[IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL]
Failure and inability of the Shah and Iran to calm the situation
... However, I am living somewhere that my visitors have to remain standing; they are standing... and there is not sufficient space for them to be received hospitably. «1» I apologize for this. Please feel at home here. May you all prove to be assets to your community wherever you may be. Indeed, our society will need certain people to help run the country; it will need them to fill positions in government and administration and in areas of even more importance. Iran is still in a state of turmoil. America does not have what it takes to keep the country under control; and as for the Shah, he also is unable to bring calm to the country. None of these powers or forces can calm the people down. Even if they decided to allow a military figure to rule the country or agreed to a coup d'etat whereby some ruthless military officer came to power, they still would not be able to calm the situation in Iran. A nation cannot be silenced at bayonet-point and told that it must remain repressed forever. Such a situation can only last for so long; it cannot continue indefinitely.
The country is opposed to the principle of monarchy
And now it looks as though this state of repression which has reigned in Iran for the past fifty years has now reached the end of its term, because the Iranian nation of today is no longer the nation it was twenty years ago. Now, the nation of Iran is one which is awake and one in which all social classes have risen up in opposition both to this dynasty's sovereign rule and to the idea of monarchism. The basic principles of monarchy are something which made no sense from the very start. They have never made sense, since monarchy is synonymous with oppression, brutality and dictatorship; and that goes for all countries both large and small. No matter which past monarchy one may consider... one sees that it has mainly entailed these elements of tyranny and dictatorship. This is not something, which is exclusive to Iran and to Iranian kings, for others, such as the emperors and tsars of Russia have in fact been worse than the kings of Iran.
Claimants of justice and democracy
Even though many foreign countries have now become republican states, these factors still prevail but they appear in another guise.
Do not be mistaken in thinking that some country or other is now governed on the basis of justice, for this is not the case. Take America for example; this is one of those large countries, which is now governed as a republic. It is a country which has signed the Declaration of Human Rights and which loudly advocates these rights, speaking up for people's freedom and so on; and yet it is a country where true freedom and justice do not prevail. The situation is one whereby the President there does not in fact exert a great deal of force within his own country, but instead he governs as a dictator in other countries such as ours. America and the like have installed their agents in countries like our own- countries, which are under their domination- and they continue to offer these agents their support, endorsing their acts of murder and condoning those criminal and treacherous acts, which these agents have committed for the sake of their masters. Not one of these existing forms of government, be it republican, monarchical, constitutional or dictatorial, can be said to be a form of government which is just, a government which really improves people's lives, which truly governs for the sake of the people and not for the superpowers or for themselves. No indeed, no such government presently exists. But the government sought by us has these characteristic features- that is, the government sought by us is an Islamic government. If one day, God willing, we are able to administer an Islamic government in these countries or in our own country of Iran, then everyone would see just what form a government should in fact take. They would see what the essential qualifications are for someone to become a ruler- qualifications which have carefully been specified in Islam. Should a ruler not fulfill these requirements then he will inevitably fall from power. There is no need for him to relinquish power or for him to be ousted from his position, for he will automatically fall from power eventually anyway. Nevertheless, the nation still has a duty to try its best to get rid of him. So much for the prerequisite qualities of a ruler; but when one considers a nation, there are other issues involved... issues which concern human rights for example.
Violation of human rights by the claimants of (preservation of) these rights
These countries which boast about things such as human rights are in fact guilty of violating the rights of mankind more than anything else. All of these deadly weapons which have been the cause of warfare world-wide have in fact been made by these very countries- countries which have signed the Declaration of Human Rights- countries such as France, for example. Yes, the latter indeed signed this Declaration, but just look at what it did in Algeria; «2» and even now, given the chance, it will continue to engage in such acts. The same goes for America and the Soviet Union too. They are all busy plundering the people; devouring that which belongs to the people. They do so under different guises, however- guises which serve to deceive the people. Hence, people are convinced, for example, that the government of the Soviet Union is now one, which truly serves the people; that it is" communist" in the true sense of the word; and that it serves the popular masses. On closer inspection however, one sees that this is not in fact the case, and that this" communist" state is even more brutal and oppressive than other countries; that people are treated with more contempt there than they are elsewhere. «3» One of its leaders «4» once said that the amount of work done by the people in his country ought to be measured against the amount of food they consumed, and that should someone's output be found to be less than their consumption, then that person ought to be thrown into the sea! Yes, this is the kind of conviction held by these so-called" lovers of mankind."
They are deceiving us
All this talk of human rights, etc. is nothing other than their use of different guises to deceive us. It is nothing but a game. They want to fool the people in the East with these different ideologies of theirs. And indeed, we in turn have been taken in by this trick. Similarly, we have become so infatuated with the West, so" xenomaniac" «5» as someone once put it, that we do not even bother to ask ourselves exactly what is so special about this" West" that everyone raves about; they have even robbed us of the ability to give this matter thought. They do not even allow us to consider what those in the West are actually doing to mankind, or what they have already done to it. Yes, they have achieved progress, but this has been a deadly progress, a progress that is leading to man's annihilation.
What we want is a just government and one that will serve (us)
Therefore, that which we seek is a just system of rule, a just regime and a just ruling body; one which can be trusted by the people and which will serve the society; one which will not embezzle public funds and which will not swindle the State treasury. And indeed, should such a government be established in Iran for example- a country possessing massive reserves, only one of which is oil- and should the present thieving be stopped, and an end be put to the present squandering and treachery, then it may be possible for our country to be run on its oil alone. Furthermore, there would be no need to extract oil on the same present-day scale; a reasonable amount could be extracted, a reasonable amount could be sold, and a reasonable amount could be consumed. Yes, Iran possesses various reserves, but they are devouring them, they are plundering them. And eventually revenues will dwindle away for they are using whatever there is now for themselves.
Iran a country up in arms
However, be that as it may, the fact remains that Iran is now a country that is up in arms. I am concerned about what might happen, and I only hope that today, which is the fortieth day following the events of Black Friday, we do not witness further killings thereby necessitating the holding of another fortieth-day memorial ceremony. God willing this will not be the case. Now in Iran they are... ruling by the bayonet. The country is being governed at the point of a bayonet, but the people are not yielding to this iron-fisted rule. That is, they have risen up in revolt out of utter despair at these injustices that have been committed against them. They have now decided to risk their lives and have entered the battlefield, small children and old men alike. Now they are all crying out:" Death to this Shah," and" Death to this monarchy!" This uprising, which is a popular, mass uprising, and which constitutes a referendum on the illegitimacy of monarchical rule, is something which cannot be silenced by use of the bayonet. It is a matter which requires a remedy. These different regimes, these various Prime Ministers who come and go one after another, cannot provide this remedy; and nor can any military figure. It is the Shah alone who can provide the remedy- that being for him to get up and leave. If he leaves Iran the country will rest content; it will be governed in a better way. However, the Americans believe their interests to lie in his hands, and since he is the best servant they have, they give him their backing. The fact that America has so far not been able to... if it were not to support him (the Shah) the nation would get rid of him much sooner.
Necessity of revealing Shah's crimes and clarification of the revolution abroad
In any event, those of us who are here have a duty to fulfill and that includes all of you gentlemen, regardless of where you reside. Our consciences, our religious law and reason all dictate that we help those Iranians whose blood is being spilled; those who are sacrificing the lives of their children. We are to help by disseminating information. Wherever you may be, each one of you can communicate with a certain number of people there and can explain to them about what has happened in Iran. Make it clear just what the people of Iran actually want. The Iranian people do not want their country to be in a state of unrest and turmoil; they want peace and tranquility. But there is no chance of this while this dynasty remains. Therefore, the people want this dynasty which has betrayed them to exist no more. This is what you must explain in order to enlighten the people. If possible, you can then get what you have to say printed in these magazines and newspapers that are published here (abroad). This is the sort of assistance you can give over here. As for the helpless people in Iran, they are under extreme pressure. Every day conflict arises somewhere or other; killings take place; an explosive situation breaks out; and it is they who are on the receiving end. You are not on the receiving end in that sense, but nevertheless you are still to bear their suffering firmly in mind so that you may do your utmost for the people of your nation. The latter have risen up for your sakes and you in return must do your part by propagating the Iranian nation's cause for their sakes. Do whatever is in your power to help. May God preserve you and may you be successful.