Statements in Meeting with the People of East Azerbaijan

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

Welcome, dear people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan, especially the youth, especially the families of martyrs. The presence of a gathering of youth in these firm steps that have brought them from Azerbaijan to this Hussainiyah is a harbinger of a "generational connection" among all past and present generations of the revolution in the city of Tabriz and in Azerbaijan, which is one of the greatest merits of your city and province.

Whenever I traveled to Tabriz or other cities in Azerbaijan during the revolution, I felt that there is a merit, a preference in the sentiments and perspectives of these people that one observes less in other places. The events of the 29th of Bahman in 1978 (1) are a historical sign that cannot be forgotten. Timeliness, timely action, and self-sacrifice are characteristics of that incident. May God's mercy be upon the late Friday prayer leader of the city, the late Mr. Al-Hashem (may God be pleased with him), who accurately described and articulated these characteristics in one of his meetings; I have also witnessed and seen it with my own eyes.

I want to present my main recommendation right at the beginning: do not lose this sense of timeliness; do not lose this timely presence; this is a great merit. Azerbaijan is alive and vibrant. A lively and energetic nation will never fall prey to the political games and various tricks of the enemies. Thanks be to God, you have preserved this sense of timeliness and opportunity; this year, on the 22nd of Bahman, among the reports we received, [it was noted that] all cities have seen an increase in population, and Tabriz has doubled [its numbers].

My dear ones! This year's meeting and today's meeting is exceptional; it is different from previous years. This year has been a remarkable year; it has been a year in which the Iranian nation has demonstrated its greatness, will, steadfast determination, and capabilities in several stages, from the twelve-day war to the recent days.

Today, of course, we are also on the verge of the month of Ramadan; this is also among the blessed days. This year, the people of our country, including you dear and valiant people of Azerbaijan, have managed to elevate Iran's status, to honor your country. When I say [you managed] to elevate, it is not just an expression; this is what our officials who travel to other countries for political matters report to us. They say that today "Iran" has gained a special prominence in the eyes of the politicians we met and discussed Iran with, and this is due to the steadfastness and displays of power.

Today, I want to speak about two topics; one is about the sedition that occurred about a month, forty days ago; we must discuss this, we must analyze it. Of course, I spoke about this a few days ago (3), and today I will speak briefly; however, those who are analytical and thoughtful must work on it. The other topic is about America, this system that is in fact declining, this crumbling empire, about which I will say a few words.

Regarding this sedition, let me say in one word: my dear ones! What happened was a "coup" that failed. It was not the case that a group of young or not-so-young people got angry in a place, took action, protested, or caused chaos; no, it was more than that; it was a coup, but this coup was crushed under the feet of the Iranian nation.

In summary, the situation is as follows: the intelligence and espionage agencies of two countries, America and the occupied Palestine, namely this false Zionist regime, with the help of the intelligence agencies of some other countries — some of which we also know — have over time sought to find a number of wicked individuals or those with tendencies toward wickedness in our country, have taken them, given them money, provided them with weapons, trained them in sabotage, trained them to infiltrate military or governmental centers, and sent them to Iran, waiting for an opportunity to start their work whenever a chance arose. Their work was to influence a number of naive audiences — whether young or not — provoke them, and compel them to enter into hard fields. This opportunity arose for them; about a month and a half ago, they entered the field and pushed these naive and inexperienced youths forward; where? Towards sensitive centers: military centers, infrastructure centers, fuel storage centers, sensitive military and governmental centers. They pushed them there [forward] and themselves entered the field with various weapons — handguns, personal weapons, rifles, grenades, and so forth — and their policy was that the movement should be violent and reckless; like the actions of ISIS. They decided to act violently; hence, they set living people on fire, killed children in their fathers' arms; they committed violent acts. Unfortunately, a number of our compatriots lost their lives due to their actions and passed away.

What was the goal? The goal was to weaken the foundations of the system, to destabilize it, to seize sensitive centers, to take control of the media, and so forth; this was what they intended to do. The law enforcement forces, the Basij, the IRGC, and a large number of youths who were neither part of the Basij nor the IRGC confronted them. Some confronted them empty-handed, and some were martyred; but in the end, what happened? Ultimately, whether the enemy accepts it or not, this coup, which they had prepared with so much effort, so much expenditure, and so much planning, was brought to the ground and failed. This is what has happened. The matter is significant; it is not a trivial issue.

Well, what occurred was the enemy's defeat and the victory of the Iranian nation; this is clear and evident. Then came the remarkable marches of the 22nd of Dey and then the 22nd of Bahman, which were truly a divine sign of this massive and dense movement of the people. This [is] a policy. There are subsequent policies as well. I do not want to say definitively, but I want to say that the Iranian nation, which has been able to emerge victorious from the malice and plots of the enemy, must preserve this victory, which also requires preparedness, vigilance, and national unity.

However, blood has been shed. We are mourning; we are grieving for the blood that has been shed. [Of course] there were some of the corrupt and seditious individuals and coup plotters; some of them were those whose time was up and they met their end and their fate is with God; we have nothing to do with them. However, there were others who were not among them; there were three groups, three categories; I categorize the killed and the deceased into three groups: one group consists of the security defenders and defenders of the system's integrity; whether they were law enforcement forces, Basij, or IRGC members, or those who moved alongside them and were martyred; these are among the best martyrs; this is one group. Another group consists of passersby. When a seditious person creates chaos in the city, only those who confront him do not perish; there are innocent people [on the street] walking towards their workplace and home; some of them were martyred; these are also martyrs because they were killed in the enemy's sedition. This bullet, wherever it came from, in the enemy's sedition, this incident occurred, and thus this second group is also martyrs. The third group consists of those who were deceived, acted naively, were inexperienced, and accompanied the seditionists. I want to say that they are also one of us; they are also our children. Some of them have regretted their actions. Some wrote to me that we came to the street that day and so on, forgive us! They were not in prison; they were free, [but] they regretted, they made a mistake. Those among them who were killed were also considered martyrs by the officials; they did well. Therefore, the circle of our deceased, whom we consider as "martyrs," is wide: besides the seditionists and the leaders and those who received money from the enemy, apart from them, the rest: whether security defenders, passersby, and even those who took a few steps with the seditionists, these are also our children, and we seek mercy for them, we seek forgiveness for them; they made a mistake, may God Almighty forgive them for their mistakes; God willing.

Well, then, see that a phenomenon was created by the Americans called ISIS, which the Americans admitted they created; with specific methods. ISIS has somewhat been eradicated, but this new group, they are also new ISIS; we must be vigilant, we must be careful! Officials in one way, the people in another. Especially the youth should be attentive to who is speaking to them, who is making suggestions to them.

If there are still some of these main corrupt individuals in the country — which there must be — they must be pursued, punished, and tried; the nation is entitled to this matter. The security and judicial agencies are obliged to deal with those who cooperate with the enemy, who align with them — whether in action, in speech, or in analysis — to take judicial action against them, to act justly. I do not advocate for undue harshness, but undue leniency, like undue harshness, harms the country. Therefore, in my estimation, the future plan of America regarding the Islamic Republic is this type of action, this style of work. Of course, I am certain that, by God's grace, any such movement will be destroyed by the Iranian nation; without a doubt. The nation, thanks be to God, is alive, awake, and prepared.

As for the declining American empire; truly declining! They have economic problems, political problems, social problems; more than fifty percent of the American people do not accept their current president; these are the problems of a country; they are drowning in problems. I will just say one word; I said that day (4) that our issue with America is that they want to swallow Iran, and the Iranian nation is the obstacle, the Islamic Republic is the obstacle. They wish to dominate the Iranian nation. The statements made by the American president — which I will now refer to — sometimes threaten, sometimes say that certain actions must be taken, certain actions must not be taken, mean that they are seeking to dominate the Iranian nation.

The Iranian nation knows its Islamic and Shia lessons well; it knows what to do. Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) said: "One like me does not pledge allegiance to one like Yazid"; (5) a nation like us, with this culture, with this history, with this high knowledge, will not pledge allegiance to corrupt leaders who are currently in power in America.

Everything we had heard about their corruption is one side, this infamous and corrupt island (6) is another side! These truly represent Western civilization. When we talk about Western civilization, about Western liberal democracy, this is it. For two hundred years, three hundred years they have been moving, and the result is something like this. This island is one example; there are many such statements. Just as this was not clear and became clear, many other things will also become clear.

However, regarding the issues of America. The state propaganda atmosphere of America and the Zionist media and press that are active in America these days are almost entirely threats; they threaten that we will do this, we will do that. You people of Tabriz and many of the Iranian nation responded to these threats on the 22nd of Bahman; you showed that these threats have no effect and the effect of threats is the opposite; rather, it creates motivation. The dense presence of the nation in this march of the 22nd of Bahman answered many of these meaningless and nonsensical statements made by the current leaders of America.

They themselves know. The Americans themselves, who are now constantly threatening that there will be war, that this will happen, know that they cannot withstand these statements; their economic problems, their political problems, their international credibility cannot withstand confrontation in that manner; they know this; they know that if they make a mistake, what future awaits them.

One of the signs of the decline of the corrupt and oppressive American empire is their irrationality; they are irrational. When a government does something, there must be a logic behind it; they are irrational. One of their irrationalities is their interference in our internal affairs. First, they want to interfere in Iran's internal affairs. One of the internal issues that is very important to us is our armament issue. We must have deterrent weapons. If a country does not have deterrent weapons, it will be crushed under the feet of its enemies. Deterrent weapons are one of the necessities of our nation. The Americans have no business interfering in this matter, saying, "You should have this type of missile, not that type; you should have this range, not more than that"! What is it to you? What connection do you have? [This] pertains to the Iranian nation.

Or the issue of peaceful nuclear industry. The peaceful nuclear industry is not for war; it is for managing the country; it is for agriculture, for health and treatment, for energy, and everything that relies on energy. The Iranian nation is doing its work; what is it to you? What connection do you have? (7) When you say, "It is our undeniable right," this is also stated in the contracts and regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency; that is, all countries have the right to have nuclear facilities within their countries, even enrichment facilities. This is part of the rights of the nation. Why do the Americans interfere? This indicates the disorganized and disorderly thinking of the managers of America today and yesterday — it does not matter — why do they interfere? Now, what is even more strange is that they interfere and say, "Come, let us negotiate about your nuclear energy," and the result of the negotiation should be that you should not have this energy! If a negotiation is to take place — which there is no place for negotiation — if a negotiation is to take place, determining the outcome of the negotiation in advance is a foolish and absurd act. Well, you say, "Let us talk to reach an agreement on a certain topic," why do you determine the outcome? [They say] "We must definitely reach this agreement"! Well, this is foolish; this foolish act is being carried out by the leaders of America and some senators and the president and others.

They do not think that the path is a dead end. They think that the president of America repeatedly says that our army is the strongest army in the world. The strongest army in the world may sometimes receive such a blow that it cannot get up! They keep saying we sent a ship towards Iran; very well, of course, a ship is a dangerous device, but more dangerous than a ship is that weapon that can sink this ship to the bottom of the sea.

The American president in one of his recent statements said that for 47 years America has not been able to eliminate the Islamic Republic. He complained to his people that for 47 years America has not been able to eliminate the Islamic Republic; this is a good admission. I say to him, you also will not be able to do this.

The Islamic Republic means a living nation. The Islamic Republic is a government that is not separate from the people. The Islamic Republic consists of the Iranian nation, this steadfast nation, this resilient nation that is ready to work hard for its progress, to strive, and thanks be to God, it has made progress in these 47 years. The day when the Islamic Republic was a slender sapling, you could not uproot it; today, thanks be to God, the Islamic Republic is a blessed, tall, and fruitful tree.

In conclusion, I want to tell the dear government officials, the respected officials, that whatever efforts they make, they must double it, they must multiply it. We have many resources; the existence of this inflation in the country is illogical; the fall of the national currency's value to this extent is illogical; these must be corrected, and God willing, they will be corrected. The respected officials have started some work; they must continue these works with seriousness, precision, and consideration of all aspects, resolve internal problems, and create a calm business environment.

If there is a threat, the counter-threat devices also exist by God's grace. The people should do their work, live their lives, study, and conduct their businesses without worry. There must be an environment of calm, an environment of self-assurance, an environment of tranquility in the country; God Almighty, God willing, will send down tranquility and heart assurance upon each and every one of the people and will grant them grace; He will also grant success to the officials so that they can fulfill [their duties].

I welcome the dear families of the martyrs who have traveled this long path and have come here; I hope that, God willing, all of them will be successful and that God Almighty will unite these dear martyrs with the Prophet.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.