Iran, 2008

I am grateful to the

Almighty for granting me another opportunity to be

present at this world Assembly. In the past three years,

I have talked to the Assembly about great hopes in the

bright future of human society and about some

solutions for achieving sustainable peace and

expanding love, compassion and cooperation. I have

also talked about unjust systems governing the world;

pressures exerted by some Powers seeking to trample

the rights of other nations; oppression imposed on the

majority of the global community, especially on the

peoples of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Africa, Latin

America and Asia; about challenges we are faced with,

such as efforts to shatter the sanctity of families,

destroy cultures, humiliate lofty values, neglect

commitments and expand the shadow of threats; as

well as about the arms race and the unfairness and

inability of the systems governing world affairs to

reform the status quo.

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With the emergence of various new

developments, the debility of existing mechanisms has

been revealed even more starkly. However, at the same

time an encouraging trend, originating in the thoughts

and beliefs of peoples, has blossomed and become

stronger. Against the backdrop of the despair caused by

the new developments, that trend has ignited a glimmer

of hope in the hearts of men for a brilliant, desirable

and beautiful future.

Today, I would like to talk to the Assembly about

the main reasons behind the conditions ruling the

world and the means to address them. Of course, the

Assembly is already aware of what I am talking about,

but I think it is necessary to remind ourselves. It seems

that the roots of problems lie in the way one views and

perceives the world and humankind, as well as in the

important issues of freedom, obeisance to God, and

justice. The world, humankind, freedom, obeisance to

God, and justice have been of the utmost importance to

humans throughout history.

God Almighty purposefully created the world.

The world is the bedrock for the evolution and growth

of a creature called man, and the laws governing the

world and all other creatures are at the service of

humankind’s quest for loftiness. The world should

provide the needed opportunities for the fulfilment of

the purpose behind humankind’s creation. No

phenomenon, creature or, indeed, anything has been

created in vain. Together they all pave the way for the

flourishing of humankind in a complex and purposeful

system, and they are each one of the signs of God

Almighty. All are His creations and He is the sole

creator and ruler of the world. All existence, including

power, knowledge and wealth, comes from Him.

With regard to humankind, God created the world

for humans, and humans for Himself. He created

humans from mud and in the soil, but He did not want

them to remain in the soil or with animal instincts. He

kindled the light of guidance in their souls and asked

them to rise from the soil to the heavens and to Him

with the help of wisdom, prophets and perfect men.

The world will ultimately disappear, but God has

created humankind for eternity and has made it a

manifestation of Himself. Creativity, mercifulness,

kindness, knowledge, wisdom, zeal, compassion,

splendor, justice, bounteousness, generosity, greatness,

love, glory, dignity, forgiveness, insight, kingship and

all other goodness and beauty are attributes of God.

God did not create humans for aggression, bloodshed,

rancour, selfishness and destruction. He made humans

His vicegerents on Earth and has asked them, on the

one hand, to make Earth prosper by using their God-

given potentials, to prepare the ground for the growth

of divine attributes in all humans and to provide all

with a life full of beauty, amity, freedom, justice and

goodness; and, on the other hand, in pursuance of that

path, to prepare for a prosperous, everlasting life

endowed by God’s mercy. God has obligated humans to

live divinely and socially, for it is only through social

life and interactions with others that divine attributes

can emerge.

With regard to obeisance to God, God Almighty

has tied the perfection and true freedom of humans to

the devotion and obedience to Himself. True freedom

and obedience to God are in balance, and in fact are

two sides of the same coin. Obeisance to God means

confessing to monotheism, obeying His commands,

and being free from ungodly worship. Obeisance to

God means the acceptance of the absolute truth, the

absolute light and the absolute beauty. Obeisance to

God means abandoning selfishness, animal instincts,

power-seeking and aggression and surrendering to

righteousness, justice, love and perfection.

In that way, humans can achieve their true

freedom and flourish. They can grow and manifest

divine attributes, have affection for others, stand up for

justice, fear no power or threat and defend the

oppressed. In such an environment, one’s freedom will

not impinge on any others’. Contention and conflict are

characteristic of materialistic freedom and animal

instinct. The essence of all divine religions and

obeisance to God and true freedom is disassociating

from oppressors and instead obeying and worshiping

God.

God is omniscient and knows all that is revealed

or kept secret, and He is kind and merciful. All

creatures are humble before Him and resign themselves

to His will. God is alive and is the Creator of the

universe and all life. God loves His creatures and

desires nothing but goodness, blessings and perfection

for them, and is against bullying, injustice, selfishness

and domination.

With regard to justice, it is the foundation of the

creation of humankind and the whole universe. Justice

is tantamount to placing every phenomenon in its own

place and providing humans with opportunities to

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actualize all their divine capabilities. Without it, the

order of the universe will collapse and the opportunity

for perfection will fade away. Without justice, it would

be impossible for human society to taste real peace,

beauty, joy and happiness. Justice is the main pillar of

social life, and without it social life cannot continue or

grow.

Humans need to know God in order to realize a

prosperous society in this world as well as to strive for

a beautiful eternal life. To that end, they first have to

know themselves and strive for loftiness in themselves

and their societies. However, as long as the world is

construed as closed, limited and aimless; as long as

eternal life is considered imaginary and illusory, while

the afterlife and the judgment day, as well as reward

and punishment, are thought of as fictional and unreal;

as long as morals and commitment to them are called

backwardness, while immorality, lies, deceit and

selfishness are considered desirable and humans are

limited to a materialistic life in this world; as long as

attempts are made to replace obedience to God and

following His prophets and true freedom with servitude

to materialistic tendencies, animal instincts and the

oppression of others, while contention reaches its

pinnacle; as long as the aggressors, because of their

financial, political and propaganda powers, not only

escape punishment but even claim righteousness; and

as long as wars are started and nations enslaved in

order to win votes in elections, not only will the

problems of the global community remain unsolved,

but they will be increasingly exacerbated.

Let us look at the situation in the world today.

Iraq was attacked under the false pretext of

uncovering weapons of mass destruction and

overthrowing a dictator. The dictator was toppled and

weapons of mass destruction were not uncovered. A

democratic government is established by the votes of

the people, but after six years the occupiers are still

there. They insist on imposing colonial agreements on

the people of Iraq by keeping them under Chapter VII

of the United Nations Charter. Millions of people have

been killed or displaced, and the occupiers, with no

sense of shame, are still seeking to solidify their

position in the political geography of the region and to

dominate oil resources. They have no respect for the

people of Iraq and they disregard any dignity, rights or

status for them. The United Nations is not capable

enough to solve the problems and to stop aggression,

occupation and imposition.

In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is

still continuing at the hands of some criminal and

occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime by

collecting people from various parts of the world and

bringing them to another people’s land by displacing,

detaining and killing the true owners of that land. With

advance notice, they invade, assassinate and maintain

food and medicine blockades, while some hegemonic

and bullying Powers support them. The Security

Council cannot do anything and sometimes, under

pressure from a few bullying Powers, even paves the

way for supporting those Zionist murderers. It is

natural that some United Nations resolutions that have

addressed the plight of the Palestinian people have

been relegated to the archives unnoticed.

In Afghanistan, the production of narcotics has

multiplied since the presence of NATO forces began.

Domestic conflicts continue, terrorism is spreading and

innocent people are bombarded on a daily basis in

streets, markets, and schools and at wedding

ceremonies. The people of Afghanistan are the victims

of the willingness of NATO member States to dominate

the regions surrounding India, China and South Asia.

The Security Council cannot do anything about it

because some of those NATO members also happen to

be the major decision-makers in the Council.

In Africa, there are efforts to re-establish the

relationships of the colonial era. By starting civil wars

in large countries, including the Sudan, the

disintegration of those countries is planned in order to

serve the interests of some corrupt Powers. When there

is national resistance, the leaders of the resistance are

put under pressure by legal mechanisms created by the

very same Powers.

In Latin America, people find their security,

national interests and cultures seriously endangered by

the menacing shadow of alien domineering

Governments, and even by the embassies of some

empires.

The lives, property and rights of the people of

Georgia, Ossetia and Abkhazia are victims of the

tendencies and provocation of NATO and certain

Western Powers and the underhanded actions of the

Zionists.

The never-ending arms race, the proliferation and

stockpiling of nuclear and other weapons of mass

destruction, and the threats to use them and the

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establishment of missile defence systems have made

the situation unstable.

With regard to Iran’s peaceful nuclear

programme, despite the inalienable right of all nations,

including the Iranian nation, to produce nuclear fuel

for peaceful purposes, and despite such facts as the

transparency of all Iranian activities and our country’s

full cooperation with the inspectors of the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Agency’s

repeated confirmation of the fact that Iran’s activities

are peaceful, a few bullying Powers have sought to put

hurdles in the way of the peaceful nuclear activities of

the Iranian nation by exerting political and economic

pressure on Iran and threatening and pressuring IAEA.

Those are the same Powers that produce new

generations of lethal nuclear arms and possess

stockpiles of nuclear weapons that no international

organization is monitoring. Moreover, the tragedies of

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were perpetrated by one of

them.

Indeed, they are not against weapons, but they

oppose the progress of other nations, and tend to

monopolize technologies and to use those monopolies

to impose their will on other nations. However, it is

very natural that the great Iranian people, with their

trust in God, with determination and steadfastness and

with the support of their friends, will resist the bullying

and have defended and will continue to defend their

rights. The Iranian nation is for dialogue, but it has not

accepted and will not accept illegal demands. The time

has come for IAEA to present a clear report to the

international community on its monitoring of the

disarmament of those nuclear Powers and their nuclear

activities, and for a disarmament committee to be

established by independent States to monitor the

disarmament of those nuclear Powers.

Theories of development that are in line with the

hegemonic system and not in accordance with the true

needs of humankind and human societies have become

repetitive and bland tools for assimilating economies,

expanding hegemonic domination and destroying the

environment and the social solidarity of nations. There

is no end in sight to this. Poverty, hunger and

deprivation are hurting more than one billion of the

world’s population and have dashed their hopes for a

decent life.

The dignity, integrity and rights of the American

and European people are being played with by a small

but deceitful number of people called Zionists.

Although they are a miniscule minority, they have been

dominating an important portion of the financial and

monetary centres, as well as the political decision-

making centres of some European countries and the

United States, in a deceitful, complex and furtive

manner. It is deeply disastrous to witness that some

presidential or premier nominees in some big countries

have to visit those people, take part in their gatherings

and swear their allegiances and commitment to their

interests in order to attain financial or media support.

That means that the great people of America and

various nations of Europe need to obey the demands

and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and

invasive people. Those nations are spending their

dignity and resources on the crimes, occupation and

threats of the Zionist network against their will.

All that is due to the manner in which the

immoral and the powerful view the world, humankind,

freedom, obeisance to God and justice. The thoughts

and deeds of those who think they are superior to

others and consider others to be second class and

inferior, who intend to remain out of the divine circle

and to be the absolute slaves of their materialistic and

selfish desires, who intend to expand their aggressive

and domineering natures, constitute the roots of the

problems in societies today. They are the hindrances to

the realization of material and spiritual prosperity and

to security, peace and brotherhood among nations.

I explicitly state that the Iranian people and the

overwhelming majority of peoples and Governments

are against those deeds and perspectives of the world-

domineering Powers. The establishment of justice

requires people who have achieved moderation and

justice inside themselves, restrained their domineering

attitudes and actualized their attributes of self-sacrifice

and are at the service of humankind. The complete and

full-scale manifestation of such characteristics can

happen only under the rule of the righteous and perfect

human being who is obedient to God and who is

promised by the divine prophets.

Of course, with the grace of God Almighty, a

hopeful trend is flourishing in the heart and soul of

human societies. The universal eagerness for justice,

purity, love for others, monotheism and the quest for

perfection is clearly and increasingly on the rise. A

universal resistance to the acquisitiveness, aggression

and selfishness of the bullying Powers is being formed.

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Today, the bullying Powers’ thoughts, practices and

strategies are rejected by nations and Governments,

and all are seeking to establish new human relations

based on justice, with a view to attaining prosperity,

perfection, security and sustainable welfare. That is the

very auspicious phenomenon that all the traditions of

creation and the ruling laws of the universe emphasize

and support.

Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to

collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the

cesspool it and its supporters have created. The Islamic

Republic of Iran, while fully respecting the resistance

of the oppressed people of Palestine and expressing its

all-out support for it, submits to the Secretary-General

of the United Nations its humane solution, based on a

free referendum in Palestine to determine and establish

the type of State in the entire Palestinian lands.

The American empire in the world is reaching the

end of its road, and its next rulers must limit their

interference to their own borders. Today, the thought of

hegemony quickly becomes a demerit.

I should now like to say a few words to

expansionist Governments ruling global relations. Be

aware that living with obedience to God and carrying

out His orders, having compassion for people and

striving for the fulfilment of justice is to your

advantage too. I invite you to return to the path of God,

the prophets and the people of the world, as well as to

truth and justice. The only route to salvation is a divine

straight path. Otherwise, God’s hand of power will

emerge from the sleeve of oppressed nations and will

make your life difficult, and will put an end to your

hegemony. Let us love the peoples of the world and

respect their rights. Rectify past behaviour. That will

benefit you and the human community. The Iranian

people are prepared, along with other nations, to help

you be rescued from your current situation and to

establish peace and prosperity.

Fortuitously, opportunities are accessible. With

the grace of God Almighty, the existing pillars of the

oppressive system are crumbling. Great developments

in favour of humankind, as well as its true and real

rights, are on the way. A golden and brilliant future is

awaiting humankind. A global community filled with

justice, friendship, brotherhood and welfare is at hand,

as I have elaborated — a community that will tread the

path of beauty and love under the rule of the righteous

and perfect human being, the one promised by all

divine prophets and the one who is the true lover of

humankind; a community that will be devoid of all

fear, despair and privation. Such a community will

soon be ours. The community promised by the great

divine prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ

and Muhammad is about to materialize.

Let us, hand in hand, expand the thought of

resistance to evil and the minority of those who are ill-

wishers. Let us support goodness and the majority of

people who are good and the embodiment of absolute

good that is the Imam of Time, the Promised One who

will come accompanied by Jesus Christ, and

accordingly design and implement just and humanistic

mechanisms for regulating the constructive

relationships between nations and Governments.

May the great Almighty deliver the saviour of

nations and put an end to the sufferings of humankind

and bring forth justice, beauty and love. Let us have a

proper share in the establishment of that illuminated

and promised divine age.