Khamenei: What Angers the West

The following are excerpts from an address by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini, as translated by MEMRI-TV. He spoke on Iran’s Channel 1; the video was posted to the internet on May 21, 2014:

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In the past century or two, as the result of the disgraceful and threatening phenomenon of colonialism and global arrogance, the world has suffered great catastrophes. . . . When a nation or a country opposes this ugly habit, the [West] brings disaster upon them. . . .

This makes global arrogance angry. It becomes confused when a certain people in an important country, with a very rich history and unique characteristics, stands up to this ugly phenomenon of dominating and dominated [countries].

This is what angers the U.S. This is what unites the arrogant countries against Iran. Perhaps this is what draws the world's nations to Iran. Perhaps most of those governments that do not dare to oppose the rule of hegemony themselves are pleased that the Iranian regime opposes it, even if they do not have the courage to say so.

We see this clearly in our international interactions. Our enemy's hostility stems from the Iranian regime's opposition to the rule of hegemony and to the ugly habit of dividing the world into those who dominate and those who are dominated.

Everything else is nothing but a pretext. Today, the pretext is the nuclear issue, another day, it is human rights, and some other time, it will be something else. They want to dissuade the Iranian regime from opposing the world's aggressive and bribe-taking bullies and oppressors.

Of course, this will not happen. . . . [Iran] will manage to overcome its problems, to develop, and to increase its presence and its influence, despite the West. This is what angered them.

They got angry. Let them. In the words of our dear martyr Beheshti, "Let them die in their anger" . . .

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Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei: Iran Makes the West Angry; Let it “Die in its Anger”, MENRI, Clip 4289.