Sanctions will not compel Iran to reconsider its calculations: Supreme Leader

TEHRAN,July 26(MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the sanctions imposed on Iran by the West will not compel the country to have second thoughts about its calculations. “The enemies of the revolution and Islam are making efforts to cause officials and the people to make miscalculations through creating a false reality and presenting it as reality,” the Leader stated during a meeting with a number of the country’s officials in Tehran late on Tuesday. The enemies have been playing down the capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and blowing the capabilities of the hegemonistic powers out of proportion, Ayatollah Khamenei said, and advised officials to be on their guard to avoid being misled by false realities. “They clearly say that Iranian officials should be compelled to reconsider their calculations through the intensification of the pressure and the sanctions. But I say that the observation of realities not only does not cause us to reconsider our previous calculations but also makes us more confident about the correctness of the path we have followed and the path that the revolution has put before us,” he added. Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The confrontation of a number of hegemonistic governments with the Islamic Republic and the mounting pressure, which is complicated in nature, is a reality that should not be ignored. “Another reality is (the fact) that the enmity of a number of hegemonistic governments toward the Islamic system has its roots in the very foundation of the Islamic system, but they are seeking to give the impression that the reason for (their) confrontation with the Iranian nation is the nuclear issue and their advocacy of human rights.” He added, “The reality is that the Islamic Revolution of the Iranian nation has taken this important country out of the hands of the hegemons and has brought about motivation and the expansion of an awakening in the Muslim world, and therefore, they are making efforts to give a lesson to others through dealing a blow to the Islamic Republic so that they will not follow such a model.” The Leader also stated, “Another reality is that the bloc confronting the Islamic system, spearheaded by the United States and Zionism, is much weaker than before.” Another reality is that Western countries are experiencing a crisis, he said, noting, “The serious danger posed by the economic crisis in the European Union and the eurozone, instability in a number of European countries and the collapse of several European governments, the huge budget deficit in the United States, and the formation of the ‘99 Percent’ movement, are important incidents that should not be ignored.” “The economic problems of Western countries are fundamentally different than our country’s economic problems because our problems are similar to those of a climber who faces problems while moving toward the summit but his progress continues, while the West’s economic problems are similar to (those of a) a bus buried under an avalanche,” he observed. Ayatollah Khamenei added, “(There is) another reality, (and) that is if the country astutely withstands the enemies’ pressure, including the sanctions, etc., not only will this tool become blunt, but there will also be no possibility for the repetition of such things in the future because this is a passage, this is a period. The country will get through this period because its continuation is not in the interests of Western countries.” Only the United States and the Zionist regime are benefiting from the exertion of pressure on Iran, the Leader stated, adding, “Other countries have become involved either due to pressure or their timidity, and this situation will not last.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the challenges facing the Islamic system are not new, and added, “During one period, Iranian ships were being targeted in the Persian Gulf or oil platforms and industrial centers were under bombardment from the enemy. But today, the ill-wishers of the Islamic system do not dare to approach Iran.” He went on to say that the creation of a “resistance economy” is the best way to deal with the economic pressure being exerted on the country. “Involving the people in economic activities through the implementation of the general policies of Article 44 (of the Constitution), empowering the private sector, reducing dependence on oil, managing consumption, using time, sources, and facilities as efficiently as possible, acting according to a plan, and refraining from making sudden changes to laws and policies are principles of a resistance economy,” he stated.