Khamenei: The Enemy Must Understand Our Defense Includes Retaliation

Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on Sunday, September 7, called for "timely action and the use of various methods and advanced tools in air defense" and stated that "the enemy must understand that if it attacks, it will suffer a severe blow, and our defense will also include retaliation." According to the official website of the leader of the Islamic Republic, he made this remark during a meeting with commanders and officials of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Headquarters. Khamenei explained his definition of the "enemy" by stating that the enemy "has various faces" and that "this enmity manifests one day in the face of the United States regime and another day in the face of a tyrannical regime like Saddam's." He further referred to the "enemy" using terms such as "malicious and deceitful," "the system of domination," and "global Zionism," asserting that "the issue of enmity against the Iranian nation and the Islamic system goes beyond some common enmities in the world." Khamenei considered the opposition to the Islamic Republic's access to the S-300 missile defense system or the protected Fordow facilities as "examples of the enemy's malice" and added, "The S-300 system is a defensive tool, not an offensive one, but the Americans did everything they could to prevent the Islamic Republic from having this capability." The Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile, which has recently been delivered to Iran, is capable of targeting aircraft at a distance of 150 kilometers and simultaneously tracking 100 targets. Khamenei has consistently emphasized the issue of the "enemy" in his speeches, especially after the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, warning about the "enemy's infiltration" into Iran. The leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized last December that "we have a broad front of enemies before us" and cited examples of this "broad front" as including "the leaders of the Zionist regime and the U.S. government to Takfiri elements and ISIS." Khamenei also called for the "leader after him" to stand against the "enemy's onslaught." In a request to the Assembly of Experts, he said, "The Assembly of Experts is supposed to choose a leader on the day when the current leader is not there or if there is no leader, who will stand against the enemy's onslaught, show courage, and continue the path of Imam [Khomeini]."