Islamic Republic is opposed to arrogance and tyranny, not governments and nations: Supreme Leader

Ayatollah Khamenei made the comment as he met with the outgoing members of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body tasked with choosing the leader for Iran. The meeting took place following the nationwide elections last Friday for parliament as well as the Assembly of Experts.

During his speech, the Supreme Leader elaborated on the logic behind the Islamic Republic’s resistance and opposition to tyrants and the arrogance front.

He said that the establishment of the Islamic Republic, following the 1979 victory of the Islamic Revolution, led to the formation of a new front based on Islamic democracy which was opposite to Western democracy.

The emergence of the Islamic democracy in Iran endangered the interests of Western democracy that began to oppose the Islamic system, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“The reason that [the Western democracy] felt endangered is that inside this democracy, there is arrogance, aggression and violation against the rights of nations as well as warmongering and unlimited bloodshed to gain power”, he noted, citing as an example the colonization of many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America during the 19th century.  

The most important approach taken by Islamic democracy, due to its Islamic nature, is the opposition to these kinds of tyrannies and cruelties, the Supreme Leader said.

Answering why the Islamic Republic confronts arrogance, he said that Iran does not have any conflicts with countries, governments and nations, but it is opposed to tyranny and aggression that exist within the Western democracy.

Ayatollah Khamenei also said that the tragic incidents happening in Gaza are a clear example of aggression and cruelty of the arrogance front against owners of a land, and their brutal killing of women and children as well as destroying their assets and resources.

The Islamic Republic is in fact opposed to such cruelties and crimes which are being supported by the US and the UK and some other European countries, Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

This issue should be clear that the arrogance front has concealed tyranny, aggression and bloodshed under the name of democracy, human rights and liberalism, he said, stressing that the Islamic Republic should remain in the lead when it comes to confronting the arrogance.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei described the Assembly of Experts’ duty to choose a leader and oversee his qualifications as the most important management task in the Islamic Republic.

He also said that members of the assembly should be careful that they do not neglect the Islamic Republic’s principles which he named as fighting corruption and upholding justice, among others.

He also offered a piece of advice for the newly-elected members of parliament, calling on them to be careful about the political environment of the country by avoiding quarrels and disagreements, which are favored by the enemy.