TEHRAN – In comments on Wednesday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei read the riot act for enemies of the Islamic establishment, vowing to harshly retaliate any possible invasion.    

“The enemy should know that if they think of invading Iran, they will face a harsh response,” the Leader told a cadet graduation ceremony at Imam Hossein University. 

In making the comments, Ayatollah Khamenei was highlighting the importance of the “deterrent capability of the Islamic establishment” as a shield against international saber-rattling. 

“The era of hit and run is over and they (the enemy) may be the starter but they cannot be the finisher,” Ayatollah Khamenei further noted.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader shed light on three goals of the enemy to disrupt Iran’s security.

“The enemy has put on its agenda three short, medium, and long-term goals. Its short-term goal is to disrupt the country’s security and create chaos and sedition.” 

The enemy’s objective in the medium-term is to weaken economy and make living conditions for Iranians more difficult, he explained, saying: “In the plans of the ill-wishers (of the Islamic establishment), economy shouldn’t move, and the people’s livelihood should remain crippled….” 

To protect the country from the enemy fulfilling its goals, the Leader urged implementing the outlines of the “resistance economy” and spurring “national manufacturing and job creation”. 

“If that route is taken, the enemy won’t achieve its goals certainly.” 

The notion of resistance economy was introduced by the Leader in 2013 to refer to an economy based on higher production and self-sufficiency, greater investment from oil incomes, financial reform, greater transparency and ‘knowledge-based’ industries. 

The third goal of the enemy, however, is wider in scope where the prime objective is to eliminate the very (Islamic) establishment by bringing about a change in “behavior”, Ayatollah Khamenei said, explaining it as moving away from Islam, the Revolution, and Imam Khomeini. 

AK/SP