While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is at the U.N. feigning innocence, back in Iran, that nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, is sounding a bit less secure. Presumably, this article from the Islamic Republic’s tightly-controlled Kayhan newspaper went to press just hours before news broke that Tehran has been building a second uranium enrichment plant. The leader, during a speech to the Assembly of Experts, pleads with Iranians not to fall for what he calls ‘Western soft war.'”
This news item from Kayhan quotes him as saying in part:
“According to Ayatollah Khamenei, there is at present only a small likelihood of war, and he opined: ‘Right now, the enemy has decided to do psychological combat with the Islamic system, or in other words, soft war. The central purpose of the enemy is to transform our system’s strengths and opportunities into weaknesses and threats.'”
“In their soft war, the adversaries of our system use an overwhelming amount telecommunications tools to propagandize and attack the beliefs, power to discern, motivations and foundations of our system and country.”
Apparently referring to the continuing marches and protests against the recent presidential election results, and seeming to refer to the attacks on civilians by the Iranian Basij, who were filmed attacking and in some cases killing opposition protesters, Khamenei is quoted as saying:
“An intelligent and vigilant presence at the scene of events together with prudence is needed to counter these plots … Of course, this presence will attract Divine Assistance.”
Then, giving every impression that these ‘plots’ appear to be working, Khamenei said:
“The leader then elaborated on the enemy’s main tactics and plots: ‘One method of the enemy is to impair optimism and hope, transforming them into pessimism and doubt.’ He said it is to indoctrinate people into seeing themselves at a dead-end or in a bad light, and ultimately, ‘to take away the poise and drive of society.’”
By Kian Mokhtari
September 25, 3009
Islamic Republic of Iran – Kayhan – Home Page (English)
TEHRAN: On Thursday, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said Tehran must remain alert to U.S. and British plots against the Islamic Republic.
The leader told the Assembly of Experts, “The British government, with its black 200-year record against Iran, the United States and others, say ‘we support the Iranians,’ and that they support the actions of some of us. … Therefore, we mustn’t overlook enemy plots aimed at creating divisions among us.”
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