Leader: Enemies seek to set Iranians against establishment, to no avail

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the enemies are seeking to pit the Iranian people against their government and the Islamic establishment but all to no avail.

“Western countries mainly pin their hopes on the popular protests in order to overthrow the Islamic Republic,” Ayatollah Khamenei told a ceremony marking the 33rd anniversary of the passing of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Revolution, in Tehran on Saturday. 

“They hope to set people against the Islamic establishment, by launching psychological warfare, recruiting mercenaries, and staging media campaigns against Iran,” he said.

However, the Leader noted, “the enemies are making miscalculations as they did before” by erroneously believing that they can cause public dissent in the country.

They make such mistakes as they get “wrong advice” from the “Iranian traitors" who say "count on the Iranian people to rise up against the Islamic establishment,” the Leader said. 

The enemies are "naive to suppose that people have lost their faith in religion and the clergies,” he added. 

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Iranians’ “belief and interest in the Islamic Revolution and the religion has grown even more than the first day,” citing the funeral procession held for Iran’s top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

“Iran will not reach an impasse” despite some who claim otherwise on social media, he added. 

The Leader also said the West has plundered nations all the way from Asia to Africa and South America for the last three centuries.

“While the West has been ravaging the world… murdering, torturing and establishing slavery, their thinkers adopted human rights laws,” he said, adding this paradox in speech and actions is a “masterpiece of the West civilization.”

Enemies’ lies, deceptions, and psychological warfare

Ayatollah Khamenei also said “the enemy's lies, deceptions, and psychological warfare must be exposed.”

He touched upon the recent illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker by Greece and the confiscation of its oil by the US, praising Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for retaliating Athens' act of piracy.

Days after the Iranian oil tanker was captured by Greece in its territorial waters, the IRGC naval forces seized two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf over violations.

The Leader said the enemy has “accused Iran of stealing in their media campaigns,” however, “taking back what is stolen from you is not called stealing".

‘Being grateful to officials a heavy responsibility’

The Leader also said the enemy is trying to undermine Iranian officials.

He pointed to a recent building collapse in Abadan in southwest Iran, saying while those who are behind the deadly incident must be punished, it is imperative to be grateful to the officials who traveled to the city and met the victims’ families and supervised the rescue operation.

“Now that the enemy is seeking to undermine the Iranian officials, it is of greater importance to appreciate them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Imam Khomeini ‘put religious spirituality and people’s vote together’

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that Imam Khomeini helped align dualities which had been meant to contradict one another.

“He put religious spirituality and people’s vote together” and accordingly, “put economic justice and wealth creation together,” Ayatollah Khamenei added, stressing that “we neither oppress anyone nor do we accept being oppressed.”

And he said Iran will “strengthen its economy and improve its knowledge,” and concomitantly “ensure security and build up defense”.

“We have to observe national cohesion and unity and at the same time we have to respect diversity and different views,” the Leader added.

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