West Must Lift Sanctions on Iran Immediately: Ayatollah Khamenei
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the West is obligated to end the sanctions against people of Iran immediately, denouncing the sanctions as a vicious move resulting from major and groundless hostility towards the Iranian nation.
Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday gave a televised speech on the anniversary of the people of Qom’s uprising against the oppressive Pahlavi regime back in 1978.
The speech was given every year in the presence of thousands of people from Qom in the Hussainiyah of Imam Khomeini in Tehran, but this year it was a televised broadcast without other people being present due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I thank God and the dear people of our country for their epic movement in commemorating the anniversary of the martyrdoms of dear Soleimani and Abu Mahdi. I also sincerely thank the Iraqi brothers and sisters for their massive, stunning turnout in honoring these martyrs," the Leader said, according to Khamenei.ir.
"Have you seen the situation in the US? This is their democracy and this is their election fiasco. Today, the US and 'American values' are ridiculed even by their friends," Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.
"The US openly says its interests require instability in this region. The US wanted to start a civil war in Iran in 2009, and now God has afflicted them with the same predicament in 2021. The recent chaos reached a point where Congress members had to escape through secret tunnels," the Leader added.
"Contrary to the US, Iran's involvement in the region creates stability and is aimed at preventing instability. This was proven in the fight against ISIS and the like. Iran’s involvement in the region is definite and will continue," Ayatollah Khamenei added.
"Iran's Majlis (Parliament) and government's decision to enrich uranium to 20% is totally logical and wise. When they don't abide by any of their JCPOA commitments, it's nonsensical for Iran to abide by all its commitments. If they return to it, so will we. Our logical demand is the lifting of sanctions," the Leader stated.
"Importing vaccines made in the US or the UK is prohibited. They're completely untrustworthy. It's not unlikely they would want to contaminate other nations. Given our experience with France's HIV-tainted blood supplies, French vaccines aren't trustworthy either," Ayatollah Khamenei warned.