In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Answering the threat of the Soviet invasion of Iran!
One of the means that they have resorted to in an attempt to keep the Shah is to use the fact that Iran shares a border with Russia, a border of a few hundred kilometers, and claim that it is the Shah who protects Iran from Russian aggression. Were the Shah to go, they say, because of this common border, Iran would fall into the hands of Russia! The Shah himself in his statements has repeatedly said that if he were not around, Iran would become the province of Russia!
Now we should assess this to see whether it is true that it is the Shah who has protected Iran from the malevolence of Russia and were he to go Iran would fall into the hands of Russia, or not. One assumption is that were the Shah to go, Russia would attack the country directly and capture Iran, or at least capture Azerbaijan. This is one assumption that we should assess the feasibility of. Another assumption is that if he goes, then due to Russian instigation, the communists inside Iran would hand the country over to the Russians. We should assess this scenario too to see if this would be the case or not.
A lesson from the period of invasion of Iran
First of all though, let's look at the assumption that the Russians have not attacked Iran so far because the power of the Shah has stopped them from doing so. Does this Shah rely upon the nation for his power, or does he have it without relying upon the nation? If he claims that he relies upon the nation and that it is the nation which gives him the power to stop someone from attacking Iran, well then we must study the actual situation in Iran at the present time to see if Iran is totally behind His Excellency and he enjoys a base of support in the country, or if his situation has become just like that of his father.
Perhaps none of you can remember the Rida Shah era, but I can. When the world war began and the Allies wanted to seize Iran in order to create a bridge between themselves and the countries with whom they were engaged in hostilities, three armies attacked Iran from three different directions. The armies were those of Britain, America and Russia. At the time, Rida Shah used to make a lot of claims, similar to those made by this Shah nowadays, such as:" Our power has reached a degree that no one can attack us", and so on! Well, it soon became clear that this was merely an empty claim, that it was just rhetoric. At that time, they called it the declaration which did not have a second! «1» The Iranian army issued its first declaration which was its declaration of war, but this was not followed by a second. For the war apparently only lasted three hours, and when Rida Shah asked his army commanders why it had only taken them three hours (to be defeated), they replied that even those three hours were too long, because we had nothing while they (the Allies) had everything. There was no resistance! It lasted for three hours because it took the Iranian army that long to get to where the confrontation was to take place! [Laughter from the audience]
Now, does this Shah have such power that were we to exclude the nation we could say that it is his power which has countered this superpower Russia, or is something else involved?
Rida Shah worse than foreign enemies
When power does not stem from the nation, then it will be just like that of Rida Shah. When those three countries, those three armies, poured into Iran occupying the country, everything was placed in danger, it was a dangerous period for Iran and even though this was a matter of moral concern for us, it was clear that the people were happy because the Allies had come and got rid of Rida Khan! For indeed this is what they did, they sent him away. He had created a situation such that the people were happy when a foreign enemy, when three powerful enemies, invaded Iran placing it in danger, they perhaps even congratulated one another on this event saying how fortunate it was that they had come and got rid of that wretch! He had treated the people in such a way that they preferred their country to be invaded by three enemies who opposed their religion and everything else rather than for him to remain.
Today, the situation is the same for this man. He is so despised by the people that they would prefer to be invaded by another power (God forbid) if it meant that he left, for another power may be more prudent in its actions. Indeed, when the Allies invaded, they did not commit acts of aggression against the people without reason. Some injustices did take place, but they were not as bad as those carried out by Rida Khan. These countries were our enemies, yet neither Russia and Britain nor America committed atrocities against Iran like he did! They were not as repressive as he was, nor did they torment the people to the extent that he did! They invaded Iran, they seized the country and the situation was very bad, very ugly, but nevertheless it was better than having Rida Khan. Today, this Shah's situation is the same. His being in Iran is so unacceptable to the people that were one such power to penetrate the country again and he were to leave, the people may once again rejoice, just as they did at that time! Be that as it may, his power does not stem from the nation, indeed the nation is at odds with him.
Balance of power, not Shah's power
Let us assume that the whole of the army agrees with his rule, and remember this is only an assumption! The army itself is now hollow, its core is putrid, and it does not wholly agree with his rule. Granted, a group who has pocketed much and continue to do so approve of him, but it is not as if all of the army does. Let us suppose however that the whole of the army approves of him, it will not be able to do anything before a power like that of Russia. So it is not the case that it is the power of" His Imperial Majesty" which is presently stopping Russia from attacking Iran. No, other powers confront it; there are other reasons why it will not attack. Neither Russia nor America can attack Iran, because as soon as America opens its mouth, Russia declares:" It is against our interests! We will not sit quietly by!" And if the other one tries to make a move, then this one announces:" It is against our interests!" This country is protected by these two great powers, not by him! The power he has is a power which does not stem from the people, and is thus a putrid power. He does not have the power to protect the country.
Azerbaijan expelled the Russians
Now let us suppose that he goes and there is no longer any reason for America or Britain to stop Russia from attacking Iran, or vice versa. If Russia made a move to attack Iran, with the presence of this Iranian nation which is so united now, it would not be able to do so. Even if we suppose that its army managed to enter the country, it would not be able to survive, for every village and hamlet that it entered would make life hell for it! We have already seen how the people threw the Russians out of Azerbaijan. During the World War when the Russians decided to remain in Azerbaijan, the people of that region threw them out, «2» and after they had done this, that man started boasting about how he had saved Azerbaijan! All the people know that he was not the one who saved Azerbaijan; it was the people of Azerbaijan who saved Azerbaijan. So too today, were the Russians to attack and he were no longer around, the nation would still be here (to defend the country), but were he to remain then the nation would not be here. For the nation does not support him, and were the Russians to attack, then those who have been made to suffer by this family may even assist the Russians! And the people may rejoice just like they did at that time. Iran may be better protected against the Russians with him not around.
The real reason why Russia will not attack Iran, and neither will America or Britain, is that these powers are themselves stopping one another from doing so. If one of them were to try to launch an attack, the others would object and a world war would begin, and they are all too aware that (another) world war would be equivalent to the end of the human race. It would not be the case that they embark on a world war and one prevails over the other, one destroys the other and lives to see another day, for atomic weapons would be involved which would bring about the destruction of the human race. No rational person would accept this as an expedient course of action, for a world war today would be something quite different from the First and Second World Wars. During those wars, one did not have access to such weapons as are available today. Very little weaponry was involved in the First World War, and although in the second more weapons were used, they were not like those which are available nowadays. All the rational people of the world know, as the superpowers do, that the present situation is such that were a world war to break out, it would not be like the other wars; this war would take the human race to the brink of annihilation. Russia would be destroyed, America would be destroyed; other countries would also be destroyed. So to avert this, another world war will not occur, and if by any chance it does, then our fate will be the same as that of the other people of the world; our recompense, however, will be good, I cannot say the same for theirs [The audience laughs].
Unsound logic
This talk, this logic that if" His Imperial Majesty" is not here Russia will attack from one direction and Britain and America from another, is unsound! It is his" power" which is confronting all the powers of the world indeed! It is claimed that it is his power which is countering (the threat from) these three superpowers Britain, America and Russia! Not just Russia alone, he stands in the way of all three powers! And now Carter shudders at the very thought that such a power exists in Iran! [The audience laughs]. Just imagine, when the Shah speaks, the Kremlin and Britain tremble with fear! He claims that Iran has not been divided because he is around! That if he goes Iran will be divided! This is what he says. Well, he has been in the habit of talking like this since childhood [The audience laughs], and today is no different.
Communism will never find a way into Iran
So now let us take a look at the second assumption. The claim is no longer that Iran will be attacked if he is not around, but that his presence maintains stability and that these communists within the country, who cannot do anything as long as he is in power, will, as soon as he goes, create anarchy and will hand Azerbaijan over to Russia or even give Iran to the Russians! Yes, this is what is being said; sometimes they put it this way and at other times they say that the communists may not hand the country over to the Russians, but Iran will become a communist country! The Shah makes such claims too. If we consider this carefully, we will see that this too is nothing more than idle talk.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that these communists in Iran are afraid of his power, does this mean that if his power is removed then the people themselves will have nothing to say (about the communists)?! Out of a population of thirty-odd million Iranians, only a few are communists, and even then they are not the kind of communists who want to bring Russia into Iran; I do not really believe that they are genuine communists, to use their terminology. Most of these communists, their leaders that is- perhaps the same cannot be said for their young followers- end up working for the court! Some of them are now servants of the court and are affiliated to it! These people are what I call American communists, not true communists. «3» Now let us suppose that a number are communists; well, we all know what kind of slogans have been given throughout the course of the Iranian revolution, and indeed, at the present time too as Iran continues in the grip of revolution, we are still hearing such slogans. Are they communist or Islamic slogans? Everyone knows that if a short slogan is given somewhere and we presume that it has been given by some (true) communists, it is still only a drop compared to an ocean. In all regions of Iran the call for an Islamic government is being raised. Let's suppose that there are a few who, in their words, are chanting communist slogans, this small number is nothing compared to this flood, this sea of people who are on the move now and who are all demanding an Islamic government.
So this is just idle talk that he uses to try to mislead others, even though he himself knows that there is no truth in it and he cannot mislead anyone. What does division mean? What does becoming communist mean? One minute he says Iran will be divided, in other words Russia will seize one part of Iran, Britain another and America another, and the next he says Iran will become a communist country! Does he mean just one bit will become communist?! The rest won't?! Will the communists take only Azerbaijan or will Russia come and seize it? This is what their talk centers around, that if the Shah is not around such and such will happen! It is all for the purpose of keeping him in power. If America says such things it is to preserve his rule; Russia too supports him and may say such things in order to make it known that he must be kept in power. Britain may also say such things in order to preserve his rule. Of course they are all agreed that he should stay because at present they do not have anyone better than him to safeguard their interests. If they could find a better servant than him, they would not proffer him so much support. But now this servant (the Shah) is an old hand who knows the ropes and understands how to operate. Even though at present he is inefficient, still they would like him to remain so that their interests may be maintained for a little while longer.
The nation of Iran is now standing its ground in the face of these claims and is saying:" No! We want our resources to be for us; we want to be free; we want to be independent; we want a government of Islamic justice not an unjust government which gives everything we have away; we want a trustworthy government which is loyal to the people." Indeed we have reliable people in Iran and abroad who can take the place of this man and his regime.
Emphasizing the duty of Iranians abroad
I repeat again that those of us who are abroad, who are outside Iran, have a duty to help the Iranians, to help the Iranian nation which has risen up and is now sacrificing everything it has for all our sakes. It is our bounden duty to help them to the best of our ability. While we are here, we can give interviews to the press and if possible write articles for publication in newspapers and magazines. When you speak with the people, enlighten them to the facts, tell them that the people of Iran are not" despicable riffraff," as Mr. Carter describes them, who want to throw an honorable gentleman out of the country. No, they are a people who want their rights, who want the basic right to which a human being is entitled: freedom and independence. They want to throw that person who has encroached upon this right out of Iran and sever the hands of those who have encroached upon their rights. Tell this to the people over here with whom you have relations, repeat it until a wave of support is found abroad (for the Iranian cause) and, God willing, you will achieve your aim that much quicker as indeed I would like you to do, God willing [The audience replies with" God willing"]. May God grant you all success.