Televised Speech Addressing the Iranian Nation

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I extend my greetings to the dear nation of Iran. I have some remarks that I find appropriate to share with our beloved people; there are two or three topics that I will elaborate on now.

Before starting on this matter, I find it necessary to congratulate the arrival of the month of Mehr. The month of Mehr is the month of lessons, schools, knowledge, and universities. It is the month that marks the beginning of the movement of millions of young people, adolescents, and children towards knowledge and capability; this is the characteristic of the month of Mehr.

I advise our esteemed officials, especially those in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, to always consider the value and importance of the talents of Iranian youth. Iranian youth have demonstrated their talents in knowledge and in many other aspects of life.

I will read this statistic: In various competitions among students worldwide, recently, despite the events of the twelve-day war and the challenges that existed, our students earned forty colorful medals, of which eleven were gold. This is very significant and valuable. In the Astronomy Olympiad, they achieved the first rank in the world among participating countries. They also obtained good ranks in other fields. In sports, as you can see these days; previously in volleyball, now in wrestling. Our youth are like this; thanks be to God, their talents are extraordinary; we must utilize this.

I find it necessary to remember the great martyr, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, on the anniversary of his martyrdom. Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah was a tremendous asset for the Islamic world; not only for Shia Islam, not only for Lebanon; he was a treasure for the Islamic world. Of course, this treasure has not been lost; the wealth remains; he has gone, but the wealth he created remains. The story of Hezbollah in Lebanon is a continuing one. Hezbollah should not be underestimated, and this important wealth should not be neglected. This is a treasure for Lebanon and beyond.

I also wish to honor the recent martyrs who were martyred in this twelve-day war — whether military commanders, scholars, or others who were martyred in this incident — and I sincerely and wholeheartedly extend my condolences to their dear families.

However, the topics I find appropriate to discuss are three. The first topic is about the unity of the Iranian nation; of course, much has been said about this; I want to present a point regarding this matter. The second topic is about the issue of enrichment, for which I will provide an explanation regarding this enrichment that is so frequently discussed and repeated. The third topic is about negotiations with America, which various speakers and writers express diverse opinions about; some are in favor, some are against; some provide reasoning, some do not. I will share a few sentences on this as much as possible.

Regarding the first topic, that is, the unity of the Iranian nation, my first point is that during the twelve-day war, the unity of the Iranian nation discouraged the enemy; that is, the enemy realized from the early days of the war that they would not achieve their intended goal. The enemy's goal was not to eliminate commanders; that was a means. The enemy thought that by eliminating military commanders, by targeting some influential figures in the system, chaos would ensue in the country, especially in Tehran, their agents would incite riots and chaos, and they would draw people — those they could — to the streets and create an incident against the Islamic Republic through the people. This was the goal; thus, the target was the Islamic Republic; the aim was to disrupt the system, which I mentioned in another discussion that they had even planned for after the Islamic Republic, they had plotted and thought about it. They wanted to create turmoil, instigate street riots, and uproot the roots of Islam in the country; this was the enemy's goal.

Well, this goal failed from the very first steps. The commanders were almost immediately replaced, and those who were to replace them were appointed, and the situation, system, and order of the armed forces remained intact and with a higher morale; however, the people, who were the most effective element, were not at all influenced by what the enemy wanted; demonstrations occurred, the streets were filled, but against the enemy, not against the Islamic system. The people brought the situation to a point where the enemy, those outside the borders, told their agents: "You are useless! What else could we have done for you that we haven't done? We prepared the grounds, bombed, assassinated, killed; why are you not doing anything?" Their agents in Iran, in Tehran — who undoubtedly have their own agents — responded, saying, "We wanted to do things [but] the people did not pay attention to us, turned their backs on us; the officials and those responsible for the country's order did not allow it, prevented us, and we could not do anything." Thus, the enemy's plan was thwarted.

What I have mentioned, some of these points have been said before, either by us or by others. The point I want to emphasize is that this factor remains; the factor of the unity of the Iranian nation remains. Some — whose origin is also outside the country, as the news we have received indicates — want to portray that the unity that emerged at the beginning of the twelve-day war and during this period was only for those days; after a few days, it will gradually weaken, differences will arise, disagreements will prevail, and this unity will disappear; the people of Iran will become fragmented, and they can exploit ethnic fissures, exploit political disagreements, and incite the Iranian people against each other and create chaos and rebellion! This is what they are propagating.

I want to say this claim is utterly false. Yes, there are differences of opinion in political matters; we have many ethnic groups in the country who are all Iranian and take pride in their Iranian identity; these exist, but in the face of the enemy, all of this collective is a solid steel fist that will strike down upon the enemy; today it is like this, it has been like this in the past, and with God's grace, it will be like this in the future. Today's Iran, and God willing tomorrow, is the same Iran of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of Khordad when the people filled the streets and shouted against the accursed Zionists and the criminal America. This was the first issue I wanted to present. The point is that this national unity, this integrity of the people still exists and will continue to exist; of course, we are all responsible in front of it.

The second point is the issue of "enrichment." In the statements and discussions of the Foreign Ministry with its political counterparts, the term enrichment is frequently repeated. They say something about enrichment, we say something. Inside the country, in various discussions, the term enrichment is also repeated. I want to provide a brief explanation regarding enrichment. What is enrichment? What is it that holds such importance? All discussions revolve around enrichment; uranium enrichment.

I want to say that enrichment is a word, but beneath it lies a book of discourse; I will briefly touch upon it now. If individuals who are specialists in these fields speak with the people about this, it would be good, appropriate. I will present a brief explanation.

Uranium enrichment means that scientists and specialists related to uranium issues come and, with a series of complex and advanced technical efforts, convert raw uranium — which is mined in Iran — into a very valuable material that has an impact on various aspects of people's lives; this is the meaning of enrichment. It means taking something obtained from the earth's mine and, through complex technologies, with great effort, high expertise, and skills, they transform it into a material that is the enriched uranium; they bring it to enrichment, to various degrees, and this is effective for various issues in people's lives; that is, people benefit from the enriched uranium in various ways and it impacts their lives; including in agriculture, which has a significant impact on agriculture; in industry and materials; in nutrition, which relates to agriculture; in environmental issues and natural resources; in research, education, and scientific pursuits; and in generating electricity, which has a clear impact. Today, in many advanced countries, power plants are operated with uranium, while we operate most of these power plants with gasoline and gas, which, of course, incurs high costs and causes environmental pollution; however, the electricity generated from enriched uranium and nuclear power plants has zero pollution, much lower costs, a much longer lifespan [of the plant], and many other advantages that specialists should explain to the people. In my opinion, if we list the various applications of enriched uranium, it would be a long list.

Well, we did not have this very important technology. We were not capable of enrichment. The enemies were also unwilling to provide it to us; no one else would give it to us. A few dedicated managers and a few responsible and high-ranking scientists — in the true sense of the word — initiated the issue of uranium enrichment in the country over thirty years ago and brought it to this point. Today, we are at a high level in terms of uranium enrichment. Of course, those countries that want to create nuclear weapons take it up to ninety percent purity; since we do not need weapons and have decided against nuclear weapons, we have not raised it that high, we have raised it to sixty percent, which is a very high figure, a very good figure, and is necessary for some of our needs in the country; we have been able to advance to this point. We are one of the ten countries in the world that have this capability; that is, I tell you, among the two hundred and some countries in the world, there are ten countries capable of enrichment, and one of these ten countries is Islamic Iran.

Of course, the other nine countries also have nuclear bombs; we are the ones who do not have and will not have nuclear bombs and do not intend to use nuclear weapons, but we have enrichment. We are considered one of the leading countries in this industry; and these scientists I mentioned laid the foundation for this work, made significant progress, but their more important task was training many individuals in this field. This is a report that the relevant parties have given us, meaning a reliable and credible report: today in the country, there are dozens of distinguished scientists, hundreds of researchers, and thousands of trained individuals in various fields related to this subject actively working. Now, they have bombed facilities here and there; the issue is that this is knowledge; knowledge cannot be destroyed; knowledge does not vanish with bombs and threats; it exists. I repeat, there are dozens of distinguished scientists, skilled professors, hundreds of researchers, and thousands of trained individuals for various nuclear tasks; for example, in treatment, I did not mention the applications of nuclear treatment; treatment is one of the important applications of nuclear enrichment. Many individuals are engaged in various treatment fields; similarly in agriculture, in industry, and in various other tasks, they are working and striving.

Of course, in these past decades, while we have been doing these works in the country, there has been immense pressure on us, on Iran, on our officials, on our governments, to force Iran to abandon this work, but we did not yield and will not yield. We have not succumbed to pressure in this matter or in any other matter, and we will not. Now, the American side has firmly stated that Iran must not have enrichment; previously, they said do not have high enrichment or do not keep your enriched products in the country; they said these things which we did not accept. Now they say that Iran must not have enrichment at all. What does this mean? It means that this great achievement for which our country has made so much effort, incurred so many costs, and faced numerous challenges, all of this effort, all of the product of this work should be turned to smoke and air and destroyed! The meaning of "not having enrichment" is this. Well, it is clear that a proud nation like the Iranian nation will respond to the speaker of this statement and will not accept this. This is the matter related to enrichment that we have discussed.

And now the third topic: in the statements of political figures, the issue of negotiating with America is frequently raised; there are various opinions. I said some consider it beneficial, necessary, some consider it harmful, and some have more moderate views; the statements are diverse. What I have understood, seen, felt, and experienced over these many years, I convey to our dear nation.

I kindly ask political officials and political activists to reflect a little, think about these statements, contemplate, and make judgments based on awareness and information. My point is that currently, with the existing situation — now, the situation may be different twenty or thirty years from now; we are not concerned with that — in the current situation, negotiating with the American government, first, does not help our national interests at all, it brings no benefit to us, nor will it avert any harm; that is, it is an action without benefit, without any advantage for the country, without averting any harm; it has absolutely no such effect. This is the first point.

Secondly, on the contrary, it also entails harms. That is, it has no benefit at all, and the second point is that negotiating with America under the current conditions has significant harms for the country, some of which may be said to be irreparable; it has such harms. Now I will explain these.

But when we say it is not beneficial for us, it brings no advantage, it is because the American side has predetermined the outcome of the negotiations; that is, they have announced that they accept a negotiation and want to negotiate in which the result of that negotiation must be the cessation of nuclear activities and enrichment in Iran. That is, we sit at the negotiation table with America, and the result of the discussions we will have must be something that they have said "must happen"! Is this negotiation? This is dictation, this is imposition; sit down and negotiate with a party whose outcome must necessarily be what they want, what they say! This is negotiation? The opposing side speaks like this today, saying let’s negotiate so that the result of the negotiation is that Iran has no enrichment! Now this [individual] has said enrichment, a few days ago, his deputy announced that Iran must not have missiles either! Not long-range missiles; medium-range missiles must not be possessed, short-range missiles must not be possessed! This means that Iran should be so handcuffed and empty that if it is attacked, it cannot even respond to this American base in Iraq or elsewhere; the meaning of this statement is this; let’s negotiate so that this result comes about! Well, this is not beneficial; this is a negotiation in which there is no benefit, and it is all to our detriment; this is the result of the negotiation. This is not negotiation; it is submission to the bullying and imposition of America. When someone is facing Islamic Iran, such expectations, such statements, stem from a lack of understanding of the Iranian nation, a lack of understanding of the Islamic Republic, stemming from not knowing what the philosophy, basis, and approach of Islamic Iran is; those who do not know these things speak like this; as we say in Mashhad, "this statement is bigger than the speaker's mouth" and this statement that let’s negotiate for such a thing is not worthy of attention. Therefore, it does not benefit us.

And as for the harm; I said it has harm. This is more important; that it has harm is more important. The opposing side has threatened that if you do not negotiate, such and such will happen, we will bomb, we will do this and that; these statements are somewhat ambiguous, somewhat explicit; that is, a threat: either negotiate or if you do not negotiate, such and such will happen! This is a threat. Well, accepting such a negotiation is a sign of the vulnerability of Islamic Iran. If you negotiate under this threat, it means that we tremble and yield to every threat; it means this. If this vulnerability arises, it will never end. Today they say if you have enrichment, we will do such and such; tomorrow they will say if you have missiles, we will do such and such; then they will say if you have relations with such a country, we will do such and such; if you have relations with such a country, we will do such and such! There is constant threat [and] we must retreat in the face of the enemy's threats. That is, accepting a negotiation that is accompanied by threats is something no honorable nation would do, and no wise politician would endorse it. Therefore, this is the situation.

The opposing side may say now that in return for this, I will give you such and such concession! They are lying; what they say as concessions is a lie. Ten years ago, we made a contract with the Americans, which is known in our country as "JCPOA"; in this contract, it was agreed that we would do these things regarding nuclear issues — to close that production center; to send the three and a half percent product we were producing at that time abroad or dilute it, meaning to eliminate it, to stop its enrichment; and other things — they would lift the sanctions in return, and after ten years, Iran's file in the International Atomic Energy Agency would become normal. [Of course] at that time, when the officials of the country came to us and said "ten years," I said "ten years" is a lifetime, why do you accept "ten years"; they said such and such, it was agreed that they would not accept "ten years," but in any case, they accepted. "Ten years" is ending these days; the ten years that it was agreed that Iran's file would become normal is ending these days. Today you observe, not only has the file not become normal, but the nuclear issues of the country have multiplied in the Security Council, the United Nations, and in nuclear matters! The opposing side is like this, their promise is like this! We did all the things we were supposed to do, they did not lift the sanctions, none of the promises they made were fulfilled, and then they themselves, in common parlance, tore up that contract or that agreement and memorandum that was supposed to be established, they completely exited the JCPOA and rejected it.

If you negotiate with the opposing side and accept what they want, well, this is surrender and weakness of the country and the destruction of the dignity of a nation; if you accept their threats, which they are speaking to you with threats, this is how it is, if you do not accept, you will be like now where the same disputes and the same [issues] exist. Therefore, negotiation is not a proper negotiation. Let us not forget the experiences, let us not forget the experience of the past ten years. The one we are talking about is America; now I do not want to raise an issue with Europe.

This opposing side breaks promises in everything, lies in everything, deceives; they threaten military action at any time; if they can, they assassinate individuals, just as they assassinated our martyr, martyr Soleimani; or they bomb nuclear facilities; if they can, they do such things. The opposing side has such a situation; we cannot negotiate with this side, we cannot sit down with confidence and trust and talk and listen and make agreements.

In my opinion, negotiating with America regarding the nuclear issue and perhaps for other issues is a complete dead end; that is, there is no proper way for these, it is a complete dead end. They should think and see. Of course, it is beneficial for them; this negotiation is beneficial for the current American president; he will raise his head high, saying I threatened Iran and brought it to the negotiation table; he will boast about this in the world. But for us, it is purely harmful and brings no benefit to us.

And what I ultimately want to convey is that the remedy for the country's progress is to become strong; we must become strong. Military strength is necessary, scientific strength is necessary, governmental and structural and organizational strength is necessary. Our intelligent individuals, our caring experts must sit down, find ways to strengthen the country; and pursue these paths. If this happens, then the threatening side will not threaten; if they see the opposing side is strong, they will not even threaten. In my opinion, there is no other way.

We must seek help from the Almighty God, rely on the Almighty God, and invoke the Imams of the Pure (peace be upon them) to intercede and help, and bring national determination to the forefront, and God willing, advance the work; and this work will be achieved with divine grace.

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