Iranians
listen to a speech by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei,
the
national leader, at the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum on
the
22nd anniversary of his death, June 4.
Kayhan, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Islamic Republic 'Backs
All Anti-American Movements'
Could it
be that the Muslim uprisings around Arab world have been inspired by Iran,
which has repeatedly gunned down and persecuted its own peaceful protesters? According
to this news item from Iran's state-controlled Kayhan, that's the
message of Iranian leaders, who this week have been commemorating the 22nd anniversary
of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic.
TEHRAN: Leader of the Islamic
Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said Saturday that the Islamic
Republic throws its weight behind all popular anti-American movements. “Our
stance regarding such public movements is crystal clear. Anywhere there is a
popular Islamic and anti-American, we support it,” the Leader said.
“However," Khamenei
added, "if we see that a movement has been provoked by the United States
or the Zionists, we will not support it. We back movements that are against the
United States and Zionism. Anywhere the U.S. or the Zionist regime seek to
topple a government or occupy a country, we are against it. The United States has
never done anything on behalf states in this region. Whatever they have done has
been against them."
Ayatollah Khamenei was addressing
a large crowd south of Tehran at the mausoleum of the late founder of the
Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini. He praised popular Islamic movements and the
wave of Islamic awakening in the Middle East and North Africa.
Warning of U.S. plots to
hijack the Arab revolutions, Ayatollah Khamenei urged Muslim countries to
remain vigilant in the face of Western plots. He said that the United States, Israel
and their Western allies are plotting to put an end to revolutionary victories
in regional countries, but that Muslim nations would emerge victorious if they
remain vigilant and abide by the teachings of the Quran.
In recent months, a wave of
revolutions and antigovernment uprisings has swept across the Arab world. In
January, a revolution in Tunisia ended the 2-year-rule of President Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali. In February, another revolution led to the ouster of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, after three decades of authoritarian rule. Revolutions
have also begun in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, while anti-government
demonstrations have been held in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and Algeria.
On the 22nd anniversary of Imam
Khomeini's passing, Khamenei paid tribute to him, saying that the Iranian
nation has withstood the most serious conspiracies thanks to the guidance of Imam
Khomeini.
“Following in the footsteps
of Imam Khomeini, the Iranian nation has maintained his ideals,” the leader
said, reiterating that the Iranian nation would continue to do so.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that with
the passing of Imam Khomeini, the enemies thought that his ideas would
gradually lose their hold on people, and that they would stage the collapse of
the Islamic Republic. But according to Khamenei, they were wrong.
Iranians across the country
and the world have been holding ceremonies of mourning to mark Imam Khomeini's departure,
which occurred in 1989. Thousands of foreign guests attend ceremonies in the
Iranian capital every year.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
This year, senior military
and political officials as well as foreign ambassadors and guests joined the
ceremony. A large number of journalists and photographers, both foreign and
domestic, covered the event. The mourners, who had traveled to Imam Khomeini's
mausoleum from around the country and the world, were all dressed in black.
Meanwhile, Iranian
Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi praised late Imam Khomeini for inspiring
the Islamic awakening in the Middle East.
“The Islamic awakening has
been inspired by a model developed by Imam Khomeini to help nations find the
bright path of truth,” Moslehi told the Islamic Republic News Agency.
He made the remarks on the
sidelines of a ceremony held for the passing of Imam Khomeini.
Moslehi called on Iranian
officials to maintain unity and to make serious efforts to promote the model
created by Imam Khomeini, and expressed hope that “all nations would be
influenced by the Islamic Revolution.”
