Time: 14 Aban 1358/ 5 November 1979
Location: Qom
Topic: American conspiracies against the Iranian nation
Audience: Employees of Iranian Central Insurance Co.
In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate
America, the Great Satan
I have in mind a story in which on the day the Prophet attained prophethood, that Great Satan shouted and gathered all the devils around himself to say that we are facing some difficulties. In this revolution, the Great Satan, which is the United States, is gathering the devils around himself with a shout. And he has gathered both the baby devils who are in Iran, and the devils outside of Iran, and has started a ruckus.
You all know that during the reign of these two evil men [reference to the two Shahs of the Pahalavi dynasty] – whose reign was also against the law – Iran was at one period captive to Britain, and at another, to the United States. I mean, mostly, the US. The British brought Reza Khan and made him an officer over us, and Mohammad Reza, when the Allied Forces came to Iran – as they said – it was best that Mohammad Reza remains. Of course, they did not see what is best for the nation, they meant what is best for themselves. During this time extensive problems affected our nation – whether women or men – you all know. Many of you don’t remember much of it, which I do remember, that they, during the time of Reza Khan, in the name of unity in form, in the name of lifting the veil, the things they did, what calamities they bestowed on this country. What bullying, what children were aborted as a result of their attacks on women to pull off their veils. That period passed in bitterness, and those same Allied Forces that had brought him – meaning the British – those same people took him from here. And they announced it, too. On the Dehli Radio, which at that time was in their hands, they announced that we brought him and after he betrayed us, we took him. And later, he gathered up his jewelry and packed his bags and placed them in the ship to take with him, on the way – as told by one of his companions –they approached his ship with a special ship for carrying animals, and they took Reza Khan to that place where he belonged. And he said “the luggage?” and they said “they will come later”. He was taken to that island and they took the luggage for themselves.
Then it was this second one’s turn for plundering, which most of you remember. I mean, all of you remember the end. Also the beginning, many of you remember what they did, and what crimes they committed in this country, and with what deceptive names. Unfortunately, some people believed their extensive propaganda, and some who are partners in their crimes and are still active. These are those same devils who now, with the shouts of the US, have become active, who are busy with deviousness. And our nation must neutralize these conspiracies with vigilance and astuteness.
Deception and gossip of the enemy
It is important, these conspiracies… these deceptions, this gossip-mongering that is now common. Many rumors for weakening the spirits of the nation. Imagine several thieves kill some people in a place. Then we see that the news arrives that they’ve killed 100 people somewhere, they’ve beheaded 25 people. The second time, 400 people were killed, although none of this happened. They want to create rumors to weaken. “All the destroyed checkpoints, all that happened”; it’s all to create some mischief and weaken your spirits, our spirits.
Including things that keep being said, and keep being promulgated from around that “a revolution has taken place, but nothing really happened, it’s just a revolution and things went from a monarchy form to a mullah form. But nothing’s changed”. This is something that I also said yesterday. And again I submit to you: that what the nation wanted, all of that has taken place. What did the nation want? When the nation roared, what was it saying? Wasn’t it saying “freedom and independence and Islamic Republic”? Which one hasn’t happened? Right now there is freedom, such that you and I can sit here and talk. Could we do this five years ago? Independence is there. Right now, this ruckus that the US has created and all this noise that this Great Satan screams and gathers the other devils around itself, this is because its hands have been tied. Its hands from taking our resources; they’ve been tied from its interest here. And it is afraid that its hands will be tied until the end; that’s why it is conspiring.
Occupying the American nest of spies [e.g. US embassy]
And that center that our youngsters went and took over – as they informed us – was the center of spying and conspiracy. America expects that it can take the Shah over there, to be busy with conspiracies, and also create a base here for conspiracies, and that our youngsters [will] just sit and watch. Again the rotten roots became active to get us to intervene and tell the youth that “you should come out of the place” [AW2] where they went. The youth did something because they saw, because they upset these youngsters. A Shah that plundered this country for fifty years and looted it and gave it away, given others to take, and taken himself, and more important than this, has killed so much, has killed civilians – the 15th of Khordad – the way it became infamous – fifteen thousand people were murdered. On the day of the 15th of khordad and from that time until now, maybe we have had one hundred thousand dead and several hundred thousand wounded, who we are everyday faced with these injured ones. Just now they told me that there are some injured here who, on the day of the aid-e Qadir, the injured are one segment of them. Many of them are the same ones injured during the revolution, at their hands. They said that on the day of aid-e Qadir, “they’re having a meeting, you should come, too.“ Of course I will also go there. They expect that a person who, for fifty years, has done that to this nation, and now the US, with a silly excuse, has taken him and is safeguarding him, and has provided his comfort, and in the name of being sick, or in reality being sick – it makes no difference – has taken him over there and is keeping him, and our youth that protested there, they dispersed them or jailed them. In these two or three days that on that Statue of Liberty – which is a bald-faced lie in the US, “liberty” – our young people went there and chained themselves there and placed a banner there that you must return the Shah. The police went and dispersed them and apprehended several of them. They expect to take our first-rate criminal and keep him there and support him, and also create a center of conspiracy here, and create a center for distributing things that are conspiracy, I don’t know, do all the things they want to do, and our nation, and our youth, and our young people from the university, and our devout young people sit and watch so that the blood of this one hundred thousand people, approximately – more or less – is wasted, in order to show respect for Mr. Carter and others like him. There must be no conspiracies. But of course if there were no conspiracies, if these sabotages did not exist, if that corrupt act didn’t exist, all the people are free to be present here. But when there is a conspiracy at play, when those kinds of corrupt acts take place, it upsets our youth. Young people expect that in this world where their country – for which they have made so much effort – is in their own hands. When they see a conspiracy where they want to return to the previous situation and again all their things are lost to the wind, they cannot sit still. There must not be an expectation that they sit still and watch. And they plundered, now carry out their conspiracies, and this conspiracy grows and whatnot. Our young people must destroy these conspiracies with all their focus and with strength.
Underground and hidden conspiracies
Today is not a day for us to sit and watch. Today, the situation is a little deeper, a little worse, than the time when Mohammad Reza was there. At that time, it was clear that this traitor was standing up against the nation. And the nation knew him and was standing up against him. Today, there are underground betrayals. Specifically, underground betrayals are being fomented in the very embassies that exist, the most important and the majority of which belong to the Great Satan, which is the US. And you cannot sit still and they carry out their conspiracy. One day we realize that a country was destroyed, and with irrelevant talk like ‘democracy’ and the like, deceives us that the country is a democracy, and anybody has the right to stay here; has the right to foment a conspiracy. This irrelevant talk has to be set aside. And our nation, just as it has happened up to now, must continue the same way from now on and cut off the hands of these people. And if these people don’t get it, and don’t return the Shah who has taken our treasures and placed large sums in banks – that we may be aware of some of them – has placed them in banks, and it all belongs to the nation, unless they return him, and if they don’t return him, we will deal with them in a different way. We will deal with Britain in a different way, as well. They shouldn’t imagine that we are just sitting still and listening and they can do whatever they damn please. No, it’s not like this. The issue is, again, the revolution. A larger revolution than the first one will take place. They must sit in their place and return this traitor. And that other traitor; the traitor Bakhtiar, they must return him. Not that they take that traitor Bakhtiar there and he can sit down and foment a conspiracy and gather people around himself and – I submit to you – write a newspaper and create information, and the British government to arrest and incarcerate our young people for protesting against the Shah or against Bakhtiar. If they don’t let go of them and deliver these criminals, or at least expel them from their countries, we have another duty and will act on that duty.
Not showing weakness in front of conspiracies
We must go forward with power. If we show weakness, if they sense that we have become weak, if these diminutions that our unfair writers make of our nation, if they feel that these writings have affected us, if they feel this, they will be emboldened and will attack. They will do worse things. Don’t feel weakness in yourselves. The more these writers write that “Nothing’s happened and this country is in the same place as before”, and, like it’s written in a piece that I saw the day before yesterday, that “in the previous regime, political activists were jailed, were imprisoned, and now too political activists are imprisoned, this has not changed with them, in the previous regime, there was suffocation and the like, now is the same way”. Well, this is to weaken our spirits. Now we will take this under consideration.
The difference between prisoners during the monarchy and the Islamic Republic
In the previous regime, some people were imprisoned. Some people were captive. Now, too, some people are imprisoned. No doubt. But who are they? In the previous regime, who was imprisoned, and in the current regime, who are imprisoned? Which groups were executed in the previous regime? Let’s look at who was executed in the previous regime and who is executed in the current regime? They don’t look at that. They just say all this and think that our youth will be tricked by these words. In the previous regime, the ones they killed, [were] the best of our young people, committed, religious, because they said don’t violate, they said don’t ruin our country. They were Islamic scholars. This Mr. Montazeri was in jail for ages. That late Mr. Taleghani was in jail, and many like them. The ones who were executed, who were they? The late Sa’eidi was executed, and people like him. These same clerics that they took from around these people and sometimes, they were in jail. This, Mr. Lahouti who is now in the Sepah (IRGC), he was imprisoned for a long time. And what calamities has this man witnessed, and what insults he has endured. In exile, scholars from this howzeh, the learned men of this howzeh, the scientists of this howzeh, were in exile. Here, there, they took them and exiled them. Those who were jailed back then, were these kinds of people. And the ones who were executed were these kinds of people. And the ones exiled were these kinds of people. Now let’s look at this side of the story, that there is no difference between now and then. Has been executed: Hoveyda, Nasiri. They are tearing their hearts out for him. These who are writing that there has been no change; these are the same people who in the US, they speak of that why? Why? Why? And those unjust advocates of human rights are calling out, why is he executed? Those same people who when he is writing “why are there executions in Iran?” do not write about many places where there are genocides by this corrupt US, and they don’t say a word about that. But here, that they executed Hovayda, or executed Nasiri, or these corrupt individuals, they are making a lot of noise. And the ones here who are of their kind, they write that there is no difference; now there are executions, back then there were executions, too. Who are the ones imprisoned? Who were they back then? Do you find one imprisoned individual today who is a decent person and is in prison? Do you find a person who is a religious person, a nationalistic person, a person? Back then when they were imprisoned, all the nationalists were imprisoned. And all, I submit to you, like that. And now, who is imprisoned? Those who have committed many crimes and all those crimes, these are in prison. Now see the situation of the imprisonment of these criminals, with the situation of presents back then with those criminals, with these devout people. The situation of then was such that you have to hear from the people who were in prison how things were. These things, as much as we have information, the most important of which is Tehran, the people who are there, and we have constantly instructed, will never abuse anyone. Prison terms are not the kinds that create dissatisfaction. It’s prison, but these unfair [writers] write that the prisons are worse than that time, at that place, in those prisons. In one of those prisons, they sawed off the leg of one of our scholars – as has been said. Now these prisons are worse than those? These are all the same devils that Carter has gathered around himself by a great shout, because, in the same way that that Great Satan is scared of the Quran and Islam, now they, too, are afraid of this movement, which is an Islamic movement. And, following that Great Satan, are busy with treachery to weaken the spirit of our people. Our nation, our valorous youth, must go forward with complete strength and not fear these conspiracies. These are not humans that humans should be afraid of.
Hands behind the veil in Kurdistan unrest
And these disturbances that sometimes these same devils cause, and the followers of these depraved causes, resolving these, too, is not a problem. They imagine that the situation of Kurdistan is a situation that cannot be resolved. The situation in Kurdistan, if they were not mixed with the Kurdish people, and were not amongst the young and the women and children, we don’t want even one innocent person to get killed, if they weren’t there, then it would be nothing to mow them down and annihilate them. But unfortunately, it’s like this, right now. You have heard, for sure, that these unfair [people] use women and children as shields, and by using them as shields, killed our young people. And those brave young men, so as not to kill the innocent, did not resist. Well, if they were not mixed with them, it would be no effort to destroy them. They are not much of a force. They are a bunch of hoodlums. These hoodlums, we were faced with them in the past, too. These are a bunch of hooligans that are thieves. Sometimes they kidnap, or kill people, too. They are not a force now against the force of the government, or against the force of the nation. We, whenever we want, all the people may go up to Kurdistan and destroy them, but we want the situation to be fixed in peace. These unfair [people] won’t let us. Now a group has gone to resolve the problem in peace, to see “what do you want?” The things that they want, we gave to them. Will give. But they want America. They, if you ask them directly, what they want in their hearts, the Democrat Party [Hezb-e democrat] will say that we “want the interests of the masses”. Meaning, they express a tendency for the Left, but all of them are right-wing, the dishonest right.
Be strong brothers, sisters, be strong with strength. Islam is behind you. The elevated and sublime God is behind you. Go forth with power and strength and build this country yourselves. The country must be build by your hands. May God bless you all.