Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Beirut, Lebanon. The address aired on IRINN (the Iranian news channel) on October 13, 2010:
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2641.htm.
"Today, the World Is On the Brink of a Great Change, Which Has Begun in Our Region"
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Today, the world is on the brink of a great change, which has begun in our region.
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"As you know, the bullies [the West], relying on material strength, hypocrisy, and weapons, and striving for decades and centuries to expand their influence and supremacy, consider our region to be the key to gain worldwide rule.
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"They will not be satisfied until they gain full domination over the region and the entire world.
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"They show no respect for the lives, property, lands, dignity, and culture of [other] nations, and especially of our nation.
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"As far as they are concerned, the Muslims, the Christians, the Jews, and all the justice-seeking monotheists are one and the same, and are considered to be the enemy.
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"The nature of their materialistic notions runs counter to the divine nature of Man and to his worshipping of justice, just as darkness and ignorance run counter to light and knowledge."[...]
"The Former Slave-Owners and Colonialists... Occupied Palestine... [and] Established a Foreign, Illegitimate Regime There, Creating a Perpetual Threat Against All the States and Peoples Worldwide"
"My dear brothers and sisters, the truth is that the former slave-owners and colonialists, after suffering defeat in the face of the determination of the nations, are pursuing the same goals by changing their image and adopting new slogans.
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"In a premeditated manner, exploiting the neglect of the people of the region, and using the pretext of reparations for the damage caused by the world war, they occupied Palestine, using violence, massacring thousands, and displacing millions, and they established a foreign, illegitimate regime there, creating a perpetual threat against all the states and peoples worldwide.
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"Wherever the [West] wanted to use violence, they displayed the unrestrained and unreasonable strength of the [Israeli] regime, letting it perpetrate any crime it wanted anywhere in the world." [...]
"In Lebanon, They Cowardly Assassinated a Patriotic Friend [Rafiq Al-Hariri]"
"In Lebanon, they cowardly assassinated a patriotic friend [Rafiq Al-Hariri]. Through the fabrication of facts and exploitation of the legal systems of the hegemonic regimes, and through the provocation of conflicts and instigation of civil strife, they are accusing other friends." [...]
"Under the Pretext of the Painful Events of 9/11... They Attacked Afghanistan, and Later, Under a Different Pretext, They Attacked Iraq"
"Under the pretext of the painful events of 9/11 in New York, they attacked Afghanistan, and later, under a different pretext, they attacked Iraq.
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"From the scope of the measures taken by the occupiers in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and most recently, in Pakistan, it is becoming very clear that their goal was not to identify and punish the alleged perpetrators of 9/11.
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"This event was merely a pretext to justify [their] presence in the region, and to pursue their colonialist goals." [...]
"Revealing the Truth Behind 9/11 and Reexamining the Black Box of These Events Will Resolve Most of the Problems"
"Revealing the truth behind 9/11 and reexamining the black box of these events will resolve most of the problems.
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"I declare: Establishing an independent and impartial committee of investigation, which would determine the roots and causes of the regrettable event of 9/11, is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world.
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"Any opposition to this legal and human demand means that 9/11 was premeditated in order to achieve the goals of occupation and of confrontation with the nations.
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"My advice to the occupiers of Afghanistan and Iraq is to leave the region, to apologize to the people, and to pay compensation for the damages.
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"If they ignore this kind advice, the powerful hand of the peoples of the region – which are the manifestation of the power of God – will drive them out of the region in shame, and will hand the criminals over to the court of justice." [...]
"The Uncouth Zionists... Are Liable To Carry Out Further Wicked Acts... Any New Act Of Wickedness Will Only Shorten Even Further The Shameful Life Of This Fake Regime"
"The uncouth Zionists, who see that they have reached a dead end, are liable to carry out further wicked acts in order to save their own skin.
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"I declare that any new act of wickedness will only shorten even further the shameful life of this fake regime.
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"The only way to resolve the Palestinian issue and to establish a stable peace in the region is to recognize the Palestinian people’s right to sovereignty, as well as their right to return to their lands, and for the occupiers to return to their own homes." [...]
"It Would Be Better For the Zionist Leaders to Return to Their Homes – And To Restore Palestine to Its Original Owners"
"The only way to resolve the Palestinian issue and to establish a stable peace in the region is to recognize the Palestinian people’s right to sovereignty, as well as their right to return to their lands, and for the occupiers to return to their own homes.
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"It would be better for the Zionist leaders to return to their homes, and to restore Palestine to its original owners.
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"Otherwise, they will be overthrown by the storm of wrath of the Palestinian people and free nations." [...]
"I Hereby Declare That the Zionist Regime Is Falling Down a Slope, And That No Power Is Capable Of Saving It"
"I declare, loud and clear, that the regime with the mission to conquer the lands from the Nile to the Euphrates for the sake of the capitalist regime is imprisoned within the walls it built itself.
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"The resistance front of the peoples in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran was established throughout the region.
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"I hereby declare that the Zionist regime is falling down a slope, and that no power is capable of saving it." [...]
