Speech [Disasters befalling the country in time of Pahlavi dynasty; warning the regional countries about supporting Saddam]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Reciprocally, I appreciate the gentlemen who have come here and who have expressed support, and beseech God Almighty to grant health and happiness to all Muslims and oppressed people of the world.

In 50 years of Pahlavi black rule, we witnessed many calamities. We experienced and some of you heard about them. In the beginning when Rida Khan came to power, he came with a hypocritical face and was able to win over the nation. If you want to fathom the depth of the crimes committed by Rida Khan against this nation, a voluminous book to be written by our scholars and presented to the public.

It is not be possible to tell what Rida Khan did to us at that time in one or two sessions. He dealt with the clerics in a manner that put the Mongols to shame, did those oppressions to our women that you cannot bear to hear, treated our university in a way that set it back and ran our army in the 50 or so years in a way that our army became dependent. They destroyed our independence. None of us had freedom in this country. None of the social stratum was free. The clerics who wanted to ascend the pulpit to preach the people were banned. They closed the assemblies of clerics for preaching. He created disaster and troubles for this nation that are beyond description. After he was brought to power by the British government and removed from power, the allied governments imposed Muhammad-Rida on our nation. Muhammad-Rida treated us worse than his father did. He ruined the prestige of this nation and destroyed our Islamic prestige. He caused our honor to drift away. He made our university in a way that when students were graduated from university they were enemy of this nation and dependent on other countries particularly on the west. There were few exceptions. The works he did cunningly were more profound than those performed by Rida Khan. The latter did things by bullying and the former by craft and hypocrisy, dissipating all the prestige of this nation. He donated our treasures and resources to his masters, particularly the US and corrupted our youths. Centers of fornication in this country were innumerable. Centers of corruption were so many that our youth were corrupted. They were themselves responsible for selling heroin, opium and other types of narcotics by which they corrupted our youths.

They did such that our nation was at its wit's end. Our nation could not tolerate any longer. God Aalmighty favored us and the nation launched a revolution and stood against all powers that supported Muhammad-Rida, particularly the US. Despite the fact that the nation did not possess anything but faith, they managed to remove Muhammad-Rida, and relieved the country from the domination of the US.

They restored the army that was directed by American advisors, had no relationship with the nation, and expelled the advisors. People closed a den of espionage that was used in the name of embassy whose documents have now been published in many volumes. They wanted to have a free, independent nation neither leaming on the east or the west.

Now the crime of our peole is that they want to be free and real human beings, determining their own destiny. Now all excluding a few countries of the world have risen against a country whose people have risen up, want to be free, enforce Islamic laws in this country and practice their religion. You all know the extent of the propaganda carried out. You are inside Iran and hear the foreign propaganda. Foreign propaganda is such that perhaps any of you with wakeful conscience may feel uneasy. They say that in the streets children gunned down. The foreign say in their propaganda that people have no freedom in Iran. They say no free choice has found reality in Iran. They say the sriflying atmosphere in Iran is unrivelled anywhere in the world. Wherever any corruption is carried out is attributed to Iran. Wherever people are at their wit's end and want to revolt against them as Iran did, their acts are attributed to Iran. They want to remove Iran from the face of the earth; they work to overthrow the Islamic Republic. They don't know that a nation which has revolted in the full sense of the term and is offering its blood cannot be treated like this.

Big powers should change their attitude; they should know that the world has changed. Today's world is not like the past. It is not like the past that Britain, Europe, US or the Soviet Union could rule over the world. The world does not accept this mentality today. They should change their approach. The world does not accept two powers destroying the entire world. The world does not accept a minority devouring the entire world. They should revise their plans.

Our crime was that we wanted to be free. We want to manage our own life and destiny. We do not want to be in the custody of any government. To accomplish this end, they do whatever. On the one hand, they are carrying out extensive propaganda against us; on the other hand, they imposed a war on us- which that gentleman asked to finish. Each one of you gentlemen was present here at the outset of the war and witnessed how Iraq attacked Iran from the air, sea and land. Iraq occupied a large section of Khouzestan. Due to the provocations of the US, Saddam carried out this criminal act. Then Iran put up a fierce resistance and our youth drove them out of the country with the power of faith. Only small portion of our land is in their hands. Now the powers have assembled to keep him and save the non-human who has committed unthinkable crimes against his own people and his own `ulama' and our nation. They urge us to make peace. From the beginning, we had no war with anyone, yet we cannot make peace with Saddam.

is a criminal who does not honor any contract. He tore up the contract he had signed with the former government. He constantly changes his mind. He is not a man to make peace with. Do you think if we make peace with Saddam, he will continue with this peace? Never, He wants to equip and reinforces his troops to launch a new offensive. He is the are who has from the outset attack our `Arab, Kurdish and Persian-populated cities with long-range missiles. Moreover, the bitter thing is that the missiles are from either the Soviet Union or the US. More deplorable is that the regional governments assist him.

We have repeatedly told the regional governments to close ranks so that we can all get rid of the clutches of superpowers. The oppressed people can no longer stay under the oppression of superpowers. Now in the US the American people do not accept the works their president is doing. Today the US people cannot tolerate them. The world has tilted towards rebellion. Today's world has undertaken many changes. The world does not accept from you to sit in your palaces and bring the world under torture and your domination. You should think out something for yourselves. Islamic governments should think out a way for themselves. You who represent Islamic governments in Iran tell your countries to think out a way for themselves. Saddam is sure to go. Even if we do not touch Saddam, his people will drive him out. He is on the point of death. Think of the period after him.

We want peace. We want to live in peace with all nations in the world. We want to live peacefully with the entire world. We want to live among the people of the world, but they do not let us.

If Saddam had not attacked us, we would be unfriendly terms with Iraqi people now. Iraq is our brother. Today, the Iraqi people are our brothers. We are not in bad terms with the Iraqi people. Saddam threatens with attacking our cities. Well, you saw that in the past two days he hectored so much, threatening that he would hit our cities. He was supposed to hit yesterday but he did not. He said tonight, but he did not. It is not clear when he will attack. He will obviously receive a resounding slap on the face. Nevertheless, these Islamic countries should come to their senses and notice this point. They should not imagine keeping Saddam and getting rid of us is better for them. They had better keep Islam. We want Islam. Protect Islam so that you would be safe from all the evils of the east and west. I beseech the Almighty God to rescue all oppressed people of the world from the clutches of the tyrants, awaken the Islamic governments, relive the Islamic peoples of these pressures and rid the oppressed peoples of the world from the grip of the oppressors.

I call on you gentlemen to inform your countries and governments that Iran is not like what they portray. Let them know that there is no suffocation in Iran and that we are not living in palaces and putting others under pressure. Iran is what you see. Its prime minister, foreign minister, president and Majlis Speaker are all ordinary people and friendly with people. Governments should befriend people and not put people under pressure. The world no longer tolerates this. One day an explosion will occur and destroy all. Then the poor people who are innocent will be destroyed as well. I implore God to grant health to the world and power and health to the innocent people of the world to live in peaceful co-existence.

May God's peace and mercy be upon you!