Interviewer: A reporter of the BBC Radio-Television
Q: [Now that the Shah has agreed to leave Iran- although for an unspecific period of time- would you accept Bakhtiyar's invitation to return to Iran?]
A: I will go to Iran whenever I deem it appropriate and my return to Iran- whether I am invited or not- does not depend on the invitation of anybody.
Q: [Is there an acceptable role for the Shah in the future government in your opinion?]
A: He will never have any role.
Q: [What would be your future role in the future affairs of the country?]
A: I will be what I have already been. I will guide the people and the government.
Q: [You have talked about reconstructing Iran and establishing an Islamic Republic. It is quite hard for us to understand what you mean. How would you achieve this goal in practice? How will the life of the Iranian people change?]
A: The issue is not to change of lives. Rather the fact that the people have been oppressed by the Shah and their country has not been independent. We intend to make the country independent and grant freedom to the people. And, the Islamic Republic government will be a republican system similar to other republics, but its laws are Islamic laws.
Q: [Some critics claim that you cannot clearly understand the modern, complicated issues of the future Iranian industrialized society- that is going toward industrialization. They also criticize you for having been away from Iran for a long period of time. How would you comment on these?]
A: Of course we do have experts for the complicated issues. But what we understand is the fact that the Shah is an oppressor and a traitor who has betrayed Iran and the Iranian nation- this is an obvious fact that everybody is aware of. We know that our country is not independent and that some foreign countries interfere in all its affairs- it is also a clear issue. We are struggling for independence and freedom.
Q: [Non-Muslims portray the Islamic society as a society full of cruelties with severe punishments, such as amputation of hands, for relatively minor offenses, which is carried out in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. It is said that these laws are barbaric, what is your opinion?]
A: Those, who misconceive Islam, have not understood it. There has been no Islamic government thus far. There was an Islamic government at the beginning the advent of Islam, there was no fear during the government of Imam `Ali (`a), and people were living in security. The current governments have frightened the people and the people do not have any security under them. They massacre the people group by group. The hatred that you are talking about is because of these governments, not because of the Islamic government, which treats its people fairly and justly.
Q: [Many of the women who have attained a level of freedom and accomplished their high education are afraid of being returned to a reactionary religious government. What would you say to reassure them?]
A: Islam has given total freedom to women. It is the Shah and his government that has deprived them of their freedom and has shackled them in all respects.
Q: [The question that I am obliged to ask is that some of your Western critics say that you are a religious leader whose hands are stained by the blood of many people. Do not you feel remorseful that thousands of people have lost their lives in the streets due to your orders to fight against the Shah? Or you still think that there was no other solution?]
A: It is the Shah whose hands are stained with the blood of the people. We are defending our rights, and every person has the right to defend his own rights. Therefore, we seek freedom and independence and this is the Shah who is killing our people savagely.
Q: [When you return to Iran, what would be your opinion about supplying oil to Israel and South Africa?]
A: Israel is fighting against the Muslims and is the occupier of the country of our Muslim brothers. We will not supply oil to it. We will supply oil to other countries that treat us fairly.