Senior Iranian regime officials, along with regime mouthpieces, are referring to the recent pro-Palestinian student protests at university campuses across the U.S. and Europe as "exporting [Iran's Islamic] revolution" to the West, which has been a key policy goal of Iran's Islamic regime since its founding. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the regime mouthpiece Kayhan have expressed pride in these student protests. They are taking credit for these protests, based on the assertion that they are inspired by the messages of Iran's Islamic Revolution and by Khamenei's open letters addressed to young people in the West over the years that have gained acceptance among their target audience.
In articles, Kayhan compared the "violent" suppression of American campus protests by law enforcement to Israel's "attacks" on defenseless women and children in Gaza, and asserted that American young people are protesting against America's racism, slavery, capitalism, and colonialism after internalizing Khamenei's messages to them. The chants heard regularly at the student protests "From the River to the Sea" (referring to the destruction of Israel) and "Death to America," which reflect the essence of "exporting" Iran's Islamic Revolution, were, according to Kayhan, coined by Khamenei.[1] It also stated that "[when] they burn the American flag, it shows the effectiveness of the two messages [i.e. 2015 letters] conveyed by the Leader to the young people in the West several years ago." It also underlined that burning the American flag is in line with Khamenei's expectations from young Westerners.
In this context, IRGC commander Gen. Hossein Salami said on June 2, 2024: "Iran is today a global superpower. Iran is invincible. Iran is determined and is acting to achieve its goals. The slogans of the Iranian nation are reiterated and heard at the American universities, and reverberating in their message is their origin in Iran's rich culture and powerful honor."[2]
Kayhan: Khamenei's Letters To Young People In The West Fanned The Flames Of The Campus Protests
In a May 6, 2024 article, Kayhan said that the two open letters to young people in the West that Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei posted on his website and his social media accounts in 2015 had sown the seeds of the resistance on university campuses and had motivated students to protest against the Western governments, out of their understanding of how these governments are treating "the oppressed [i.e. the Muslims]" and out of solidarity with the victims of the Israeli-Western "oppression" in Gaza. The article said that in the protests, "every student from Harvard, MIT, Boston, Columbia, Emerson, Texas, and so forth has become an Iranian student."
It should be noted that these 2015 letters by Khamenei addressed to young Westerners came against the backdrop of a series of Islamic terror attacks in France and elsewhere in the world. In them, he stated that terrorism is rooted in the acts of the Western governments, and particularly America's in its establishment of Islamic terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS. Khamenei also wrote that the "oppressed" Palestinians have been suffering from "the worst kind of terrorism in the past 60 years" at the hands of Israel.
On May 25, 2024, Khamenei published an additional letter addressed to the students in the U.S. who are protesting against Israel. The letter is based on fabricated historical claims, such as the assertion that the State of Israel was established as a foreign colonial power in the Middle East. He uses these claims Iran's position as leader of the struggle of the Islamic resistance and as the main supporter of the Palestinian "resistance" against the Israelis. He wrote: "Palestine is an independent land with a long history. It is a nation comprising Muslims, Christians, and Jews." He also wrote: "After World War [II], the capitalist Zionist network gradually imported several thousand terrorists into this land with the help of the British government... and the U.S. provided assistance for the [Israeli] regime's production of nuclear weapons." He also reiterated the antisemitic trope that Western – and particularly American – media outlets are controlled by the Zionist network or are bought with bribes, and are working together with the leaders of the U.S. against the helpless Palestinian people and labeling them and their supporters, including Iran, as "terrorists."
Below are translations of key excerpts from Khamenei's May 1, 2024 Iranian Teachers' Day statement, and from his May 25, 2024 letter in support of the student protests on American campuses, as well as excerpts from the Kayhan article explaining how the campus protests draw their inspiration from Islamic Iran.
Khamenei's May 1, 2024 Speech: "The Pressure Exerted By Global Public Opinion Against The Plundering [Israeli] Regime Must Be Increased"; Palestine Must Be Returned To Its People, And After A Palestinian Government Is Established, They Will Decide On Their Own What To Do With The Zionists"
At a conference marking Iranian Teachers' Day on May 1, 2024, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on the conferees to teach the youth in Iran and throughout the world about the rationale behind the regime-promoted slogans "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." Khamenei said that the campus protests throughout the West, which he called peaceful but nonetheless violently suppressed by the authorities, prove that Iran's outlook regarding the West, America, and Israel is correct. He called for an increase in the pressure exerted by global public opinion against Israel and for a solution to the Palestinian issue (that is, Israel's destruction) to be implemented, and he issued threats against Arab countries that are normalizing relations with Israel.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Source: Tasnim News Agency (Iran), May 1, 2024.
Below is a translation of key excerpts from his speech:
"The students and youth must be aware of the logic and rationale of the policy and behavior of the [Iranian] regime, and they must know the rationale behind the slogans of the nation – 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' – and why Iran is unwilling to maintain relations with certain countries and governments...
"Despite the great efforts of the Zionists and their American and European supporters, the issue of Gaza continues to be the main issue in the world, and the protests at American universities against the crimes of the Zionist regime, and the spread [of these protests] to universities in Europe, are signs that global public opinion continues to be sensitive to this issue.
"The pressure exerted by global public opinion against the plundering [Israeli] regime must be increased. The brutal behavior of the corrupt Zionist dog has proven the correctness of the stance of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] and the Iranian nation. The killing of 30,000 people, half of whom are women and children, has shown the entire world the evil nature of the Zionist regime and the legitimacy of Iran's stance.
"The behavior of America and its authorities towards the nonviolent and non-destructive student protests against Israel's crimes is additional [proof in] support of Iran's stance and its skepticism regarding the American regime. This issue has shown everybody that America is the Zionists' partner in the unforgivable sin of killing the people of Gaza. Their ostensibly compassionate statements are also lies. Iran's stance, according to which the American administration cannot be trusted, has been proven correct.
"The only solution to the Palestinian issue is what Iran suggests. That is, returning Palestine to its original owners – Muslims, Christians, and Jews. The problem in Eastern Asia [i.e. the Middle East] will not be solved until Palestine is restored to its owners, and even if they try to keep the Zionist regime alive for another 20 or 30 years – which, Allah willing, will not happen – this issue will not be solved. Palestine must be returned to its people, and after a Palestinian government is established, they will decide on their own what to do with the Zionists.
"Regarding normalization of relations between the Zionist entity and the countries of the region, there are those who think that the problem will be solved by such actions. [However,] not only will it not be solved, but rather it will boomerang against the governments that will now be friendly with the plundering [Israeli] regime and ignore its crimes. Their people will attack those governments [that normalized relations with Israel]..."[3]
Khamenei's May 25, 2024 Letter To The Student Protestors: "You Have Now Formed A Branch Of The Resistance Front"
On May 25, 2024, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei published a letter addressed to the students protesting on university campuses across the U.S. This was his third letter to young people in the West; the first two were published in 2015 against the backdrop of a series of Islamic terror attacks throughout the West. In the letter, he described the protests as a "branch" of the Iranian "resistance front" against Israel and the U.S., and reiterated the Iranian narrative, which is the foundation of the Islamic resistance against Israel and West relies: that Israel was established as a Western colonialist outpost.
Cartoon posted on Khamenei's website. Source: English.khamenei.ir, May 25, 2024.
Below is the English version of Khamenei's May 25 letter:
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
"I am writing this letter to the young people whose awakened conscience has moved them to defend the oppressed women and children of Gaza.
"Dear university students in the United States of America, this message is an expression of our empathy and solidarity with you. As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it.
"You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure—a government which openly supports the usurper and brutal Zionist regime.
"The greater Resistance Front which shares the same understandings and feelings that you have today, has been engaged in the same struggle for many years in a place far from you. The goal of this struggle is to put an end to the blatant oppression that the brutal Zionist terrorist network has inflicted on the Palestinian nation for many years. After seizing their country, the Zionist regime has subjected them to the harshest of pressures and tortures.
A photo published on Khamenei's website of a pro-Palestine student protest and Columbia University in New York. The caption reads in Faris: "You are now standing on the right side of history. I promise you that today, the situation is changing, and history is also changing direction." Source: Khamenei.ir, May 25, 2024.
"The apartheid Zionist regime's genocide today is the continuation of extreme oppressive behavior which has been going on for decades. Palestine is an independent land with a long history. It is a nation comprised of Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
"After the World War, the capitalist Zionist network gradually imported several thousand terrorists into this land with the help of the British government. These terrorists attacked cities and villages, murdered tens of thousands of people and pushed out multitudes into neighboring countries. They seized their homes, businesses and farmlands, formed a government in the usurped land of Palestine and called it Israel.
"After England's initial help, the United States became the greatest supporter of this usurper regime, ceaselessly providing it with political, economic and military support. In an act of unforgivable recklessness, the United States even opened the way and provided assistance for the regime's production of nuclear weapons.
"The Zionist regime used an iron-fist policy against the defenseless people of Palestine from the very beginning and has, day by day, intensified its brutality, terror and repression in complete disregard of all moral, human and religious values.
"The United States government and its allies refused to even frown upon this state terrorism and ongoing oppression. And today, some remarks by the US government regarding the horrific crimes taking place in Gaza are more hypocritical than real.
"The Resistance Front emerged from this dark environment of despair, and the establishment of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran expanded and fortified it.
"The global Zionist elite – who owns most US and European media corporations or influences them through funding and bribery – has labeled this courageous, humane resistance movement as "terrorism".
"Can one call a people a terrorist nation for defending themselves on their own land against the crimes of the occupying Zionists? And is helping such a nation and strengthening it, an act of terrorism?
"The oppressive leaders of global hegemony mercilessly distort even the most basic human concepts. They portray the ruthless, terrorist Israeli regime as acting in self-defense – yet they portray the Palestinian Resistance which defends its freedom, security and the right to self-determination, as terrorists!
"I would like to assure you that today the circumstances are changing. A different fate awaits the important region of West Asia. The people's conscience has awakened on a global scale, and the truth is coming to light.
"Moreover, the Resistance Front has grown in strength and will become even stronger.
"And history is turning a page.
"Besides you students from dozens of American universities, there have also been uprisings in other countries among academics and the general public.
"The support and solidarity of your professors is a significant and consequential development. This can offer some measure of comfort in the face of your government's police brutality and the pressures it is exerting on you. I too am among those who empathize with you young people, and value your perseverance.
"The Quran's lesson for us Muslims and all of humanity, is to stand up for that which is right: "So be steadfast as you have been commanded" (11:112).
"The Quran's lesson for human relations is: "Do not oppress and do not be oppressed" (2:279).
"The Resistance Front advances by a comprehensive understanding and the practice of these and hundreds of other such commands – and will attain victory with the permission of God.
"My advice to you is to become familiar with the Quran.
"Sayyid Ali Khamenei
"May 25, 2024."[4]
Kayhan, May 6, 2024: "Every Student At Harvard, Boston, Columbia, Emerson, Texas, And So On Has Now Become An Iranian Student"; "Khamenei's Ideas – Reflected In The Slogans 'Palestine From The River To The Sea' And 'Death To America – Are Currently Being Chanted By American And European Students As They Burn The American Flag... This Is A Practical And Principled Response To Khamenei's Call To Them"
In a May 6, 2024 article titled "From Sharif University And Tehran University To Harvard And MIT," Kayhan touted the successful export of Khamenei's messages to the young people of the West, citing as evidence the protests on American and European campuses. Presenting the Western governments as party to a colonialist and imperialist conspiracy against their own young people, with the aim of depriving them of the light of Islam – the light that Iran's revolutionary regime is spreading as a revolutionary message – Kayhan stated that the present protests were the practical implementation of Khamenei's messages in his 2015 letters to the young people of the West. Kayhan also expressed pride that calls of "Death to America" are being on campuses and urged the students to burn U.S. flags.
The following is a translation of the article's key points:
"Those who, on orders from the American and British espionage services and the [Israeli] Mossad, tried for many years, and especially during the 2022-2023 events [the anti-hijab protests in Iran], to distort and disfigure the true face of the Iranian universities – universities which had sacrificed their noblest students to establish the anti-arrogance [i.e. anti-U.S.] and anti-colonialist movements to protest against the [1953] visit of U.S. vice President Richard] Nixon to Tehran, and later likewise sacrificed countless martyrs for the sake of the revolution and Islam and in defense of the land and the people – are now seeing the true face of the anti-arrogance [movements] at the Sharif, Tehran, Amir Kabir and Al-Zahra Universities and at other Iranian universities [being reflected at] American universities. Every student at Harvard, MIT, Boston, Columbia, Emerson, Texas, etc. has now become an Iranian student.
"Seventy years ago, when Nixon visited Tehran, Iranian students shed their blood to protest against American oppression. This awakening of the [Iranian] student movement led to the takeover [26 years later] of the den of spies [i.e. the U.S. Embassy in Tehran] in 1979. But it is only today that the students of the U.S. and Europe have reached the point arrived at 45 years ago by the heroic and discerning Iranian students. Therefore, it may be no exaggeration to say that the American students arrived at point by following the texts of the Iranian student movement... even though it they took a long time to get there!
"About this tardiness, the Supreme Leader of the [Islamic] revolution [Khamenei] wondered when he addressed the young people of America and Europe, saying: 'I want you to ask your intellectuals why the West's public conscience always awakens several decades or even several centuries too late. Why is there a need to focus on the distant past and not on current issues? [And] why is public awareness being prevented?'"
"The Leader's Ideas of 'Palestine From The River To The Sea' And 'Death To America' Are Now Being Voiced By American and European Students... As They Burn The American Flag; This Shows The Effectiveness Of The Two Messages [i.e. 2015 Letters] Conveyed By The Leader To The Young People In The West... This [Flag Burning] Is A Practical And Principled Response To Khamenei's Calls"
"Now is the time to reread the Supreme Leader of the Revolution's important letters to the young people in the West. It is significant that the leader's ideas of 'Palestine from the river to the sea' and 'Death to America' are now voiced by American and European students. [Moreover], they are not limited to the campuses in those countries but are also voiced by young people on the streets of New York, Washington, Boston, California, Columbia, Texas, Paris, London, Berlin, Canada, Australia and other places... as they burn the American flag. [Burning the American flag] shows the effectiveness of the two messages [i.e. 2015 letters] conveyed by the Leader to the young people in the West several years ago.
"The vast pro-Palestinian movement of American and European students is the practical and principled answer to the questions and demands voiced by the Leader, who proclaimed in his two letters: These are the reasons I directly address and approach you, young people [in the West]. First, because I hold you responsible for the future of [your] nation and land. Second, because I see that a yearning to discover the truth is in your hearts and is now more vital and alert. Third, [because] your politicians and statesmen have deliberately diverted the path of politics away from the path of honesty and justice. And fourth, [because] I believe that you are the only young people who, by studying the present crisis, can find new ways to build the future and serve as an obstacle blocking the mistakes that have brought the West to its present situation.
"In those thoughtful letters, Khamenei spoke of 'the shame of the history of slavery in Europe and America,' and of 'the shame of the colonialist era,' as well as of 'the shame of the oppression of non-Christian people of color' and of the 'expressions of condemnation by American and European scholars and historians against the bloodshed' that was carried out in the name of religion, nationality, and ethnicity in World Wars I and II, as well as before and after them.
"He also spoke about the 'suffering of all people in all parts of the world, whether in Europe or in Palestine' because of the fact that 'the Islamic world has been the victim of terrorism and violence on a much greater scale and for much longer, sadly, this violence was always supported by the superpowers.'
"The American and European students have now grasped the profundity of the Leader's statements in those letters, that state that the goals of 'a policy of humiliation and creation of hatred and fear of the other' led by the ruling bodies in their countries were aimed at 'the reaping of profits by tyrants.' These students have now left the boundaries of 'the false and psychological boundaries created by media,' and have transcended 'the emotional obstacle as the Leader called upon them to do.
"They [the students] no longer want to allow 'an obstacle to be created between them and reality...' and they are trying to 'build a bridge of thought and fairness across the preprogrammed miserable gaps and challenges between Islam and the young people, by means of enlightening themselves and their environment.' The voicing of prayers at these protests, sometimes when they are handcuffed, as they raise Islamic symbols and slogans against violent and armed police, is the response to the Leader's call [in his letters to young Westerners]: 'Have you ever turned directly to the Muslim Quran and studied the humane and moral doctrine of the Prophet of Islam?'
"The reemergence of the student movement in America and Europe is in fact the practical answer to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution's call to them [the students]: 'Ask yourselves whether the meanings and values in Islam disturb the superpowers' agenda, and which [of their] interests are assured by their false depiction of Islam?'
"He pointed out America's role in creating ISIS and Israel's political terrorism as an example of the West's contradictory logic, and stressed that 'the people of Europe are currently sheltering in their homes for a few days and avoiding gatherings and crowded places (due to the terrorist incidents in France). But for 70 years, no Palestinian family has been safe, even in their own home, from the Zionist regime's killing and destruction machine. In today's world, have you witnessed any other horror of this magnitude and scale, that has continued for so long? If this is not terrorism and barbarism, then what is it?'
"The Leader Once Made Two Predictions Regarding The American Protests Against The Corrupt [American] Administration... He Said That 'The Fire Under The Ashes Has Begun To Burn... They [The American Government] Will Likely Suppress It And Extinguish It Temporarily, But The Fire Will Remain Under The Ashes... [Eventually,] It Will Destroy The Current American Regime, And This Is Because It Is A Mistaken Regime.' Now, This Fire Has Been Rekindled, At A Greater And More Comprehensive Scale"
"At the conclusion of his appeal to Western young people, the Leader emphasized: 'Dear young people! I hope that you, today or in the future, will change this hallucinatory mentality, and as long as a moral double standard dominates the West's violent politics, and as long as governments' interests take priority over human and moral values, the roots of violence need not be searched for anywhere else.' For this reason, American students have now grasped the roots of the West's violence and double standards, from thinking about and considering these letters, and they have made the #United_States_of_Israel hashtag go viral because of their country's occupation by the Zionist lobby.
"The Leader once made two predictions regarding the American protests against the corrupt [American] administration, and now both predictions have come true. First, in response to the anti-racism movement in 2020, he said that 'the fire under the ashes has begun to burn... they [the American government] will likely suppress it and extinguish it temporarily, but the fire will remain under the ashes, will not be extinguished, and will continue to burn. [Eventually,] it will destroy the current American regime, and this is because it is a mistaken regime.' Now, this fire has been rekindled, at a greater and more comprehensive scale, this time taking the form of the student movement.
"Second, in one of those two letters to the young Westerners, the Leader also predicted, and warned about, today's police violence against the students: 'A big mistake is any emotional, hasty move, and, particularly if a legal basis is found, it will not only not solve the problem, but will also deepen the gaps, increase the closemindedness, expand the existing rifts, and pave the way for future crises. It will have no other effect.
"Thus, America's absolute support for the Zionists is a naked expression of the institutionalized capitalism in that country's governing body, and this brutality and violence against the students are a manifestation of Israel's attacks on the children and women of Gaza. It is no surprise that a government that supports Israel's brutality against Gaza in all these ways uses this same brutality against young people and students, even in its own country, as it did when it stood on George Floyd's neck and prevented him from breathing! But the important point is that the audacity of America's double standards has now been exposed to all, and they [the American authorities] do not hesitate to act openly in a way that contradicts their claims – to the extent that besides the students and university professors, even the Green Party's presidential candidate who participated in the anti-Israel protests at the University of Washington [sic, Washington University in Saint Louis] was arrested!
"This awakening of public opinion in light of the dialogue between Iran's Supreme Leader and the young people of the West is more dangerous and costly to the American governing body [i.e. the administration] and to Israel than hundreds of missiles, and it opens the path for the people of America and Europe [to join this awakening]. This is what we call exporting the Islamic Revolution! According to American professor Richard Falk, '[Khamenei's] letters can be considered the spiritual and moral cornerstone of societies, and they can be spread to all of humanity.' Professor Denis Rancourt, a faculty member and professor at the University of Ottawa, emphasized in a direct letter addressed to the Leader of the Revolution: 'Young Westerners will examine your letter critically, and your profound psychological and geopolitical analysis will accelerate the awakening of the hearts and minds of the people of the West!'
"But the most important point was made by American philosopher and professor Charles Taliaferro, a member of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. He said: 'The success and power of Iran's leader will be revealed in the future.'"[5]
[1] While "Death to America" (and "Death to Israel) are regime-approved slogans chanted by crowds in Iran since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, "From the River to the Sea" does not originate in Iran.
[2] Mashregh News (Iran), June 2, 2024.
[3] Tasnim News Agency (Iran), May 2, 2024.
[4] English.khamenei.ir, May 25, 2024.
[5] Kayhan (Iran), May 6, 2024.
