Forcing Iran into Bankruptcy Enemy’s Long-Term Ploy: Leader
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the enemy’s long-term plot against Iran is forcing the country into bankruptcy, while the other hostile objective is to undermine the Islamic Republic’s support for the resistance front.
Ayatollah Khamenei spoke directly to the people of Iran on Friday on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
In the speech, broadcast live on national TV, the Leader warned that the adversaries are after Iran’s economic collapse.
"US's problems are incomparable to ours. Shocking class divisions, increasing racial discrimination, economic problems, about 40 million people unemployed, police brutality, etc have lined people up against the US system and caused the US to be abhorred and isolated in the world," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Pointing to the anti-government protests in the US over the past weeks, the Leader said, "The US government may be able to suppress the current popular protests in various states, but they will remain like a fire under ashes. They will not be eliminated and will flare up again. They will bring the US political system down."
"The US government needs to create enemies in order to further its goals. Sometimes they introduce Iran as the enemy, sometimes China, sometimes Russia. But the US establishment’s biggest enemy is the American people, and they will eventually bring down the current US system," Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.
"In mentioning negotiations with Iran, this old man who is the current POTUS seeks personal benefits for elections, etc. Of course, the US political system seeks to eliminate Iran's defense capabilities and regional authority using negotiations, which will definitely not happen," the Leader underscored.
"Is backing off to the US the solution to sanctions? Never! The more you retreat, the more they want. The solution to sanctions is an Economy of Resistance by boosting domestic production and international trade ties: 1. Our capacities are limitless. 2. We have strong, good international friends," Ayatollah Khamenei added.
"Of course that doesn't mean we rely on our international friends. No! We rely on God & on ourselves. During Saddam's war on Iran, both the Eastern and Western blocs were against Iran and supported Saddam. We resisted for eight years and finally struck down Saddam," the Leader stated.
"One of the benefits of US sanctions has been a decrease in our reliance on selling crude oil and moving toward a non-oil economy. I had repeatedly asked for this from various administrations, but it had rarely been realized. Now, due to lessening crude oil sales, this is happening," the Leader went on to say.
As regards Iran’s nuclear program, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Nuclear energy is a nation's certain need in the future. In a few years, we will need at least 30,000 MW of electricity produced by nuclear energy. How can we get this? By begging the US and Europe? We should think about the future today. We can't achieve this in just one or two years."
On the plans to deal with the sanctions, the Leader emphasized, “Yes, sanctions create problems. But, the US's goals in sanctions against Iran have not been and won’t be realized. They have admitted to this in their think tanks. Astute Iranians have taken advantage of sanctions and used them to increase national self-reliance."