Today Like the Past, The US Is Wrong in Its Calculations About Iran

The following is the full text of the speech delivered by Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with thousands of people from Qom Province. The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini (ra) Hussainiyah on January 9, 2026, on the anniversary of the 1978 historic uprising of the people of Qom against the oppressive Pahlavi regime.

News ID: 87207

Date: 09 January 2026 - 19:21

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The following is the full text of the speech delivered by Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with thousands of people from Qom Province. The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini (ra) Hussainiyah on January 9, 2026, on the anniversary of the 1978 historic uprising of the people of Qom against the oppressive Pahlavi regime.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds; and may peace and greetings be upon our Master and our Prophet, Abul-Qasim al-Mustafa, Muhammad; and upon his pure, untainted, chosen Progeny; particularly the Remnant of God on earth.

You are very welcome here my dear brothers and sisters, and also you, the honorable, faithful, revolutionary people of Qom. There’s no doubt that the 19th of Dey [9th of January] is a page that cannot be removed from the voluminous book of honors of Iran’s history. It’s a glorious day in all of history. It’s true that the movement didn’t start from the 19th of Dey. The Islamic movement started 15 years before the 19th of Dey under the leadership of our dear Imam [Khomeini]. During these 15 years, the Imam’s statements, his wisdom, and his speeches – which were continuously being conveyed to our society over the years – along with the ideas of our Islamic intellectuals in various areas of the country that were communicated by our youth in the mosques and various centers all gave strength to Islamic understanding in the movement. This is true. That is, the theoretical discussions of the Islamic movement found more strength in the minds of the people day by day during those 15 years, but for this treasure and store of thoughts and theory to be able to become a movement in society, an important, significant event was needed. The ideas were in people’s minds. The thoughts and understanding of the movement and the foundation of the movement were in the hearts of a large number of the people. I don’t say all the people, but these had found their way into the hearts of a large number of the people. And the people were familiar with the foundation of the movement. But the movement needed to come to realization. It needed to take action. And that mental concept needed to be transformed into a manifested reality and a movement.

A spark was needed for this to happen. It was as if a massive amount of gunpowder existed throughout the country that needed to be set on fire. The event in Qom did this. The event on the 19th of Dey did this. It changed that mindset into a movement. Of course, the event in Qom wasn’t a spark. It was a lightning bolt that came from the sky due to God’s will. The event in Qom was an event that appeared to last for just a day, two days, or three days and finish. But that wasn’t the inner reality of the matter. The event that took place in Qom started this movement. Then it came to Tabriz, and then to other cities. It spread throughout the country and suddenly the entire country was in flames. This is what the event in Qom did.

When I say it was a lightning bolt, the reason is that in a time of less than about a year after the 19th of Dey, in the month of Dey the next year, the monarchy in Iran was entirely removed. So the Pahlavi monarchy was removed. It was a monarchy that was dependent, corrupt, weak, brutal, and was one of the worst governments. Perhaps we know of no other government worse than the Pahlavi government in the world at that time. When this happened [in Qom], the groundwork was prepared for a people’s government and an Islamic government to be established. That was exactly what the magnanimous Imam [Khomeini] had promised us. In the Imam’s words, there were references to this that in place of a corrupt government, a people’s government would be established. In place of a dictator, the people would govern. Instead of being dependent on the US, the Zionists, and all the thugs and ruffians in the political world, an independent, honorable government would rule. It [the event in Qom] prepared the groundwork for this.

The momentous event in Qom was actually caused by the misguided diplomacy of the Pahlavi regime itself. They themselves prepared the groundwork for their collapse themselves. They themselves ruined themselves. How?

With their mistaken assessments and wrong calculations. This is a big danger for any government. Today too, the US is mistaken in its calculations. Today, the US doesn't understand matters correctly. Its assessments are mistaken and wrong. At that time too, both the US, which was backing the Pahlavi regime, and the Pahlavi regime were wrong in their assessments and mistaken in their understanding.

Almost 10 days before the event that took place on the 19th of Dey [9th of January], 10 days - just 10 days – before that event, the US President was in Tehran and had a speech in a New Year party in the Pahlavi palace. He was busy there with all kinds of intoxicating drinks and other such things. In that speech he said that Iran is the Island of Stability. Ten days later that event took place in Qom. This shows that they didn’t know Iran. He said that Iran was the Island of Stability. He praised and applauded the Shah and described Iran like that.

Ten days later, the event in Qom took place. They didn’t know Iran, and they still don’t know it. They didn’t know Iran, and their planning was flawed. Today too, they don’t know Iran and our enemies’ plans are flawed. They failed that day due to their flawed planning. Today too, the US’s flawed scheming will cause them to fail.

Well, these are true events in history. What I have described isn’t an interpretation. These are realities. If anyone studies the events taking place in the country at that time, which most of you young people didn’t see, this will become clear for them. These are true events in history. Well, we must learn from these historical events. Historical events aren’t stories, although we should learn from stories too. We must learn from these. I will discuss what we can learn from these in a few sentences.

At that time, the Iranian nation didn’t have cannons or tanks. They didn’t have missiles. They didn’t have military weapons or other facilities, but they were victorious. Why? On the other hand, the other side had cannons and tanks. They brought their tanks into the streets and fired them, but they were defeated. The Iranian nation was victorious. The people didn’t have military weapons, but the other side was defeated even though they had weapons. Why?

The reason was that even though the Iranian nation didn’t have military weapons, they had soft weapons. Soft weapons are a stronger determining factor in every field. What was the Iranian nations soft weapon? The Iranian nation’s soft weaponry was their religious zeal, their fervent faith, and their feeling of duty and responsibility, which the magnanimous Imam had assigned to them and expected from them. Imam even wanted the scholars and Religious Authorities to show a sense of responsibility. He shouted, “O Najaf that is quiet! O Qom that is quiet!” He wanted them to sense this responsibility, and the people sensed this responsibility that was on their shoulders.

The Iranian nation’s soft weaponry was their love for Iran. It was their love for their country. They saw that a US agent, a US mercenary, was ruling in the country in the same way that US agents are ruling, unfortunately, in some countries nowadays and ordering, “Do this. Don’t do that. Put this here. Appoint this person. Remove that person.” Iran was like that in those days. The people realized this and saw it. Of course, all the people weren’t in the higher political groups, but they would hear what was happening and they understood. The Iranians working in Iran were actually working for the US. They were Iranians, but they were working for the US. They were Iranians, but they were working for the Zionists. The people saw the betrayal, understood what was happening, became angry, and were outraged, and this accumulated in their hearts.

When the movement started, this outrage that had accumulated emerged, was manifested, and showed itself. This was a spiritual weapon, a soft weapon. The people’s main spiritual weapon was their faith in Islam. They saw that the system would openly, continuously take a stance that was against Islam. They changed the calendar from its Islamic base, they changed Islamic concepts, they made the schoolbooks un-Islamic, and they encouraged ideas that were contrary to Islam. The people saw these things. Aware, alert people understood what was happening and told others. This was a spiritual weapon. This spiritual weaponry was victorious in its fight against military weapons, cannons, and tanks.

Well, these are things that happened in the past. What I want to say is that today, the Iranian nation is even more equipped and armed than that day [before the Revolution]. Both our spiritual strength is stronger, more equipped, and prepared, and also our hard, conventional weapons cannot be compared to that day.

When we talk about conflict and confronting the obvious enemy of the Islamic Republic, some complain, “Why are you always talking about hostilities? Why are you always saying we must confront them?” They’re oblivious [to what’s happening] and don’t pay attention. They started this conflict. The US started it. The enemy that’s dependent on the US started this. Why did they start this? Why is the US so repelled and upset with Iran? Why? The reason is clear. It’s because the wealth of this country and all its financial resources were in the hands of the US. Then the Islamic Republic came along and took these away from them. You can see how they’ve besieged a country in Latin America and taken some actions there. They aren’t even ashamed and explicitly state that this was for oil. For oil! They say they’ve done this for oil!

It was for oil [here too]. It was for Iran’s oil, Iran’s mines, Iran’s farms. These vast fields in Qazvin were in the hands of the Zionists, and also the prolific fields close to Tehran. They were gradually expanding. There was an extremely vast area in Khorasan Province between the cities of Mashhad and Quchan that they were preparing to give to the Baha’i, to Zionist elements, and to US elements. Their hands were open everywhere. The Islamic Republic came and cut this off. Obviously, they became our enemies. They showed their enmity from the first day, and the Islamic Republic has confronted them. And their enmity is continuing until today.

With God’s grace, the Islamic Republic has become more powerful day by day. They made attempts but failed in trying to remove the Islamic Republic.

Praise God, the Islamic Republic today is honored, strong, powerful, and dignified in the world contrary to their wishes. This is the point. During these 40 some years, they’ve done whatever they could. There wasn’t any hostile act that could have been carried out against a country that they haven’t done. They’ve carried out military attacks, attacks on the country’s safety, imposed economic sanctions, attacked our culture, and sent their mercenaries. They paid some weak-willed people here and turned them into their mercenaries here. They’ve done all these things over these years, but they’ve failed. They haven’t gotten anywhere.

Praise God, this is because Iran is an Islamic Republic. It’s because an Islamic Republic is governing. If a liberal democracy was governing, if it was a Monarchy, or if it was a government dependent on this and that power, it wouldn’t be like this. It’s Islam, a government by the people, the Islamic system – the Islamic Republic – that’s enabled Iran to make great achievements in science, in technology, in the arts and literature, in international politics, and in many other fields.

Some people say – although it’s mostly foreign people who start this talk and then some people inside the country, unfortunately, imitate and follow them – that Iran is secluded. Not at all! Iran, the Iranian government, and the Islamic Republic aren’t secluded. Those people are fooling themselves. Iran isn’t secluded. Today, Iran is known as a country that’s dependent, courageous, and with a future in the world. Our youth are responsible for much of this activity.

I would like to speak briefly about the youth in Iran. Of course, all the youth aren’t the same. All the people aren’t the same [either]. Some are better, some are higher, some are lower - more or less. There are all types among the youth, among the elderly, among the people, among the clerics, among the university students, etc. But in general when you look at the situation, the Iranian youth are one of Iran’s most important assets contrary to the enemies’ lies. One of our most important assets is the youth.

Assets are necessary in dealing with events that arise. One of our most important assets is the youth. The enemy tries to show the Iranian youth in a bad light. They want to say that the Iranian youth have gone astray in politics and are attached to the West, they have deviated in religion and turned their backs on it, they’re promiscuous and corrupt, and they’re spiritually weak. This is what the enemy wants to try to say. These are the things they usually say, encourage, and bring in their analyses about Iranians, especially the youth. This portrayal is 100 percent incorrect. It isn’t like that.

The Iranian youth are people who are brave fighters in a war. When there’s a war, they stand firmly. In the different wars – in the Imposed 8-Year War, in this last war, and in defending the shrines – how many youth who weren’t sent to join the ranks would come, cry, and ask to be sent to fight. This is bravery. They’re prepared. So that portrayal is 100 percent wrong.

I would like to give two or three examples describing the situation of our youth. The Iranian youth are brave fighters in a war. They’re perceptive in politics. They know the enemy. They know the US, although there was a day when it wasn’t like this. They’re committed in religion. The youth are present in Itikaf, in the rallies for the 22nd of Bahman, and in the rallies for Quds Day in the month of Ramadan when they’re fasting. They’re the main participants. They’re the ones who make the plans. The youth are behind the celebrations in the streets for the 15th of Sha’ban, for the anniversary of the birth of the Commander of the Faithful [Imam Ali (pbuh)], and for the anniversary of the birth of Imam Hussain (pbuh), which have become popular events these last few years. These belong to the youth and are things they have done. Celebrations and mourning gatherings are filled with the youth. The funeral ceremonies for the martyrs are organized by the youth. It’s the youth who honor, praise, and value the martyrs. This is how our youth are.

The satellites that I previously spoke about where three satellites were launched in one day was the work of the youth. The meticulous scientific research in nuclear sciences, in stem cells, in nanotechnology, in pharmaceuticals, and in other fields is the work of the youth. This is how our youth are. Our faithful youth have these characteristics whether they’re in the university, in the Islamic seminaries, or in other places. It’s truly like this. They’re ready to make sacrifices when needed, ready to research and analyze where needed, ready to study when necessary, and ready to participate in politics when needed. This is how our youth are.

Yes, some people’s aim is to cause destruction. Last night in Tehran and some other cities, a bunch of people bent on destruction came and destroyed buildings that belong to their own country. For example, they destroyed a wall in such-and-such building in order to please the President of the US and make him happy.

Because he’s said something insane that if the Iranian government does such-and-such, I’ll come [to your side] and take your side, the side of the rioters and people who are harmful for the country. They [the rioters] have put their hopes in him. If he’s so capable to, he should manage his own country. There are various things going on in his own country. The blood of more than a thousand Iranians is on his hands.

In the 12-Day War, more than 1,000 or our countries citizens – this is in addition to the commanders, scientists, and dignitaries – regular people were martyred. That person said that he had ordered this and that he had directed that war. So he confessed that the Iranians’ blood was on his hands. Now he’s saying that he’s on the side of the Iranian nation! A bunch of naïve, unaware, unthinking people believed and accepted what he said, and they acted the way he wanted. They set rubbish bins on fire in order to please him.

Everyone should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran that was established with the sacrifice of several hundred thousand honorable people won’t back down in the face of those causing destruction. It will not tolerate the hirelings of foreign powers. Whoever you are, if you are the hirelings of foreign countries and have worked for them, the nation rejects you. The Islamic system rejects you too. This was about them. That guy who sits there arrogantly, conceitedly judging about the whole world should know that usually the tyrants and arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Reza Khan [Pahlavi], Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi], and other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall.

Dear young people, protect your religion, political thinking, presence [in the field], preparedness, and determination to help the country progress. Protect your unity; protect your solidarity. A united nation will prevail over all enemies.

May God protect you and protect your preparedness. God willing, God will bring the feeling of victory to the hearts of all the Iranian people very soon.

May God’s greetings and mercy be upon you.