The following statements by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were monitored and translated by the MEMRI TV Project (www.memritv.org). They are followed by a recent Khamenei message to Muslim pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia for Hajj:
Recent Statements by Khamenei on Iranian TV
The following statements by Ali Khamenei were monitored and translated by the MEMRI TV Project:
Iranian Leader Khamenei: Iran's Enemies Want to Destroy it with Miniskirts; January 6, 2005; Iranian Channel 1; http://memritv.org/clip/en/468.htm
Iranian Leader Khamenei: U.S. and Israeli Intelligence Responsible for Iraq Bombings; December 20, 2004; Iranian Channel 1; http://memritv.org/clip/en/433.htm
Tehran University Friday Sermon by Iranian Leader Khamenei: Our Nuclear Weapon Is Our Youth; November 5, 2004; IRINN TV; http://memritv.org/clip/en/326.htm
Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei: Europe and U.S. Know We Do Not Look for Nuclear Weapons; October 27, 2004, Iranian Channel 1; http://memritv.org/clip/en/309.htm
Iranian Leader Khamenei on Jihad: "Jihad is one of the gates to paradise"; October 24, 2004; Sahar TV; http://memritv.org/clip/en/302.htm
Iranian Leader Khamenei: If Someone Harms Our People … We Will Endanger His Interests Anywhere in the World; July 5, 2004; Iranian Channel 1; http://memritv.org/clip/en/140.htm
Iranian Leader Khamenei: We Don't Need An Atomic Bomb. We've Been Defeating America For 25 Years Without It; June 24, 2004; Jaam-E-Jam TV; http://memritv.org/clip/en/136.htm
Ali Khamenei: We Send a Curse to the Zionists and to America; June 3, 2004, Iranian Channel 1; http://memritv.org/clip/en/115.htm
Khamenei Message to Hajj Pilgrims: The Zionist Octopus and U.S. Imperialism Harbor Plans for the Entire Islamic World
"… At present, the Islamic world is faced with an all-out siege, both on the economic and the technological fronts, as well as with a propaganda offensive, and most recently with military occupation. The occupation of Palestine and the holy city of Quds [Jerusalem] have culminated in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The Zionist octopus – along with the vicious and despicable U. S. imperialism – now harbors plans for the entire region of the Middle East, as well as North Africa and the entire Islamic world. They have created the general awakening, which has breathed new life into the Islamic nation [ Ummah ], the target of their vengeance and spite.
"The U.S. and the Western imperialists have finally concluded that Muslim countries and nations, especially those of the Middle East, form the core of this awakening and resistance to their plans for global domination. They foresee that if they fail to control or suppress this Islamic awakening in the next few years with political and economic measures, through propaganda, and as a last resort through military aggression, all their plans for absolute global hegemony and control of the most vital oil and gas resources, which constitute the sole powerhouse of their industrial machinery and [the sole] cause of their material edge over the rest of humanity, will come to nothing.
"If that happens, the big Western and Zionist capitalists, who are the real backstage players in all imperialist governments, will fall from the height of their power and their domination over the nations.
"Imperialist arrogance has deployed all its capabilities to this end. It has launched this fateful war, using political pressure on one front, threats of economic sanctions on another, and employing propaganda tactics in one place and bombs, missiles, tanks, and troops in other places, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, just as it did before in Palestine and Quds.
"The most important tool of these predatory savages is the deceptive mask of hypocrisy that they wear. They equip and dispatch their assassination squads to murder innocent people and talk of waging war on terrorism. They openly support the bloodthirsty terrorist regime that has usurped Palestine, and label as terrorists the defenders of Palestine, who strive with their backs to the wall.
"They manufacture, supply, and use nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction. They have perpetrated such horrors as Hiroshima and Halabja, and on the Iranian warfront during the imposed war, while they profess to be against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"They themselves are behind the dirty drug-trade mafia, but claim to be fighting the narcotics trade. They make a display of supporting science and the globalization of science, and yet obstruct the development of science and technology in the Islamic world, considering the emergence of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes in Islamic countries a moral sin.
"They talk of freedom and the rights of minorities while depriving Muslim girls of the right to education for the sin of wearing the Islamic scarf. They speak glibly about the freedom of expression and belief, while counting every expression of opinion about Zionism as a crime.
"They ban the publication of many outstanding Islamic works and forbid in the U.S. even the publication of the documents retrieved from the U.S. spy den in Tehran. They rant about human rights while setting up scores of torture centers – such as the ones at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib – or maintain a conniving silence about such incredible outrages.
"They talk about respect for all religions, while extending their support to such renegades as Salman Rushdie, who has been sentenced to capital punishment, and the BBC, which broadcasts sacrilegious statements against Islamic sanctities.
"However, as a consequence of the insolent and foolishly reckless conduct of the U.S. and British rulers, this mask of deception and hypocrisy has been fractured. With their own hands, they have stuffed the hearts of Muslim nations and youth with hatred for the arrogant imperialists. Should free elections be held today in any Muslim country, the people would definitely vote against the wishes of the U.S. and Britain."
Two Great Dangers Loom Over the Iraqi Elections: American Fraud and Another Dictatorship
"Now we have the elections in Iraq ahead of us. The presumed goal of these elections – as far as the Iraqi people and their genuine leaders are concerned – is the exact opposite of the occupiers' objective. The Iraqi nation and leaders want to hold elections in order to establish a popular government derived from the will of the people and for a free, independent, and undivided Iraq.
"From their viewpoint, the elections are the means to ending the military occupation and political control by the U.S. and Britain. As far as they're concerned, the elections will put an end to the vicious presence of the Zionists, who have landed on the banks of the Euphrates in the shadow of American arms and seem to have found partial fulfillment of their warped dream of a land extending 'from the Nile to the Euphrates.' As far as they're concerned, the elections will provide for a transition from sectarian and ethnic conflict … to brotherhood and national unity.
"But the elections have a different objective in the occupiers' fantasies. They want, in the guise of popular elections, to impose their own mercenaries on the people – and most of these mercenaries are, because of past connections with the Ba'th Party – abject and docile puppets in the hands of the occupiers. With the assistance of these mercenaries, the occupiers seek to rid themselves of the expenses of maintaining a military presence, and to have the Iraqi people take them on [and pay them] from their oil revenues.
"In this postmodern colonialism, foreign puppets are not appointed directly by the colonial powers. Rather, the helm of government is taken over by the puppets through the process of elections in which the will of the people is superseded and set aside through fraud or using well-known schemes. There will be a façade of democracy, while in reality there will be foreigners' absolute dominance over the fate of a hapless people.
"Now there are two great dangers looming over the Iraqi elections. The first is outright fraud and manipulation of the popular vote – a specialty of the Americans. If by working day and night the Iraqi elite and the country's educated and politically active youth are able to prevent such fraud and succeed in bringing a popular government into power, then a second danger will appear: the danger of a military coup and another dictatorship over the destiny of the Iraqi nation.
"This latter danger can also be forestalled by the vigilance, timely alertness, and courage of the proud and faithful people of Iraq and their genuine and venerable leaders. At this critical historic juncture, whose outcome will affect their destiny for decades to come, they should make the utmost use of their faith, courage and solidarity to hold sound country-wide elections fired with a spirit of enthusiasm and to secure the election results with all the power they can command.
"The differences between Shi'ite and Sunni, or those among Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen, or those arising from any other kind of divisive grouping, are fostered only by the enemies. Insecurity, which is always a pretext for the emergence of a dictatorship, is also planned and promoted by the enemy's intelligence services. Those who target Iraqi citizens and academic and political figures with their criminal assaults are not to be counted among warriors fighting oppressive occupiers for the sake of Islamic honor and independence.
"Brothers and sisters who have assembled for the Hajj! Muslim nations and governments! Today, more than ever before, the Islamic world is in need of solidarity, unity of purpose, and devotion to the Koran. The potential of the Islamic world for development and for the restitution of its honor and power are more evident than ever before. Today, throughout the Islamic world, the elite and the youth aspire to restore the grandeur and glory of the Islamic Ummah. The hypocritical slogans of the imperialists have lost their appeal, and their foul intentions have gradually become revealed to the Islamic Ummah.
"Yet on the other hand, the world-devourers who entertain hopes of global dominance are alarmed by the awakening and unity of the Islamic Ummah. They regard them as an obstacle to their destructive plots, [an obstacle] that they are striving to overcome.
"Today is the time to foster brotherhood in practice in all spheres, also as a deterrent against all threats. Today is the time to work to bring about conditions conducive to the establishment of the government of Imam Mahdi, may Allah soon bring about his noble appearance. Today is the time to respond to the divine summons, in all walks of life. Today is the time to accustom our hearts to the chant of such Koranic verses as, 'Indeed, the faithful are brethren,' and 'Do not say to someone who offers you peace, You are not a believer,' and the verse, 'Hard against the faithless, merciful amongst themselves.'
"… We call on all Muslims to unite. This unity is directed neither against the Christians nor against followers of any other religion or creed. It is in fact a call to resist aggressors, occupiers, and warmongers. It is a call for implementing the norms of ethics and spirituality, for reviving rationality and Islamic justice, for scientific and economic progress, and for restoring Islamic honor.
"We remind the people of the world that Christians and Jews enjoyed complete peace and security in the city of Quds under Muslim rule during the era of the caliphate. But now that Quds and other territories are under the yoke of the Zionists and the Zionists Crusaders, shedding the blood of Muslims is not considered an offense…" [1]
[1]Kayhan, Jomhouri-ye Eslami (Iran), January 19, 2005.
