Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says absolute distrust in hegemonic powers topped by the United States is an important component of Iran's soft power and this distrust must increase on a daily basis.
The Leader made the remarks in a meeting on Sunday with commanders and high-ranking officials of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the issue of “distorting the components of the Islamic establishment’s soft power” and said, “Absolute distrust in global hegemonic powers, which today are symbolized by America, is one of the elements of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s soft power.”
The Leader added that absolute distrust in Washington was the outcome of rationality stemming from thought and experience, saying, “We have seen the issue of America’s hostility during long years after the [victory] of the [Islamic] Revolution and [also] during the recent nuclear negotiations and in other issues.”
Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that protecting the country’s security inside and outside Iran’s borders was one of the fundamental duties of the IRGC.
Noting that in addition to security and defense sectors, the IRGC also plays an important role in different other fields such as construction, development, providing aid to the needy as well as issues related to culture and art, Ayatollah Khamenei said such measures should continue to be taken and the general public must be informed of them.
The Leader stated that the IRGC must not suffice to its progress in the fields of science and technology and must not stop breaking new grounds as the enemy keeps changing its means and making advances.
The Leader then described maintaining the country’s security as a very important issue, which prepares the ground for spiritual and material progress of the entire nation.
“Protecting internal and foreign security is among the IRGC’s [most important] duties and if there is no external security and the enemy is not stopped outside the borders, internal security would also be lost.”
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the Iranian Armed Forces must boost their power on a daily basis in order to counter military threats against the Islamic Republic, saying, “’Defense and military power’ and ‘striking fear and terror’ in the [heart of the] enemy have been and will be the only factors that fend off any military threat.”
Mentioning faith as the main factor behind strengthening the country’s defense capability, the Leader said this is the real meaning of asymmetric warfare, because in spite of having state-of-the-art tools and equipment, it lacks faith.
