Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei issued an important statement Wednesday to the world of Islam in which he strongly condemned the Qana tragedy and the ensuing silence of the United Nations and the international bodies that profess to champion human rights.
The statement in full is as follows.
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
The tragic disaster in Qana has made our hearts overflown with pain and grief.
It has made us and other Muslim nations as well as all freedom-loving peoples of the world grief-stricken and angry.
Why and for what reason the lives of those innocent children, those fragile and exhausted bodies, and the small and frightened hearts ended in such a cruel manner? Why were the distressed hearts of their mothers and fathers so cruelly wounded by the bloodthirsty Zionists and their bigheaded and arrogant American supporters? What is the logic and rationale behind twenty days of relentless bombing of Lebanon, twenty days of atrocities on a massive scale, destruction of a country and killings of its civilian population, and the disaster such as the massacre in Qana, to make the world that claims to be civilized, the United Nations, governments and organizations that profess to be advocates of human rights to remain so callously cold and uninterested? How long should the Islamic world tolerate existence of the scheming and evil Zionist regime? How long should the Islamic governments allow war-monger and arrogant America to have a free hand in this sensitive region?
The events in Lebanon have exposed the true nature of American human rights, and have revealed the kind of Middle East the American government seeks after.
Today it has become clear to all that attack on Lebanon was premeditated and part of a joint American-Zionist stratagem and is a major step toward domination over the Middle East and the Islamic world.
Bush and his American cohorts share the same degree of guilt in the disasters brought upon Lebanon as the evil and wicked Zionist regime. And the silence of the United Nations and many of the Western governments and above all the support by some governments, such as the notorious British government, make them accountable and partners in crime in varying degrees in contemporary and future judgment of humanity and in the Day of Reckoning and the Divine Judgment Day.
More than ever before the Muslim nations loathe America. Their governments, even those that are constrained because of political considerations, loathe and oppose the American government because of so much outrageous and arrogant aggression. The American regime must expect a hard slap on the face and the crushing fist of Muslim ummah because of its support for the crimes and the Zionist criminals and its blatant violation of the rights of Muslim nations.
The resistance of the people of Lebanon and the heroic struggles of Hezbollah and power arising from their faith, endurance and trust in God is another sign of awakening in the Islamic world and a mark of their firm resolve agaisnt animosities and hostilities. The iron fist of the faithful, brave and innocent youth of Lebanon has landed on the hideous face of the aggressors and has broken the glassy shield of their conceited and drunken vanity.
The strategic policy of America is premised upon creating crisis, tension and war in the region. They must understand that as they expand the circle of insecurity in the region, the nations will become angrier at them and the world will be less safe for them.
The aggressive conduct of America and Israel will revitalize more than ever the spirit of resistance in the Islamic world and will make further clear the value of jihad.
The Islamic world and the Muslim youth in all Islamic nations should also realize that the only way to stand against the savage wolf of Zionism and the aggression of the Great Satan is by dedicated resistance.
Surrender and capitulation before the adventurist and cunning American authorities will only add to their greed and blatant defiance and make things more difficult for the nations. If Lebanon had caved in and surrendered to the aggression of the Zionists, and if the combatant youth of Hezbollah and the innocent people of the southern Lebanon had chosen not to put their lives on the line in this sacred defense, long-lasting suffering and ever-increasing humiliation would have threatened the entire nation of Lebanon and similarly the rest of the region would have been embroiled as part of the aftermath of these aggressive attacks.
Today Hezbollah is on the frontline of the sacred defense of the Muslim ummah and all nations of the region.
To the Zionist enemy religion, faith, mosque, church, Shiite or Sunni make no difference. It is a racist, aggressor and brutal regime. If it finds no obstacle on its way, it will spare no crime and show no mercy toward any group or nations.
The nations of the region, all Islamic sects and followers of different faiths in Lebanon and in all Islamic countries must join hands of unity and not allow their division to be a source of strength for the enemy.
The Islamic Iran regards it its duty to stand against bully and aggression of America and the evil designs of the Zionist regime. We will stand by all oppressed nations, especially the beloved people of Lebanon and the combatanat nation of Palestine.
America, practically a partner in the heinous crimes committed in Lebanon by its open support for the killings of civilian population of Lebanon, open opposition to ceasefire and by providing armaments, financial assistance and political support to the Zionist aggressors, now intends to impose further tyranny on the people and government of Lebanon by imposing its own conditions.
Without any doubt, the resistant nation and those brave combatants will not succumb to this tyranny and will choose their way only on the basis of their interests.
I offer my condolences to the dear people, the tireless Mujahids and the political authorities and figures of Lebanon on the sufferings brought upon the people, specially Qana great tragedy, and declare the sympathy of the great Iranian nation with them.
Greetings to the people of Lebanon, salutaion to the victorious Hezbollah, and hail to the valiant and faithful Arab leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.
The Almighty Allah says: So patiently persevere, for verily the promise of Allah is true, nor let those shake thy firmness, who have (themselves) no certainty of faith (Rome, 60).
Sayed Ali Khamenei
Mordad 10, 1385 (August 1, 2006)
The statement in full is as follows.
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
The tragic disaster in Qana has made our hearts overflown with pain and grief.
It has made us and other Muslim nations as well as all freedom-loving peoples of the world grief-stricken and angry.
Why and for what reason the lives of those innocent children, those fragile and exhausted bodies, and the small and frightened hearts ended in such a cruel manner? Why were the distressed hearts of their mothers and fathers so cruelly wounded by the bloodthirsty Zionists and their bigheaded and arrogant American supporters? What is the logic and rationale behind twenty days of relentless bombing of Lebanon, twenty days of atrocities on a massive scale, destruction of a country and killings of its civilian population, and the disaster such as the massacre in Qana, to make the world that claims to be civilized, the United Nations, governments and organizations that profess to be advocates of human rights to remain so callously cold and uninterested? How long should the Islamic world tolerate existence of the scheming and evil Zionist regime? How long should the Islamic governments allow war-monger and arrogant America to have a free hand in this sensitive region?
The events in Lebanon have exposed the true nature of American human rights, and have revealed the kind of Middle East the American government seeks after.
Today it has become clear to all that attack on Lebanon was premeditated and part of a joint American-Zionist stratagem and is a major step toward domination over the Middle East and the Islamic world.
Bush and his American cohorts share the same degree of guilt in the disasters brought upon Lebanon as the evil and wicked Zionist regime. And the silence of the United Nations and many of the Western governments and above all the support by some governments, such as the notorious British government, make them accountable and partners in crime in varying degrees in contemporary and future judgment of humanity and in the Day of Reckoning and the Divine Judgment Day.
More than ever before the Muslim nations loathe America. Their governments, even those that are constrained because of political considerations, loathe and oppose the American government because of so much outrageous and arrogant aggression. The American regime must expect a hard slap on the face and the crushing fist of Muslim ummah because of its support for the crimes and the Zionist criminals and its blatant violation of the rights of Muslim nations.
The resistance of the people of Lebanon and the heroic struggles of Hezbollah and power arising from their faith, endurance and trust in God is another sign of awakening in the Islamic world and a mark of their firm resolve agaisnt animosities and hostilities. The iron fist of the faithful, brave and innocent youth of Lebanon has landed on the hideous face of the aggressors and has broken the glassy shield of their conceited and drunken vanity.
The strategic policy of America is premised upon creating crisis, tension and war in the region. They must understand that as they expand the circle of insecurity in the region, the nations will become angrier at them and the world will be less safe for them.
The aggressive conduct of America and Israel will revitalize more than ever the spirit of resistance in the Islamic world and will make further clear the value of jihad.
The Islamic world and the Muslim youth in all Islamic nations should also realize that the only way to stand against the savage wolf of Zionism and the aggression of the Great Satan is by dedicated resistance.
Surrender and capitulation before the adventurist and cunning American authorities will only add to their greed and blatant defiance and make things more difficult for the nations. If Lebanon had caved in and surrendered to the aggression of the Zionists, and if the combatant youth of Hezbollah and the innocent people of the southern Lebanon had chosen not to put their lives on the line in this sacred defense, long-lasting suffering and ever-increasing humiliation would have threatened the entire nation of Lebanon and similarly the rest of the region would have been embroiled as part of the aftermath of these aggressive attacks.
Today Hezbollah is on the frontline of the sacred defense of the Muslim ummah and all nations of the region.
To the Zionist enemy religion, faith, mosque, church, Shiite or Sunni make no difference. It is a racist, aggressor and brutal regime. If it finds no obstacle on its way, it will spare no crime and show no mercy toward any group or nations.
The nations of the region, all Islamic sects and followers of different faiths in Lebanon and in all Islamic countries must join hands of unity and not allow their division to be a source of strength for the enemy.
The Islamic Iran regards it its duty to stand against bully and aggression of America and the evil designs of the Zionist regime. We will stand by all oppressed nations, especially the beloved people of Lebanon and the combatanat nation of Palestine.
America, practically a partner in the heinous crimes committed in Lebanon by its open support for the killings of civilian population of Lebanon, open opposition to ceasefire and by providing armaments, financial assistance and political support to the Zionist aggressors, now intends to impose further tyranny on the people and government of Lebanon by imposing its own conditions.
Without any doubt, the resistant nation and those brave combatants will not succumb to this tyranny and will choose their way only on the basis of their interests.
I offer my condolences to the dear people, the tireless Mujahids and the political authorities and figures of Lebanon on the sufferings brought upon the people, specially Qana great tragedy, and declare the sympathy of the great Iranian nation with them.
Greetings to the people of Lebanon, salutaion to the victorious Hezbollah, and hail to the valiant and faithful Arab leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.
The Almighty Allah says: So patiently persevere, for verily the promise of Allah is true, nor let those shake thy firmness, who have (themselves) no certainty of faith (Rome, 60).
Sayed Ali Khamenei
Mordad 10, 1385 (August 1, 2006)