Those expecting US policy shift toward Iran ‘seriously mistaken’: Leader
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei said on Wednesday that anyone expecting a shift in US policy toward Iran was “seriously mistaken”, hours after midterm elections dealt a blow to President Donald Trump.
“If there are still those who have even the slightest hope for a change in behavior or political and partisan shifts in the system of domination, or imagine that by granting concessions to America they can dissuade it from hostility toward the Iranian nation, they are seriously mistaken,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a message marking National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance.
Describing such expectations as disregard for the major victories achieved by the Iranian people through trust in God, perseverance and struggle, he said the ultimate desire of the “Great Satan” is the unconditional surrender of the Iranian nation.
The Leader underlined that continuing the strategy of making Iran “ever stronger” through comprehensive progress is the only way to achieve “absolute deterrence”.
He stressed that national unity, solidarity and social cohesion must govern the conduct of the Iranian nation and officials.
“The only way to reach the point of absolute deterrence is to continue the strategy of ‘Iran ever stronger’ along the path of comprehensive progress; and unity, solidarity and social cohesion are the main elements of success in this path, which must govern every individual and collective word and action of the nation and officials,” he said.
Referring to developments in the Persian Gulf, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, Ayatollah Khamenei said the situation has demonstrated “the falsity of the myth of America’s invincibility.”
He said it has also exposed “the weakness and humiliation of governments that rely on a force other than their own people, and the disloyalty and inability of major powers to defend their dependent governments.”
“The exercise of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of America’s military bases in regional countries, although a reaction to America’s aggression and crimes in the third imposed war, also constituted an initial jihad against global arrogance on a regional scale,” he said.
He warned that “in the event of a repetition of these aggressions, their dimensions will become much wider.”
In reviewing the history of American hostility toward Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei traced its roots to more than seven decades ago, citing the August 1953 coup as the starting point of US oppression against the Iranian nation.
Washington has now abandoned even the deceptive conventions and outward appearances of international conduct and is openly pursuing the disintegration of Iran, the submission of its people, the collapse of its political system and the destruction of its ancient and authentic civilization, he added.
However, Ayatollah Khamenei said, the United States has encountered “the solid wall of realities on the ground and the steadfast rock of the determination of the proud Iranian nation” at every stage.
He said the consequences of American miscalculations and arrogant delusions have imposed heavy costs on the American people and governments dependent on Washington.