Interviewer: A reporter of the French-language magazine, Young Africa
Question: [Why don't you go back to Iran? Do you think that the Shah's presence is a hurdle in the way of your return to Iran? Do you think that the abdication of the Shah will make your return definite?]
Answer: Unless I feel that my presence in Iran is more useful for the movement than my presence in here, I will stay here.
Q: [You have said that the United States must change its Iran policy. Would you please explain what you mean by this change of policy? What are the conditions?]
A: I mean that it must stop the interferences in Iran's affairs it has been doing thus far; it must withdraw its advisors and leave Iran to itself to decide about its fate itself.
Q: [What is your opinion about South Africa, a country that receives about ninety percent of its oil from Iran?]
A: So long as South Africa has not put an end to this situation, we cannot have any relations with it and will not supply oil to it.
Q: [Don't you fear that the defeat of the Bakhtiyar government would lead to a military coup? How do you explain the decline of the army to join the ranks of the revolution in the present conditions?]
A: Under any circumstances, the Bakhtiyar government is against the law and the Iranian nation cannot accept his government. A military coup is nothing short of what the situation has been thus far; they have treated the people with the martial governments and curfews. We will continue our efforts in the way of Islam and our country to the extent we can. Military coup will not solve any problem in Iran, for the government before Bakhtiyar was nothing short of a military coup and did not solve the problem of Iran.
We will continue our efforts in the way of Islam and our country. You won't believe that the army is with the people and will turn back to the Shah
in the near future. Our victory is certain and the establishment of the Islamic Republic is very clear for me.