Supreme Leader’s Speech on the Occasion of Imam Khomeini’s 22nd Demise Anniversary

Supreme Leader’s Speech on the Occasion of Imam Khomeini’s 22nd Demise Anniversary
04/06/2011

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 4, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the occasion of Imam Khomeini's (r.a.) 22nd demise anniversary.

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 the Holy Prophet, the most noble descendant of Adam, our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.

God's greetings and mercy be upon the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam and the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution. Today the Iranian nation commemorates the demise anniversary of our magnanimous Imam once again with the aim of following his path and his school of thought. Each year the 14th of Khordad provides us with an opportunity to introduce a new dimension of the Imam's pure life and his sacred and auspicious path. This year the 14th of Khordad has coincided with the first day of the holy month of Rajab. Rajab is the month of divine mercy and blessings. The Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) has been quoted as saying, "O Allah, make the months of Rajab and Sha'ban blessed for us." Rajab and Sha'ban are the months that lead faithful Muslims to the holy month of Ramadan.

This year the demise anniversary of the Imam has coincided with another important event as well. This important event is Islamic Awakening, the event that our magnanimous Imam used to wait and wish for, and he had predicted that it was going to happen. Our magnanimous Imam had predicted the wave of awakening among Muslim nations. By Allah's favor, his prediction was fulfilled, just as he had predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Allah the Exalted helped his prediction come true.

Today I will divide my speech into two parts, and I hope I will be able to finish the two parts in a short time. The first part is a review of the lesson that our magnanimous Imam taught us. It is a review of the Imam's timeless school of thought, and this school of thought is an asset for our nation. Relying on this asset, the Iranian nation has managed to overcome the hurdles that are natural for any nation with such ideals. In the second part of my speech, I will briefly discuss regional issues.

Regarding the Imam's school of thought, the honorable Iranian nation is fully aware that the respect and love of the Iranian people for our honorable Imam is not just an ordinary emotion. Although hearts are overflowing with the love for the Imam as far as emotions are concerned, the issue is not limited to these emotions. Rather, the respect that our people have for our magnanimous Imam means that they have accepted his school of thought as the bright path for the entire Iranian nation. The Imam's school of thought is theoretical and practical guidance that will help our country achieve dignity, progress and justice. Practically this has been the case throughout the past 32 years. That is to say, whenever we had the opportunity to practice the recommendations of the Imam and whenever we could follow the path shown by the Imam, we benefitted a lot. This is how the people consider the path of the Imam and his timeless legacy. During the past 30 years, our nation has managed to stand up against the most complex plots. The Iranian nation was faced with military, security, propaganda, political and economic plots. On the economic front, the Iranian nation has been faced with different kinds of sanctions during the past 30 years. As far as negative propaganda is concerned, the huge media and propaganda empire has been working hard against the Iranian nation. Thanks to the Imam's path and his school of thought, the Iranian nation has managed to stand up against these plots.

The Imam's school of thought is a complete package with different dimensions. It is necessary to consider all these dimensions together. Two of the main dimensions of the Imam's school of thought were the spiritual and the rational dimensions. As far as the spiritual dimension is concerned, our magnanimous Imam did not just rely on material factors and manifestations to continue his path. His hope in Allah the Exalted was inexhaustible. Regarding the rational dimension, using wisdom and rational calculations are important in the Imam's school of thought. I will briefly discuss each of these dimensions.

There is also a third dimension - namely, justice - which is the result of Islam, just like the other two dimensions. The Imam's rationality originated from Islam, and his spirituality were Islamic and Quranic. Similarly the third dimension originated from Islam and the Holy Quran. It is necessary to consider these dimensions together. Stressing one of these dimensions at the cost of ignoring other dimensions would derail our society. These dimensions and this complete package are the intellectual and spiritual legacy of the Imam. Our magnanimous Imam used to pay attention to both the rational dimension and the spiritual dimension. He also used to pay careful attention to the dimension of justice.

I would like to discuss a few manifestations of the Imam's rationality. The first manifestation was that he chose democracy as the political system of the country. That is to say, he chose to rely on the votes of the people. Choosing democracy was one of the clear manifestations of rationality in the Imam's inspirational and revitalizing school of thought. Dictatorial governments had ruled our country for many years. Even during the time of the Constitutional movement when the law seemed to have been institutionalized in the country, in practice the autocracy of the Pahlavi era was more severe and more oppressive than the previous dictatorships. In a country with such a historical background, our magnanimous Imam found the opportunity to turn voting and the presence of the people into an institutionalized reality. Our people had not experienced free elections except in a short period of time during the early years of the Constitutional movement. In such a country and in such an atmosphere, our magnanimous Imam took the first step and institutionalized elections in the country. You have heard several times that 32 or 33 elections have been held in the country during the past 32 years. The people have decided to go to the ballot boxes and vote. They have freely voted to elect MPs, presidents, members of the Assembly of Experts, members of city councils and other such organizations. This is the most outstanding manifestation of the Imam's rationality.

The Imam's firmness and lack of flexibility against the aggressive enemy was another manifestation of his rationality and his reliance on wisdom. The Imam did not trust the enemy. After he got to know the enemies of the Iranian nation and the Revolution well, he stood up against them like a mountain. Certain people think that rationality requires backing down against the enemy on occasion, but the Imam had the opposite idea and he moved in the opposite direction. The rationality and wisdom of this divine man helped him conclude that even the slightest flexibility and compromise against the enemy would result in the enemy's further transgression. In a battlefield, your enemy does not feel sorry when you retreat. Every small retreat against the enemies means that the enemy will take a step forward and spread his domination. This was one of the manifestations of the Imam's rationality.

Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was that he infused the spirit of self-confidence and self-sufficiency into the Iranian nation. Since the beginning of the domination of westerners over our country - that is to say, since the early 19th century when westerners came to Iran - they used to constantly humiliate the Iranian nation over many years by presenting different analyses with the help of their agents. They used to make the Iranian nation believe that it was incapable of scientific endeavor and scientific progress. They used to convince the Iranian people that they were incapable of standing on their own feet. The heads of the Pahlavi regime and the regimes that preceded it used to constantly humiliate the Iranian nation. They used to pretend that if there was any possibility of progress and great achievements, westerners had to step in. They used to pretend that the Iranian nation did not have the potential to do these things. Our magnanimous Imam infused the spirit of self-confidence into such a nation, and this became a turning point for the Iranian nation. Today our youth, our industrialists, our scientists, our politicians and our clergy feel that they can do whatever they want. "We can" was the slogan that our magnanimous Imam instilled into the heart of our nation. This was one of the important manifestations of the Imam's rationality.

Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was his emphasis on preparing the Constitution. The Imam ordered Iranian experts to prepare the Constitution. Those who prepared the Constitution had been elected by the people. The Imam did not choose a group of people to draw up the Constitution. It was the Iranian people who chose them. The people relied on their own judgment to elect certain experts, and those experts drew up the Constitution. Later on the Imam decided to put the Constitution to the vote again. He arranged a referendum so that the people could vote for or against the Constitution. This was one of the manifestations of the Imam's rationality. This was how the Imam strengthened the foundations of the Islamic system. In terms of legal aspects, in terms of politics, in terms of social activities and in terms of scientific progress, our magnanimous Imam established a firm foundation which could form the basis of a great Islamic civilization.

Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was that he convinced the people that the country belongs to them. He convinced the people that the country has an owner. During the time of autocratic governments, they used to promote the idea that the country had an owner, and the dictators ruling the country were what they meant by the "owner". The Imam convinced the people that the country has an owner and that the people are the owners.

The primary manifestation of the Imam's spirituality was his religious devotion. The Imam used to do everything for the sake of God. Since the beginning, he used to do whatever he thought was his divine responsibility. He did not spare any sacrifices on this path. This was how he acted since the beginning of the revolutionary activities in the year 1341. He used to move forward with the aim of carrying out his religious obligations. He repeatedly told our people and government officials that what is important is to carry out one's religious responsibilities. We only do our obligations: it is God who determines the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, the Imam's devotion was the manifestation of spirituality in his behavior. He never said or did anything in order to be praised. Allah the Exalted blessed whatever he did for the sake of God, and the effect of his actions became permanent. This is the characteristic of religious devotion. The Imam used to repeat the same recommendation in his meetings with government officials of the country. He used to advise us to rely on God. He used to advise us to trust God and to make effort for the sake of God. He himself used to rely on God. He used to engage in supplication and worship. He used to ask God for assistance. One could clearly feel the spirituality emanating from the Imam after the month of Ramadan had ended. He used to make use of every opportunity to get closer to Allah the Exalted and to purify his immaculate heart and soul. He used to advise others to do the same thing. He used to say, "We are present before God." The world is being watched by Allah the Exalted.

The world is full of divine manifestations. The Imam used to advise everybody to keep this point in mind. He himself used to observe moral principles, and he used to advise other people to do the same thing. An important part of spirituality in Islam consists of morality, avoidance of sins, avoidance of slander, avoidance of suspicion, avoidance of backbiting, avoidance of spite and avoidance of separating hearts from one another. Our magnanimous Imam used to observe these things, and he used to advise the people and government officials to do the same thing. The Imam used to advise us against becoming arrogant. He used to advise us against considering ourselves superior to the people. He used to advise us against considering ourselves flawless and above criticism. All high-ranking officials of the country had heard the Imam telling them to be ready and to welcome criticism. All high-ranking government officials had heard him advising them to avoid considering themselves flawless and above criticism. The Imam himself used to act like this. In his writings and his statements, especially at the end of his holy life, His Eminence admitted on several occasions that he had made a mistake in certain cases. He admitted that he was wrong in certain cases. This requires a great character. One needs a great soul to be able to say such things and to admit that one has made a mistake. This was a manifestation of the Imam's spirituality and ethical principles. This is one of the important dimensions of the lesson that the Imam taught us.

The dimension of justice is also very important in the Imam's school of thought. Although in a sense justice originates from rationality and spirituality, the prominence of justice from the Imam's perspective makes justice especially outstanding. Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Imam used to emphasize the needs of underprivileged social classes in his statements. He used to emphatically advise our government officials to cater to the needs of underprivileged social classes. He used to emphatically advise our government officials to avoid aristocratic lifestyles. This was one of the most important recommendations of our magnanimous Imam. We must not forget these things. In a government which relies on the votes and religious faith of the people, a serious problem will occur if the officials start to think about their own welfare, if they start to think of accumulating wealth for themselves, if they do everything to satisfy their aristocratic passions. This is a very serious problem for such a government. The Imam completely avoided this problem, and he used to repeatedly advise our government officials to avoid developing a tendency towards aristocratic lifestyles and accumulating wealth. He used to advise our government officials to develop a close relationship with the people. The Imam wanted government officials like myself to have a close relationship with the people.

The Imam used to stress that facilities and services had to be available in every part of the country. He used to stress that services had to be made available to the people living in remote places. These things point to the justice of our magnanimous Imam. He used to stress that government officials had to be elected from among the people. He used to stress that government officials had to be from among the people and that being well-connected was not a good criterion for appointing people to different positions. The prevalent favoritism during the time of Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties had made the Imam sensitive to this issue. Sometimes he used to praise certain government officials by saying, "He is from among the people." This was the standard for the Imam. He believed that taking wealth and power into consideration when appointing people to different positions was one of the greatest threats to the country and to the Revolution. These are the dimensions of the path of the Imam.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear people of Iran, the Imam's school of thought has helped us through great dangers during the past 32 years. The Imam's school of thought has improved our national dignity and international honor. The country has made progress and moved towards the ideals thanks to the efforts to tread the path of the Imam. We must observe the principles promoted by the Imam, but we must also take all aspects into consideration. If a person or a movement turns away from Islamic and revolutionary values in the name of rationality, there will be a deviation. Giving up piety and making us dependent on the enemy in the name of rationality is an instance of deviation and treachery. The kind of rationality that we find in our magnanimous Imam's school of thought requires us not to turn a blind eye to the enemy's plots. It requires us not to trust the enemy and to avoid backing down against it. The more we back down against the enemy, the more we will lose the great spiritual support inside the country.

Similarly, if we trample on ethics in the name of justice and revolutionary sentiments, we will suffer from the consequences and we will have deviated from the path of the Imam. If, in the name of justice and revolutionary sentiments, we insult or persecute our brothers, faithful people and those who are opposed to us on an intellectual level but are believed to have faith in the essence of the system and Islam, we will have deviated from the path of the Imam. If we deprive a portion of our society and our country of security in the name of revolutionary sentiments and revolutionary behavior, we will have deviated from the path of the Imam. There are different opinions in the country. If an action or a statement qualifies as a crime, it is possible to take legal action. The organizations in charge are responsible to follow up this action or statement, and this is what they do. But if the action or statement does not qualify as a crime and if there is somebody who has no intention of overthrowing the government, or committing treachery and carrying out the order of the enemy but is opposed to our political taste, we cannot deprive him of security and justice. "Be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice, and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably. Act equitably: that is nearer to piety." [The Holy Quran, 5: 8] The Holy Quran orders us not to deprive a group of people of justice simply because we are opposed to them. "Act equitably." The Holy Quran teaches us to observe justice even in the case of our opponents. "That is nearer to piety." The Holy Quran tells us that justice is nearer to piety. It is wrong to think that piety requires that we trample on the rights of our opponents. No, observing justice is in line with piety. All of us should be vigilant. All of us should be careful. The dimension of justice should not overshadow the other dimensions.

The same is true of the spiritual dimension. Thankfully we love reliance on God, spirituality, remembrance of God and worship. The general atmosphere of our society is full of attention to God. The month of Ramadan is a beautiful month in our country. It is the spring of spirituality. Our dear youth are so enthusiastic about dhikr, worship, reliance on God and reciting the Holy Quran that one cannot help enjoying their enthusiasm. The itikaf ceremonies that our youth will arrange in a few days are also amazing.

In my youth, during certain days of the month of Rajab on which itikaf ceremonies are traditionally held, only about 10 to 20 seminarians used to take part in itikaf ceremonies, and this was Qom Islamic Seminary, the center of all Islamic seminaries. Itikaf was not very common at that time, and people did not know about it. Today in different universities throughout the country, thousands of young students - both girls and boys - take part in itikaf ceremonies. They worship God for three days, and they establish a relationship with Allah the Exalted. Itikaf ceremonies are even more impressive in big mosques. These are manifestations of spirituality. Our people love spirituality, but our spirituality is accompanied by the sense of responsibility. This spirituality must not at all distance us from our great revolutionary responsibility, rather it should help us continue our revolutionary movement. Those who try to distance our society and our youth from politics by relying on piety, those who try to prevent our youth from playing an active role in the country in the name of piety - these people are making a mistake. They are suffering from a deviation. These dimensions go hand in hand.

I hereby testify at the holy shrine of the Imam and the shrines of the martyrs who have been buried in this spiritual place - in Behesht-e Zahra - that our nation has moved well on this path and that it has preserved the path of the Imam. I see with my own eyes and I can testify that today our revolutionary youth are as good as - if not better than - the youth of the early revolutionary era in terms of faith, piety and firmness of belief. I testify from the bottom of my heart and I sincerely believe that the people have played the most important role and that they have preserved and protected the values. It was the people who foiled the plots of our enemies.

I do not want to go into the details in this regard. There is not enough time for this, and maybe this is not a good time for such a detailed discussion. But I would like to mention in passing that our enemies thought the demise of the Imam would trigger the collapse of this holy system. They thought that the departure of the Imam would gradually put out the fire of the Revolution. They thought that this light would dim over time. But later on they were disappointed by the sentiments that were expressed during the Imam's funeral ceremony and by the impressive popular movement in support of the decision by the Assembly of Experts. They prepared ten-year plans. Of course this is my personal analysis, and it is not based on hard evidence. It is an analysis that is supported by certain pieces of evidence. They were hoping that their plans would produce results in ten years. When those events happened in the year 1378, it was the people who stepped in and foiled the plots behind those events. On the 23rd of Tir, 1378, the people took to the streets and foiled the enemies' plots in one day, plots which had taken years for the enemy to design. After that day, a second wave started, which continued into the year 1388. This new wave consisted of another set of ten-year plans. They believed that they would find an opportunity. They believed that they had prepared the way for this opportunity.

The people had certain demands - people who were relying on the system and were loyal to it. The enemies started to think that they could make use of these demands. Therefore, they gave rise to those events in the year 1388. They created turbulence in Tehran for two-three months. Of course it was only in Tehran. For two-three months, they managed to keep hearts and minds busy with their activities. The people stepped into the arena once again. After the enemies' masks were removed, the people realized what they really wanted on Quds Day. On the Day of Ashura, the people realized the depth of their plans, so they stepped into the arena and gave rise to that epic on the 9th of Dey. Millions of people took to the streets - not just in Tehran but throughout the entire country - on the 9th of Dey and on the 22nd of Bahman and put an end to the turbulence. This is the art of our people. Praise be upon the people of Iran. Praise be upon the faithful, resistant, insightful and vigilant people of Iran. By Allah's favor, the people of Iran would pursue this path and ideal with this determination until the end.

Fortunately this impressive movement by the people has produced its own results. Thanks to the confidence that the people showed in their government officials and thanks to the security that has been established throughout the country due to the presence of the people, our government officials have managed to expand the scope of their services and make great achievements. As a result, great infrastructural accomplishments were made in the country, and infrastructural work is the requirement for any country's progress. Today such infrastructural achievements are being made one after the other. The people can see that these achievements are being made in the country, and by Allah's favor, they will see the results in the short and long term. Thanks to the security which has been established due to the presence of the people, the security plots of the enemies will be foiled. The propaganda plots of the enemies will be foiled. It is because of this public presence that our country has achieved a high level of scientific and technological progress. According to international reports and according to the international figures which have been officially announced, today the rate of our scientific progress is 11 to 12 times more than the average rate of global progress in science. This is not a small achievement. This achievement is acknowledged even by our opponents, and our enemies announce it officially. Today our young scientists have made such progress in more than 10 important scientific and technological fields that our country is considered among the top 10 countries in the world in those areas. These achievements have been accomplished thanks to the presence of the people. If this public presence, this mutual trust and this general sense of responsibility continue, our country will achieve further progress. This is the path of the Imam.

Now I would like to make a few comments about the regional issues. First of all, the events that have happened in North Africa and in our region are very important and historic. The events that happened in Egypt and in Tunisia and the impressive awakening that has happened in Islamic countries are among the kind of events that would take two, three centuries to happen. They are among crucial, significant and historic events. Of course the Egyptian nation was successful, and the Tunisians were also successful. The Egyptian Revolution was a particularly brilliant victory. It was an impressive development. In certain other countries such as Libya, Yemen and Bahrain, the people are fighting, and the situation of each of these countries should be analyzed in a particular way. The popular movements in those countries will definitely succeed as well. It is just a matter of time before they achieve a victory. When the people awaken and when a nation feels that it has the capability to do what it wants, nothing can stop them. Of course the enemies of Muslim nations - namely, the order of domination, the Great Satan and the oppressive and brutal Zionists - are making efforts. They are planning to prevent people from achieving ultimate victory in the real sense of the word. But if we Muslim nations remain vigilant, if we listen to Quranic recommendations - which call us to patience and steadfastness and which give us hope- if we do not doubt Allah the Exalted, if we remain hopeful about divine promises and make efforts in that direction, Muslim nations will undoubtedly achieve victory.

Of course in Libya, the policy of western governments is to weaken Libya. Their policy is to let the civil war continue until Libya loses all its power so that they can, directly or indirectly, take the affairs of that strategic country into their own hands later on. First of all, Libya has massive oil resources. Second, it is very close to Europe. Therefore, Libya is very important to America and to the arrogant countries in Western Europe. They do not want to give up the control of this country easily. They want to weaken Libya. If they had let the people fight on their own, they could have succeeded. If a populist Islamic government came to power, it would pose a threat to them. Therefore, they are planning to prevent this from happening.

The situation of Yemen is similar to the situation of Libya. From a geopolitical perspective, Yemen is an important country. Yemen is a very important country in that it is a neighbor of the countries which have good relations with America. The do not want to let the people of Yemen achieve ultimate victory. The policy of the US and the west is to prevent the people of Yemen and Libya from achieving ultimate victory.

The people of Bahrain are living under absolute oppression. Under the pretext that the majority of the people of Bahrain are Shia Muslims, they want to present the popular movement as a tribal and sectarian movement, but this is not the case. Of course the people of Bahrain are Shia, and they have been Shia throughout their history. The majority of the Bahrainis are Shia. But the issue is not a Shia-Sunni issue. The issue is that the Bahraini nation is under oppression. The issue is that the people of Bahrain are being deprived of their civil rights on their own soil. They are demanding their rights. They are demanding their right to vote. They say they want to have the right to vote and to be able to play a role in electing their government. This is not a crime. This is a legitimate demand. This is while the lying, hypocritical and deceitful Americans, who claim to support human rights and democracy, step in like that to suppress the people of Bahrain. Of course they deny this and say that they are not involved in the issue and that it is the Saudis who are doing these things. But the Saudis could not have entered Bahrain and given rise to those bitter and bloody events there without a green light from America. Therefore, the Americans are responsible as well.

Now I would like to mention a few more points. There is not much time left. The first point is that the popular movements in these countries have three main characteristics: being Islamic, being anti-America and anti-Zionist and being popular. The movements in all these countries share these three characteristics. The Egyptian nation is an exemplary nation in the Arab world and in the world of Islam. It was the Egyptian nation that started this wave. The Egyptians gave rise to a revolution in their country, a revolution which is Islamic, popular and openly anti-America and anti-Zionist. The same is true of the other countries.

Our position on these popular movements is clear: wherever there is a movement that is Islamic, popular and anti-America, we will support it. But if we notice that a movement has been instigated by the Americans and the Zionists, we will not support that movement. Wherever America and the Zionists step in to overthrow a regime and occupy a country, we will move in the opposite direction of the Americans. America cannot think or act in favor of the interests of the regional nations. Whatever it does and whatever it has done so far have been against the nations of this region. This is our position.

The second point is that the countries which achieved victory - especially Egypt, which is a big country with a rich Islamic, spiritual and cultural background - must be cautious. They must take care not to allow the enemy that escaped through the door to go back in through the window. The aid that is reportedly provided by America for Egypt or any other country is itself a source of trouble. It is through such aid and such dollars that the Americans establish their domination over other countries and impose their demands on them. They use these things to spread their oppressive domination over nations that have achieved freedom.

Everybody must remain vigilant. Of course the Egyptian nation is vigilant. The impressive movement that the Egyptian nation carried out to protest against the position of the former Egyptian regime on the issue of Palestine, Gaza and the Rafah crossing was a very valuable movement. It is necessary to continue this movement. Egypt plays a significant role in the Arab world. It was due to this significance that Egypt was targeted by those who wanted to bring Arab countries to their knees against the Zionist regime. They imposed the disgraceful Camp David Accords starting with Egypt. It was only after Egypt had accepted the Camp David Accords that other Arab countries gradually surrendered to America's will. The issue of Palestine was totally wiped off the scene of Arab decision-making. They must be careful. They are very sensitive about Egypt. Westerners and the arrogant powers retuned to Egypt only one day after the era of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had forced them out of Egypt. This experience must not be repeated in Egypt. The Egyptian people are vigilant, and I hope Allah the Exalted will help them in this regard.

The next point is that such suppression is useless. After all, when nations awaken and come to know their power, they will follow this path. By Allah's favor, the movement of the regional nations - both the countries that are currently involved in this movement and the countries that have the potential for such a movement - will achieve ultimate victory. The people of these countries will achieve ultimate victory, but they must watch out for the divisive activities of the enemies. Today in North Africa, in Egypt, in Tunisia and in other Islamic countries, the enemies are after fomenting discord. In particular, they want to create a rift between Islamic Iran and other countries because Islamic Iran is the center of the movement against the arrogant powers. They want to create an ethnic and sectarian gap between Islamic Iran and other countries. They even want to create discord inside those countries. Today in Egypt, there are certain people affiliated with takfiri, Wahhabi and other such groups who are trying to foment discord among the Egyptians under different pretexts. It is necessary to be vigilant against these divisive efforts.

Our position on the issue of Palestine is also clear. We believe that all Palestinian lands belong to the Palestinians. Those who tried to wipe Palestine off the map of the world made a mistake. Such a thing will not happen. Palestine will survive. The usurpers have occupied Palestine for a few decades, but there is no doubt that Palestinian lands will be restored to the people of Palestine and to the world of Islam. And this will happen. The people of Palestine are vigilant. Palestine cannot be partitioned. Palestine belongs to the Palestinians entirely. The Islamic Republic presented the solution to the Palestinian issue several years ago. The solution to the issue of Palestine is not the kind of solutions that America and other such countries present. Such solutions will prove ineffective. The solution is to hold a referendum among the people of Palestine. Any government that receives the majority of the votes in the referendum will rule the entire Palestinian lands. Then that government will decide what to do with the Zionists who immigrated to Palestine. And this depends on the decision of the government that will be elected by the people of Palestine.

Dear God, bestow Your blessings on Muslim nations - on the Egyptian nation, on the Tunisian nation, on the Libyan nation, on the Yemeni nation, on the Bahraini nation and on the oppressed Palestinian nation - and help them achieve ultimate victory. Dear God, increase Your blessings for the honorable Iranian nation on a daily basis. Dear God, bestow the highest positions on the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam and the immaculate souls of our martyrs. Dear God, 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

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