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Speaking at a "Free Iran" rally in Paris on July 9, Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former ambassador to the U.S. and former chief of intelligence, said that the "legitimate struggle" of the Iranian people against the regime would "achieve its goal sooner rather than later." In response to chants from the protestors, Al-Faisal said: "I too want to topple the regime." The rally was organized by the opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) movement. The address was aired by the Al-Arabiya network.
Al-Faisal: "The Iranian revolution broke out in 1979, and made Khomeini, the man of both revolutionary influence and polarization, the Supreme Guide of the Islamic revolution, presenting him as a new phenomenon, completely divorced from Iranian identity. Your organization had the honor to lead this revolution. I salute your martyrs."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Khomeini expanded the scope of the religious notion of the Rule of the Jurisprudent. In his capacity as the state's Supreme Religious Guide, he granted himself absolute powers in all of Iran's political, economic, and military affairs. Even though the authority of Khomeini did not extend beyond Iran's borders politically, his speeches and his actions served as a message, through which he aspired to take over the world. In his first year in power, Khomeini did not make do with supporting the extremist groups in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, but he also declared his rejection of all ruling Islamic monarchies, labeling them as un-Islamic. Khomeini combined the imperialist ambitions of the Shah with the Shiite authority of the Qom scholars who preceded him. Khomeini's state became an unprecedented Iranian empire - an isolated and hostile empire that avoids cultural exchange, under the pretext that (the revolution) must preserve its own rights, and the rights of the new revolutionary elite. This was evident in a confrontational, rather than embracing, position. Muslims in various parts of the world felt resentment when Khomeini began, all of a sudden, to speak on their behalf. They considered it an unfair disregard for the other aspects of life and Islamic heritage. Khomeini tried to play the role of Supreme Guide not only in Iran, but in the Islamic nation as a whole. The Iranian people were the first victims of Khomeini, despite (his) foreign policy of isolationism and interventionism. This was not confined to the political activists who opposed these authoritarian and despotic ideas, but also extended to ethnic groups such as the Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, Turkmens, and Baluchis, as well as religious groups, such as Sunnis, Ismailis, Bahais, Christians, and Jews. At the same time, the political elite that embraced the principle of the Rule of the Jurisprudent, as interpreted by Khomeini, was on the rise."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Saddam Hussein tried to get rid of Khomeini's regime, but he failed, because he miscalculated the consequences and severity of the political conflict, in the wake of Khomeini's return to Tehran. Saddam Hussein's forces continued to retreat from within Iran back to Iraq, for over two years, and he was not supported by any of the Gulf countries during those two years. Unfortunately, however, Khomeini vowed to take revenge, so he attacked Iraq, but he too miscalculated the consequences, and the people of Iraq, both Sunnis and Shiites, surprised him with their unity against his aggression.
[...]
"This foreign policy was not limited to Iran or the Shiites, but, as Khomeini himself said, 'it was the starting point of a global revolution under the umbrella of Imam Mahdi.' May Allah hasten his appearance in our day and age.
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Upon considering the consequences of his acts after thirty years, however, we find that he had deepened the gaps between the various parts of the Islamic world.
[...]
"(Iran's) interaction with its Islamic neighbors is very limited and often hostile, due to Iran's policy of interference, which is based on its persistent efforts to establish sectarian organizations and non-regular armies, in the name of Islam, and to serve the interests of the leadership in Iran."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "The Iranian policies of Khomeini regime since 1979 rely, from the constitutional perspective, on the principle of exporting the revolution, and on the violation of (the sovereignty) of other countries, under the slogan of support for the weak and the persecuted. This continued for several years in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and other countries. Elsewhere, the Iranian regime supported the Sudanese Islamic groups, the Japanese red army, the armed sectarian groups affiliated with the Iraqi Dawa Party, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, the Islamic Jihad in Palestine, the international Al-Qaeda organization, and Hizbullah in the Hijaz. The purpose of all of this is to spread anarchy. Gentlemen, the Iranians can be proud of their history and heritage. The Arabs hold in great respect and esteem the Iranian culture and the undeniable Persian contribution. One cannot deny their role in the accomplishments of Islamic society over the past 1,500 years."
*Applause*
[...]
Al-Faisal: "Khomeini wore a black turban as an indication of his pride in his Arab origins. Khamenei and Hassan Nasrallah also wear such black turbans. But this does not permit the Iranian leadership to interfere in the affairs of the Arab countries.
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "because this leads to the opposite outcome. The demonstrators in the protests witnessed recently in all Iraqi cities, from the predominantly Shiite Basra all the way to Kirkuk, carried banners with the slogan: 'Khamenei Out!'"
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Similarly, demonstrators in Abadan, Iran chanted: 'Get out of Syria!' The Arabs will not be forced to follow political plans drawn up in Washington, London, or Paris, and they completely reject submitting to any plan that may be drawn up by the most skillful politicians in Iran today.
[...]
"The suffering and humiliation of the Iranian people must not continue, just because Khamenei and Rouhani believe that they have managed to arrange their affairs with the Great Satan."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Khamenei and Rouhani had better resolve their problem with the Iranian people. As for you, ladies and gentlemen, your legitimate struggle against Khomeini's regime will achieve its goal sooner rather than later."
*Applause*
Crowd: "The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!
"The people want to topple the regime!"
Al-Faisal: "I too want to topple the regime.
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Intifadas have broken out all over Iran. We the Islamic world stand by you with our hearts and our souls. We support you..."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "We in the Islamic world stand by you with our hearts and our souls. We support you, and we pray to the Lord to watch your steps, so that all the groups comprising the Iranian people will achieve their rights. As for you, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi..."
Al-Faisal: "As for you, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, and your late husband Massoud Rajavi..."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "As for you, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, and your late husband Massoud Rajavi... Your efforts to rid the Iranian people of the Khomeini cancer are legendary and epic, and will go down in history, just like the Shahnameh."
*Applause*
Al-Faisal: "Khodahafez ('Goodbye' in Farsi)."
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