Khamenei at 25 Years - Defies US in Speech

            On June 4, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei marked the 25th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death with an address to hundreds at the late revolutionary leader’s mausoleum. Khamenei told Iranians that decades of “troublemaking” by the United States had failed to hold back the Islamic Republic. “It’s been more than 35 years since the West launched the largest political, economic and military attacks on Iran’s religious democracy, but Iran keeps advancing.” He warned, however, against “shifting focus away from the real enemy and on to [internal] disputes ... and losing national unity.
          
Khamenei also lauded Iran’s accomplishments since the 1979 revolution in fields such as science and politics. He noted that Iran has held 32 elections in 35 years, usually with high turnouts. The following are tweeted remarks from the hour-long address and video clips dubbed in English by semi-official state television.