Leader: Iran will stand firmly against US demand for obedience

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks as he received officials and thousands of people from various sectors in Tehran on Sunday, on the occasion of the martyrdom anniversary of the eighth Shia Imam, Imam Reza (PBUH).

“The US wants Iran to be obedient to it. The Iranian nation is deeply offended by such a great insult and will stand with all its strength against those who harbor such a false expectation of the Iranian people,” he said.

Those who advocate for direct negotiations with Washington to resolve issues are shallow-minded, the Leader added.  

He noted that the US’s hostility toward Iran is not a recent phenomenon, as various American administrations have maintained a consistent stance of enmity, sanctions, and threats against the Islamic Republic and the Iranian people ever since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Previously, the reasons for this hostility were often obscured under various pretexts, such as terrorism, human rights, women’s issues, and democracy, Ayatollah Khamenei said. However, he added, the current US administration has clarified its true objective as it stated that the opposition to Iran stems from a desire for the nation to be obedient to US demands.

Ayatollah Khamenei urged all people, officials, and intellectuals to wholeheartedly preserve and strengthen the iron shield of the current great national unity. He also said that all people and groups should support the hardworking President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Leader also highlighted that Iran’s enemies have realized through the steadfastness and powerful unity of the nation, officials, and Armed Forces that the Iranian people and the Islamic system cannot be subdued or commanded through war.

He warned that adversaries are now pursuing their goal by seeking to create divisions within Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei also recalled that following a recent attack on Iran on June 13, certain US-linked circles convened the very next day in a European capital to discuss a “post-Islamic Republic” government.

He said they were so confident the strike would destabilize Iran and turn the people against the system that they even went as far as designating a would-be monarch.

“Among that group of fools plotting a replacement for the Islamic Republic sat an Iranian as well—shame on him,” the Leader remarked.

He emphasized that the Iranian people, standing alongside the Armed Forces, the government, and the system, dealt a firm blow to such schemes through their resilience.

Turning to the Israeli regime, Ayatollah Khamenei condemned its ongoing atrocities in Gaza, describing the mass starvation and killing of children as “unprecedented in history.”

Elsewhere in his speech, the Leader said verbal condemnations by Western governments were insufficient and urged concrete steps to cut off all forms of support to Israel.

He also praised the actions of the Yemeni people in confronting Israel as a “correct” response and reaffirmed Iran’s readiness to take any possible measures in support of the cause.

“We hope God Almighty will bless the movement of the Iranian nation and truth-seekers worldwide and uproot this malignant cancer,” he said.