Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran cannot be Islamic by name but pro-western within

AS I told students last year, a system could progress or regress. Progress would make society get closer to the ideals of justice and religion and religious virtue, progress industrially and in terms of education and progress in terms of freedom. It would make society stand more firmly against enemies. These are signs of positive progress.

But there is regress as well. Regress towards injustice, towards economic insufficiency, towards the use of freedom in a corrupt manner and for sinful acts. Instead of standing against unjust powers of the world, showing weakness, backing down from one's rights, both nuclear and non-nuclear. This is regress.

This is a danger to the Islamic system. The people need to be vigilant. The Islamic system is an Islamic system when it follows the same policies that were being followed in the lifetime of Imam Khomeini. I tell you that in my past 30 years of life, so long as we have followed the path of Imam Khomeini, we have been victorious.

But every time we have stopped following that path, we have weakened, have backed down and have even had economic losses. Some think that one should drop one's weapons against the powerful enemy. Some people wanted to do this during the elections.

They wanted to take the people's support from the Islamic regime. But the clear sign of [people's] support for the Islamic regime was the 40 million votes. Then the foreign media kept saying that the regime had lost the people's support, but people coming in such number to polls – a turnout of 85% – this trust of the people in the regime it shows them clearly where people stand.

You will see that in the next election in 2 or 3 years. The same people - even though enemies from outside and those inside who don't know and are oblivious will try to dissuade them - will have another strong showing in those elections as well.

The point is: we all must be cautious. The Islamic system is proud because it wants to follow the Koran. Let's not have it become secular, not with a secular inside and a Koranic outside. An inside that is in love for western ideals and outside covered with the Koran. The Islamic System must be true to its name.

From the address by Iran's Supreme Ruler at last friday's prayers