The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, spoke directly to the people of Iran on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on July 31, 2020. His speech was broadcast live on Iran’s national TV.
Pointing to the large-scale demonstrations against injustice, which have been witnessed in the US in the last months, Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, stated that the main enemy of the US government is not the Islamic Republic of Iran. Rather, it is the people of that country, who will ultimately destroy the current political system in the US.”
In his televised speech on the occasion of the auspicious Eid al-Adha, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “Current events in the US are like a fire under ashes that has flamed up. Even if they extinguish it, it will blaze up again and burn down the current US regime, because the politico-economic philosophy of that system is wrong and condemned to destruction.”
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the US’s problems are much bigger than those of Iran and that they are not comparable at all. He mentioned that astonishing class inequalities, racial discrimination, economic problems and a high rate of unemployment, problems in managing the issue of the Coronavirus, and the poor management of social issues - which have led to many cases of cruelty, murder and torture by the US police - are some of these problems. He said, “Today, the US is abhorred and isolated throughout the world.”
He stressed that the repeated statements of US politicians against Iran indicate their confusion, adding, “US management is suffering from confusion and bewilderment. The Americans are trying to find an enemy. That is why they sometimes mention Iran, and at other times, they mention Russia and China. However, at the present time, the US has no enemy bigger than its own nation, and this very enemy will bring that regime to its knees.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added, “The sanctions imposed by the Americans against the Iranian nation are undoubtedly a crime. And these are crimes against a nation. Although they appear to be against a political system, they are actually against a nation.”
Ayatollah Khamenei believes that the enemies pursue short-term, mid-term and long-term goals in imposing sanctions against Iran, “Their short term goal is to make people tired. When people are tired and perplexed, they will stand up against the government. As you know, they said last year – and they are saying it this year as well – that a hot summer awaits the Iranian government. This means that the people will come out and stand up against the system. However, they themselves were afflicted by a hot summer.”
He explained, “Their mid-term goal in imposing sanctions is to prevent the country from progressing. Primarily, they want to prevent our scientific progress.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added that their long-term goal is to drag the country and the administration into bankruptcy, “Destroying the economy of the country is another goal that they pursue because if the economy of a country collapses, it will not be able to survive.”
Ayatollah Khamenei added, “The sanctions pursue an additional goal as well. They want to disconnect the relations between the Islamic Republic and the Resistance Forces in the region. This is because they know that Iran will help these forces as much as they can.”
He stated that the news coming from Western media indicates that the massive pressures exerted through sanctions and their maximum pressure policy have failed to produce the results they wanted.
The Leader emphasized that negotiating with the US is harmful, “This is what the US is saying today, ‘You should completely abandon your nuclear industry. You should decrease your defense and missile capabilities to one tenth of what they are at the present time, and you should become defenseless. You should also abandon your authority in the region and let go of it forever.’ If we agree to abandon these things, they will not be satisfied and will ask for new things.”
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed that sanctions are definitely curable, but the cure is not to retreat. He continued on to say, “The only cure for sanctions is reliance on internal capabilities. We should preserve all present capabilities and strive to find new ones. We definitely have many capabilities. Therefore, we must rely on and revive them. We should also bring the youth out onto the scene to participate.”
Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “I congratulate all Muslims, the dear Iranian nation and all followers of Abrahamic religions on the occasion of the auspicious Eid al-Adha, which is a great historic event for all the pious people in the world.”