Interviewers: Reporters from the American ABC Television
Question: [Your Eminence, Shapour Bakhtiyar is against the Shah. Why are you against him?]
Answer: Firstly, Bakhtiyar is not against the Shah. He intends to keep the Shah in power. He has connections with the United States. And secondly, let us assume that Bakhtiyar is against the Shah Bakhtiyar, himself is against law. The two Majlises are against law, and the Shah is also against law. Therefore, we are against him.
Q: [It seems that the US policy in Iran has changed to a great extend and today they believe that the Shah should leave. Considering this considerable change in the US policy toward Iran, how do you predict the future of Iran-US relations, and what is your opinion?]
A: As long as the current regime is not thoroughly destroyed, and we have not established our Islamic government, we cannot surely talk about relations with the United States. But it would be probable that Iran will have a good relation with the US if the United States' relations with Iran are friendly.
Q: [Do you also feel that the current policy of the US is in a way that satisfies you?]
A: I have not felt it so far.
Q: [Do you think that Iran can again sell oil to the US under an Islamic government?]
A: Should the US leave Iran and stops interfering in Iran's domestic affairs, and also in the nation's future, then the US will be one of those customers that Iran sells oil to.
Q: [Please comment on the Islamic government more specifically.]
A: Our intended Islamic government is a republic that is established on the nation's vote, and the Islamic rules are enforced and implemented in that. The Constitution is the Islamic law and the Islamic law is the cause of all freedoms and real democracy, and guarantees the independence of the country as well.
Q: [Some remarks discovered, suggesting that you are against other religions particularly the Jews and Christians. Would you please express your opinion about the other religions both in Islam and other non-Islamic religions?]
A: We have repeatedly said that Islam respects the religious minorities and they are free in our country, and they can even vote and have the right to appoint deputies for themselves. And what is said that we are against, the Shah's propagation. Islam has always treated them peacefully. Their life in an Islamic government will be definitely better than their current life.
Q: [In this movement, Your Eminence who has been outside Iran, has acquired an enormous power. This power is so great, and we want to know whether you could attain the same power if you were in Iran?]
A: This power is a religious power, and if I were in Iran, the nation would again know me as a religious man who serves the people, and there is no difference between inside the country and outside of it.
Q: [You are popular mostly among those who have not been so much interested in religion, but they were mostly interested in social development and changes. Don't you think that your exile to a foreign country has created a secret situation that has attracted them?]
A: They are also concerned; concerned with the nation, for we are in common in having concern for the national interests and in being against those who have betrayed their country and forfeited their independence. These issues are in the nature of all the Iranians and for the same reason even the non-religious classes are with us.
Q: [There are some vague points about your role in the future. Would you please comment on your future role?]
A: I will maintain the same position in the future that I have now. I will take the role of guiding the people and if there is something to the interest of the nation, I will announce it and if there is a betrayer, I will fight against him. But I will have no role in the future government.
Q: [Would there be a council of religious `ulama, that you take the top position in that?]
A: I should see what will happen next.
Q: [Do you think that you will stay for a long time abroad?]
A: I will return to Iran whenever I see fit and proper.
Q: [Your Eminence, when did you come to the conclusion that you can defeat the Shah?]
A: That is something I cannot say exactly. But it is a long time that I have known the time has arrived for the Shah's departure. But I cannot say it exactly.
Q: [Many people in the world thought that the Shah was the code of stability. What would be your greatest problem in the future of Iran after the Shah's departure?]
A: Our greatest problem would be to reconstruct the destruction of the Shah and also these instabilities that he has left for us, such as unemployment, housing, agriculture, assembly industries, and the factories. We should first of all renovate the destruction made during 50 years, so that the wheel of Iran starts rotating. Then another new basis should be founded in Iran.