Ali Khamenei

From now on, in any place, if any nation or any group confronts the Zionist regime, we will endorse and we will help. We have no fear expressing this… The Zionist regime is a cancerous tumor that must be removed, and God willing it will be.

February 3, 2012 sermon at Friday prayers, 2012

The great powers have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years and… installed the Zionist cancerous tumor in the heart of the Islamic world… Many of the problems facing the Muslim world are due to the existence of the Zionist regime.

August 19, 2012 speech marking Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, 2012

Israel Is A Hideous Entity In the Middle East Which Will Undoubtedly Be Annihilated.

September 2, 2010 tweet, 2010

If people get into the habit of using their free time for reading books, our society will greatly advance and the country's culture will progress.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 136., 2010

Today, you are hated throughout the world. If you don't know this, you should. The peoples burn your flag. The Islamic peoples all over the world chant: "Death to America!"

March 21, 2009 speech responding to American President Barack Obama's diplomatic outreach to Iran, 2009

Let's say they bombed Natanz or Isfahan's facilities, how can they bomb knowledge? You see, knowledge brings immunity and power. … Those who threaten to bomb Iran, even if they bomb the nuclear facilities, they cannot achieve their goals.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 347., 2009

Freedom is the gift of God and the Revolution. Freedom belongs to the people and is their fundamental need.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 328., 2008

It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region.

January 15, 2001 remarks at a meeting with organizers of the International Conference for Support of the Intifada, as quoted in "The Iranian Leadership’s Continuing Declarations of Intent to Destroy Israel", Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (2012), 2001

Iran's stance has always been clear on this ugly phenomenon (Israel). We have repeatedly said that this cancerous tumor of a state should be removed from the region… No one will allow a bunch of thugs, lechers and outcasts from London, America and Moscow to rule over the Palestinians.

"Iran leader urges destruction of 'cancerous' Israel", CNN (December 15, 2000), 2000

In Islam, if one operates against the interests of the country, one's freedom will be limited. This is both logical and spiritual.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 328., 1998

From the very beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, global arrogant powers realized that if Muslim unity is attained, the attention of Muslims will turn to the Command Center of Muslim Unity, Iran. Reactionary governments and those affiliated with domination have spent a lot of money to provoke conflict among Muslims, including Arab nations, those who speak Urdu, and even within the Iranian Muslim nation.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, pp. 303–304., 1989

Without safeguarding social justice, our society will not be an Islamic society. Social justice means eradication of major gaps between different social classes, between the unjustified wealth of the affluent and the poor who have always been the most loyal defenders of the revolution.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 149., 1989

Do not let go of your hatred for the enemy. When animosity and hatred toward the enemy decreases in your hearts, it is a dangerous sign. That means your faith is diminishing. Everyone, young and old, must maintain their hate and abhorrence for the enemy in their hearts.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 288., 1989

If we define freedom in its true and broad meaning based on the Divine Scriptures, it is the freedom of the human spirit from corruption, lust, temptations, whims, and material bondage. This definition has not been discussed in Western or European books. The freedom that was discussed during the great French Revolution in the late 18th century and later debated in the Western world is less valuable and more limited than the freedom discussed by the Divine Prophets and Scriptures.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 327., 1986

What Iraq has done is treacherous and disloyal toward not only Iran, but the entire Muslim world, simply by subjecting themselves to the temptations of colonizers.

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce, The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei: Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran, London: Routledge, 2016, p. 85., 1984