Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: America Is Like a Battery Running Out; They Are Done For

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which aired on various Iranian TV channels on May 24, 2007:

Esfahan TV (Iran)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Look at the Zionist regime. For 60 years, is has been turning an entire people into refugees. It attacks them on a daily basis. They kill the women and children in their homes. Not only do some of the superpowers keep silent, without protesting, but they even smile in approval and in support. Along they came and occupied Palestine, turning the Palestinian people into refugees, oppressing them for 60 years in order to...

Crowd chants: Death to Israel...

Death to Israel...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: They did this in order to establish a safe base, from which they would get all the peoples of the region under their rule. But thanks to your movement and the sacred fighting of the martyrs, Islamic revival and monotheistic belief have spread throughout the world, and today, the Palestinian people is uprising. In your presence, I would like to address a few words to the occupying Zionist regime and its supporters. Listen very carefully. I would like to tell you that if you think that just like 60 years ago, the Palestinian people and the peoples of the region are asleep, you are wrong. Today the peoples have awoken. If you believe that by oppressing the Palestinian people, and by bombing and terrorizing the Palestinian leaders, and by trying to "calm things down" in Palestine, as you call it, you can prepare the ground for a renewed attack against courageous Lebanon in the summer – let me tell you that you are severely mistaken.

Let me tell you that if this year you repeat the despicable mistake of last year, the ocean of the rage of the peoples of the region will surge and will eradicate the Zionist regime.

Crowd chants: Allah Akbar

Allah Akbar

[...]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: With the grace of God, we have almost reached the end of the path where we can take complete advantage of all nuclear capabilities. We are very near the summit. The resistance of the enemies grows weaker every day. If last year, they could place obstacles in our path to the level of ten units – this year, with God's grace, and thanks to your unity and steadfastness, they could not even do this to a level of two units. If last year, the strength of the Iranian peoples was to the level of ten units - let the world know that this year, our strength has reached a level of over 100 units.

[...]

Channel 1, Iranian TV

They want to intensify their sanctions now. They said 50 individuals are banned from traveling, and now they want to say 500. Let them say 70 million... What do we care... We don't want to travel to their countries anyway. When have we ever asked to travel to Western countries? If they don't want to sell us their merchandise – fine. To hell with them. We're happy they won't sell it to us. They have been pressuring us for 28 years. Has this harmed us in any way? They still don't understand that if they had not pressured us, and if they had given us all these products – we wouldn't be where we are today in terms of progress. We would lag behind by 20 years.

[...]

Now they are mustering all their power, in order to cause some commotion – some resolution, some pressure, some uproar... But let me tell you that with the help of God, they are done for. Like a battery about to run out, they muster the remainder of their power but Allah willing, nothing will happen. We've passed that. Wait one month, two months, three months... Allah willing, as soon as possible, we will pass that. Their situation is much worse than one can imagine. Their foundations are shaking. Nobody is with them. They though that if they used threats, people here would withdraw voluntarily. When they used threats nobody withdrew. When they used their fist – it boomeranged back at them. What's left for them to say? A few months ago, they threatened us militarily. Do you remember? They specified the date. They said: "On March 27, at 5 a.m., we will bomb these 20 sites." From this position of making military threats, they've got themselves to the point where they want to have talks with us, and they say: "It wasn't us making threats."