In a meeting with thousands of people from the city of Qom, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appreciated and commended the huge, vigorous, timely and coherent movement of the nation in recent days and expounded on the various dimensions and layers of the enemy plots to exploit the rightful demands of the people. In key remarks to the Americans, the Iranian officials and the people, he stressed, “Resistance and the battle between ‘the nation and the enemies of the nation,’ ‘Iran and the enemies of Iran,’ ‘Islam and the enemies of Islam’ will continue like in the past 40 years; however, the spite of the enemy should not distract the officials from the weaknesses and the woes of the people, particularly the lower classes.”

At the beginning of his remarks, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution commemorated the anniversary of the January 9, 1978 uprising and described the people of Qom as brave, brimming with motivation and hope and committed to the undeviating course of the Revolution. He said, “As in the previous years, the people of Qom took part in December 30 rallies, but when the recent developments occurred, they created that great movement four days later, namely January 3.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the assertion of the Iranian nation, particularly the youth, over the past 40 years has been “resistance against bullying and refusing to submit to [world] powers.” He added, “The Iranian nation still pursues its lofty goals with the same rationale but it is more motivated and spirited than before and the revolutionary youths of the country outnumber those at the outset of the Revolution.”  

He described the events of the recent days as clear proof for this spirit of the Iranian nation, saying, “Since December 30, when the fireworks spectacle and acts of mischief began, the Iranian nation began their movement across the country, but when they saw that the enemy mercenaries are not relenting, the rallies continued successively and every day.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed, “These rallies are not regular incidents and this huge, coherent, and popular movement with such order, insight, passion and enthusiasm against enemy plots is unique across the world.” 

Describing the ceaseless movement of the nation, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “This is the battle of ‘the nation vs. the anti-[Iranian] nation,’ ‘Iran vs. anti-Iran,’ and ‘Islam vs. anti-Islam,’ which will also continue henceforth.” 

He reiterated, “Of course, this battle, steadfastness and resistance has not distracted the nation from the other aspects of life, such as scientific progress, the provision of security and peace.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said “the Islamic Revolution” is the reason behind all hostilities and plots against the Iranian nation and reiterated, “All of the futile moves of the enemy in these 40 years are in fact a countermove to the Revolution, because the Revolution uprooted the political influence of the enemy.”  
 
He said, “This time too, through their steadfastness like a national and strong bulwark , the Iranian nation with all might showed the US, the UK and London-dwellers that you did not succeed and will not succeed after this either.”   

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the billions of dollars of investment and years of network-building and mercenary-raising  by the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation to create problems from within the country and added, “Incumbent US officials, whose naivety is evident in political matters, gave themselves away this time and admitted to network-building and mercenary-rearing and paid for the expenses of this scheme by cheating the vassal Persian Gulf governments so that they may recycle the trash on the run from Iran and bring them into the arena again.” 

Pointing to the bid by the enemies in recent years to launch thousands of cyberspace networks and then of television channels, create assassination and bombing squads and dispatch them inside the borders, and vastly bombard the nation with lies, slander and rumors, reiterating, “All of these efforts were made so that they may be able to change the mentality of this nation, particularly the youth, but its outcome was the beloved martyr Hojaji and other martyrs who sacrificed their lives in defense of the Revolution.”     

He added, “In order to infiltrate some sectors, the enemies even enticed some individuals [to their bidding] and they also directly entered the fray themselves and everyone saw the meddling of US officials over the past few days, but they still did not succeed and failed.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed his sincere gratitude to the Iranian nation, saying, “I thank this nation not once, but a thousand times; the Iranian nation is a truly mature, insightful, loyal, diligent, time-wise and moment-conscious nation and knows when to make a move.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed, “The enemies receive these messages and although they do not acknowledge it in their propaganda and portray hundreds of troublemakers as thousands and the multi-million-strong movement of the people as a small group, policymakers understand this mobilization and its messages.”  

He added, “With this massive movement, the Iranian nation did its job and put fear into the hearts of the enemy’s policymakers and perfected its insight and motivation.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the assorted analyses in the past days by individuals and parties in newspapers and on cyberspace networks, saying, “All of these analyses had a correct common point and that was that there should be a distinction between the honest and rightful demands of the people and the savage and destructive moves of a certain group; and the demands and requests of the people must be followed upon.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated, “A number of people remaining deprived of a right and gathering somewhere to protest is one issue, but some taking advantage of this gathering and desecrating the Quran and Islam and insulting the Iranian flag and torching mosques is another issue.” 

He added, “There have always been popular protests and demands and there are some now; in this recent past year, a number of people in some cities held gatherings in front of the Majlis because of the issues with [investment] funds or some financial institutions and no one bears any opposition or animosity toward them and these requests must be heard and addressed and answered as much as possible.”

Elucidating the aspects of the recent developments, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Intelligence evidence and clues show that these events had been preplanned and a triangle [of forces] had been active in their development.” 

He added, “The US and Zionists, who hatched the plot and worked on the scheme several months, constituted one angle of this triangle and their plan was that the movement would begin from small towns and reach the capital.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “The second angle of this triangle was one of the rich governments of the Persian Gulf, which provided the funds for this plot, and the third angle was the lackeys who were linked to the murderous organization of the Traitors (Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization) and they had been prepared for months.”

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the calls to protest, reiterating, “In these calls, the slogan of “No to high prices” had been mentioned, which was an attractive slogan to draw some people onto the scene after themselves.” 

At the beginning some people went along with this slogan, but as soon as the people saw the change in the objective and slogans, they separated their ranks.

In this regard he added, “After separating their ranks, the same people who had participated in the gathering of ‘No to high prices’ on Thursday and Friday entered the fray in the huge Dey 9 gathering and shouted slogans against the US and Traitors.”

Continuing his elucidations on the recent developments, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to some of the statements in the media of the enemies and said, “Two command posts had been set up for organization and operation in Iran’s neighborhood; one of these bases was for directing the operations in cyberspace and the second base was for directing the riots and both bases were commanded by the Americans and Zionists and they believed victory was a certainty for them.”

Ayatollah Khamenei thanked God Almighty for assigning Iran’s enemies from among fools, stressing, “Despite the people’s successive counterbids, the enemies still do not know the Iranian nation and have not understood the meaning of this solid dam of national faith and courage.”

He said the recent rants of the US officials are a result of their seething rage and recent failure, saying, “The say the Iranian government is afraid of its own people! No. Iran’s government has been born of this people and the Islamic establishment has been standing up to you with the backing of this same people.” 

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “They say the Iranian government fears the power of the US; in response we say that if feared you, how did we kick you out of Iran in the 1350s (roughly 1970s) and drove you out of the entire region in the 1390s (roughly 2010s).” 

He pointed to another instance of the drivel by US officials about their concern regarding the manner of dealing with protesters and added, “Are you not ashamed? Over the past year 800 American people have been killed at the hands of the police. You did everything you could against the people on the case of Occupy Wall Street uprising and killed the people with every allegation and excuse. Now are you expressing concern about the Iranian people?”    

Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the expression of concern by malicious UK officials, saying, “Recently, in the case of attacks on UK Muslims and Muslims defending themselves, a UK judge handed down very heavy sentences; now, how come the officials of such a country turned into protesters’ sympathizers?”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said “overthrowing the Islamic Republic establishment” is the clear goal of the Americans and pointed to the efforts of the previous US government to conceal this objective in its stances and the letters it sent to the Leader of the Revolution, saying, “Of course, their attitude was that of subversion and the incumbent government is declaring this openly and without any consideration.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said bids to eliminate the Iranians’ main means of national might are the chief approach and tool of the Americans for the realization of “the overthrow” and added, “‘Popular sentiments and public opinion being in tune with the government’ and ‘the youth’s faith and motivation’ are among the main means of national might and for this same reason the enemies seek to undermine and eliminate them.”  

“Missile defense might” and “powerful presence in the region” were among the other means of the Iranians’ national might which the Leader of the Revolution recalled. He added, “The US does not dare mention negotiation with us, but when a European country says we want to negotiate with Iran on its regional presence, it should be asked ‘why are you present in the region?’”  

The Leader of the Revolution later highlighted three fundamental points in an address to the US governing body: “First: On recent events, you met with failure, and if you repeat this in the future, you will fail again; second: In these few days Iran suffered damage; this will not go unavenged and third: this individual, who according to the Americans themselves is mentally and psychologically unstable must know that these staged madness will not remain unanswered.”  

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the establishment resisting against bullies and safeguarding the interests of the nation and country, adding, “Those outside or regrettably inside the country who want to socialize and be linked with the Americans must hear these remarks and know that the establishment of the Islamic Republic will by the grace of God eliminate all the problems.”    

Another part of the remarks of the Leader of the Revolution was an address to the country’s officials and political activists and elements. Ayatollah Khamenei said the remarks are also directed at himself and making an important point said, “The enemy involvement in the recent issues is not an analysis and was stated based on intelligence and news, but this should not make us neglect our flaws and problems.”

The Leader of the Revolution stressed, “Like a fly, the enemies perch on the wounds resulting from problems and weaknesses; therefore, you should cure the wounds and not let them occur, because if we do not have domestic woes, foreign propaganda and misinformation would not be effective and the Americans would not be able to do a damn thing either.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described “defending the rights of the people and endeavoring to resolve their problems” as the responsibility of all the officials and added, “Some strata of the people, particularly the ‘poor classes’ are under pressure and all of the efforts of the officials must be expended on solving the problems.”

“Identification of the problems of the society, concentration on resolving fundamental issues and division of labor to eliminate them” was another important recommendation of the Leader of the Revolution to the officials of the three branches of the government.

He pointed to the several meetings with the country’s top managers and officials about social maladies and the bid by some officials to reduce some of these harms, adding, “Everyone should know that we have no problem that cannot be solved or knot that cannot be untied in the country, but we have to be more prepared, alert and try and struggle further and more accurately.”  

“Unity and rapport” was another strong recommendation of the Leader of the Revolution to the officials.

He added, “In these circumstances that the obstinate enemy makes threats and seeks to create problems, officials and political bodies must create ‘synergy’ and avoid analyzing and undermining each other.”

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the damage and harm inflicted upon the people and Iran in 1388 (2008) due to lawlessness by some elements and added, “Submission to the law, as always, is my recommendation, emphasis and demand of the officials and apparatuses.” 

The Leader of the Revolution described “fair criticism and admonition” as necessary and useful, adding however, “Criticism and admonition should not be turned into a means for rumor and misrepresentation through tale-telling, exaggeration and unreasonable generalization.”  

He added, “The existence of a few corrupt managers or judges should not be extended to thousands of honorable executive mangers or judges and dishearten the beloved youths of our homeland just as one or two representatives, among the nearly 300 representatives, who  comport themselves in a different way, should not be generalized to all of the representatives.”

The Leader of the Revolution described as imperative “focus by the country’s officials,” particularly executive officials on key issues particularly employment and production and the resolution of the issue of imports and added, “We have repeatedly given notice to executive officials on these issues.”    

On the same issue, he added, “Some complain that why doesn’t the Leadership issue reprimands; whereas I am aware of the fundamental issues and the problems of the people through public reports and other reports and I am constantly giving notices such that these public admonitions are not one tenths of the warnings and outbursts at officials in closed-door meetings.”

Ayatollah Khamenei once again stressed upon the need for officials to attend to the issues of employment and boosting domestic production, saying, “Unemployment is the main root of most corruption and it should be resolved by boosting production; indeed, wild extravagance will not solve the issue and fortunately, government officials are busy working in these areas.” 

In another part of his speech, the Leader of the Revolution thanked security, police, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and Basij officials, adding, “On the recent issue, there should be discrimination between the youth and teenager who has said or done something under the influence of cyberspace hysteria and those who are among the lackeys of the US and those hostile to the Islamic Republic.”

The Leader of the Revolution added, “Those who became involved because of hysterics, whether university students or not, should talked to and enlightened, but those who are the lackey’s of Traitors and kill people are a different issue.” 

The final part of the remarks of the Leader of the Revolution was directly addressed to the people.

He said the decisive, unassuming and insightful turnout of the beloved nation in times of the country’s need will bring the satisfaction of God Almighty and added, “In all of the past 40 years and wherever necessary in elections, rallies and other scenes required, the people have stood tall and brought honor upon Iran.”

The Leader of the Revolution pointed to rumor-spreading as one of the key tools of the enemies and urged the people, “Do not believe any issue until you have seen good documents and rational and reasonable content and do not publish and spread enemy’s rumors and other baseless statements.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei added, “The people should know that the country’s officials are not asleep and trying and struggling as hard as they can; of course there are also shortcomings and faults in some places.”  

He pointed to the current trend of resolving some problems, saying, “The settlement of some other issues is time-consuming; furthermore, nearly all officials are directly or indirectly elected by the people themselves and they should step up endeavors for resolving the issues through innovation, up-to-dateness and mental and physical readiness.”

On the topic of the election of the officials by the vote of the people, Ayatollah Khamenei added, “I sincerely and truly believe in religious democracy and that is why I will help anyone the people vote for;  just as I have done this about all administrations, including this administration, I will continue to do so.”  

At the conclusion of his remarks, Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated, “I am optimistic about the very bright future of the country and I know that God has willed to elevate this nation to the highest of statuses and with the grace of God this will unfold.”