Iran’s US Policy Unaffected by Replacement of Individuals

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic’s policies toward the United States are calculated and clear, and will not change with the replacement of political figures.

“By one person’s coming or not coming [to power], things may happen, but that does not concern us and does not affect the Islamic Republic’s policies,” he said in a televised speech on the occasion of the birth anniversaries of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Imam Sadeq (PBUH) on Tuesday, Leader.ir reported.   

He made the statement at the close of the US presidential elections, in which the incumbent Donald Trump is fighting against his democratic rival Joe Biden.

Trump has withdrawn the US from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. He aims to continue his maximum pressure campaign, if reelected.

In a more moderate vein, Biden has promised to rejoin the deal, based on certain stringent conditions.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that Iran needs to increase its strength to disappoint the enemy, regardless of who wins the US election.

According to the Leader, the main reason for the US hostility against Iran is that it neither accepts Washington’s cruel policies, nor recognizes its domination.

“This enmity will continue and the only way to end it is that the other side [Washington] becomes disappointed with the idea of striking a severe blow to the Iranian nation and government,” he said. 

Ayatollah Khamenei added that in order to disappoint the enemy, the country should be fortified by boosting the instruments of national power.

“To become stronger, officials should put in harder and more serious efforts in the sectors of economy, security and culture,” he said, emphasizing that the solution is to focus on domestic capabilities and boost production.

“To improve security and ward off enemies, defensive tools such as missiles and drones need to be readied while relevant organizations are watchful to prevent enemy infiltration to ensure domestic security,” he added.

The Leader also called on cultural authorities to make smart plans to raise public awareness about enemy plots.

Symbol of Resistance

Ayatollah Khamenei also highlighted the anniversary of Iranian students’ seizure of the US embassy in 1979, calling it a symbol of Iran’s resistance against world arrogant powers.

On Nov. 4, 1979, months after the toppling of Iran's American-backed shah, students overran the embassy complex and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 and ties have been frozen ever since.

“We were not the initiators of measures against Americans, but they initiated hostility against the Iranian nation by issuing resolutions in the congress, forming terrorist groups, designing and supporting coups and undertaking extensive espionage activities after the [1979 Islamic] revolution,” he said.

The Leader called the US a modern-day pharaoh who deploys troops to other countries and starts war and triggers insecurity.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the outcome of US presence in any corner of the world is nothing but insecurity, destruction, civil war and preoccupations for the governments.

“It is wrong to think that if governments surrender to US demands and policies, they will benefit, as those who gave in to America’s bullying have suffered the greatest damage,” he said.