Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran is stronger than ever as the country marks the 32nd anniversary of the passing away of its revolutionary founder Imam Khomeini.
“I start the discussion from here that among the revolutionary systems and the systems that have been formed in the last one or two centuries, I do not know of any system as much as the Islamic Republic that has been predicted to collapse,” the Leader said Friday in a televised address.
“From the first day of the revolution, the ill-wishers and those who could not digest and tolerate this great phenomenon, both inside and outside the country, said that the Islamic Republic would not last for another two months, six months or a year," the Leader said.
“It was one or two years ago when the esteemed Americans said the same thing and a high-ranking American official stated that the Islamic Republic will not see its 40th anniversary. I do not remember so many predictions of decay and collapse to have been made about any other system," he added.
The Leader was apparently referring to former US national security advisor John Bolton's infamous prediction while addressing a terrorist MKO convention in Paris in 2017.
At the conference Bolton said, “The outcome of the president’s policy review should be to determine that the Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday. And that’s why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran.”
“But, thank God, the revolution and the system of Imam Khomeini not only did not collapse and did not stop, but became stronger day by day," Ayatollah Khamenei said Friday.
“It did not surrender, did not give up and rather showed its independence day by day. It achieved great success and overcame obstacles.”
The Leader said despite many successive political, security, economic obstacles created for Iran, “the Islamic Republic today is more developed than 40 years ago and is ahead in all respects by the grace of God.”
Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Today, what I want to say is a discussion about the most important initiative of the great Imam. The Imam had many initiatives but the Islamic Republic is the most important initiative of the Imam."
“This is the same religious democracy that was materialized as the Islamic Republic,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Rouhollah Mousavi Khomeini, better known as Imam Khomeini, passed away on June 3, 1989 at the age of 87.