Leader on Imam Khomeini, Palestine, Al-Aqsa Storm, President Raeisi and more

By Mojtaba Mohammadi

On Monday, marking the 35th anniversary of the passing of Imam Khomeini, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei addressed a large crowd in Tehran.

The speech primarily focused on the developments in the Gaza Strip where the Palestinian resistance has prevailed over the Zionist aggressors, the recent tragic incident in which President Raeisi and his companions were martyred and the upcoming presidential elections slated for June 28.

The ceremony held at the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini near the country’s largest cemetery Behesht-e Zahra in southern Tehran drew hundreds of thousands of people from different Iranian cities.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the purpose of holding the grand gathering every year was to renew the memory of the Imam and to use his lessons for the administration and progress of the country and the realization of the goals of the Islamic revolution that the Imam spearheaded.

Imam Khomeini passed away on June 3, 1989, after a brief spell of illness. He led a movement that inspired not only Iranians but all campaigners of truth and justice worldwide.

Imam Khomeini's accurate far-sighted predictions

In the first part of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei explained the importance of the Palestinian issue in the thoughts and opinions of Imam Khomeini, praising his visionary predictions made fifty years ago.

"From the first day of the beginning of the Islamic movement, the great Imam relied on the Palestinian issue, and with precision and foresight, he predicted the future path of the Palestinian nation that is gradually coming true today," he said.

He was referring to the events of October 7 last year when the Palestinian resistance surprised the Israeli regime and exposed the myth of its military and intelligence invincibility.

In the past eight months, despite killing 36,500 Palestinians, most of them children and women, the Israeli occupation has failed to meet any of its military objectives in the besieged territory.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution recalled the views of Imam Khomeini that suggested that the Palestinians would regain their rights on the battlefield and force the Zionist regime to back down, adding that these great events are now being realized through the resistance movement.

As another example of Imam Khomeini's correct prediction, he mentioned his announcement of the collapse of the communist Soviet Union, one of the two superpowers of the Cold War.

He referred to Imam's letter from the beginning of 1989, addressed to the leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, inviting him to God and decisively predicting the collapse of communism.

His quote about "hearing the sound of breaking the bones of communism", paraphrased by Ayatollah Khamenei in this speech, was uttered before the very signs of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and widespread revolutions.

Palestine as the main worldwide issue

He also cited Imam Khomeini as describing the Palestinian case as the first and foremost issue of the Muslim world, which has now become the main issue for the world as well.

Imam Khomeini deemed the liberation of Palestine an Islamic duty for all Muslims, often mentioning the issue of Al-Aqsa mosque as the most important for the Muslim world, which was also emphasized by late Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi in numerous speeches in international forums.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that now Palestine has turned into the first issue of the world as anti-Israeli protests are being held on the streets of London, Paris, and the US universities.

"For many years, American-Zionist propaganda and media centers made efforts to consign the issue of Palestine into oblivion but now Palestine is the first issue of the world due to the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm," he said.

He added that the United States has also become passive in the face of global consensus of nations and sooner or later it will be forced to abandon support for the Zionist regime.

Last week, Ayatollah Khamenei wrote a letter to students in American universities praising them for standing on the right side of history in the changing world.

Praise of the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm

Referring to the Zionist regime being trapped in the corner following the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, Ayatollah Khamenei said although the US and many Western governments continue to support the regime, they also know that “there is no way out” for it.

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to say that the unprecedented military operation happened at a proper time and dealt a great blow to the Zionist regime that changed its fate and foiled the nefarious plot of the enemies to dominate the region and the Islamic world.

He explained that the United States, elements of global Zionism and some regional governments had designed a big and detailed plan to change the relations and equations of the region.

"They wanted to create the connections between the Zionist regime and the governments of the region, to provide the grounds for the dominance of the hated regime over the politics and economy of West Asia and the entire Islamic world," he said.

He further said that this sinister plot was very close to being executed when Operation Al-Aqsa Storm was launched and blew away all the fabric of the US, Zionism and their followers, and today there is no hope of reviving that plan.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution considered the unprecedented crimes and boundless cruelty of the Zionist regime and the US government's support for these atrocities as frustrated reactions to the destruction of the great international conspiracy for Zionist domination in the region.

He called the sufferings of the people of Gaza, including the martyrdom of about 37,000 people and the killing of about 15,000 children, babies and infants, as the heavy cost of the Palestinian nation on the way to salvation from the hands of the Zionist occupiers and aggressors.

Further explaining the irreversible damage that the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm caused to the Zionist regime, he mentioned the confessions of American and European analysts and experts, and even those affiliated with the hated regime, saying:

"They also admit that the occupying regime has suffered a heavy defeat against resistance groups and has not reached any of its bare minimum goals after eight months."

Referring to the words of Western analysts about the impact of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm in changing the 21st century, he also pointed out the confusion and dizziness of the regime, the wave of reverse migration, and the inability to protect the illegal settlers of the occupied territories.

Ayatollah Khamenei described it as signs of the last gasps of the Zionist project, emphasizing that the world is at the beginning of the end of the Zionist regime.

Despite the Western propaganda, he stressed, the Zionist regime is nearing its end before the eyes of the people of the world, and apart from the nations, many politicians of the world and even the Zionists have understood this fact.

President Raeisi, FM Amir-Abdollahian, others ‘martyrs of service"

Ayatollah Khamenei also spoke about the martyrdom of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six of their companions in a helicopter crash, calling them "martyrs of service" as they lost their lives while serving the people.

Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian and six others died on May 19, when their helicopter crashed amid inclement weather in the mountains of northwestern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution described President Raeisi as a hard-working and honest man who made his utmost efforts to serve the Iranian nation and also hailed Amir-Abdollahian as a skilled and intelligent negotiator who adhered to the principles of the Islamic Republic.

He stated that the passing of President Raeisi and others was a great loss, saying that Iranians created an epic by taking part in their funeral ceremonies in different cities, including Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Qom, Birjand, Ray, Zanjan, Maragheh and Najafabad.

"This epic showed that the Iranian nation is a nation full of motivation, does not get tired and does not fall from adversity, but its endurance and motivation increases,” he stated.

He described the presence of millions of people at funerals as unique and incomparable to anything else in the world, adding that it testifies to the close attachment between the people and the officials.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution urged people to create another epic by taking part in the upcoming June 28 presidential election in large numbers and electing a capable president.

Many of the presidential candidates in the fray were present in the hall where Ayatollah Khamenei delivered his speech. He also urged them to work tirelessly for the Iranian nation.

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