Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, chairman of the Iranian Guardian Council, which aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV, on January 16, 2009.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: God bless the President of Venezuela, who enthusiastically and courageously expelled the Israeli ambassador. Shame on the useless Arab rulers who, unlike Venezuela – which is not even an Islamic country – have not severed political ties [with Israel]. Does this cost you anything? Are you afraid of America? You should be afraid, because you lack faith and courage, and your peoples have no respect for you. So why shouldn’t you be afraid? You fear for your positions. You should be afraid.
But come and join your people. In every country, the people are ready... Of course, the worst are Saudi Arabia and Egypt, because they are the great regional powers. When a demonstration took place somewhere in Saudi Arabia, it was silenced. They do not give people room to breathe there. At least in Egypt, there were some [demonstrations], but even there, silence rules. Sometimes we see [Mubarak] obeying America, and sometimes, we see that he is an ally of Israel. What is left for the people to do? They should fear the day when the people’s revolution, the rage of God, and the rage of the people grab them by their clothes and drag them down to collapse.
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The world is on a steep decline towards collapse. People are truly amazed when they watch a president [Obama] laughing and saying: “My only concern is to find a dog for my daughter.” Phooey on you and those who voted for you! Is this how it should be? A president is not ashamed to be thinking about a dog, rather than about [the Israeli] foreign minister? This is how it is – they want to rule the world.
On the other hand, every time I see that woman’s face, I wish somebody would “waste” a bullet on her. I watched her say... First, she goes and shakes hands with the Egyptian president. Shame on him for shaking a woman’s hand – especially an enemy.
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I hope that the day will come – as conveyed in a message by our dear leader – when we all celebrate the victory of Hamas in Jerusalem, God willing.