TEHRAN - Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said the popularity of the United States in Europe will decline more rapidly, should the Europeans wake up to the fact that the U.S. and the Zionist regime have been dominating their policy making.

The Leader made the remarks during a meeting with the heads of the three branches of the government, a number of ministers, lawmakers, and some other senior officials in Tehran late on Sunday.
The Leader said that the Islamic Republic of Iran currently has the greatest dignity ever in the world due to the insistence of the Iranian people and officials on the tenets of the Islamic Revolution.
“But, quite the contrary, the hatred of the U.S. is on the rise in the region and the world, and the U.S. is now the most discredited and hated country in the region and the Islamic world,” he stated.
“(Besides), if the European people realize the root cause of their problems, which is the domination of the U.S. and the Zionist regime on their government’s policies, the decline in the popularity of the U.S. (in Europe) will accelerate. And that will happen in the not too distant future,” the Leader observed.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said, “Whenever the Islamic system succumbed to the pressure imposed by the U.S. and Europe, they became more audacious, but whenever the system stood firm on the slogans and principles of the revolution, it gained more dignity.”
He went on to say that the Islamic system has the capability to cushion the country against threats.
“Since the victory of the revolution, the Islamic system has faced various complicated political, security, military, and economic threats posed by the global powers, but it has succeeded in repelling them through reliance on the people and its capabilities,” the Leader said.
He also stated that Iran has been able to make great progress despite the sanctions imposed on the country.
“The international powers intended to paralyze Iran… but they themselves have been tightly gripped by economic crisis,” he added.
In addition, Ayatollah Khamenei commented on domestic issues, saying a realistic appraisal of the country’s situation should be carried out.
Both positive and negatives points about the country’s situation should be taken into consideration, he said.
The Leader also advised the country’s officials against engaging in political disputes, ignoring the enemies’ cultural assault, squandering public funds, and inclining toward materialism.
He also warned officials against following a “tribal behavior” in the areas of politics and economy, saying in a clannish community, “criticisms leveled at people or the approval they gain is not commensurate with the nature of their deeds” but accounts for the kind of relation they have with the tribe in question.
Moreover, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a speech at the meeting and briefed the attendees on the government’s achievements over the course of his presidency.