Pres. Rouhani: If we are to respond to threats one day, know how to do that

Speaking in a ceremony commemorating martyrdom of Sayyid Mostafa Khomeini on Monday, Dr Rouhani said: "Martyr Mostafa Khomeini was a brave and vigilant figure who was available to all".

"Haj Mostafa Khomeini was a source of hope for all revolutionaries during the Islamic Movement," continued Rouhani saying that Martyr Mostafa Khomeini was the Late Imam Khomeini's (RA) trustworthy advisor.

President Rouhani continued: "If the 15 Khordad incident hadn't happened, Imam Khomeini's life would be in danger".

Stating that people's presence showed the Shah's regime that Imam Khomeini (RA) cannot be removed, Dr Rouhani added: "Martyr Mostafa Khomeini had a pivotal role in 15 Khordad Uprising".

"Haj Mostafa Khomeini's significant role alongside Imam [Khomeini] in Turkey and Najaf was protecting him and managing communication with people and the revolutionaries," he continued.

Martyr Mostafa Khomeini was a brave and vigilant figure who was available to all, said the President adding: "Haj Mostafa Khomeini's martyrdom shocked the people; their fears vanished and people's love towards Imam became public".

"Imam's speech after martyrdom of his son, made Imam's spiritual grandeur more apparent," he continued, stressing that Imam Khomeini (RA) was an exceptional figure in the history.

Stating that Iran has a very high position in the world today, Dr Rouhani added: "The Arrogance has never been this much abject in the region and Iran has not been this much powerful".

"Take Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and even the innocent people of Yemen; where is the Arrogance winner? Was the Arrogance sought the current situation in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon?," he continued.

The president said: "If arrogance is victorious, then why is it constantly going country to country begging? Today, the greatness of Islam and the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation in the region is greater than ever before. Where in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, North Africa and the Persian Gulf region a decision can be made without Iran's comment?".

Dr Rouhani said that the Islamic Republic of Iran's high position has been the achievement of the vigilance and unity of the nation and the wisdom of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and added: "The reason for this great power of the Islamic system today is that we are all together, and if this fails, we will not see greatness".

The president said: "Can you remember a time when the US president speaks and everyone in the world oppose him? Today, with the exception of a few small countries and a fake regime, even within the United States, no one supports the president of the United States and his words and way".

Dr Rouhani stated: "Today, we see the greatness of the Iranian nation more than ever, because of the trust between the people and the state. Do not let this trust hurt. The administration, the legislature, the judiciary, the armed forces, and on top of all, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, all constitute the state. Do not think that if you hit a part of the state, the other part will be strengthened; if we are not together, the entire state will collapse".

"We should not allow social capital to be hurt. If there is a small problem, do not magnify it. Foreign media have their own enmity and do their job, but domestic media must feel their duty to maintain social capital and create more trust in people," he continued.

Referring to the fact that people have trust in the system, Dr Rouhani said: "We take every step to improve people's trust in the system and the country, serving the people, the country and the society, and any step to reduce people's confidence in the state, puts it at risk".

The president added: "Another important thing is hope for the future. We should not undermine people's hope. The path we chose was the right and precise one that has given us a lot of success, and we should not be intimidated by others' ballyhoo. We have an international agreement that today, even the new US administration, after 10 months of saying that this is the worst deal of their history and, in his words, is a shameful agreement for the US, he has not yet been able to do anything about that. This is a sign of the greatness of the nation, the wisdom of the diplomats and the greatness of our armed forces".

Dr Rouhani stated: "Someone may comment about Iran's weapons. Let's not pay attention to these comments. Iran's weapons are the same as the rest of the world. Our constitution says that it must be deterrent and, perform effective defence in the rainy day. The whole world is the same. No one can talk about the military power of another country, which is based on their constitution and defensive strategies".

Dr Rouhani continued: "We ask you: When our people were under artillery and bombardment of the enemy missiles, did you give us weapons of air defence, let alone offensive weapons? At that time, we sent a Europe-made anti-aircraft gun, which it was committed to repair, but they didn't, and they did not even gave it back to us, saying that you are in war and we cannot do it. Now they want to talk with us about weapons".

The president noted: "Talk of Iran's defensive power and presence in the region is escaping forward. Who brought devastation to the region and its people? Who helped terrorists to destroy Iraq? Who created these terrorists?".

"There are a lot of these words. Do not trust them very much. If we are to respond to threats one day, we know how to do that," Rouhani added.

The president emphasised: "Our way is undoubtedly the right path, and we will continue this path with all our might".

"Of course there are problems in this path, and we are facing all the problems. Sanctions on Iranian people were cruel; the 11th Administration removed them," he continued.

We will continue to work within the framework of our national interests, said Rouhani adding: "We have chosen a right path in the region and nuclear negotiations and we achieved our goals".

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also went on to say: "We do not care about words; our military power must be deterrent".



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