Interviewer: A British reporter of the Associated Press
Question: [What is your opinion of the military cabinet appointed by the Shah?]
Answer: The Shah's new plot, i.e. appointing the military cabinet, is for more killings and defeating the Iranian nation, however, not only is that not a way out for the Shah, but also, it brings the Shah as well as his supporters, to a worse deadlock.
Q: [Will appointing this cabinet make the fall and the overthrow of this regime easier or harder?]
A: For one thing, it will make the fall of the regime more definite.
Q: [Has there been any unanimity among the leaders of the political oppositions whom you have been in touch with, since your arrival in France?]
A: I have always advised all the people and the heads of all groups, not to deviate from the will of the nation, which is the overthrowing of the regime.
Q: [Considering the fact that some of these leaders seek a non-religious regime, which is contradictory to the Islamic principles you are defending, do you think that there may be any mutual grounds among yourselves?]
A: In the holy Islamic movement of Iran, there's no place for such people.
Q: [What do you think of the Shah's efforts at aligning public living standards with some aspects of Western modernism?]
A: Basically, the Pahlavi regime has stopped any type of modernism since its imposition on the Iranian nation, and Iran's all around dependency and economic bankruptcy are clear indications of this regime's being reactionary.
Q: [Will you support a pro-Russian Marxist government produced by a coup- d'etat?]
A: The uprising of the Islamic movement of Iran has not given any opportunity to such a thing, and we will treat such conspiracies the same way as we are treating the Shah's present regime.
Q: [Regarding the Middle East circumstances, what diplomacy do you think Iran should adopt, from now on?]
A: We certainly won't be the gendarme of the region.
Q: [Will you also, like other Islamic heads, be opposing the Camp David Accord? «1»]
A: The Camp David Accord and the like are plots to legitimize the Israel's aggressions, which has consequently turned to the advantage of Israel, and disadvantage of Arabs and Palestinians. Such a situation wouldn't be acceptable to the people of the region.
Q: [In your opinion, if a war breaks out between the West and the Islamic or Arab world, should Iran use its oil for political reasons, and probably stop the oil exportation to the western countries?]
A: We are moving toward our people's interests, and will do anything beneficial for them and their Islamic ideal.
Q: [Do you think you will personally play a role in the new government, after the fall of the present regime?]
A: No. Neither my tendency nor my age and circumstances will allow me such a thing.