In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

(Arabic prayer)

I congratulate all of you dear audience, dear guests, the ambassadors of Islamic countries who are present here, the esteemed guests of the Unity Week and the entire Iranian nation and the entire Islamic Ummah and all freedom-seekers of the world on the auspicious and blessed birth anniversary of the Honorable Prophet of Islam as well as the auspicious birth anniversary of that Honorable One’s scion, Hadhrat Ja’far ibn Mohammad as-Sadeq (Peace Be upon Him and His Forefathers). I hope that this day [and] this birth anniversary would cause all of us to become more aware of the duty and the path that is in front of us at the present time due to the blessed birth of the Prophet, and we must tread. 
The blessed being of the Prophet was a blessing; [he] was a blessing for the entire world. This blessing will extend to the followers of that Honorable One and [also to] those people who accept his path and his guidance; they become “blessed” as well, [and] are covered by the mercy of God. [As the Quran has] said, “So, I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give Zakah [an Islamic tax] and those who believe in Our verses… Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel….” [Therefore,] those people who follow this Honorable One, move after him, [and] accept his guidance, are covered by the divine mercy; this is the divine promise and there is no doubt about it. The Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah have gone through many ups and downs, but they have availed themselves of the divine mercy in this world and the Hereafter only when they have followed [the Prophet’s example]. [As the Quran says:] “So, they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light, which was sent down with him, it is those who will be the successful.” [Of course,] this is true about those who would follow suit with that Honorable One.
The Revered Prophet brought clean things for the general public, [and] brought for the general public freedom from all forms of captivity. What the Prophet gave the humanity as a gift is not special to a certain group to the exclusion of other groups; it belongs to the entire humanity. Only those people avail themselves of it who follow him and comply with what he says. These chains that are put on human’s necks and hands and feet and prevent them from moving [freely and] from flying, take them away from spirituality, and make their lives [a] bitter [experience], the prophet of Islam removes these [various] forms of captivity from people’s hands and feet. What are these forms of captivity? These various forms of captivity include being captive to the oppression of [world] powers, [and] the arrogance of the arrogant ones, [in addition to] the existence of class divide, [as well as] oppressive and arrogant forms of aristocracy; these are [various forms of captivity for humans]. The Prophet opposed these [forms of captivity], [and] fought against these. Nations can continue on this path if they stand fast [and] if they resist; [and you have no doubt that nations] can overcome [world] powers. Yes, at the present time, major plots are being hatched by the powerful of the world against the Islamic Ummah, but these plots can be resisted [and] these [plots] can be rendered ineffective.
Prophet Moses (Peace Be upon Our Prophet and Him) told the Almighty God that “Our Lord, indeed You have given Pharaoh and his establishment splendor and wealth in the worldly life, our Lord, that they may lead [men] astray from Your way. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment;" [in fact, Moses] cursed [Pharaoh]. In the face of Prophet Moses, Pharaoh was a superior power; decorations, properties, potentialities, arms, money [and] everything was in his control. Moses was empty-handed; [therefore,] he implored on the Almighty God, [and] beseeched [for His assistance]. In response, the Almighty God said, “Your supplication has been answered." [He said,] ‘I have answered the supplication of the two of you – Moses and [his brother] Aaron – [and] granted [your demand], but there are conditions: “So, remain on the right course and follow not the way of those who do not know." [God advised them to] stand fast [and] resist. Resistance is one way in the field of military war, one way in the field of political war, [and] another way in the field of battle of wills; resistance is necessary in all these [fields]. If nations and the elect and the elite do not forget about resistance, victory will certainly be theirs.
Yes, at the present time, [enemies] have formed a front in the face of the Islamic Ummah. America, the [global] arrogance and their proxies, Zionism, the Zionist regime, reactionary [regimes], greedy persons of the world, [as well as] those among Muslims who are given to carnal pleasures and are dependent on those powers, all of these have formed a front against Islam [and] against the path of the Prophet. [As Moses said to God,] “You have given Pharaoh and his establishment splendor and wealth in the worldly life.” Yes, at the present time, these [powers] are [acting like] Pharaoh; today, America is Pharaoh; today, the Zionist regime is Pharaoh; the [real] Pharaoh is the same proxies of these [global powers] in the region who want to pit Muslims against one another in a gradual manner and wage war in the region, and this is America’s plan at the present time. Everybody must pay attention to this, [and] must know this. American politicians themselves have admitted willingly or unwillingly in their analyses [and] in their remarks that ‘we must start a war in the West Asia region, must create division, [and] pit these [regional countries] against one another’. [They are planning to do this] because [in this way] the Zionist regime would find a safe margin [and] be comfortable; because these [regional countries] would not be able to progress; [and] because the body of the Islamic Ummah would shed so much blood that it would become listless, become weak, [and] not be able to resist. What should be done in the face of this [plan]? [As the Quran says, we must] “remain on the right course and follow not the way of those who do not know;” we must not follow the path of ignorant people.
At the present time, there are unfortunately rulers in this region and elites in this region, who dance to America’s tune! They do what they [Americans] want; [and] work for them against the Islamic Ummah and against Islam! These are detrimental to Islam! We have no motivation for antagonizing Muslim states; we believe in unity, [and] we are interested in unity. These days, [are] the days of the Unity Week. The Unity Week was announced by our honorable Imam [Khomeini]; [and its goal is to foster] unity among various Islamic sects. And we praise God that the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation have been able to create unity and brotherhood in practice, [and] among themselves and their Muslim brethren from various Islamic sects. We have no problem with this. However, there are people who are opposed to this move, which seeks unity and this move, which is interested in unity and has made unity its goal, who have decided to create division and start war; this is their policy and they are following up on this goal.
Well, what should we got to do against these [opponents]? What have we got to do against these people who follow America’s policy in this region? Our language is one of advice. Yes, ignorant people in some of these [regional] states say things about the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, which cannot be taken seriously. We are not going to answer their nonsensical remarks; we are bent on giving advice, [and] we give advice. These steps that some governments in the region are taking at the present time in service of America, this is to their detriment; [in fact,] they are destroying themselves. The enemy will do whatever it can. They launched these Takfiri groups in our region thinking that they would start a rsectarian war, but the Almighty God punched them in the mouth and no sectarian war was started and it will not start [in the future either]. We resisted those who had been incited by the enemy, stood fast and, praise be to God, we succeeded as well, but their problem was that they served the enemy as mercenaries; there was no religious war, no tribal war, [and] no sectarian war [in this region].
The enemy wanted this; the enemy wanted to start a war between Shias and Sunnis, however, [as a famous prayer says,] “praise be to God who has made silly people our enemies,” [and indeed] the Almighty God has made silly people our enemies. The number of Sunni Muslims who Daesh killed and annihilated in this region was more than the number of people whom they killed from Shias! They wanted to start a war between Sunnis and Shias. [However,] the Almighty God punched them in the mouth. Our confrontation with Takfiri forces was [in fact] confrontation with oppression; was confrontation with the distortion of Islam; [and] was a fight against a savage group distant from Islamic ethics and Islamic civil code and the truth of Islam, [whose members] set people on fire alive, skinned people alive, took Muslim families into captivity and were immersed in political corruption, sexual corruption, financial corruption, practical corruption, and all [other] kinds of corruption. These [Takfiri terrorists] were agents of America, were agents of Zionism, [and] their remnants, wherever they are, are agents of America and agents of Zionism. This is a reality, [and] we stood against them. If the Islamic world wants to achieve dignity, it must not lose unity and unification and unanimity. If the Islamic world wants to gain power and dignity, it must stand against Zionism.
At the present time, the issue of Palestine tops the list of political issues of the Islamic world and the Islamic Ummah. Everybody is duty-bound to defend Palestine and liberation of Palestine and saving the Palestinian nation, and strive toward it and work for it. [Of course,] the enemy has been grounded in this area as well; you [must] know this. Now that they claim that they want to declare al-Quds as the capital of the Zionist regime, this is out of their hopelessness, [and] out of their helplessness. Their hands are tied in the case of Palestine, [and] by taking this step, without a doubt, they will be dealt an even bigger blow and the Islamic world will stand against them. Without a doubt, the enemy cannot achieve the success that it pursues in the case of Palestine and Palestine will be liberated; there is no doubt that Palestine will be liberated. Perhaps a little later, [or] a litter sooner, but there is no doubt that this will happen and the struggle of the Islamic Ummah for the liberation of Palestine, God willing, will bear fruit.
Praise be to God, the Iranian nation has been able through its valor, through its faith, through its insight, [and] through its steadfastness to go through difficult ways and to pass through many hardships. Everybody [must] know [this], both our friends across the world [must] know and our enemies [must] know as well. In these ways, which we have passed during these 38 years after victory of the revolution, there have been difficulties that could have disabled nations, [but] these problems have not been able to bring the Iranian nation to its knees; and whatever problems that they will cause us after this will certainly be less numerous and less significant than previous problems, and the ability and power of the Iranian nation for facing problems is much more than the past. We will defeat [all] problems through the divine assistance. The enemy cannot defeat the Iranian nation and make it backtrack [on its positions] and we will be able, God willing, to overcome all problems and show the Islamic dignity to all Muslim nations and make the flag of the Islamic dignity, God willing, fly higher and be more dignified [than ever before].
May the Almighty God send down His mercy on the purified soul of the honorable Imam, who opened this path in front of us, and God willing, enrapture the purified souls of our dear martyrs, who laid down their lives on this path, and help all of us be able to fulfill in the best possible manner all that is our duty and all that is expected from us at this juncture.

Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings