Statements on the 30th Anniversary of Imam Khomeini's (may his soul be sanctified) Passing at the Holy Shrine of the Late Imam

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, chosen, infallible descendants, the guided ones, especially the Awaited One among the people of the earth.

Today marks exactly thirty years since that bitter historical day; thirty years since the separation from our beloved Imam, thirty years since that historical farewell and the magnificent, unparalleled send-off that the people gave to their dear and unique Imam. Over these thirty years, many efforts have been made to diminish the memory and name of the Imam. Numerous intrigues have been carried out to overlook the principles of the Imam, the thoughts of the Imam, and the path of the Imam in the management of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There has been an attempt to lessen the unique attraction of our beloved Imam. For thirty years, various enemies and sometimes oblivious individuals have engaged in such efforts; however, the reality has unfolded entirely contrary to the wishes of the opponents and enemies. The reality is that the attraction of the Imam has not only not diminished but has even extended further. One sign of this is the very large gathering today. Thirty years after the passing of the great Imam, this enthusiastic and immense crowd is celebrating his anniversary on this day of Ramadan, in the afternoon of Ramadan, in this warm weather, with such vitality and fervor. Where in the world can such a thing be found?

You witnessed the attraction of the Imam just a few days ago during the Quds Day rally, and the whole world saw it. Forty years ago, the great Imam invented Quds Day to defend the important issue of Palestine; forty years have passed, yet Quds Day has not grown old. This year, rallies were held in over a hundred countries on Quds Day in memory of the great Imam. While the policies of American global arrogance and its followers aim to consign the Palestinian issue to oblivion and erase the issue from the agenda - as you hear the news of the American malice and the betrayal of some Arab leaders in this regard - under such circumstances, the influence of our great Imam causes the issue of Quds to be raised in over a hundred countries; not by the statesmen and official political spokespersons, but by the masses, by the very people of the Muslims. This is a sign of the Imam's attraction that still exists thirty years after his passing; no attraction in the world can compare to this. Of course, I take this opportunity to sincerely thank our dear people for their magnificent and dignified presence on the last Friday of the blessed month of Ramadan, when massive gatherings of people took to the streets across the country; the people truly did not fall short in acting upon the recommendations of the Imam, nor will they.

What is the secret of this attraction? What is the source of this unparalleled attraction of the great Imam? I will present just one aspect of this matter; it requires a broader discussion. The Imam possessed certain personality traits and gifts that God had given him, which are rarely found in anyone to this extent. The Imam had these characteristics: he was a courageous man, a wise and prudent man, a pious and God-fearing man, devoted to the great God, enamored with divine remembrance; the Imam was a man who opposed oppression; he did not tolerate oppression, he fought against oppression, he supported the oppressed, he opposed global arrogance; the Imam was a man who sought justice, a supporter of the oppressed; he was honest, he spoke sincerely with the people, he communicated with them as his heart felt and as his heartfelt emotions dictated; he treated the people sincerely; he was dedicated to striving in the way of God, he did not rest, he was always in a state of striving; [he was the embodiment of] this noble verse: "So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up for [the worship of] your Lord;" (1) when he finished one great task, he looked to another great task and pursued it; he was dedicated to striving in the way of God; these are the factors of the Imam's attraction. These characteristics were united in the Imam; anyone who possesses these characteristics will attract hearts towards him; these are the good deeds that God the Almighty says: "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection." (2) This is God's promise; these affections are divine affections, not imposed or coerced or indoctrinated affections; it is God's work, it is God's hand.

Well, there is one characteristic of the Imam that I want to discuss more today, and that is the characteristic of "resistance"; resistance, steadfastness. What made the Imam stand out as a school, an ideology, a thought, a path, for his time and in history was primarily this characteristic; the characteristic of steadfastness, resistance, and not yielding in the face of difficulties and obstacles. Against the tyrants, the Imam showcased his resistance to the entire world; during the struggles, many became weary, many were on the verge of despair, but the Imam stood firm, the Imam stood without the slightest retreat in the path of struggle; this was during the period before the victory of the revolution. And after the victory of the revolution, pressures of a different kind and in a more comprehensive manner appeared against the Imam, yet the Imam again did not abandon the principle of resistance, he resisted. When I look at this characteristic of the Imam and refer to the verses of the Quran, I see that the Imam truly interpreted many verses of the Quran with his steadfastness and resistance. For example, the Quran says: "So call [people] to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best;" (3) threats and temptations and deceptions did not affect the Imam; it is not that they did not threaten or tempt or attempt to deceive him; they did, but they had no effect on him whatsoever, his steadfastness was not compromised. The important thing is that the enemy's efforts and threats could not disrupt the Imam's calculations; because one of the enemy's main strategies is this: when they confront you, knowing your intentions, knowing your decisions, they seek to do something to alter your calculations, to disrupt your decision-making process; one of the main tasks of enmity in various arenas is this. The enemy could not disrupt the calculations of our great Imam, which were based on the clear evidence of the divine religion of Islam.

What does resistance mean? The meaning of resistance is that a person chooses a path that they believe to be the right path, the correct path, and begins to move along this path, and obstacles cannot divert them from moving along this path; this is the meaning of resistance. Suppose at some point on a road, a person encounters an obstacle, or in climbing a mountain, they encounter a rock; some people, when they encounter this rock or this obstacle or this thief or this wolf, turn back, they are deterred from continuing on their path; others, however, look to see what the way around this rock is, what the way to confront this obstacle is, they find that way or remove the obstacle or pass through it with a wise method; resistance is this; and the Imam was like this; he had chosen a path and was moving along it; what was this path? What was the Imam's message that he stood firm and insisted upon? The Imam's message was the sovereignty of God's religion; the sovereignty of God's religion and the divine school over the Muslim community and the lives of the general populace; this was the Imam's message. After he succeeded in overcoming the obstacles and establishing the Islamic Republic system, he declared that we neither commit oppression nor submit to oppression; we do not commit oppression, but we do not submit to oppression; we do not reconcile with the oppressor and we support the oppressed; this was the Imam's message.

Well, this message is derived from the essence of religion, it is rooted in the Quran. In addition to the Quran explicitly stating this, sound reason also confirms it. Opposing oppression, defending the oppressed, not cooperating with the oppressor, and not reconciling with them is something that all wise people of the world appreciate; the Imam stood firm on this message. It is evident that this message and this approach has formidable enemies in the world. The global arrogant powers are oppressors. Until the time the Imam began this great movement, for over two hundred years, Western governments had subjected nations in various corners of the world - in Asia, in Africa, in numerous countries - to their increasing oppression; the British in India and the countries of that region, the French in Africa, in Algeria and other countries, and some other European countries in various countries were engaged in clear and unabashed oppression; it is clear that they would be disturbed by this slogan. [The fact that] a government arises in the heart of Asia, in this sensitive point, in Iran, whose slogan is that it will not tolerate oppression, will not accept oppression, will not reconcile with the oppressor, and will support the oppressed, is something that was hard and intolerable for them; thus, enmity began from day one.

The enmity was initiated by those who were oppressors, those who were aggressors, those who were extortionists; these could not be compatible with the nature of the Imam's message, namely the Islamic Republic, so enmity began from day one; in the first decade of the revolution, during the blessed life of the great Imam, it was one way, and after the Imam's passing, in these past two or three decades, it has been another way. In the face of this unprovoked and malicious aggression, from the very beginning, the Imam established the thought of resistance, the thought of steadfastness, the thought of not losing sight of the path and goal, and laid it down as a lesson, as a path, for us, for the Iranian nation, for the fighters, for the officials of the country, to follow this path.

This resistance gradually transcended the borders of the Islamic Republic. It is not that we want to export this title of resistance or the thought of resistance, as some politicians and others complain in various corners about why we want to export the revolution. We do not export the revolution; the revolution is a thought, an ideology, a path; if it is accepted and embraced by a nation, that nation will naturally accept it. Did we go to these countries for this year's Quds Day and tell them to come and rally? They did it themselves, they wanted to; the resistance itself was accepted by the nations. Today, in our region, in the region of West Asia, the common word among the nations is resistance; all accept resistance. Of course, some dare to enter the field of resistance, while others do not dare; however, those who do dare are not few. The defeats that the Americans have faced in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Palestine, and similar places in recent years are the result of the resistance of the resistance groups. The resistance front today is a strong front.

Of course, we do not deny that since we, the Iranian nation, have embraced resistance wholeheartedly and progressed and succeeded, others have also been encouraged towards resistance. This has been stated and confirmed by non-Iranian experts, international political analysts. A well-known international analyst - who is American and whose name you all know - says that one of the most important reasons for America's enmity with the Islamic Republic is precisely that the Islamic Republic has taken the path of resistance and succeeded, has managed to overcome obstacles; this is one of the reasons for enmity. They want us to fail, they want us to be deterred, they want us to raise our hands in surrender; since we do not do so, they engage in enmity.

Pay attention so that I can convey an important and necessary point here. Well, the Imam has chosen the path of resistance. The important point is that the Imam did not choose resistance out of excitement, nor out of fleeting emotions; the backing for the Imam's choice of resistance is a logical backing, a rational backing, a scientific backing, and of course a religious backing; there is logic behind the Imam's steadfastness and resistance; now I will present a few components of this logic.

One component of this logic is that resistance is the natural reaction of any free and honorable nation in the face of imposition and bullying; no further justification is needed. Any nation that values its dignity, its identity, and its humanity will resist, will refuse, will stand firm when it sees something being imposed upon it; this alone is an independent and convincing reason; this is one.

Secondly: resistance causes the enemy to retreat, unlike surrender. When the enemy bullies you, if you take a step back, they will advance; without a doubt. The way to prevent them from advancing is to stand firm. Standing firm and resisting against the enemy's excessive demands, bullying, and extortion is the way to prevent their advance; thus, the advantage lies with resistance. We ourselves have experienced this, and our experience in the Islamic Republic shows this. Of course, I have many examples in mind right now; I do not want to go into details and mention examples; I will say generally: wherever we stood firm and resisted, we were able to advance; wherever we surrendered and acted according to the wishes of the other side, we were harmed. There are clear examples, and intelligent and informed individuals can easily find examples in the forty-year history of the Islamic Republic. This is another part of this logic.

The third part of the logic of resistance, which the Imam established in the Islamic Republic system, is this Quranic aspect of God's promise. God the Almighty has repeatedly promised in the Quran that the people of truth, the supporters of truth, will ultimately be victorious; numerous verses of the Quran indicate this meaning. They may have to sacrifice, but in the end, they will not be defeated; they are victorious in this arena; they have sacrifices but no failures. From the examples of the noble verses of the Quran, I will mention two or three verses here; dear youth who are familiar with the Quran, refer to these and reflect on them. "Or do they intend a plot? But those who disbelieve are the ones who will be plotted against;" (6) they think they are laying the groundwork, plotting against the front of truth and resistance, but they do not know that a plot is being laid against themselves according to the nature and divine tradition. Another verse: "And We intend to bestow favor upon those who have been oppressed in the land" (7) until the end of the verse. Another verse: "If you support Allah, He will support you and make your feet firm;" (8) another verse: "And Allah will surely support those who support Him." (9) Numerous verses of the Quran all promise this outcome to those who are on the path of resistance. This is also a reasoning. A part of the strong reasoning and logic of the Imam is based on these verses - there are dozens of verses in the Holy Quran - of which I have now recited three or four.

The fifth point - which must be considered in the logic of resistance and which the Imam considered, and we also know and understand and calculate - is that resistance is a feasible matter; it is the exact opposite of the erroneous thinking of those who say and propagate that "Sir! It is useless; how do you want to resist? The opponent is powerful." The great error lies here; the great error is to think that one cannot resist against the powerful of the world, one cannot stand firm against them. I want to elaborate on this a bit more; because this is an important and prevalent issue; even now, we have individuals who, under the guise of intellectualism and similar pretenses, in newspapers, in books, in speeches, here and there, propagate that "Sir! It is useless, we cannot confront them, we cannot stand against them, we must accept it"; in summary, we must submit; we must submit and ease our minds. I say that this perspective, which claims "we cannot," stems from the same calculational error I mentioned earlier; this is a mistake in calculation.

A calculational error in any issue arises from not seeing the various factors of that issue correctly. When it comes to a confrontation, when it comes to a clash between two fronts, the calculational error arises from not correctly identifying our own front and the opposing front; when we do not recognize them, we make mistakes in our calculations; if we recognize them correctly, our calculations will be different. I say that in the calculations we must have regarding the issue of resistance against the bullies of the world, we must know the realities related to these bullies correctly, and we must also know the realities related to ourselves. One of these realities is the "power of resistance."

You see; in international political literature, the term "resistance in the style of Imam Khomeini" is a title. What existed in the expressions of the Westerners and became widespread after the liberation of Khorramshahr was the "doctrine of resistance of Imam Khomeini"; they brought this up and wrote articles about it. Now I have noted a sentence written by one of the well-known political figures in the world, which if I say, you all will recognize; he wrote it in an article; he wrote that "the era of the unique role of military and economic power in global dominance is in decline; that a country has a lot of military power and a lot of economic power and can continue its dominance is no longer the case; the world has changed"; he writes that "in the not-too-distant future, we will witness transnational powers that, in terms of military machinery - like nuclear bombs - or share in global industrial production, are not very high, but will challenge the military and economic dominance of the West with their ability to influence millions of people." This is stated by a Western politician and political analyst. He then adds that "the doctrine of resistance of Khomeini has targeted the vital arteries of Western and American dominance with all its might." The secret of the endurance of the Islamic Republic lies in these matters; this is the line that this great man, this righteous servant of God, left among us; the line of resistance, the line of steadfastness, the line of appreciation for what we have.

I say that today the resistance front is in its most cohesive state in the past forty years; in the region and in centers even beyond the region; this is a reality. The opposite is the arrogant power; the arrogant power of America, the power of instigation and malice of the Zionist regime, has significantly declined and diminished over the past forty years; we must take this into account in our calculations. What has happened and is happening in the political situation of America or in the social and economic situation of America must be included in our calculations. Some Americans have said this; some say "moth-eaten decline"; this is said by a writer from America. Regarding the decline of American power, he says "moth-eaten decline"; meaning it is becoming hollow from within - the institutions within America say this - both in the economic sphere and in the social sphere and in the political sphere. There are clear statistics regarding the state of American economic power and America's influence in the global economy that have dramatically fallen over these decades, and I have the statistics, but I do not need to present the details now. In the political sphere as well, American power has declined.

Dear brothers and sisters! I tell you this: if the political decline of America has no more than one reason - which I will now mention - it is sufficient, and that reason is the election of an individual with the characteristics of Mr. Donald Trump in America. This election itself is a sign of the political decline of America; the fate of over three hundred million people is in the hands of a person with these characteristics, which is a sign of the political decline of America; political decline, moral decline. They have continuously supported and defended the crimes and murders of the Zionist regime; they have supported the crimes of a coalition of several governments in Yemen and the slaughter of innocent Yemeni people; they support crimes; is there any greater moral decline than this?

Within America itself, there are numerous problems. The other day, I think I mentioned in a session at the beginning of Ramadan that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially announced that 41 million people in America are struggling with hunger; this is the state of America, this is the economic situation of America. The U.S. government has a debt of 2,200 billion dollars - 2.2 trillion - this is a legendary figure, these numbers are simply unimaginable. These are their troubles, and then this gentleman expresses concern for the Iranian nation, saying we want the happiness, prosperity, and employment of the Iranian nation; go fix yourself, if you can, set your own situation right. America ranks first in the world in violent crimes; it ranks first in the world in drug consumption; it ranks first in the world in killing its own people; it ranks first in the world in killings by the police in America. Statistics show that in just the past eight months, 830 people in America have been killed by the police in the streets; this is the social situation of the government that threatens the Iranian nation.

One side of the calculation is ourselves. Of course, we have problems; we have economic problems, we have said this many times, and the officials are doing their best to solve these problems. We have problems, but we do not have a dead end. The important thing is that we do not have a dead end in the country; neither in economic matters, nor in social matters, nor in political matters; we have problems that have various causes, but we do not have a dead end in the country; on the contrary, we are making progress. At the forefront of the strengths of our country are the dear people of Iran; this enthusiastic nation, this insightful nation. If our nation did not have insight, this public presence where their presence is needed would not be seen; public presence. You see what a massive gathering took place on the 22nd of Bahman 1397, just four or five months ago, in the streets across the country! This requires insight, this requires effort, this requires readiness, this requires unity; the Iranian nation possesses this: awareness, insight, the power of steadfastness, and strong will; this is the greatest strength of our country; there are other strengths as well. Thus, the logic of resistance is what we have presented. With the backing of such logic, the Imam entered the field of resistance.

I have noted a few points [that since] time has passed a bit, I will quickly mention. My dear ones! One point is that the goal of resistance is to reach a point of deterrence. In both economic matters, political matters of the country, social matters, and military matters, we must reach a point that is deterrent, meaning it can show itself in such a way that the enemy is deterred from attacking the Iranian nation in all areas; the enemy sees that it is futile and cannot do anything against the Iranian nation. Today, in the military sphere, we have largely reached this deterrence. The reason they insist on issues like missiles and similar matters is because they know we have reached deterrence, we have reached a point of stabilization, and they want to deprive the country of this, and of course, they will never be able to.

Our confrontation with our issues and with our enemies must first be courageous, not fearful; secondly, it must be hopeful, not despairing; thirdly, it must be wise and prudent, not emotional and superficial; [fourthly] it must be innovative, not reactive; we must innovate; if we move in this manner, if we act in this way, know that the Iranian nation will succeed in confronting all the great powers and will be able to advance.

Another condition for success is that we pay attention to the enemy's tricks to weaken the idea of resistance. See, my dear ones! The idea of resistance is the most powerful weapon of a nation; thus, it is natural that the enemy wants to take this weapon away from the Iranian nation; [therefore] they begin to sow doubts about the idea of resistance: "Sir, what is the use, it cannot be done." The idea of resistance must remain immune from the enemy's tricks and not be weakened by the enemy's tricks.

The enemy's tricks have various forms and types; sometimes they threaten, sometimes they tempt, like this recent cunning man, the esteemed President of America, who recently stated that "Iran can achieve great progress with its current leaders as well!" This means that the current leaders of Iran! We do not want to overthrow you, do not be upset, we have no intention of overthrowing you, we are willing to accept you as well. This is a so-called political trick directed at the leaders of Iran. Of course, this statement is correct; if the current leaders of Iran, the current officials of Iran, roll up their sleeves, work hard, and use the people's resources appropriately and suitably, they will undoubtedly achieve even greater progress; there is no doubt about it, but the condition is that the Americans do not come close; the condition for progress is that the Americans do not come close. This political trick of this gentleman will not deceive the officials of the Islamic Republic, nor will it deceive the nation. The Americans must not come close. Wherever the Americans have stepped in, there has either been war, or fratricide, or sedition, or exploitation, or colonization, or humiliation; the Americans' steps are ill-fated. [If] they do not come close, we know how to behave; we know how to act, God the Almighty will grant us success, and God willing, we will advance.

The nation is present in the field, and this presence must continue. Dear brothers, dear sisters! I tell you that just your presence on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan disrupts and disturbs all the enemy's calculations. May God, God willing, bestow His blessings, mercy, and blessings upon you. Yes, the Iranian nation is truly ready.

I also make a recommendation to the esteemed officials of the country: focus on the main issue. At any given time, there is a main issue in the country that must be focused on. Before the victory of the revolution, the main issue was the "Tyrannical Regime" that the Imam focused on and succeeded; after the victory of the revolution, at one point, the main issue was the "stabilization of the system," at another point it was the "imposed war of Saddam against the country" that the entire country focused on the issue of war, and thanks be to God, success was achieved. Today, the main and urgent issue is the "economy." Of course, there are cultural issues as well, and they are very important, and there are security issues as well, but among all these issues, what is most urgent is the economic issues that relate to the livelihood of the people and also affect cultural and security issues.

In the economic issue, there are main issues, important titles that I will mention a few of them: one is the issue of boosting production, one is the issue of the value of the national currency, one is the issue of improving the business environment, one is the issue of separating the country's economy from the sale of crude oil - we must cut the umbilical cord of the budget and the economy from crude oil and the sale of crude oil; this is one of our main issues - transforming government intervention in the economy into government guidance and oversight is also among the main issues, cutting off the hands of economic corruptors, meaning embezzlers, economic terrorists, ruthless smugglers, we must cut off their hands from the economy. See, these are the main issues of the country's economy. The officials of the country, mainly the executive branch and alongside it the legislative branch and in some issues the judiciary must collectively work on these issues, solve these issues; these are the main issues. Let us focus on these, and not get involved in peripheral and secondary issues, let us not create distractions. National solidarity is very important, setting aside political and factional disputes is very important, and one of the most important issues is to maintain a heartfelt connection with God the Almighty.

This year's Ramadan was a good Ramadan. As far as I know and reports have been given to me, this year's Ramadan has seen very warm gatherings of prayer, remembrance, supplication, and the exposition of Islamic teachings. In this city of Tehran, in various neighborhoods, massive gatherings of people - mostly youth - have come together to supplicate, shed tears, and engage in devotion and supplication; these are very valuable. These are the groundwork for divine mercy and guidance; appreciate this, continue this. Dear youth! Your pure hearts, your luminous hearts can act as keys to solving great problems and attracting divine mercy. And we hope that God will bless this great and important Ramadan that the people have experienced this year. Today is also the last day of Ramadan; and we are now in the final hours of this month. It is good to say a few words of prayer as well. We ask You, O God, and we call upon You by Your great, most exalted, most honored name, and by the sanctity of Muhammad and his family, O God ... O Most Gracious, O Most Merciful, O Turner of hearts, keep our hearts steadfast in Your religion.

O Lord! Keep us steadfast on Your path. O Lord! Join the pure soul of the Imam, who taught us resistance, with Your saints. O Lord! Do not diminish the shadow of the Imam's memory and the memory of the martyrs from this nation. O Lord! Bestow Your victory upon the Iranian nation. O Lord! Bestow Your victory upon the Muslim Ummah. O Lord! Humiliate and disgrace the instigators in the world of Islam. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, grant the needs of these people that were expressed in these gatherings of remembrance and supplication or were passed in their hearts, by Your grace and kindness. O Lord! Accept their prayers. O Lord! Make this Ramadan a blessed month for the Iranian nation and for the Islamic Ummah. O Lord! Do not deprive us of Your grace, Your kindness, Your forgiveness, and Your mercy; forgive our sins; forgive our transgressions and extravagances; forgive our predecessors, our parents. O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, include us in the answered prayers of Your guardian and proof; make us his soldiers; let our death be in martyrdom in this path. O Lord! Make everything we have said, everything we have heard, everything we do for You and in Your way, and accept it from us by Your grace.

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