrallahHezbollah secretary general asserted that the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"massacre comes in the context of a wide and open battle which has been taking place since tens of years… as long as there is a group resisting and refusing to surrender to the American-Zionist will, then naturally, this group and its environment will bare this responsibility.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Sayyed Nasrallah assured that the rockets that hit Baalbak and its neighborhoods in the last few weeks were fired by armed Syrian groups, adding that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"rockets on Hermel, Majdal Anjar, Zahle, and Dahieh were targeting us, and the large explosion on the 9th of August targeted our people and environment. Yet we did not make a quick response… we did not accuse anyone.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
However, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"after Bir Al-Abed blast, some Lebanese parts claimed that Hezbollah planted the explosive as a pretext to ignite the situation. This is defamation and unjust, as you cannot find anyone who would love these people, and kiss the soil under the feet of these people like Hezbollah and its leadership does… This is how you work, but not how Hezbollah does.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
His eminence pointed out that during investigations about these assaults, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the first assumption was that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" was behind them, while the second was the terrorist groups who have declared war on Hezbollah long before the latter entered Al-Qusayr, and the third assumption was that some other side interfered to escalate the situation with Israel, or to create internal sedition and sectarian strife.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"After over 30 days on Bir Al-Abed explosion, and after the intelligence\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s arrests and our investigations, we have reached the result, and the names of those who planted the explosive on Hermel road are now known, and one of them is under arrest… as for the names of those involved in Bir Al-Abed blast, they are now 99.99% known,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he revealed.
Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that investigations have not yet revealed that the committers were operational agents of Israel.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"They are rather affiliated with a certain Takfiri line… some of them are Lebanese, some are Syrians, and some are Palestinians.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
His eminence assured that intelligence apparatuses have informed Hezbollah about certain sides preparing booby-trapped cars to send them to Dahieh, emphasizing that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"all our measures in Dahieh were in response to the official apparatuses\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' information.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
On this point, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"these (Takfiri) groups work for Israel, and undoubtedly, US and some regional countries\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' intelligences are operating these sides.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
He highlighted that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"yesterday they put (explosives) in Dahieh, but who knows where they could put them tomorrow? Neither Israel nor Takfiris care if they were in Dahieh or somewhere else. Those kill Sunnis just like they kill Shiites, they kill Christians just like they kill Muslims, and they bomb mosques just like they bomb churches.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
As his eminence asserted that Takfiri groups could plant booby-trapped cars anywhere in Lebanon, he warned officials, politicians, security apparatuses, and all the Lebanese that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"yesterday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s explosion was under control and the situation was under control, but if these explosions continue, Lebanon will be on the verge of Abyss. Therefore, responsible actions must be taken for Lebanon to confront this threat\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that the right precautionary measures should be taken and the government as well as its apparatuses must hold their responsibilities, if not to prevent suicide attacks, as this is impossible, then at least to minimize losses, stressing \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the importance of finding the sides sending explosives-laden cars and arresting them… as well as the importance of not giving any political or security cover to these groups.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Sayyed Nasrallah further emphasized \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the importance of abandoning sectarian incitements, so that the conflict remains political.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Addressing people who were affected by Thursday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s terror attack, Hezbollah leader said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We are aware of your patience, courage and faith, and the biggest exam was in July war… They want to harm your determination and faith, but we are certain of your faith and these aims will fail. What we fear is that those murderers drag you to uncalculated reactions which would lead to sedition and the destruction of the country…\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"(Those killers) neither have a nation nor a religion, and they are not Sunnis. They killed Sunnis even more than they killed Shiites. They seek to create a fight between the Lebanese and the (Palestinian refugee) camps. These murderers are a group of terrorists and the owners of a destructive project in the whole region, not just in Lebanon. In Iraq, there is clear evidence about the western, regional, and Israeli intelligences operating the murderers there,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he added.
In conclusion, Sayyed Nasrallah called on his people to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"stay patient and send a clear message that exploding and killing will not affect our morale, and it will not throw us in the trap of sedition. This is the responsibility of everyone in Lebanon, because if this situation continues, it could reach the verge of ambyss.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
His eminence also addressed the murderers, saying: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you work for Israel, we know you and we will capture you if the state neglected that. Yet he indicated that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"we are not a substitute for the state, but in any field the state does not hold its responsibility in, we will hold this responsibility.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If you claim you are defending the Syrian people and punishing Hezbollah over its intervention in Syria, I tell you two things: You, the Takfiri groups are the harshest killers of the Syrian people. You even kidnapped and killed Christian priests who supported the opposition. You kill children and explode mosques.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"As for us, we fight with our values. We have never killed a captive, while you prosecute captives in daylight. We have never killed citizens, and in some of our battles, a larger number of martyrs fell in order to protect citizens, and all what is said about massacres committed by us are lies and fabrications.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Criticizing the fabrications of some Arab media stations, he assured that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the world will witness that we have only fought Takfiri groups in Syria.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Finally, Sayyed Nasrallah said: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"One of our responses to such explosions is: If we had 1000 fighters in Syria, they will become 2000, and if we had 5000, they will become 10 000, and if the battle with those terrorists required that I go with all Hezbollah to Syria, we will all go for the sake of Syria and its people, Lebanon and its people, Palestine and Al-Quds, and the central cause.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We put an end to the battle, and we set a time for this battle to end, and as we triumphed in all our wars with Israel, if you wanted us to enter a fierce battle with you, I assure to everyone that we will triumph against Takfiri terror. The cost of the battle will be high, but the least cost is being slaughtered like ewes and waiting for the murderers to come into our house.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
Source:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=106457&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=14&s1=1
73m:22s
28872
Imam Khamenei Addressing a large crowd Qom Holy City - P1 - 19Oct2010 -...
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that enemies of Iran have failed to divide Iranian authorities....
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that enemies of Iran have failed to divide Iranian authorities.
Addressing a large crowd in this holy city, Ayatollah Khamenei said that riots of the last year\\\'s post presidential elections era have insured the Islamic Revolution as it added to the public insight.
\\\'The presence of 40 million of Iranians in the last year\\\'s presidential elections has angered enemies of the country and defused their conspiracies,\\\' the Supreme Leader told his well-wishers.
The Ayatollah arrived in Qom earlier on Tuesday amid warm and enthusiastic welcome of the local people.
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that enemies have failed to undermine people\\\'s religious sentiments through negative propaganda.
\\\'Enemies are seeking an Islam without clerics and without politics as they know how clerics can play an effective role in people\\\'s daily lives and have significant effects on the society and public moves,\\\' said the Ayatollah.
The Supreme Leader stressed that Iranians would continue their move towards a brighter future by making more progress and defusing enemies\\\' conspiracies.
Enemies do not refer to strong points but they, instead, multiply weak points, if any, in order to disappoint the people, the young generation in particular, and try to portray a dark future for them in order to make them leave the scene\\\' of social and political life, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Supreme Leader arrived in this holy city Tuesday morning amid the warm and enthusiastic welcome of the local people.
Qom is considered as the religious capital of Iran.
During the past 32 years, The Islamic Revolution has always enjoyed full support of the Iranian nation which was the key to the pepole\\\'s resistance against enemies\\\' conspiracies, the Ayatollah stressed.
The Supreme Leader added, \\\'The strong presence of people is the backbone of the resistance of the Iranian authorities\\\' against pressures exerted by enemies of the Islamic Revolution.
The Ayatollah added that currently, the Iranian revolution was recognized worldwide as a religious revolution \\\'since it could never survive the past crises if it lacked a religious nature.
13m:20s
28309
WARNING UNCLOTHED SCENES & GRUESOME VIOLENCE Princely Torture - English
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7402099&page=1
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=92354§ionid=351020205
Exclusive...
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7402099&page=1
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=92354§ionid=351020205
Exclusive Torture Tape Implicates UAE
A senior member of the UAE royal family has been caught, literary red-handed, in a torture scandal after a videotape was released showing a man being severely assaulted by the prince.
The videotape smuggled out of the country by Bassam Nabulsi, a businessman from Houston, Texas, depicts Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE Crown Prince's brother, savagely torturing a man.
The victim was beaten with wooden planks with nails protruding from them and then the prince poured salt on his bleeding wounds.
The video also shows the prince setting fire to parts of the victim's body, giving him electric shocks with a cattle prod, ramming desert sand into his mouth, and firing bullets around him with an automatic rifle.
The gruesome footage released by ABC News also shows Sheikh Issa driving over the victim repeatedly with his luxury Mercedes SUV. The sound of breaking bones is clearly audible in this scene.
On the video, the victim identified as Afghan grain dealer Mohammed Shah Poor, screams and asks for mercy but the UAE prince sadistically orders the cameraman to come closer to get a better record of the man's suffering.
A UAE police officer in uniform can also be seen helping Issa and his men torturing the Afghan man.
The Sheikh accused Shah Poor "of short changing on a grain delivery to his royal ranch on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi".
The UAE Interior Ministry has admitted that Sheikh Issa had been involved in the torture but claimed that "The incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behavior."
The government also insisted that "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department."
Sheikh Issa is one of UAE's 22 “Royal Sheikhs” and a son of the country's one and only president, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who died in 2004.
Nablusi, who smuggled the 45-minute tape out of the Arab country, says he too was tortured by the UAE police to force him to hand over the tape to them. He is now filing a lawsuit against the Sheikh in a US federal court in Houston.
The video was allegedly recorded by Nablusi's brother because the Sheikh took pleasure in watching torture scenes later.
Nabulsi who was Sheikh Issa's former business partner, was allegedly arrested and charged by UAE police over narcotics trafficking after he refused to turn over the video. After spending time in a UAE prison, Nablusi was finally deported from the country and his passport was stamped with "Not Allowed to Return to the UAE."
The businessman says the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi was aware of the torture tapes but did nothing and only advised him to leave the country.
UAE is one of the closest allies of the US in the Middle East and the US Navy operates out of a major base near Dubai. It is also one of the biggest customers for US weapons, having signed a $6.9 billion arms deal with Washington in 2008. The UAE is seen by the US as a critical ally in its self-styled “war on terror
6m:47s
26235
Speech to Basijis by Leader Ayatullah Khamenei - 28 November 2011 - ENGLISH
Supreme Leader’s Speech to Basijis
28/11/2011
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 28, 2011 by Ayatollah...
Supreme Leader’s Speech to Basijis
28/11/2011
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 28, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a group of basijis from different parts of the country.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
I am grateful to Allah the Exalted who gave me the opportunity to attend this glorious and excellent meeting. I would like to ask the brothers and sisters who are standing around the square to sit down so that we can have a discussion.
Today has coincided with the first day of the month of Muharram. The identity and nature of Basij are in harmony with the identity of Muharram and Ashura. Basij is proud of being a follower of the school of Ashura. Of course Ashura is the peak of self-sacrifice. The issue of Ashura and what happened to Hussein ibn Ali (a.s.) and his loyal companions have been identified in the entire history and the entire world with self-sacrifice and selfless efforts in the way of God and for a divine cause. But the issue of Ashura is not limited to this. Yes, self-sacrifice and martyrdom are the most prominent and significant aspect of Ashura, but there are also other truths in Ashura. From the beginning of the movement in Medina, the seeds of knowledge and insight were sowed: this is one of the characteristics of the event that happened on Ashura. If a people lack insight, different things will not help them improve their conditions and solve their problems. Therefore, purity, identifying the opportunities, sowing the seeds of a growing historical movement - these are among the important characteristics of Ashura. The event did not end on the noon of Ashura. In fact a movement started in history from the noon of Ashura, a movement whose scope is still widening and expanding and it will continue expanding in the future as well. Imam Hussein (a.s.) brought whatever he had into the arena in order to promote the word of God and save mankind. These are some of the characteristics that one can identify in the event that happened on Ashura.
Basij is following the same path. It is continuing the same movement. It is pursuing the same goals. It is using the same tools and means. Basij is from among the people and it was established for the sake of the people. It was established in order to further the great movement of a mujahid nation. Basij is present in defense, science, art, construction of the country, politics, culture, helping oppressed and helpless people, production, technology, furthering different affairs of the country, sports, international arenas and all righteous actions. This is the movement of Basij: a popular movement for the people, in the hearts of the people, from among the people, from among different social classes, from among women and men - young and old - from different professions. That is to say, an organization was established which was hezbollahi in the real sense of the word.
Basij is political in nature, but it is not intoxicated by political and partisan activities. Basij is a mujahid organization, but it is not without discipline. It is not radical. Basij is deeply pious and religious, but it is not rigid and superstitious. Basij is insightful, but it is not self-centered. Basij is inclusive - and I have recommended maximum inclusion - but it will not compromise principles. Basij is brave. It is the guardian of principles. Basij is a supporter of science, but it is not intoxicated with science. Basij enjoys Islamic characteristics and it is not hypocritical. Basij is involved in improving the world, but it does not have materialistic tendencies. And this is a culture.
The basiji culture includes the knowledge, methods and behaviors which can give rise to great things that guarantee the permanent Islamic movement of a nation on a straight path. This is a school of thought and it is not just an abstract concept: it has a manifestation in the real world. The movement of Basij changed the destiny of Iran and it even went beyond changing the destiny of Iran. From the first day, basijis continued their activities in different revolutionary arenas before and after the Revolution and their movement became permanent. It became a model. It went down in history in the name of the Iranian nation. Today the youth of New York and California are repeating the slogans of the people of Egypt and Tunisia. They are inspired by these nations and they do not deny this. And the youth of Egypt and Tunisia were inspired by Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and they did not hide this. Basijis who were deployed by our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) started this inspiration in the modern world. Everybody learnt how to defeat the icons of materialistic power from our Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s basijis and from our disabled war veterans, soldiers and selfless people. They learnt how to break idols in the name of God. They leant how to stand firm and how to resist.
Today the existence, movement and goals of Basij make us familiar with these truths. By relying on this culture, these teachings and this spirit, the Islamic Revolution and the revolutionary Iranian nation managed to accomplish many things which were considered impossible and this movement will continue. The hostility of the enemies cannot affect this. Of course the enemy will continue its hostility. We must not have any doubts in this regard. In fact an enemy should not be expected to behave otherwise. However, when we consider the great movement of the Iranian nation from the beginning of the Revolution to the present day, we see that there is a clear path. The Iranian nation is moving forward. It is moving towards the peak. It continues overcoming different challenges in different arenas and the enemies are forced to back down in this confrontation. With this movement, the Iranian nation will definitely achieve victory.
Today Islamic movements and uprisings are being witnessed throughout Islamic and Arab regions. This is exactly what has been expected since thirty years ago by those who were familiar with the nature of the Revolution. And in anticipation of such a thing, the enemies of the Revolution were trembling with fear for thirty years. They lived in fear of the events that have already happened today. Those who were hatching plots against the Islamic Revolution predicted such events and they happened. These events will continue and they will not stop.
Today Muslim people have risen up in the Arab region. They have become aware. They have awakened. The enemies cannot suppress them. They cannot change their path. The movement has already started and it has affected the conditions of the world. The movements that you see today in the western world - in America and in Europe - are indicative of great changes that the world will witness in the future.
We are not surprised by the response of the enemies. We are not surprised by the threats they make, the sanctions they impose and what the arrogant countries have been doing against the Islamic Republic during this time. They know that the Islamic Republic was the source of this movement. They know that it is the resistance of the Iranian nation that has managed to promote the idea in the region that it is possible to stand up against the power of the arrogant powers. The arrogant powers have always resolved their problems through intimidation. They intimidate nations and their leaders. When this technique is revealed and when nations realize that the power of the arrogant countries is superficial and not genuine, the arrogant powers will lose this weapon. And this is what has happened today. Therefore, they are angry and they pressure the Islamic Republic.
Of course they wrongly accuse the Islamic Republic of having started these movements. This is a baseless accusation. There is no need for such actions. The Islamic Republic has been inspirational because of its permanence, resistance and sincerity on this path - and the Iranian nation proved that it is sincere on this path. This inspiration is still there. Nations have awakened and they have found their path. And the enemies are continuing their hostility. Of course these hostilities create certain challenges. The Iranian nation is used to confronting such challenges. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will overcome all the challenges that the enemies create and we will achieve victory. Allah the Exalted has pre-ordained the establishment of brilliant Islamic truths in the world and He has also pre-ordained victory for the Iranian nation and ultimately for the Islamic Ummah.
I hope Allah the Exalted will bless all our people, our basijis and all our youth and government officials with the opportunity to continue this path. Everybody should know that they are responsible in these areas. All our government officials and people should know this. The people are present in the arena. The people are completely prepared in different areas and our government officials should appreciate our people and their preparedness. Our government officials should carry out their responsibilities in the three branches of government in the best possible way so that our nation can move forward in a coherent way.
Undoubtedly these Islamic movements around the world of Islam are permanent and progressive movements. Nations are awakening one after the other. The puppets of the arrogant powers will leave the scene one after the other and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the power and glory of Islam will increase on a daily basis.
Dear God, help us be worthy of these great blessings. Make us be thankful for these great blessings. Dear God, enlighten our hearts with the light of Your love and knowledge and with the love and knowledge of your saints. Make us benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake).
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
11m:17s
25731
FULL Speech by Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah on Revolution in Egypt - 07 Feb...
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the Egyptian Revolution will leave an impact on all regional and global developments....
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the Egyptian Revolution will leave an impact on all regional and global developments.
“It has always been said that Egypt is the mother of the world. This is right and you (Egyptians) who are there, you are the great people who can, with your will and solidarity, change the face of the world,” Nasrallah said in a speech on Monday.
“You are waging the war of Arab dignity. Today, with your voices, blood and steadfastness, you are retrieving the dignity of the Arab people; the dignity which was humiliated by some rulers of the Arab world for decades.”
He explained that the delay in announcing Hezbollah\\\\\\\'s stance was not because of hesitance or any confusion.
Hezbollah was afraid if it announced its stance earlier, the protesters in Tunisia and Egypt would be accused of being moved or controlled by Hezbollah or the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and they would be accused of serving a foreign agenda, Nasrallah added.
Now that the people are overcoming the Mubarak regime, “We are gathering here to announce our solidarity and our standing side by side in support of the people of Egypt … We are also side by side with the people of Tunisia,” the Hezbollah leader said.
Nasrallah elaborated on some fundamental points about the Egyptian revolution.
“We are witnessing a real popular revolution; a real Egyptian nationalist revolution. Muslims and Christians are participating in this revolution. Islamic factions, secular parties, nationalist parties and all walks of life are participating,” he said.
“This revolution is the result of the determination and commitment of the Egyptian people,” and contrary to the US and Israeli propaganda that say it is just “a revolution for bread,” the movement is also a “political, humanitarian and social revolution,” he pointed out.
Millions of Egyptians have for two weeks taken to the streets across the country to call for the ouster of the Mubarak regime. More than 300 people are estimated to have been killed since the protests began.
People from all walks of life are flooding into Cairo\\\\\\\'s Liberation Square and many have been spending nights at the square despite heavy military presence.
Also in Alexandria, people have gathered at the city\\\\\\\'s main square chanting their revolution will not die.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian revolution coalition has reportedly rejected negotiations with the government of Vice President Omar Suleiman.
On Sunday, millions of Egyptians were out on the streets in the capital and other major cities to honor hundreds of their countrymen killed during the anti-government rallies.
Hostility toward the United States is widespread among the protesters as they hold Washington responsible for Mubarak\\\\\\\'s grip on power. Demonstrators say they will not leave the streets until Mubarak steps down.
43m:5s
25676
Tribute to Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s) - English
A tribute to our 5th Imam-e-Masoom. Imam-e-Muhammad Baqir (a.s) Ibn e Imam-e-Sajjad (a.s) Ibn e Imam Hussain (a.s) Ibn e...
A tribute to our 5th Imam-e-Masoom. Imam-e-Muhammad Baqir (a.s) Ibn e Imam-e-Sajjad (a.s) Ibn e Imam Hussain (a.s) Ibn e Imam Ali (a.s) Ibn e Abu Talib (a.s). Learn what Imam Baqir (a.s) taught us through his saying included in this presentation. May we all attain the maarifat of Imam (a.s) of our time - Imam Al-Mehdi (a.t.f.s) - May we are not the ones who leave him alone in the battlefield. May we all realize that Imam (a.s) of our time exists even today - His mission is going on even today - His true followers are working on his cause even today - His enemies are working against his mission even today - His enemies are continuously confronted by true followers of Imam (a.s) even today. May Allah grant us strength to be part of the party of Allah. May Allah spare us for any sins and the neglecting attitude we had had towards the teachings of our Aimma in the past. We are ready for you O Imam (a.s). Please come and spread the justice on this earth - implement the system of Allah on this earth.
13m:17s
24470
Al Nakba - The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 - English Arabic
The Palestinian Exile - also known as Al Nakba - Arabic for - The Catastrophe- -refers to the ethnic cleansing of native Palestinian peoples all...
The Palestinian Exile - also known as Al Nakba - Arabic for - The Catastrophe- -refers to the ethnic cleansing of native Palestinian peoples all during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. From December 1947 until November 1948 Zionist forces - namely the Irgun - Lehi - Haganah terrorist gangs - expelled approximately 750 000 indigenous Palestinians --almost two third of the population--from their homes. Hundreds of Palestinians were also murdered for refusing to leave their homes. The most notable massacre is the Deir Yassin Massacre in which an estimated 120 Palestinian civilians were brutally murdered by an Irgun-Lehi force. Other massacres include the ones at Sahila - 70-80 killed - Lod - 250 killed- and Abu Shusha - 70 killed -. About 40 other massacres were carried out by Zionist forces in just the summer of 1948. Not only did Zionist forces conduct massacres of Palestinian civilians - rape occured as well. According to Israeli historian Benny Morris - In Acre four soldiers raped a girl and murdered her and her father. In Jaffa soldiers of the Kiryati Brigade raped one girl and tried to rape several more. At Hunin which is in the Galilee two girls were raped and then murdered. There were one or two cases of rape at Tantura south of Haifa. There was one case of rape at Qula in the center of the country. At the village of Abu Shusha near Kibbutz Gezer - in the Ramle area - there were four female prisoners - one of whom was raped a number of times. And there were other cases. Usually more than one soldier was involved. Usually there were one or two Palestinian girls. In a large proportion of the cases the event ended with murder. Because neither the victims nor the rapists liked to report these events- we have to assume that the dozen cases of rape that were reported- which I found are not the whole story. They are just the tip of the iceberg.- during Al Nakba - Palestinians were murdered raped and ethnically cleansed from their villages. According to Israeli historian Ilan Pappe - In a matter of seven months 531 villages were destroyed and 11 urban neighborhoods emptied.- Palestinians were forced into were forced out of Palestine and into neighboring countries - i.e. Lebanon Syria and Jordan - where they lived in refugee camps. Many were also sent to camps in West Bank and Gaza Strip. Most Palestinian towns were demolished and taken by the newly established Israeli government to make room for new Jewish immigrants. Old Palestinian infrastructures as well as many ruins dating back from the Canaanites Romans Greeks Crusaders Arabs and Ottoman Turks were completely destroyed. This signified the end of historical Palestine and the birth of modern-day Israel. Al Nakba marked the beginning of the Palestinian refugee crisis. Al Nakba destroyed a thriving and diverse Palestinian society and scattered them into diaspora. According to the UNRWA - the number of registered Palestinian refugees today is approximately 4.5 million. These refugees are dispersed throughout the world - many of which are still living in poverty-stricken refugee camps. Today the situation keeps worsening and thousands die from malnutrition - contaminated water - or scarce medical supply. Israel has since refused to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and has refused to pay them compensation as required by UN Resolution 194 which was passed on December 11 1948. Historically the Israeli government Israeli schools and Israeli historians have denied that Al Nakba has occured. However The New Historians - a loosely-defined group of Israeli historians - have recently published information recognizing the Al Nakba tragedy and controversial views of matters concerning Israel - particularly events concerning its birth in 1948. Much of their material comes from recently declassified Israeli government papers. Leading scholars in this school include Benny Morris - Ilan Pappe - Avi Shlaim - and Tom Segev. Many of their conclusions have been attacked by other scholars and Israeli historians - who continue deny Al Nakba even occured.
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Sayed Nasrallah Speech on Latest Developments - 23 Sept 2013 - [ENGLISH]
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah lauded on Monday the deployment of security forces in the southern suburbs of Beirut...
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah lauded on Monday the deployment of security forces in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiyeh) as a positive step hoping the State would bear its responsibilities and duties towards all Lebanese regions.
Sayyed Nasrallah
In a televised speech broadcast at Al-Manar TV, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah had contacted the state since the explosion took place in Dahiyeh, noting that the state said it needs time to carry out its responsibilities and not because we have failed, and the problems that happened were normal and anticipated when we endured responsibility for security .
Hezbollah S.G. said Hezbollah took serious responsibility since August 15 when Ruweis attack took place because of a security vacuum in the country and statements were issued rejecting autonomous security. “We also reject autonomous security and this has never been part of our agenda and we did not practice it and when we took security measures that was because we had to prevent the entry of booby-trapped cars.”
“Some went on to accuse Hezbollah of practicing autonomous security as part of our ‘statelet’, but today’s deployment refuted their claims because Hezbollah would have rejected this measure if their claims were true. We had asked the official bodies to take over the reins from the outset,” His eminence said.
Sayyed Nasrallah called on all Dahiyeh residents and passers-by to show the highest levels of cooperation, respect, acceptance and responsiveness to the security measures and provide all the assistance and support needed to help the security forces perform their mission.
As he assured that the State is solely responsible and must definitely extend its authority in all regions, Sayyed Nasrallah hoped these security forces and state authorities will shoulder their full responsibility and assume all the intelligence and preventative missions as well. “Only the state is responsible for security in all regions and we will leave any point to which the state might send forces. Today it happened in Dahiyeh and tomorrow it might happen in Baalbek and we welcome any efforts that contribute to the success of the mission.”
Some People feels Delighted with Killing of People in Dahiyeh
His eminence addressed some sides that condemned Hezbollah’s measures in Dahiyeh, saying: “I feel that those people are delighted with the killing of people in Dahiyeh, Tripoli and elsewhere, it is regrettable that hostility reached to that level of thinking.”
Ruweis attackSayyed Nasrallah thanked the Palestinian factions and especially the families of martyr Mohammad Samrawi over their noble stance on the regrettable incident in Burj al-Barajneh.
On the investigations after Ruweis attack took place, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “As promised, we reached decisive results concerning the perpetrators of Ruweis attack. It’s a Takfiri party that is affiliated with the Syrian opposition and which is based the Syrian territories, and the same results were reached by local security apparatuses. All the details were passed on to the relevant authorities, which must take the necessary measures, especially against the perpetrators who are inside Lebanon.”
Chemical Weapons Campaign against Hezbollah “Funny”
The S.G. denied accusations that the Syrian government handed chemical weapons to Hezbollah and said that this accusation is funny.
“The U.S. defense secretary said after reaching an agreement with Russia that chemical weapons should not be transferred to Hezbollah and on the next day some Syrian Coalition officials claimed that the Syrian government has transferred chemical arms to Hezbollah and some officials claimed that we have received a ton of chemical agents,” his eminence said. “It’s funny, it’s not like transporting wheat or flour. Unfortunately, some parties in Lebanon launched a media campaign and said they fear that the chemical weapons might be transferred to Hezbollah,” Sayyed Nasrallah noted, saying he understands the backgrounds of these serious accusations which have serious repercussions on Lebanon, and stressed that “Hezbollah did not ask our brothers in Syria to transfer such weapons and will not do in the future.”
“Some friends advised me not to comment on these claims as part of psychological war against enemies, but I rejected that because Hezbollah has religious taboos with the use of such weapons and using this as psychological warfare is not an option,” S. Nasrallah added.
Some Invented Mock Battle in Zahle
On the scuffle that erupted over claims Hezbollah was installing a telecom network in Zahle, Sayyed Nasrallah denied these claims saying Hezbollah has never sought to install such network in Zahle. “This does not exist today and will not exist in the future. The Bekaa and Baalbek are part of the battle with the enemy and we need to have communications with the Baalbek-Hermel region. Years ago, we extended a cable at the outskirts of the city of Zahle and not inside it, it’s a cable for connecting lines. What happened few days ago was that Hezbollah young men were doing maintenance for the cable.”
Unfortunately, the S.G. said, some parties were launching a mock battle to what happened in Zahle and were seeking stunts and illusionary heroism. “The head of one of March 14 parties said that Hezbollah’s wired telecom network breaches the privacy of people. I hope that he asks any security official to explain to him about our network which is incapable of spying on anyone.”
Let\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Discuss Hezbollah Intervention in Syria
Concerning the national dialogue, Sayyed Nasrallah said Hezbollah supported Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative, “but we have heard calls for boycotting and setting conditions for dialogue. When the national dialogue table was held the other team disrupted it and required the resignation of Mikati in order to return to it and the government’s resignation they did not return to dialogue.”
He pointed out that Hezbollah will participate in the dialogue called for by the Lebanese President, and said: “Let’s discuss the intervention in Syria, and who did so. Isn’t it considered intervention the writing of speeches and statements urging [US President Barack] Obama to launch a military attack on Syria which if it had taken place would have serious repercussions on the world and especially Lebanon? We want to discuss on the table whichever is the most dangerous, appealing to Obama to intervene in Syria or what our young people are doing in Syria?” referring to former PM Fuad Saniora’s op-ed published by the Foreign Policy magazine recently.
“Those who are obstructing dialogue in Lebanon are well-known and we are willing to participate in the dialogue regardless of who would take part or not.”
Gov\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t Representation = Parties\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' Political Weight
On the issue of the delayed formation of the Lebanese government, Sayyed Nasrallah said that the interest of the country requires that March 14 stop stalling and form a national unity government based on real political weight of each party and urged them to stop betting on regional developments.
“Despite Lebanese consensus on the need to form a government, it has yet to be formed because from the first moment Tammam Salam was designated as PM, Al-Mustaqbal Party and some of its allies said they don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t want the participation of Hezbollah in the government,” S. Nasrallah said, noting “they said they accept the participation of Hezbollah on two conditions: no tripartite formula, no to the guaranteeing one-third. However, we set one condition overtly and clearly that each political party should be represented according to the size of its Deputies.”
“We reject the three-8s (8-8-8) formula because it’s unrealistic. The PM-designate is part of March 14 coalition and the minister whom he will nominate would be committed to his political decision, that means March 14 will have 10 ministers not 8.”
Betting on Military Option in Syria Futile
Hezbollah leader said some Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, are insisting on accusing Hezbollah of occupying Syria and building on this to say that what is happening in Syria is not a conflict of countries, projects and nations, but rather a conflict against an “occupation force” which the Arab States should help to confront. And on such accusation they took retaliatory steps against Hezbollah. “In this context, March 14’s Veto on the participation of Hezbollah is Saudi and punishing the Lebanese in the Gulf is under the title of punishing Hezbollah.”
“Is it reasonable to believe that Hezbollah has the ability to occupy Syria!” his eminence wondered, announcing that Hezbollah’s contribution with the Syrian army is modest. “Isn’t Syria occupied by the tens of thousands of fighters you brought from all countries? And today the Syrian Coalition began to raise the voice against them.” [Turkish President Abdullah] Gul was told that the Pakistani scenario will be repeated in Turkey because of its intervention in Syria, he said.
Sayyed Nasrallah called upon Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and Turkey to review their positions on what is happening in Syria, saying “betting on the military option in Syria is futile.” “The salvation of Syria and the peoples of the region will be only with the political solution. The continuation of fighting in Syria will not lead to the goals you are looking for.”
Criminalizing Hezbollah in Bahrain Political
Hezbollah, BahrainConcerning the Bahraini crisis, the Secretary General said Bahrain regime’s insistence on criminalizing communicating with Hezbollah is a political position. “We are not surprised by the position of the Government of Bahrain in describing Hezbollah as terrorists. We supported the peaceful revolution in the Gulf country and then Manama expelled the Lebanese living there!”
While insuring that the decision of the Bahraini opposition is internal and independent, Sayyed Nasrallah said Iran does not interfere in the course of the situation in Bahrain, urging Muslim scholars and states to react to confront repression in Bahrain as mosques are being destroyed and clergy men are forced in prisons.
Credit: LitleButerfli
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[MUST WATCH] Ahmadinejad - Sepahpour Interview 27 Sept 2010 - English Farsi
The President and I by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich, 27 September 2010 I was pleasantly surprised when my request for an interview with Mr. Ahmadinejad,...
The President and I by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich, 27 September 2010 I was pleasantly surprised when my request for an interview with Mr. Ahmadinejad, Iran's president was accepted. President Ahmadinejad has never shied away from being heard, but these interviews had been exclusive to prominent mainstream media personalities such as Larry King and Charlie Rose. However, it was the mainstream media's projection of Mr. Ahmadinejad that always remained questionable.
On September 21, 2010, on the occasion of President Ahmadinejad's participation at the UN General Assembly, I was given the opportunity to conduct a candid interview with Mr. Ahmadinejad. I had overlooked the fact that such a meeting would be conducted in the presence of the secret service and body guards. No sooner had this reality hit home than Mr. Ahmadinejad's down to earth and easy attitude made me forget the presence of others in the room as we began the session.
The time had come for me to verify or refute a research I had conducted as a Public Diplomacy graduate student while attending USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. At that time, I had examined the media's role in fashioning the image of Mr. Ahmadinejad. My research posited that though 'some great men make history, and history makes some men great', in an age dominated by the media-- internet, television, radio, and newspapers, the portrayal of Ahmadinejad is an artificial construct of the mainstream media. The image portrayed by the media had made him hero to some and a villain to others. Superstar or scapegoat, the Iranian President continues to dominate the news. With help and questions from university students and professors, I was eager to meet the real Ahmadinejad.
Although a full hour had been granted for the interview (more accurately Q&A), regrettably, given the number of questions and the fact that the translation was not simultaneous, many of the questions were left unanswered. To my amazement, President Ahmadinejad granted me a second, follow-up interview (the transcript of which will be forwarded to participating universities).
It is a rewarding experience to bring one's research to a practical conclusion. I firmly believe that Ahmadinejad is misrepresented by the corporate owned media. I leave it up to others to judge for themselves.
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President Ahmadinejad Interview Sept 08 with Democracy Now - Part 1 -...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities.
The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue.
The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran.
Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more.
Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president.
AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic.
Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs.
We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place.
A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another.
But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number.
So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that?
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now.
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed.
AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it.
Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that.
But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy.
AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see.
Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here.
I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end.
It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward.
I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie.
AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion.
Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad.
But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad.
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president
President Ahmadinejad was interviewed recently in New York by Democracy Now
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[Audio][12] Distortions of Ashura - by Martyr Ayatullah Murtada...
Hence the developments relating to Karbala\\\\\\\' are quite clear and all of them are throughout a matter of great honor and pride. But we have...
Hence the developments relating to Karbala\\\\\\\' are quite clear and all of them are throughout a matter of great honor and pride. But we have disfigured this shining historic event to such an extent and have committed such a monstrous treachery towards Imam Husayn (\\\\\\\'a) that if he were to come and see, he will say, \\\\\\\'You have changed the entire face of the event. I am not the Imam Husayn that you have sketched out in your own imagination. The Qasim ibn Hasan that you have painted in your fancy is not my nephew. The \\\\\\\'Ali Akbar that you have faked in your imagination is not my aware and intelligent son. The companions that you have carved out are not my companions.\\\\\\\"
We have fabricated a Qasim whose only desire is to become a bridegroom and whose uncle\\\\\\\'s wish, too, is to have him wedded. Contrast this one with the historical Qasim. Reliable histories report that on the night of \\\\\\\'Ashura\\\\\\\' the Imam (\\\\\\\'a) gathered his companions in a tent whose location, as described by the phrase \\\\\\\'inda qurbil-ma\\\\\\\', was the place where water used to be kept, or near it. There he delivered that very well-known sermon of the night preceding \\\\\\\'Ashura\\\\\\\'. I do not want to mention its details here, but, to put it briefly, in this sermon the Imam told them that every one of them was free to depart and leave him to confront the enemy alone. The Imam did not want anybody to stay just for considerations of courtesy or to remain out of compulsion, or even to think that they were obliged to do so by virtue of the allegiance (bay\\\\\\\'ah) they had given him. Hence he tells them, \\\\\\\"You are all free, my companions, members of my family, my sons, and my nephews-everyone-to leave without being liable to anything. They [i.e. the enemy\\\\\\\'s forces] have nothing against anyone except me. The night is dark. Take advantage of the darkness of the night and depart. They will definitely not stop you.\\\\\\\" At first, he expresses his appreciation for them and tell them, I am most pleased with you. I do not know of any companions better than mine, and no better relatives than the members of my family.\\\\\\\"
But all of them tell him, in unison, that such a thing was impossible. What answer will they give to the Prophet on the Day of Resurrection? What will happen to loyalty, to humanity, to love and attachment? Their ardent responses and their words said on that occasion melt a heart of stone and are most moving. One of them says, \\\\\\\"Is one life worth enough to be sacrificed for someone like you? I wish that I were brought to life seventy times to die seventy time for your sake.\\\\\\\" Another says, \\\\\\\"I would lay down a thousand lives for your sake if I had them.\\\\\\\" Another says, \\\\\\\"If I were to sacrifice my life for you and my body were burnt to ashes and the ashes were cast to wind, and were this done a hundred times, I would still love to die for your sake.\\\\\\\" The first to speak was his brother Abu al-Fadl, and then the Imam changed the subject and told them about the events of the next day, informing them that they all would be killed. All of them receive it as a great good news.
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President Ahmadinejad Interview Sept 08 with Democracy Now - Part 3 -...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an...
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran’s Human Rights Record
In part one of an interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about the threat of a US attack on Iran and responds to international criticism of Iran’s human rights record. We also get reaction from CUNY Professor Ervand Abrahamian, an Iran expert and author of several books on Iran.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week, while the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is meeting in Vienna to discuss Iran’s alleged nuclear program. An IAEA report earlier this month criticized Iran for failing to fully respond to questions about its nuclear activities.
The European Union told the IAEA Wednesday that it believes Iran is moving closer to being able to arm a nuclear warhead. Iran could face a fourth set of Security Council sanctions over its nuclear activities, but this week Russia has refused to meet with the US on this issue.
The Iranian president refuted the IAEA’s charges in his speech to the General Assembly and accused the agency of succumbing to political pressure. He also welcomed talks with the United States if it cuts back threats to use military force against Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: As with every visit of the Iranian president to New York, some groups protested outside the United Nations. But this year, President Ahmadinejad also met with a large delegation of American peace activists concerned with the escalating possibility of war with Iran.
Well, yesterday, just before their meeting, Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with the Iranian president at his hotel, blocks from the UN, for a wide-ranging discussion about US-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, threat of war with the US, the Israel-Palestine conflict, human rights in Iran and much more.
Today, part one of our interview with the Iranian president.
AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now!, President Ahmadinejad. You’ve come to the United States. What is your message to people in the United States and to the world community at the UN?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] In the name of God, the compassion of the Merciful, the president started by reciting verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic.
Hello. Hello to the people of America. The message from the nation and people of Iran is one of peace, tranquility and brotherhood. We believe that viable peace and security can happen when it is based on justice and piety and purity. Otherwise, no peace will occur.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, you’re faced now in Iran with American soldiers in Iraq to your west, with American soldiers and NATO troops to your east in Afghanistan, and with Blackwater, the notorious military contractor, training the military in Azerbaijan, another neighbor of yours. What is the effect on your country of this enormous presence of American forces around Iran and the impact of these wars on your own population?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] It’s quite natural that when there are wars around your borders, it brings about negative repercussions for the entire region. These days, insecurity cannot be bordered; it just extends beyond boundaries. In the past two years, we had several cases of bomb explosions in southern towns in Iran carried out by people who were supervised by the occupying forces in our neighborhood. And in Afghanistan, following the presence of NATO troops, the production of illicit drugs has multiplied. It’s natural that it basically places pressure on Iran, including costly ones in order to fight the flow of illicit drugs.
We believe the people in the region are able to establish security themselves, on their own, so there is no need for foreigners and external forces, because these external forces have not helped the security of the region.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you see them as a threat to you?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, it’s natural that when there is insecurity, it threatens everyone.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to turn for a moment to your domestic policies and law enforcement in your country. Human Rights Watch, which has often criticized the legal system in the United States, says that, under your presidency, there has been a great expansion in the scope and the number of individuals and activities persecuted by the government. They say that you’ve jailed teachers who are fighting for wages and better pensions, students and activists working for reform, and other labor leaders, like Mansour Ossanlou from the bus workers’ union. What is your response to these criticisms of your policies?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] I think that the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared to the United States and other countries. Of course, when we look at the ideals that are dear to us, we understand that we still need to do a lot, because we seek divine and religious ideals and revolutionary ones. But when we compare ourselves with some European countries and the United States, we feel we’re in a much better place.
A large part of the information that these groups receive come from criticisms coming from groups that oppose the government. If you look at it, we have elections in Iran every year. And the propaganda is always around, too. But they’re not always true. Groups accuse one another.
But within the region and compared to the United States, we have the smallest number of prisoners, because in Iran, in general, there is not so much inclination to imprison people. We’re actually looking at our existing laws right now to see how we can eliminate most prisons around the country. So, you can see that people in Iran like each other. They live coexistently and like the government, too. This news is more important to these groups, not so much for the Iranian people. You have to remember, we have over 70 million people in our country, and we have laws. Some people might violate it, and then, according to the law, the judiciary takes charge. And this happens everywhere. What really matters is that in the end there are the least amount of such violations of the law in Iran, the least number.
So, I think the interpretation of these events is a wrong one. The relationship between the people and the government in Iran is actually a very close one. And criticizing the government is absolutely free for all. That’s exactly why everyone says what they want. There’s really no restrictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything you hear is always true. And the government doesn’t really respond to it, either. It’s just free.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Let me ask you in particular about the question of the execution of juveniles. My understanding is that Iran is one of only five or six nations in the world that still execute juveniles convicted of capital offenses and that you—by far, you execute the most. I think twenty-six of the last thirty-two juveniles executed in the world were executed in Iran. How is this a reflection of the—of a state guided by religious principles, to execute young people?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Firstly, nobody is executed under the age of eighteen in Iran. This is the first point. And then, please pay attention to the fact that the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen and doesn’t have to be eighteen everywhere. So, it’s different in different countries. I’ll ask you, if a person who happens to be seventeen years old and nine months kills one of your relatives, will you just overlook that?
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll continue our interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad after break.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: We return to our interview with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, recently the Bush administration agreed to provide Israel with many new bunker buster bombs that people speculate might be used against Iran. Your reaction to this decision by the Bush administration? And do you—and there have been numerous reports in the American press of the Bush administration seeking to finance a secret war against Iran right now.
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, we actually think that the US administration and some other governments have equipped the Zionist regime with the nuclear warhead for those bombs, too. So, what are we to tell the American administration, a government that seeks a solution to all problems through war? Their logic is one of war. In the past twenty years, Americans’ military expenditures have multiplied. So I think the problem should be resolved somewhere else, meaning the people of America themselves must decide about their future. Do they like new wars to be waged in their names that kill nations or have their money spent on warfare? So I think that’s where the problem can be addressed.
AMY GOODMAN: The investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the Bush administration held a meeting in Vice President Cheney’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran. Hersh said it was considered possibly a meeting to stage an incident, that it would appear that Iranian boats had attacked US forces in the Straits of Hormuz. Do you have any evidence of this?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Well, you have to pay attention to find that a lot of this kind of stuff is published out there. There’s no need for us to react to it.
Of course, Mr. Bush is very interested to start a new war. But he confronts two big barriers. One is the incapability in terms of maneuverability and operationally. Iran is a very big country, a very powerful country, very much capable of defending itself. The second barrier is the United States itself. We think there are enough wise people in this country to prevent the unreasonable actions by the administration. Even among the military commanders here, there are many people with wisdom who will stop a new war. I think the beginning or the starting a new war will mark the beginning of the end of the United States of America. Many people can understand that.
But I also think that Mr. Bush’s administration is coming to an end. Mr. Bush still has one other chance to make up for the mistakes he did in the past. He has no time to add to those list of mistakes. He can only make up for them. And that’s a very good opportunity to have. So, I would advise him to take advantage of this opportunity, so that at least while you’re in power, you do a couple—few good acts, as well. It’s better than to end one’s work with a report card of failures and of abhorrent acts. We’re willing to help him in doing good. We’ll be very happy.
AMY GOODMAN: And your nuclear program?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: [translated] Our time seems to be over, but our nuclear program is peaceful. It’s very transparent for everyone to see.
Your media is a progressive one. Let me just say a sentence here.
I think that the time for the atomic bomb has reached an end. Don’t you feel that yourself? What will determine the future is culture, it’s the power of thought. Was the atomic bomb able to save the former Soviet Union from collapsing? Was it able to give victory to the Zionist regime of confronting the Palestinians? Was it able to resolve America’s or US problems in Iraq and Afghanistan? Naturally, its usage has come to an end.
It’s very wrong to spend people’s money building new atomic bombs. This money should be spent on creating welfare, prosperity, health, education, employment, and as aid that should be distributed among others’ countries, to destroy the reasons for war and for insecurity and terrorism. Rest assured, whoever who seeks to have atomic bombs more and more is just politically backward. And those who have these arsenals and are busy making new generations of those bombs are even more backward.
I think a disloyalty has occurred to the human community. Atomic energy power is a clean one. It’s a renewable one, and it is a positive [inaudible]. Up to this day, we’ve identified at least sixteen positive applications from it. We’re already aware that the extent to which we have used fossil fuels has imbalanced the climate of the world, brought about a lot of pollution, as well as a lot of diseases, as a result. So what’s wrong with all countries having peaceful nuclear power and enjoying the benefits of this energy? It’s actually a power that is constructively environmental. All those nuclear powers have come and said, well, having nuclear energy is the equivalent of having an atomic bomb pretty much—just a big lie.
AMY GOODMAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tomorrow, part two of our conversation. But right now, we’re joined by Ervand Abrahamian. He’s an Iran expert, CUNY Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of a number of books, most recently, A History of Modern Iran.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about both what the Iranian president said here and his overall trip? Was it a different message this year?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: No, it’s very much the same complacency, that, you know, everything’s fine. There may be some problems in Iran and in foreign relations, but overall, Iran is confident and is—basically the mantra of the administration in Iran is that no one in their right senses would think of attacking Iran. And I think the Iranian government’s whole policy is based on that. I wish I was as confident as Ahmadinejad is.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And his dismissing of the situation, the human rights situation, in Iran, basically ascribing any arrests to some lawbreakers? Your sense of what is the human rights situation right there?
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Well, I mean, he basically changed the question and talked about, you know, the probably two million prisoners in America, which is of course true, but it certainly changes the topic of the discussion.
Now, in Iran, you can be imprisoned for the talking of abolishing capital punishment. In fact, that’s considered blasphemy, and academics have been charged with capital offense for actually questioning capital punishment. So, he doesn’t really want to address those issues. And there have been major purges in the university recently, and of course the plight of the newspapers is very dramatic. I mean, mass newspapers have been closed down. Editors have been brought before courts, and so on. So, I would find that the human rights situation—I would agree with the Human Rights Watch, that things are bad.
But I would like to stress that human rights organizations in Iran don’t want that issue involved with the US-Iran relations, because every time the US steps in and tries to champion a question of human rights, I think that backfires in Iran, because most Iranians know the history of US involvement in Iran, and they feel it’s hypocrisy when the Bush administration talks about human rights. So they would like to distance themselves. And Shirin Ebadi, of course, the Nobel Peace Prize, has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want this championing by the United States of the human rights issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Big protest outside. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the Israel Project, UJ Federation of New York, United Jewish Communities protested. They invited Hillary Clinton. She was going to speak. But they invited—then they invited Governor Palin, and so then Clinton pulled out, so they had had to disinvite Palin. And then you had the peace movement inside, meeting with Ahmadinejad.
ERVAND ABRAHAMIAN: Yes, I think—I mean, the demonstrations outside are basically pushing for some sort of air strikes on the premise that Iran is an imminent threat and trying to build up that sort of pressure on the administration. And clearly, I think the Obama administration would not want to do that, but they would probably have a fair good hearing in the—if there was a McCain administration.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. Part two of our conversation tomorrow. We talk about the Israel-Palestine issue, we talk about the treatment of gay men and lesbians in Iran, and we talk about how the Iraq war has affected Iran with the Iranian president
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O\' Martyr of Hezbollah | Arabic sub English
A tribute to those brave ones from the South who leave their loved ones behind in order to sacrifice themselves so that the flag and standard of...
A tribute to those brave ones from the South who leave their loved ones behind in order to sacrifice themselves so that the flag and standard of Allah remains high and supreme.
8m:19s
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Video Tags:
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PureStreamMedia,
Short,
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Resistance,Electronic,
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tribute,
Sacrifice,
Islamic Iran Marks 30th Anniversary Of Eight Year Sacred Defense - 22...
Iran to unveil new submarines, frigates
Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Ataollah Salehi says the country will soon unveil new...
Iran to unveil new submarines, frigates
Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Ataollah Salehi says the country will soon unveil new generations of destroyers, frigates and submarines.
Iran will soon unveil and launch the second generation of Jamaran destroyers, Sina class frigates as well as a new generation of submarines, Salehi said Wednesday.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony commemorating the 1980-1988 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran.
Salehi warned against any act of aggression on the country's territory and said Iran could repel any attack due to its deterrent powers.
"The enemy should beware that if our country is attacked we will not allow them to leave the region safely," the Iranian commander added.
Jamaran -- a multi-purpose warship that blends anti-submarine capabilities with defense systems against surface and air attacks -- became operational earlier this year.
Iran has so far launched different classes of advanced submarines including Qaem, Nahang and Ghadir.
Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/143564.html
2m:38s
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Movie - Imam Al-Hasan Al-Mujtaba (a.s) - 01 of 18 - Arabic
A movie about the life of second Imam. Imam Al-Hasan (a.s) Ibn e Ali (a.s) Ibn e Abi Talib (a.s). May our souls be...
A movie about the life of second Imam. Imam Al-Hasan (a.s) Ibn e Ali (a.s) Ibn e Abi Talib (a.s). May our souls be sacrificed for our beloved Imam (a.s). My oppressed Imam (a.s) suffered a lot because his companions did not help him the way they should have. May we be able to help the Imam of our time - Imam Al Mehdi (a.t.f.s) - and not leave him alone.
75m:49s
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A student falls sick on the way to Karbala | When He Calls | pt.5/8 |...
Episode 5 of the ground-breaking new film following the journey of five students as they make their way to the Holy land of Karbala.
The...
Episode 5 of the ground-breaking new film following the journey of five students as they make their way to the Holy land of Karbala.
The journey continues. Due to the harsh weather, the food and the physical exertion, one of the students falls sick and they have barely completed half the walk. Despite their exhaustion from walking all day in the heat of Iraq amongst the bustling crowds, the students manage to rise for their prayers.
Will they be able to continue their journey while one of their friends has fallen ill? Will they leave him behind? Or will the blessings of Allah, for the sake of Imam Husayn, spur them on?
This episode captures the tiresome walk as they students continue on their journey, as well as the profound selflessness of the Iraqi people in their attempts to make the foreign pilgrims feel welcome.
What is it about the ancient city of Karbala that captivates Muslims? What makes approximately 30 million people travel there each year?
The ziarat [pilgrimage] to Karbala is considered a sacred journey for Muslims across the world, especially the followers of Ahlulbayt (as).
Every week, Islamic Pulse will be releasing two episodes of ‘When He Calls’ by the will of God, so stay tuned!
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Kids Cartoon - PINGU - Pingus Curling Game - All Languages
Robby, who has a proper curling stone, invites Pingu to have a game with him. Pingu doesn\'t have a curling stone, so he gets his hot water bottle...
Robby, who has a proper curling stone, invites Pingu to have a game with him. Pingu doesn\'t have a curling stone, so he gets his hot water bottle to use instead, which Mother is using while she is asleep, he sneaks up trying to not wake up Mother and gets the bottle successfully. On their first go, Robby gets his the farthest, on the second Robby again gets his the farthest, but both finish up near a neighbour who is sitting on an ice block reading, and he tells them to leave him alone. They swap stones, and play back the way they came. Robby wins this as well. Pingu is annoyed, and plays the stone as hard as he can. Unfortunately, it goes toward the neighbour who is reading and knocks the seat from under him, depositing him on the ice on his backside! Robby laughs; Pingu gets sympathic. He is understandably rather furious at this and goes to tell Pingu off, but Robby tries to pull him back. This annoys him even more and he follows Pingu home. Pingu goes indoors and hides inside his toy box, while Mother is ironing a towel, but she is not paying attention and burns it, much to her dismay. The neighbour bangs on the door and comes in. The neighbour explains to Pingu\'s Mother what happened, and Mother gets Pingu to apologize. Pingu is afraid to apologize because of how mean he is, however Mother comforts Pingu and Pingu apologizes to the neighbour, and he and Pingu make up and shake hands. The neighbour and Pingu then have a game. Pingu gets his the farthest because his jumps over the other!, much to the neighbour\'s annoyance
5m:16s
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