Speaking during Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said the Iranian nation has received numerous divine blessings during more than 160 days of resistance, particularly the failure of the enemy to achieve its stated objective of overthrowing the Islamic Republic.
He said the enemy sought to destroy the Islamic Republic but has failed, while Iran has instead emerged as a major global power.
Ayatollah Khatami also said the enemy had intended to return Iran to the Stone Age, but argued that the world has come to see the US itself as lacking an understanding of civilization and democracy, with its conduct reflecting the behavior of a bygone era.
Regarding Iran’s missile capabilities, he said the US has failed to eliminate them and that Iran’s missile power has instead dealt a humiliating blow to the US, adding that it would continue to do so in the future.
The cleric further said the US had sought to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities but has failed, stressing that Iran’s nuclear capabilities remained intact and are based on the knowledge and expertise of the country’s nuclear scientists.
The cleric also said the enemy had sought to partition Iran into seven countries to prevent the country from remaining united. He stressed that Iran has not lost “even one inch” of its territory during the wars of aggression imposed by the enemies.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US and a senior US military official have called for Washington’s immediate withdrawal from the war against Iran and acknowledged that the outcome has been contrary to US objectives, he stated. The cleric characterized the situation as a case in which the US initiated the war but achieved the opposite of what it had sought.