Message [The establishment of the Revolutionary Council, the Bakhtiyar government and the possibility of a military coup]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Greetings and salutations to the heroic and honorable nation of Iran! Greetings to the martyrs in the path of truth!

Now that the day of the victory of the valorous nation is approaching, now that the pure blood of the innocent dear ones, which were shed by the blood-thirsty executors of the Shah, are bearing fruit, I deem it necessary to inform the Iranian nation and the peoples of the world of the following points:

1. In accordance to the religious rights and on the basis of the confidence vote of the absolute majority of the Iranian people to me in line with the materialization of the Islamic goals of the nation, a council, called," The Council of the Islamic Revolution", consisting of competent, Muslim, committed, trustable people is temporarily set up and will start its work. The members of this council will be introduced in the first appropriate opportunity. The council is duty-bound to perform specific tasks, including the review of the conditions for the establishment of the transitional government and preparing its preliminary grounds. In the first appropriate opportunity, the interim government will be introduced to the nation and will start its work. The interim government will be duty-bound to undertake the following tasks: a) Election of the Constituent Assembly of the people's representatives to approve the new Constitution of the Islamic Republic; b) Holding elections in accordance to the enactments of the Constituent Assembly and the Constitution; c) Transfer of power to the people's representatives.

2. The current government[ Shapour Bakhtiyar's government ], which was appointed by the dethroned Shah and the illegal houses of the parliament is never accepted by the people. Cooperation with this usurping government in any form and any kind is religiously unlawful and is an offence legally. As the honorable, combatant employees of some of the government offices and ministries have done, the usurping ministers must be disobeyed and if possible they must not be allowed to enter the ministerial offices. The demand of the oppressed Iranian nation is not merely the ouster of the Shah and the elimination of the monarchical system, rather the struggles of the Iranian nation will continue until the establishment of the Islamic Republic which guarantees the freedom of the nation, independence of the country and social justice. It is only with the ouster of the Shah and transfer of power to the nation that tranquility will return to our dear country. It is only with the establishment of the just Islamic government, supported by the people, and the active participation of the nation that the gigantic cultural, economic and agricultural destructions, wrought by the corrupt regime of the Shah, can be removed and the modernization of the country in the interest of the dispossessed, laborious classes be launched.

3. It is possible that the outgoing treacherous Shah will commit a greater crime, that is, engineering a military coup, against which I have frequently warned, which will be his last blow. But the valorous nation knows that except for a few blood-thirsty mercenaries, who have been appointed to the top positions and have been also introduced to me, the honorable factions of the Army will not allow these mercenaries to commit such a crime which is against nationality and religion. In accordance with my divine, national duty, I warn the Army of Iran and ask the luminaries and the army personnel to stop such a plot if it is underway and not allow a handful of blood-thirsty people to shed the blood of the honorable nation of Iran. This is the divine duty of you, the honorable army and in case you obey the inborn criminals, you will be held responsible before the Almighty God, condemned by the human societies and cursed by the future generations.

It is the duty of the Iranian nation to equip itself with any possible means against such a plot, and by reliance on God not fear those who do not care for anything than their own interests, for the exiting struggles of the Iranian nation have proven that they are not frightened. They also know that these people like those traitors who have escaped and now live abroad with the people's wealth, have lost their resistance. The Iranian nation is duty-bound to respect the army personnel and officers as well as the honorable officials. They should bear in mind that a handful of treacherous officers cannot tarnish the image of the majority of the army personnel; the fate of these few blood-thirsty army officers is clear and is distinct from that of the Iranian army.

4. The honorable nation must not give up the existing struggles until the attainment of the final result- and they will not. They should continue the strikes and demonstrations and if the club-wielders or the corrupt elements attack them, they can defend themselves even if it leads to their murder. I beseech the Almighty Allah to grant His assistance to Islam and the Muslims and destroy the opponents of the honorable nation of Iran. May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.

Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini