What is our duty after the assassination of Lt. Gen Soleimani?

An important and noteworthy point concerns our responsibility in the present time. After all, an important incident has occurred. Revenge and other such matters are a separate issue. Of course, they received a slap in the face last night, but this is different. Regarding confrontation, what is important is that the presence of the US in the region – which leads to corruption - will come to an end and such military moves do not suffice. They have started wars in this region. They have brought about discord, sedition and destruction. They have caused infrastructures to be destroyed.

Of course, they have had the same performance wherever they set foot in the world. For the moment, we have our own region in front of our eyes. And they insist on committing the same acts of corruption and destruction against dear Iran and the Islamic Republic. They continuously insist on this. The idea of negotiations, sitting behind a negotiation table, and similar moves are the start of interference and their presence. This should be stopped. This region does not accept the US presence in regional countries. Regional nations and popular governments in the region will undoubtedly not accept that either. This is an important issue for another place.

Our responsibility as the people and as the members of the Islamic Republic is first to know the enemy. We should know the enemy and we should not err in recognizing him. You should not say that all of you know who the enemy is. Yes, you know who he is. The enemy is comprised of arrogance, Zionism and the US. You know this, but there is a tremendous effort to make it look the other way and to change the people’s opinion with complex propaganda apparatuses. Everyone should be vigilant. It is very important to know the enemy. This is one issue and another is to know what his plan is, what he is doing and what he wants to do next. After that, we should know with what method we should confront the enemy’s plan.

Our people should know this because we are reliant on the people. The Islamic Republic is nothing and it is completely meaningless without the people’s demands and assistance and without their votes of confidence and their willpower. The people should know the enemy, know his methods and know how they should confront such methods. This is the duty of intellectuals. Today, we are fortunately not lacking in brave and insightful people in the country. We have insightful, brave, intelligent and well-informed individuals in military, scientific and political arenas. Therefore, we should listen to what they have to say. What they deem necessary to be done should be correctly implemented in the country and in society. We do not have a shortage of these individuals.

Fortunately, the graduates of Imam’s school increase on a daily basis. Once Imam said during the war that training youth and growing promising saplings is the master key of the Revolution. Imam said this once and what he said was completely correct as he was a man of wisdom. All victories and all these important tasks are small compared to the task of building outstanding individuals. Today, we fortunately have many of such individuals.

We should know the enemy. I would like to say this in a firm and definitive manner: the enemy is comprised of the US, the Zionist regime and the apparatus of arrogance. The apparatus of arrogance is not only comprised of the US and such governments, rather it is comprised of a collection of companies and global looters and oppressors who are opposed to every centre which fights against oppression and looting. It is they who form the enemy. We do not consider as an enemy such and such a government inside or outside the region which might say something against us. We do not consider them as an enemy as long as they do not make a move in the service of the enemy and against the Islamic Republic. It is the former whom we consider as the enemy. Therefore, we should not make a mistake in identifying the enemy. If we know who the enemy is and how we should confront him, we will succeed. The enemy’s plan is to undermine the determination and willpower of our people in various areas. This is the enemy’s basic plan. He wants people to have doubts regarding their faith and their firm determination. These are the two elements and keywords which I previously discussed: faith and religious zeal.

Arousing doubts in the people’s faith and religious zeal is what the enemy is after. They know that should this happen, the offensive and even defensive power of the Islamic Republic will be influenced and eradicated. That is why they are hatching plots. Of course, this is not the only plot hatched by the US and other such powers, but it is the most important one. They hatch plots against the Islamic Republic in the arena of politics, the economy – you are witness to the sanctions – and security.

A few days before the incident of Aban – the incidents related to gasoline and other economic matters – an American agent as well as a few mercenary and treasonous Iranians gathered together in a small, really malicious and evil, European country to design schemes and plot against the Islamic Republic. And their plot was what we witnessed in the subsequent days on the issue of gasoline. In those days, the people were upset about the price of gasoline and some of them took to the street to protest. However, as soon as the people – part of the people, they were not very large in number – entered the arena, those deceived individuals and those agents and mercenaries embarked on implementing the plot of the enemy. In other words, their mission was to destroy governmental and public centres, to set buildings on fire, to kill people, to sabotage and to start a war. This was their plot beforehand. Of course, when I say, a few days before the incident, it was just an effort to update their plans-  they had already hatched the plot, they had already trained some agents and they had given money to those mercenaries. So, they do such things as well and they do them as much as they can.

On that day, I said in a meeting with the people [Supreme Leader’s meeting with a number of nurses] that American elements were rejoicing in Washington the day when that incident occurred in our country. They said to a politician [who was in Washington D.C. at that time] that Iran was done and over with, but it became clear after two days that they themselves were done and over with. They were very sad and upset and they were feeling really down. The enemy’s plan should be understood. And we should take our fundamental tenets into account in the face of this plan. The fundamental tenets are ideological principles – whether Islamic or revolutionary – and national unity. The unity which was fortunately witnessed under the pure coffin of Shahid Soleimani and his accompanying martyrs should be preserved. The people should adopt this orientation: the orientation of the Revolution, of commemorating revolutionary men and of respecting martyrs and whatever reminds one of the revolutionary values.

All of us should know that the enmity of this front that I spoke about is not seasonal and temporary, rather this enmity is intrinsic and perpetual. They strike whenever they can. The cure for this is to strengthen ourselves in the area of the military, security, politics and the economy. We should strengthen ourselves in different areas so that the enemy fails to deliver his blows, otherwise his enmity is an intrinsic one. Some people think if we take a step back and show a bit of compromise, the Americans will stop showing enmity. This way of thinking is a big and grave mistake. Some people nurture the thought that we should not do something to enrage the US – some people say this: they write it in newspapers – this is the exact opposite of what the God of the World says, “And their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong. It then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, filling the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the unbelievers with rage at them”[The Holy Quran, 48: 29].