Saturday, June 08, 2019

Resistance Has a Cost, But Cost of Surrendering Higher

Ayatollah Khamenei:
TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday described a U.S. Middle East plan as a "great betrayal of the Islamic world", and warned Persian Gulf states not to back it.
Washington is gearing up to roll out what it calls economic aspects of its long-awaited plan for the Zionists and Palestinians -- dubbed the "deal of the century" -- at a conference in Bahrain later this month.
"The aim of this conference is to realize America's traitorous, dastardly plan on Palestine which they have named the 'deal of the century'," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a live television address at prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
"The 'deal of the century' will, god willing, never take root... this is a great betrayal of the Islamic world. We hope the leaders of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will realize into what a quagmire they are stepping and how harmful it will be for their future."
The plan, fronted by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say the White House's policies have been blatantly biased in favor of the occupying regime of Israel.
U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are set to attend the Bahrain conference on June 25-26, but the Palestinians are boycotting it and have encouraged other Arab states to stay away.
Later in the day, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic did not seek to "throw Jews into sea" and saw a referendum as the solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"The view of the Islamic republic, contrary to past Arab leaders who believed that Jews should be thrown into the sea, is not so," the Leader said in a speech to state officials.
The Leader called on Muslims to battle the "usurping enemy in the heart of Muslim countries—i.e. Palestine,” which is "criminally active. This obliges Muslims to prevent it from committing crimes. Instead, there are governments in the World of Islam that compromise with it while attacking their brethren. The door to repentance is open.”
Ayatollah Khamenei repeated Iran's proposal of holding a vote with the participation of "Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents of Palestine as well as Palestinian refugees" on a system of government.
The Leader added that "the struggle of the Palestinian nation must continue" until a referendum is held.
On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei denounced American pressure on Iran during a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the passing of the founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.
In the speech at the late Imam’s mausoleum in southern Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei said that "standing and resisting the enemy's excessive demands and bullying is the only way to stop it."
"Resistance has a cost, but the cost of surrendering to the enemy is higher," the Leader said.
Without mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump by name, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "In America itself there is so much discussion about his mental and moral stability ... when such a person is the president of a country, this shows the political and moral decline of that country."
"The fate of more than 300 million humans is in the hands of a person with such characteristics, this is a sign of America's political decline," he added.
 The Leader also warned Iranian politicians against negotiating with the U.S., saying, "Wherever Americans have set foot, war broke out, fratricide began, sedition was instigated, or an exploitation or colonialism began."
His warning comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested Washington would negotiate with Tehran "with no preconditions," but that Iran must return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) first.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the U.S. is pressuring Iran because it has developed its missile program to the point where it has become a true deterrent. Speaking of the U.S., the Leader said, "they want us to be losers and put up our hands as a sign of surrender, and because we don't do that, they threaten us."
Trump said last week that Iran "has a chance to be a great country, with the same leadership. We’re not looking for regime change. I just want to make that clear. We’re looking for no nuclear weapons.”
Reacting to those comments, Ayatollah Khamenei said: "The U.S. president recently said Iran can achieve development with its current leaders. That means they do not seek regime change ... But this political trick will not deceive Iranian officials and the Iranian nation.”
"In the missile program, they know we have reached a point of deterrence and stability. They want to deprive us from it, but they will never succeed,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said U.S. sanctions have created hardship for Iranians and called on the government to make improving economic conditions its top priority.

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