In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
I warn the entire courageous, wakeful Iranian nation- may God assist them; once again a dangerous plot is underway by the treacherous agents of the Shah and the supporters of the international plunderers to preserve the corrupt monarchical regime bring the Shah to diabolic power, allow the oil-devourers to continue their plunder and restore the domination of the aliens. Through trampling upon the blood of the martyrs of the way of God and motherland and through various tricks, they wan to keep our country under the yoke of colonialism and the Pahlavi dictatorship. From the collapsing, dying Shah, they want to make a bloodsucking dictator with his previous power and impose him on us. Through such minor deceiving measures as freedom of the press, promise to dissolve the State Organization for Security and Information (SAVAK), and pretension of commitment to the religion of Islam, they want to restore the criminal Shah's power so that through serving the aliens, they plunder the assets of the country and without sparing the people and their home, suppress Islam and religion forever. I warn the Iranian nation that they are well aware of the power of Islam, that of the courageous Iranian nation and the wakeful clergy, and hence, a plot is underway to suppress these divine powers.
O, the wakeful nation of Iran! Continue your struggle courageously, for if you neglect a moment, all the blood you have sacrificed in the way of Islam and freedom thus far will be wasted and such a blow will be dealt on you that your breaths will be cut and your rightful cries muffled in your throats. I announce to the entire courageous nation that the monarchical regime is illegal, the two houses of parliament are anti-national and illegal and the government is usurping, illegitimate and outlawed. Obedience to this system is equal to the obedience to satanic governments and is unlawful. Obedience to the defunct Shah and the outlawed government is an offense and is religiously unlawful. Do the nation and the security forces know that according to the foreign press the Shah, on the verge of his exit alone, has transferred one billion sterling pounds from Iran, while only God knows the figure of his other accounts? Now I deem it necessary to mention a few points:
1. The staff of the ministries should reject the corrupt, illegal ministers and not obey them; if possible, they should not allow them to enter the ministries; it is their religious duty and a service to the country and the nation, while obedience to them is opposition to the nation and Islam.
2. The nation should refrain from paying taxes and the charges of water, electricity and telephone and should avoid whatever measure that is considered assistance to the government, for assistance to the government is unlawful and will cause God's wrath.
3. The respectable `ulama' of the cities, the honorable preachers and zealous seminary students, the judges and the respectable lawyers, the honorable university professors and seminarians, the bazaar merchants, members of various guilds, the workers, the peasants, the respected politicians and other strata of the people should announce the dismissal of the Shah and the illegality of the two houses of Parliament and that of the government, for in case of their indolence, the plot hatched against the nation and the country may bear fruit and then all of us will be responsible. All should know that at this crucial juncture all of us are accountable to God.
4. The traders of foodstuff must refrain from overcharging which is against the pleasure of the Almighty God and such an act at this sensitive juncture is a blow on the body of the Islamic movement.
5. Don't neglect rendering assistance to the workers and traders of various guilds who have been the losers due to the strikes; it is allowed to allocate some part of religious taxes to them.
I announce Monday, Safar 9,1399 AH, a day of public mourning to commemorate the martyrs of Mashhad, Qazvin, Kermanshah and other cities. I beseech the Almighty to make it the last day of mourning of the honorable nation. May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.
Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini