Statements in Meeting with the People of Qom

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 remainder of God on earth.

I extend my warm welcome to all the dear brothers and sisters who have come from Qom, illuminating and perfuming this space of our Hussainiyah with your warm breath, your radiant hearts, and the memory of your dear martyrs. In addition to the significance of the Nineteenth of Dey — which is an important occasion that I will discuss — the very act of meeting with the faithful, brave, and active people of Qom is valuable to us. We ask the Almighty God to always keep these dear people under His blessings and favors.

Commemorating the incident of the Nineteenth of Dey 1356 is necessary and essential for two reasons: Firstly, because the Nineteenth of Dey 1356 is one of the peaks of our country's history; that is, anyone looking at the history of our country in the future will see that one of the most prominent points in this history is this very day for which you have gathered here; because it was this day that initiated a great movement in the country, and this great movement led to a tremendous revolution that shook the world and changed the political map of the world; thus, it is a peak. The second reason for the necessity of commemorating the Nineteenth of Dey is that we must learn lessons from it. These events, these days of God, are for learning; we must learn and take heed. Therefore, this annual gathering of yours — whether here or in Qom itself — is a necessary and valid movement, and God willing, it will be effective. In this second part, regarding the lessons and admonitions related to the incident of the Nineteenth of Dey, I have noted a few points to share with you.

One point is how the American regime and global arrogance preferred Iran. Today, as you see, anyone from any corner — inside or outside — says something, we must understand how America prefers Iran and what it wishes for; this can be understood from the issues related to the Qom affair.

A few days before the Nineteenth of Dey, Carter, the then President of the United States, was in Tehran; in an official meeting, he began to make exaggerated praises of Mohammad Reza, saying that Iran, today, thanks to this man, is an island of stability; that is, Iran in 1356 was considered an ideal Iran in the eyes of the President of the United States. What was Iran like in 1356? I will now mention three or four indicators.

In terms of foreign policy, it was completely obedient to America. At that time, more than fifty thousand American military advisors were present in Iran, in the army and outside the army and in intelligence and other agencies, receiving salaries from Iran's treasury, and according to research, the money these advisors received was more than the total budget for education at that time; this is one example. The foreign policy of the regime preferred by America was to be completely obedient and to secure the interests of America and the Zionist regime. Now, God willed, the revolution occurred; otherwise, if the revolution had not happened, for several years afterward, all the fertile plains of the country, like the Qazvin plain — which was handed over to the Zionists — would have been under their control. This Qazvin plain was given to the Zionists. This was the foreign policy. This was foreign policy.

The domestic policy; the domestic policy of the regime was to completely suppress any movement within the country; severe dictatorship. All the groups that claimed to fight against the regime of that day — the monarchy — were isolated by the pressure and suppression of the regime; from the National Front — which was a political group, political actors — to the Freedom Movement; one end of the issue here, to the Fadaiyan Khalq guerrillas who were communists and armed and in the jungles, all were suppressed. I must tell you that apart from the movement following Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) — the religious movement that was active throughout the country from [the year] 1353 and 1354 until [the year] 1356 and until the victory of the revolution — there was no organization, no establishment in the country that could voice an opinion or protest; all had been suppressed. This was the domestic policy of the regime.

The economy of the country; at that time, the population of the country was about 35 million [people]. They were selling nearly six million barrels of oil a day — pay attention to the amounts! — today when we sell one million and five hundred thousand barrels of oil, our governments take pride. At that time, they were selling nearly six million barrels of oil, exporting it, the money came into the country and went into the pockets of a specific class; the class gap in the country was horrifically evident. This Gini coefficient, which those in economics know is an indicator of class disparity, was 51 percent during their time, meaning the highest figure! This class gap among the people. The poor classes were abandoned; the country's money was not spent on the country, was not spent on the people, was not spent on development, was not spent on proper roads; the standard of living of the people was low [then]. This is also from the economy.

[In terms of] science and technology; the country was one of the most backward countries in the world in science and technology; it was among the last ranks [of] backward countries. This was our science and technology.

In terms of culture; the spread of corruption and debauchery, an increasing distance from moral and religious values, the promotion of Western culture, the promotion of shamelessness increasingly in the country, even worse than European countries, as those from their own circles in our press judged that the situation of women in the country regarding clothing, hijab, and modesty was worse than that of European countries! This was the cultural situation.

Well, this was Iran; that was its political situation, its domestic, its foreign, its economy, its science, its culture, this [Iran] was what the President of the United States preferred and praised and elevated Mohammad Reza for creating such an Iran that even their own people said — his close associates — that his speech was exaggerated, but he made this exaggeration. They liked this [situation] for Iran, they wished for this; today they still wish for this; Carter took this wish to his grave, and they too will take this wish to their graves.

The second lesson from the incident of the Nineteenth of Dey: the miscalculation of the American apparatus. Those who cling to the appearances of America and forget the spiritual greatness of their own nation, forget God, and see America as a manifestation, should pay attention: "the miscalculation of America." On the tenth of Dey 1356, Carter came here, gave a speech, praised, and recommended, saying this place is an "island of stability" and so on; on the Nineteenth of Dey, that is, nine days later, the incident of Qom occurred; they had a miscalculation. They understood it this way and calculated it wrong. The people of Qom also rose on behalf of the Iranian nation; the people of Qom entered the field with a motivation that existed throughout the country; later it was shown and everyone saw. That day, it was the people of Qom who were able to lead this movement and demonstrate it.

The Islamic Revolution emerged from the heart of the most important stronghold of arrogance; this is the miscalculation of America; they did not think: وَ ظَنُّوا اَنَّهُم مانِعَتُهُم حُصونُهُم مِنَ اللهِ فَاَتاهُمُ اللهُ مِن حَیثُ لَم یَحتَسِبوا. (2) Like Moses; the movement of Moses began in the house of Pharaoh and the palace of Pharaoh, which led to the destruction of Pharaoh's palace and the Pharaohs. Here, Iran during the Pahlavi era was a stronghold of American interests; it was from the heart of this stronghold that the revolution emerged and surged; and the Americans did not understand and were deceived and remained asleep and were heedless; the miscalculation of America means this. After that, until today, over these decades, the Americans have often made mistakes regarding Iran; my audience in this statement is mainly those who are intimidated by American policies: they should not be intimidated.

In these forty-plus years, the Americans have made mistakes in most of the policies they have employed against the Islamic Republic. For example, they imposed sanctions; why did they impose sanctions? They imposed sanctions to bring the Iranian economy to its knees; we made the most progress in science and technology during these sanctions; we achieved the most regional influence during this period; we observed the most prepared youth in various fields during these sanctions. America's calculations turned out to be wrong; they wanted to paralyze Iran, but Iran did not become paralyzed. Yes; of course, the sanctions caused some damage to the country; it was not that they did not cause damage, they did; God willing, the Iranian nation will one day account for these damages.

The summary of my words in this second lesson of the Qom movement is that the concrete wall of Western arrogance cracked from where they had the most hope; from Iran. [The Islamic Revolution] truly shook the Western stronghold; this concrete wall that they had built with propaganda and money and bribery and all kinds of crimes — and it still exists, of course; and this wall must be demolished — the first crack was created by the Islamic Revolution. This is the second lesson of your Qom affair.

The third lesson is that when we look at the events of Qom, we understand that we must protect ourselves, our thoughts, and public opinion against the enemy's propaganda — this is one of the lessons of the Nineteenth of Dey — just as the minds of the people of Qom were protected that day. Why? They published articles, accused the Imam, slandered; what was their goal? They who were in control of everything; thousands of supporters of the Imam were under torture, in prisons, in exile; why the article? They had grasped a truth that still exists today; they understood that overcoming a nation is not possible only with hard tools; soft tools are also necessary. What are they? Propagating, justifying, explaining. This is why I emphasize "explanation" so much [for this reason]. They wanted to cool the hearts of the people towards Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Thousands of supporters of the Imam were here in prison and in exile and under pressure and beatings, but this was not enough; they had to do something to eliminate that sword that, from beside the grave of Amir al-Mu'minin, stirred these hearts and created this great movement; [that is] the blessed tongue of our Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Here they were strict; a message or a notice from the Imam would come, the depressed hearts would become hopeful again, the fatigue of the weary would be alleviated, the battlefield would become warmer. The uprising of the people of Qom thwarted this plan.

If you people of Qom had not carried out that movement on the Nineteenth of Dey, this article writing and insulting would have continued; first in one form, then in more complex forms; from the person of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) to the clergy, from the clergy to the essence of religion, it would have spread and progressed. The people of Qom stopped this movement, did not allow this to happen. Today it is the same. Today, the Americans have understood well that they cannot advance their plans with hard tools. Look at Gaza; they killed so many people, tanks came, artillery came, bombs came, machine guns came, drones came, they caused many to be martyred, but they could not eliminate the movement. In Lebanon, they martyred someone like Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah from Hezbollah, eliminated many elements — these are hard tools — but they could not eliminate Hezbollah and they cannot and will not be able to; therefore, they must work with soft tools, they must propagate. This is an important indicator for me and you, the people of Iran today. Soft work consists of: lies, fabrications, creating a gap between reality and the thoughts and perceptions of public opinion. You are moving towards strength, they propagate that you are becoming weak; they themselves are becoming weak, they propagate that they are becoming strong; you become invulnerable, they say I will eliminate you with threats. This is propaganda. Some people are also influenced.

Today, the fundamental and important work for our propaganda apparatus, for our cultural apparatus, our propaganda, our Ministry of Culture, our media, our active elements in cyberspace, is to tear down the veil of the enemy's illusion of power, to break it, not to allow the enemy's propaganda to affect public opinion. This is what the people of Qom did that day; that day they took this tool from the enemy, broke it; they did something that he could not continue at all. This is the third lesson.

Now, regarding the use of the lessons of the Nineteenth of Dey, I would like to add one more thing to this issue, and that is that the essence of arrogance has not changed. No one should think that today's America is different from the America of that day, that today's Zionist regime is different from the Zionist regime of that day; no, they are the same; the methods have changed, the tools have changed. Back then, they did this with articles; today their means and tools have become a thousand times more diverse and extensive and capable; we [too] must be a thousand times more vigilant than that day; we must pay attention, be precise; we must create security, create immunity, and not believe the enemy's words. The key issue is this: do not believe the enemy's words. If you see that there is something in the enemy's propaganda that seems to be aimed at influencing you, reject that statement; know that they are lying, know that they are lying! If you see signs of deception in a statement, immediately set it aside. When Nowruz comes, the President of the United States congratulates the people of Iran! Is this congratulations sincere? It is clear that this is a great deception and a big lie; they are willing to eliminate millions of the people of Iran. You observe that regarding Gaza, on one side they give money, provide weapons to the enemy, and on the other side, they sometimes express that it is good that these actions do not take place. The words of the enemy should not be believed. Well, now this is regarding the lessons of the Nineteenth of Dey.

I will mention two or three more points. One point is that dear brothers and sisters! Iran — your country — is a strategic peak in the world, both in terms of natural resources, human resources, and geographical and geopolitical position; it is a country endowed with these aspects; this is God's work. Its people, its human resources are ahead of the average of the world; its natural resources are greater than the average of the world; its geographical position is more sensitive than many countries in the world; in terms of geopolitical geography, it is the same, it is located in the heart of the Islamic world; it is the heart of the Islamic world. Well, this country, this great strategic resource, has been in the hands of America for decades since the mid-1320s (1940s), belonging to America; your revolution came and pulled this from America's hands; America's bitterness from this issue is unforgettable. Some say: you are not willing to negotiate with America, nor are you willing to establish relations, [so] why do you have relations with European countries? Well, they are like America, what difference does it make? Just as they have an embassy, this one should have one too. No, there is a difference [between them]. The difference is that America had ownership here, it was taken from its grasp; its animosity towards the country and the revolution is a deep-seated animosity and will not easily be relinquished. This makes a difference with that European country. Yes, that European country is also not a dear friend of the Iranian nation; we know this, we are aware, but this is very different from that. With the Islamic Revolution, America lost a great wealth, a significant political and economic opportunity, and over these forty-plus years, how much has it spent to try to regain Iran from the grip of the Islamic Revolution and has been unable to do so. Its animosity towards the Islamic Republic is different from that of other countries; it is very different. The reason we differentiate between America and other Western countries is this: America has been defeated in Iran and is trying to compensate for this defeat, so it acts hostile in every way it can.

The first point.

The second point; one of the demands of arrogance in general — including at the head of arrogance, the American government — from the officials of all countries, including the officials of the Islamic Republic, is that when they think about various issues of the country, design, and plan, they should also consider America's interests, take America's considerations into account; this is their request. We do not have a direct connection [but] through various means, they convey this to our officials. Over these years, we have seen numerous examples where they come to mediate in a certain economic issue, a certain cultural issue, a certain foreign policy issue, saying that when you want to do this, change this, act in such a way that America also benefits; this is one of America's demands! I say this threatens democracy; if the officials of our country in any period listen to these unreasonable demands of the Americans, they threaten the democracy of the country and the republic of the country. Why? Because the people voted for us, brought us to power, so that we work for their interests; not to consider America's interests.

Those who make decisions in cultural issues, in economic issues, in inflation, in production, in currency, in cultural issues, in hijab, and so on, should pay attention not to consider the demands of America, the positions of America, and the positions of the Zionists; they should consider the interests of the country, consider the interests of the Islamic Republic. Fortunately, the clear and courageous positions of our esteemed President regarding the Zionist regime have delighted the people; the people were happy. He took a clear and decisive stance regarding both the Zionist regime and the movements of America and America's support; this was very good. They must be vigilant; the officials of the country must be careful in this regard and not succumb to the demands of those who are fundamentally hostile to the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic and wish to destroy Iran and hope for its destruction.

The next issue is the issue of "hope"; hope. We must be hopeful for divine guidance, hopeful for divine assistance, hopeful for the power that God has given to nations. This is the exact opposite of what the enemy wants to do, which is to remove hope from the hearts of our youth, to discourage them; all those who have an audience in the field of propaganda can speak, have a voice, one of their greatest and primary goals should be to revive hope in hearts and not to utter discouraging words. This was something that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) paid great attention to. You observe that in the incident of the Nineteenth of Dey, on the Nineteenth of Dey this incident occurred, the people of Qom rose up, and the uprising of Qom was suppressed; they wounded the people, martyred them, stained the streets with blood; this belongs to the Nineteenth of Dey. The message of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), on the second of Bahman — that is, twelve days later — came from Najaf; in Imam's message, this phrase exists that I have noted: "I give glad tidings of victory to the Iranian nation with this awakening and awareness and with this strong and unparalleled spirit." The people were suppressed in the streets of Qom; who would expect victory? The Imam says I give you glad tidings of victory! The Imam announces that with your actions, with your movement, you have turned Iran upside down, you have changed the global policy. This is the glad tidings of the Imam.

Who at that time would have believed that this movement would reach a point where a great power like the Islamic Republic would rise in this region to disrupt and prevent all the malicious objectives of the West as much as it can, to stop many aggressions, to prevent many policies; who would have believed it? At that time, who would have believed that a day would come when the American flag would be burned in Western countries, even in Washington itself? Who would have imagined? That day the Imam said I give you glad tidings of victory. This means that we must never allow the light of hope to be extinguished.

Today, in this economic issue — which we have economic problems — those who are knowledgeable, informed, and experts see the horizon as hopeful. When, for example, it is said in policies that [achieving] eight percent economic growth is possible, some people say things that imply this is impossible. At the exhibition of economic activists that the President attended, economic activists stated and proved, and the President repeated their words, saying we can achieve eight percent growth without needing outside help. Therefore, we must be hopeful in all areas, but hope without effort means nothing. We must be hopeful and strive; we must be hopeful and act according to the requirements of progress; we must be hopeful and know what we want and what we are pursuing and how we should move towards it. This is hope.

The last point I want to make is that various events — both our events and regional events like the events in Syria — should not diminish the issue of Palestine in our memories. The main source of resistance is the resistance against the malicious movement of the Zionist regime. Resistance is alive and must remain alive and must become stronger day by day, and we support resistance; we support resistance in Gaza, resistance in the West Bank, resistance in Lebanon, resistance in Yemen. We support anyone who stands against the malicious movement of the Zionist regime and resists.

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