Interviewer: A reporter of the American PBS national TV
Question: [Your Eminence, addressing the Iranian nation in one of your statements you asked them to overthrow the regime through any possible means from the first of Muharram, beginning from tomorrow. What do you mean by" any possible means?"]
Answer: I mean demonstrations and rallies as well as the lectures and statement to be made at the pulpits ... The month of Muharram is when the people are ready to hear about righteous issues. Today, our righteous issues are freedom and independence. I have ordered them to discuss these issues during the month of Muharram and hold sessions on these issues. And if they are banned, they should pour into the streets and announce these issues through any possible means.
Q: [How do your orders reach millions of your supporters?]
A: The people are my supporters and the issues that I set forth are popular issues related to them, hence, everybody feels duty-bound to spread our message.
Q: [How does your message reach the people? Is there any command hierarchy to assure them that they are your genuine messages?]
A: There are people who are trusted by us and we transfer our messages through them.
Q: [If these peaceful methods and political struggles fail to achieve the goal, will you ask your followers to wage a war, that is, to actually pick up arms and fight?]
A: To the extent that it is possible, we like to settle the problem peacefully and reach our goal through the very method that the Iranian nation is engaged in, that is, strikes and demonstrations which will be augmented in the month of Muharram. But if we do not reach our goal, there may be some revisions.
Q: [Even if that entails that you send your supporters to face the Shah's bullets?]
A: Of course our supporters do not want to face the bullets. They want to vindicate their rights. And in order to restore their rights, it is a necessary task. Moreover, they are doing it peacefully. But it is the Shah who orders to kill them.
Q: [Over the past few months, the Shah has tried through various means to reach some sort of compromise with you and his opponents. In your opinion, has not the time of this promise come in order to prevent the massacre of a large number of your supporters?]
A: If he is honest and wants to compromise, he must submit to the demand of the people, that is, he should go. But he does not say the truth. He does not want to compromise. He wants to deceive the people and then he will treat them worse than the first time.
Q: [Therefore, there is no other way except struggle against the Shah.]
A: There is no solution.
Q: [The Shah's government has announced the seizure of great amounts of ammunition in two Iranian cities. Does it mean that you and your supporters are collecting weapons?]
A: Our supporters are getting ready to confront oppression. But, does the Iranian government tell the truth? I do not know that.
Q: [Your Eminence, are you aware that your followers have armed themselves?]
A: They have told us that they want to arm themselves and I have allowed them to get ready.
Q: [Which means that they should collect arms!]
A: Yes.
Q: [Where do you get these armaments from?]
A: I do not know.
Q: [I have been told that some of these weapons are supplied by the Palestine Liberation Organization. Is it correct?]
A: I do not have any information.
Q: [Would it surprise you, if these weapons are supplied by Palestine?]
A: I do not know.
Q: [Is it right that you are a supporter of the objectives of the Palestine Liberation Organization?]
A: We are supporters of the oppressed. Whosoever is oppressed anywhere, we support him. And the Palestinians are oppressed. Israel has oppressed them. Therefore, we support them.
Q: [If the Shah goes and your presumed government comes to power, what changes will occur in the relations of your government with Israel?]
A: We will reject Israel and will not have any relations with it. Israel is a usurping government and is our enemy.
Q: [No oil will be supplied to Israel from Iran?]
A: That is true.
Q: [If your proposed government comes to power, what changes will take place in the relations of your government with the Untied States?]
A: We do not want to commit any inequity against the United States and do not want to surrender to the US oppression. We will not tolerate what they have done to us, which had been oppressive. But we will have friendly relations with all the nations and if the governments treat us respectfully, we will treat them on the basis of mutual respect.
Q: [What blows have the Americans inflicted upon you that you are protesting against them?]
A: The greatest crime committed against us by the American governments have been the imposition of the Pahlavi dynasty on us; they took our resources away with their collaboration and in lieu of them they did not supply us with anything useful for the nation; they brought our army under their own protection so it rises against our nation ... They set up bases in Iran in contravention to our independence. And with the presence of this Shah, we will not be able to live an appropriate life. It is the US that supports the Shah; even now the US president has announced, and announces, his support for the Shah. The US president terms a nation that has risen up for its freedom and independence as lowly and mean. This is Mr. Carter's logic. We call on the American nation to tell Mr. Carter that a nation that has been oppressed, a nation that is under pressure, a nation whose freedom- all sorts of freedoms- has been taken away, a nation that has no independence, a nation whose citizens are being killed, a nation that has been dominated by the oppressors ... is now trying to vindicate its own rights. They cry: we want freedom, we want independence. Is such a thing meanness and lowliness that Mr. Carter says? We would want the American nation to take their leaders into task. We do not like the American nation to be projected as an oppressive nation among the nations and lose its prestige. If the American nation accompanies us, we will even thank them.
Q: [There are some military contracts, worth 22 billion dollars, between Iran and the Untied States. If your government comes to power, what will happen to these agreements?]
A: These agreements have been against the interests of our country. One of the treacheries of the Shah against us, has been the very agreements that he signed to the detriment of our nation. The agreements that are against the interest of our nation will not have any value. But if there is any agreement in which fairness has been taken into account and is useful for our nation, we will correct such agreements.
Q: [What kinds of agreements are useful and what kind of agreements are not?]
A: Right now I cannot say what agreement is useful. What we know is that they have signed some agreements and taken our oil in lieu of which they have supplied us with weapons that are not useful for us at all. These agreements are detrimental to the interests of our country. A useful agreement is one that is signed to supply a useful item to Iran- useful items for our agriculture and industry. But the items that are not at all useful for Iran, are not useful agreements.
Q: [Your Eminence, you spoke about the military bases. If you come to power, will you ask for the closure and dismantling of those bases?]
A: These bases are against our interests. Of course later the experts must give their opinions in this regard.
Q: [Has there been any recent contact with you by the Americans or on behalf of the American officials?]
A: No.
Q: [Does the US government try to neglect you?]
A: I do not know.
Q: [We have been told that you have already chosen the person who will be nominated to head the Iranian government. Is it so?]
A: We are planning to choose.
Q: [Are they more than one person, or there is only one?]
A: There are several persons.
Q: [Do you say that your proposed government should come to power through great bloodshed, particularly during the next month?]
A: No, we are never willing to shed blood. We want to settle the problem peacefully.