Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei highlights the enemies’ “miscalculation” during recent riots in Iran, saying they attempted in vain to rally the Iranians behind their plot to overthrow the government and disintegrate the Islamic Republic. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with a number of poets and panegyrists of the Holy Prophet’s household in Tehran on Thursday.

The Leader said the enemies “imagined that the Iranian nation would support their plot of subversion and secessionism due to their economic problems.” The enemies thought that they could force the Iranian officials into inaction through various types of insults and sow discord among the country’s high-ranking authorities through hue and cry, Ayatollah Khamenei added.

The Leader stated that the enemies “thought they could affect the Islamic Republic’s will by [spending] the petrodollars of a mercenary state of the US and frustrate the Iranian youths by encouraging some mercenary elements to seek asylum in other countries.” “This is while they made a mistake and no one paid attention to them. They made a mistake because the Islamic Republic’s will emerged to be stronger and firmer than all the components of their power,” Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized.

Over the past 40 years, the Leader said, the enemies have acted against the Islamic Republic in any possible way, “but they have so far suffered defeat because their calculations were wrong and they will [continue to] face defeated in the future.” Ayatollah Khamenei, however, warned that the enemy’s miscalculations should not make the Iranians negligent and prideful, calling on the nation to remain careful and maintain its unity and hope.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the importance for the country to build strength as the main factor that demoralizes the enemies. “When we become so strong that the enemy becomes frustrated, we can achieve peace of mind,” he said. Enemies used all the necessary factors required for disrupting and destroying a country, Ayatollah Khamenei stated, enumerating some of the factors and said “economic woes” were one of them that was exploited by the enemies in the recent riots.

“Also, the security factor, the infiltration of spy teams, the Iranophobia campaign by arrogant powers across the world with various propaganda methods, getting some internal elements onboard with themselves, inciting ethnic, religious, political and personal motivations, and widespread propaganda, were among the other disturbing factors they had activated months earlier,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the enemies “thought they could make the country’s officials passive and estranged through insults, bad mouthing and various slanders. They thought they could drive a wedge among the country’s high-ranking officials with temptation and commotion… They thought our youths would be frustrated by encouraging a few mercenary elements to seek refuge in another country and mud-slinging against Iran, but they made a mistake and no one paid attention to them.”

“There is a variety of tastes and opinions across the country but there is also a consensus among people about Islam, the establishment and the Revolution,” the Leader said. “So let’s not allow this unity to shatter. Let’s not help inflame ethnic and religious differences and feelings of one group against another.” Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Anyone who harms unity of the nation has served the enemy and played in its court and according to its plan.”