On the first day of the blessed Ten Days of Fajr, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with thousands of people from various segments of society, described the 12th of Bahman as an exceptional and history-making day. Referring to the transformation of the Pahlavi rule from a “personal, despotic, anti-religious and dependent” government into a “popular, religion-based government standing against the bullying of arrogant powers,” he said: The people reduced the flames of the recent American-Zionist sedition, like all previous conspiracies, to ashes, and in the future as well, the nation, under God’s guidance, will decisively deal with any incident.

Ayatollah Khamenei also described America’s attempt to swallow Iran and the steadfast resistance of the dignified Iranian nation against this greed as the main reason for the 47-year confrontation between Iran and the United States. Referring to recent remarks by Americans, he added: They had previously also tried to frighten the Iranian nation by saying “all options are on the table,” and they should know that if they launch a war this time, it will be a “regional war.”

At the beginning of his remarks, referring to the unified and unprecedented welcome of the people for Imam Khomeini (RA) on 12 Bahman 1357, he said: Amid all threats, Imam entered Tehran with courage and power, turned the massive and extraordinary popular welcome into a factor for forming a new system, and on the very day of his arrival announced the overthrow of the monarchy.

The Leader of the Revolution described transforming a personal and despotic government into one in which the people are the real decision-makers, and transforming the anti-religious process intended by the Pahlavi regime into an Islamic process, as two characteristics of the system born of the struggles of Imam and the nation. He added: Had all officials fulfilled their duties, the government would have truly become religious; however, overall, we have progressed along the religious and Islamic path.

Ayatollah Khamenei described returning the country to its rightful owners—namely the people—and cutting off the hand and influence of America from Iran as another characteristic of the Islamic Republic system, and said: This characteristic angered and unsettled America and led it, from that very day, into hostility toward the nation and the system.

Explaining the popular nature of the government, he pointed to the creation of a spirit of self-confidence in the nation and said: The wise Imam made the nation aware of its great capabilities and values and transformed the mentality of “we cannot” into the very important belief of “we can.”

The Leader described the result of the policies, self-alienation, and dependence of the Qajar and Pahlavi eras as turning a “great nation with a brilliant civilizational and cultural background” into a “humiliated and backward” people. He said: In that period, in science and technology, politics, lifestyle, international credibility, regional equations, and in all other fields, we had fallen behind; but Imam Khomeini breathed the spirit of self-confidence into the nation and changed the course by 180 degrees.

Recalling the country’s progress in various fields, Ayatollah Khamenei added: Who would have believed that the Iranian nation would one day reach a point where Americans copy weapons made by Iran? All of this is the result of the self-confidence, hope, and ambition that Imam Khomeini, as the “symbol of hope and self-belief,” created in the nation and set the people into motion.

Referring to the temptations of truly malicious foreign and domestic devils claiming that “the Iranian youth have no hope and no future,” he said: Iranian youth have both hope and determination, and—much to your dismay—they will build the future as well.

The Leader described the victory of the Revolution on 22 Bahman, the establishment of the Islamic Republic on 12 Farvardin through the people’s vote, and all the country’s progress as results of the blessed day of 12 Bahman 1357, adding: By God’s grace, the blessings of this great day continue.

In another part of his remarks, emphasizing the American and Zionist nature of the “sedition of 18 and 19 Dey,” he described the rioters as consisting of “ringleaders” and “foot soldiers.” He added: The ringleaders—many of whom have been arrested—confessed that they were paid and trained on how to attack centers and gather and mobilize youths; however, another group of rioters were emotional youths, with whom we do not have much of a problem.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the remarks of the U.S. president as clear evidence of the American and Zionist nature of the recent sedition and said: He explicitly told the rioters whom he called the people of Iran, “Go forward, I’m coming too!” Of course, in their view, those few thousand rioters were the people of Iran, but the millions who gathered nationwide on 22 Dey were not considered the people of Iran.

He described the new thinking and path of the Islamic Republic and its friction with the interests of global bullies as the cause of the continuation of their hostility, and said: Therefore, just as the recent sedition was not the first sedition in Tehran, it will not be the last, and such incidents may also be repeated in the future.

He added: These hostilities will continue until the Iranian nation, through stability, steadfastness, and full control over affairs, brings the enemy to despair—and we will reach that point.

Referring to similar incidents and crimes such as those of 30 Khordad 1360, when the منافقین attacked Basij members with box cutters, he emphasized: In all these events, the hand of foreigners—particularly the United States and the Zionist regime—is observable.

The Leader stressed that in the recent sedition and past incidents, law-enforcement forces, the Basij, the IRGC, and other institutions fully fulfilled their responsibilities, adding: But what extinguished the fire of sedition and turned the flames to ashes—just like in 2009—was the people entering the scene; and if an incident arises in the future, God Almighty will again mobilize these people, and they will finish the job.

The Leader described the first characteristic of the recent American sedition as rioters hiding behind the protests of bazaar merchants, saying: Just like criminals who use women and children as human shields, the seditionists hid behind bazaar merchants—who had legitimate and reasonable demands and had come to the streets—so as not to be identified.

He added: Of course, the intelligent merchants, upon witnessing the actions of the rioters such as attacks on police stations instead of peaceful movement, separated themselves from them and left the seditionists alone.

He described the second characteristic of the recent sedition as its quasi-coup nature, saying: As some in the world also pointed out, it resembled a coup; although it was suppressed, the destruction of sensitive and effective centers in administering the country—through attacks on police, IRGC centers, some government institutions and banks, and attacks on spiritual symbols such as mosques and the Quran—demonstrates this reality.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the foreign design of the sedition and the guidance of its internal ringleaders using various tools such as satellite intelligence as another characteristic of the Dey riots, stating: According to received information, an influential American official told his Iranian counterpart that the CIA and Mossad deployed all their capabilities in this case.

He described obligating trained ringleaders to create casualties as another feature, adding: Based on this plan, they attacked military and law-enforcement centers with advanced personal weapons so that, through the reaction of officers, casualties would occur; and for greater casualty-creation, they even targeted their own foot soldiers whom they had brought to the scene through propaganda.

Expressing regret over the ringleaders’ success in increasing the number of fatalities, he said: One’s heart burns for these negligent and unaware youths.

Referring to the enemy’s effort to exaggerate the death toll tenfold, he said: They wanted the number of casualties to be higher; of course, even this number of losses is deeply regrettable.

He described the enemy’s main objective as disrupting national security and added: When there is no security, there is nothing—no bread, no production, no business, no education or research, no science and progress; therefore, those who preserved the country’s security have a right to life over all the people.

The Leader emphasized: They wanted to pit the people against the system, but the people, with their million-strong presence on 22 Dey, struck the ill-wishers in the mouth and showed the true reality of the Iranian nation.

He stressed that officials must truly appreciate these people, adding: This sedition occurred—whether coincidentally or deliberately—at a time when the government and officials were designing an economic package and plan to improve the country’s situation.

The final characteristic of the recent sedition mentioned by the Leader was its ISIS-like violence.

Referring to the admission of the current U.S. president during his first election about the U.S. government’s role in creating ISIS, he said: In the recent sedition as well, Americans created an ISIS whose actions resembled those of ISIS. ISIS eliminated people violently under the accusation of irreligiosity, and these people eliminated others with the same violence but because of religiosity, burning people alive and beheading them with shocking cruelty.

In the final part of his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said the reason for more than four decades of hostility between the U.S. and Iran can be summarized in two words: America wants to swallow Iran, but the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic stand in the way; and in reality, the crime of the Iranian nation is that it told America, “You are wrong to think you can swallow my country.”

He described Iran’s many attractions—such as oil, gas, rich mines, and its strategic and geographical position—as the cause of the greed of an aggressive and expansionist power like America, and noted: They seek to seize Iran and restore their dominance over Iran’s resources, oil, politics, security, and international relations as in the Pahlavi era; this is the main reason for their hostility, and the rest of their claims, such as human rights, are nonsense.

The Leader emphasized: The Iranian nation has firmly stood, is standing, and will stand against America’s ambitions and will make them despair of their mischief and harassment.

Referring to American threats about war and the use of certain aircraft, he said: These statements are not new; in the past they repeatedly threatened that all options were on the table, and now as well this individual constantly makes such claims, saying, “We have brought aircraft carriers.”

Ayatollah Khamenei added: The Iranian nation should not be frightened by such things; the Iranian nation is not affected by these statements. Of course, we are not the initiators and do not want to oppress anyone or attack any country, but the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow to anyone who harbors greed and seeks to attack or harass.

He emphasized: Americans should also know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war. / Tasnim