Ayatollah Khamenei Congratulates Iranian Nation on Victory, Says Zionist Regime Was ‘Crushed’

In a video message published two days after fighting between Iran and Israel halted, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei thanked God, the Armed Forces, and the Iranian people for humbling both the Zionist regime and the U.S. government during the 12-day war that began on June 13 with Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s soil.

What Follows is the full text if his remarks:

First, I woul like to honor the memory of the precious martyrs of recent events. The martyred commanders, the martyred scientists—who were truly invaluable to the Islamic Republic and served it—today, God willing, receive the reward for their outstanding services in the presence of the Almighty.

I find it necessary to congratulate the great nation of Iran—several congratulations are in order:

First, congratulations on the victory over the Zionist regime. Despite all their clamor and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly brought to its knees and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic. The thought that such strikes could be delivered by the Islamic Republic never even crossed their minds—yet it happened. We thank God, who aided our armed forces, enabling them to penetrate their advanced multi-layered defense and level many of their urban and military areas under the force of our missiles and the strong assault of our advanced weaponry. This is one of the greatest divine blessings. It demonstrates that the Zionist regime must know that aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran comes at a cost—a heavy cost for them. And, praise God, this happened. The credit belongs to our armed forces and our dear people, who raised, trained, and supported these forces, strengthening their hands to carry out such a great task.

Second, congratulations on the victory of our beloved Iran over the American regime. The American regime entered the war—direct warfare—because they felt that if they did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be completely annihilated. They entered the war to save it, yet they gained nothing from this war. They attacked our nuclear facilities—which, of course, warrants independent legal pursuit in an international court—but they failed to achieve anything significant. The U.S. president exaggerated in describing what had happened, revealing that he needed this exaggeration. Anyone listening to those words understood that beneath their surface lay another truth. They could not accomplish anything; they failed to achieve their goal. They exaggerate to conceal and suppress the truth. Here, too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious, and in response, delivered a hard slap to America’s face. We struck one of America’s most important bases in the region, Al-Udeid, inflicting damage. Those who had exaggerated in the previous incident now tried to downplay this one, claiming nothing had happened—when, in fact, something major had occurred. The fact that the Islamic Republic can access and act against key American centers in the region whenever it deems necessary is no small event—it is a significant one. And in the future, this can be repeated. Should any aggression occur, the cost for the enemy—for the aggressor—will undoubtedly be high.

Third, congratulations on the extraordinary unity and solidarity of the Iranian nation. Praise God, a nation of around 90 million people stood together as one, shoulder to shoulder, without any differences in their demands or expressed goals. They stood firm, chanted, spoke out, and supported the actions of the armed forces—and this will continue. The Iranian nation demonstrated its magnanimity, its outstanding and distinguished character in this matter. It showed that when necessary, this nation will speak with one voice—and, praise God, this happened.

A fundamental point I wish to emphasize is this: The U.S. president, in one of his statements, said, “Iran must surrender.” Surrender. It is no longer about enrichment, nor about the nuclear industry—it is about Iran’s surrender. Of course, such words are far too big for the mouth of the U.S. president. Iran, with its grandeur, its history, its culture, its unbreakable national resolve—the very notion of surrender for such a country is a joke to those who know the Iranian people. But his statement revealed a truth: From the very beginning of the Revolution, the Americans have been in conflict with Islamic Iran, grappling with it. Each time, they have a new excuse—sometimes human rights, sometimes defending democracy, sometimes women’s rights, sometimes enrichment, sometimes the nuclear issue itself, sometimes missile development. They bring various pretexts, but the core of the matter is one thing and one thing only: Iran’s surrender. Previous [U.S. officials] did not say this outright because it is unacceptable—no rational logic accepts telling a nation, “Come and surrender.” So they hid it under other labels. This man exposed it; he revealed that truth, making it clear that the Americans will accept nothing less than Iran’s surrender. This is a crucial point. The Iranian people must know: this is the nature of the confrontation with America. This is the great insult the Americans have directed at the Iranian nation—and such a thing will never happen. It will never happen.

The Iranian nation is a great nation. Iran is a strong and vast country. Iran possesses an ancient civilization. Our cultural and civilizational wealth is hundreds of times greater than that of America and its like. To expect Iran to surrender to another country is among the most absurd falsehoods—one that will surely be mocked by the wise and the knowledgeable. The Iranian nation is honorable and will remain so. It is victorious and will remain victorious, by God’s grace. We hope the Almighty God will always preserve this nation under His blessings with dignity and honor. May He elevate the status of the great Imam [Khomeini] and may Imam Mahdi be pleased with this nation. And may his support be the backing of this nation.

Source:Tehrantimes