Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic's struggle against the hegemonic system, embodied by the United States, is driven by logic and lessons from the past rather than sentiment.
"Contrary to some claims, the struggle of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian people against arrogant powers is not an illogical or sentimental move. It is based on reason and historical experiences," the Leader was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The Leader made the statements in a meeting with students in Tehran on Tuesday, a day before the anniversary of the 1979 US embassy takeover by Iranian students on Nov. 4. It is named National Day of Struggle Against Global Arrogance.
Ayatollah Khamenei denounced as "self-interested" or "gullible" those who seek closer relations with the US, warning that lack of vigilance and a focus on domestic differences would be a "great mistake", giving Washington the long-sought opportunity to harm the Islamic Republic.
"Such a mistake should be avoided by learning from the past experiences," he said, citing the US-orchestrated 1953 coup d'état leading to the overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddeq's democratically-elected government.
***Historic Mistake
The Leader said it was a "historic mistake" by Mosaddeq to place trust in the United States and "this gullibility and negligence laid the basis for the success of American coup d'état, which … exposed Iran to the most serious national problems and political, economic and cultural blows over the next 25 years".
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the US support for groups seeking to topple the Islamic Republic in the early years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and for the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who imposed the 1980-88 war on Iran as a few instances of US hostile policies.
"US policies regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran have not changed. [The Americans] would have destroyed it, if they were able to."
