For Ayatollah Khamenei, Survival Is Victory

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once again presented Iran’s endurance as a triumph in a June 26 “victory” address following the cease-fire with Israel brokered by the United States. 

• June 26: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a “victory” message to the Iranian nation, which was transcribed on his website: 

• • “I find it necessary to congratulate the great Iranian nation. Several congratulations: First, congratulations on the victory over the fallacious Zionist regime. The Zionist regime, despite its mayhem and claims, was almost incapacitated and trampled under the blows of the Islamic Republic. They could not even imagine being struck in such a manner by the Islamic Republic. We thank God for aiding our armed forces to penetrate their advanced multilayered defense systems … and demolish many of their cities and military sites. This is among the greatest divine blessings and demonstrates to the Zionist regime that aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran entails a cost. A cost. A heavy cost. God be praised, this is what transpired, and the honor befalls our armed forces and our dear people, who nurtured these armed forces in their bosom, trained them, supported them, and strengthened their hand in such a great act.” 

• • “Second, congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the American regime. The American regime directly intervened in the war, sensing the Zionist regime would have been completely annihilated absent such an intervention – an intervention merely for the purpose of rescuing it. Otherwise, America had no other accomplishment in this war. It attacked our nuclear sites – an issue that ought to be pursued through international courts of law – but it could not achieve anything of significance. The American president abnormally aggrandized the events, which shows that he needed to. Anyone listening to these words would know that such talk conceals a different reality. They could not do anything. They failed to achieve their objective and are now exaggerating to obscure the truth. In this context as well, the Islamic Republic was victorious and slapped America in the face by striking an important American base in the region, Al Udeid Air Base, and inflicted damage. The very same people who exaggerated the first are now trying to downplay the second by claiming nothing happened. However, this was a great event. Important American bases in the region are within the reach of the Islamic Republic, and whenever needed, it can act against them. This is no trivial event but a momentous one that can be repeated in the future. In the face of aggression, the cost to the enemy will certainly be high.” 

• • “Third, congratulations to the nation for the extraordinary unity and concordance among the Iranian nation.” 

• • Concluding his address, Khamenei said: “In one of his speeches, the American president said: ‘Iran must surrender.’ He was not speaking about enrichment or the nuclear industry but of Iran’s surrender. These are grand words coming from the mouth of the American president. Those who know the Iranian nation, the great Iran, with its history and culture, with such steely resolve, find the word ‘surrender’ laughable. His statement also revealed a reality: From the beginning of the revolution, the Americans have been in opposition to Islamic Iran. They bare their claws at us, each time under a different pretext. One time, it is about human rights. Another time, it is about the defense of democracy. A third time, it is about women’s rights. And still another time, enrichment is the pretext, or the nuclear dossier in its entirety, or missile production. They invoke different pretexts, but in truth, they pursue Iran’s surrender. His predecessors would not articulate it so plainly, since it is unacceptable and contrary to rational logic that a nation surrenders, which is why they used euphemisms. But he exposed the reality and made it clear to all that America will not be satisfied unless Iran surrenders and nothing less. This is important. The Iranian nation must understand that this explains the nature of the struggle with America. The Americans insult the Iranian nation. But such a thing shall never come to pass. Never! The Iranian nation is a great nation. Iran is a mighty and vast land, with an ancient civilization and cultural and civilizational wealth hundreds of times greater than that of America and the likes of America. Those who expect Iran to surrender to another country, an inherently absurd fallacy, will become the laughingstock of the wise and the learned. The Iranian nation is beloved and shall remain beloved. It is victorious and, God willing, shall remain victorious.”

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