RNA – During his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Qom’s Holy Shrine of Lady Fatimah al-Ma’sumah (S), Ayatollah Ali-Reza Arafi referred to Iran’s ongoing negotiations with the P5+1 group of countries over its disputed nuclear program, saying the Americans are seeking two assumptions – if the negotiations conclude, it is due to the circumstances of sanctions and pressures on the Iranian people and if they fail, it is due to the pressure and the resistance of the Iranian people.
“Iran knows who the wrongdoers are on the international arena and due to this, the [enemies] seek to introduce discord and intrigue into Iranian internal affairs,” he said.
Ayatollah Arafi said the Iranian nation is a nation that is awake and aware and its position in the face of the evil American strategy is that if the negotiations conclude, it is due to the result of scientific progress and endurance of the Iranian people and the resistance of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revoluton, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, along with the efforts of Iran’s negotiating team.
“The negotiating team are a source of pride for the Iranian nation which is a benefit for the world. The whole world has seen that Iran has been progressing at the negotiations,” he said.
The head of al-Mustafa International University added that after the negotiations conclude, the Islamic Republic of Iran must strive for global nuclear disarmament. The Americans and other nuclear powers should eliminate their stockpiles of these destructive weapons and not assume that threats and sanctions will have any effect on a nation of resistance and jihad. The Iranian people will not let the conspiracies of enemies to find success.
Ayatollah Arafi said that if the negotiations do not result in a suitable agreement, the world must know that the Iranian nation does not see these negotiations as the “end of the road.” Iran will continue on the path of its “resistance economy” and will stand against all conspiracies for sake of the great values of this nation. “Iran will not be divided and fall to internal sedition. With these values, the enemy will be taken to the grave,” he stressed.
The renowned scholar said the Iranian nation will remain united and will remain strong to their pledge to Imam Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei and the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution. It will not succumb to the bullying of the enemies and will remain committed to the ideals of Islam and the Islamic Revolution.
Referring the worldwide al-Quds [Jerusalem] Day rallies against Israel which occur on the last Friday on Ramadan, His Eminence explained that al-Quds Day is especially significant this year, due to the conditions in the region as “the religious and ethnic sedition requires us to participate with even greater enthusiasm on al-Quds Day.”
The Friday prayers’ leader of Qom said the Iranian nation will announce to the world that despite the sedition and divisiveness among the Islamic ummah, the Muslim nation of Iran has been resolute in the cause of defending the oppressed people of Jerusalem and Palestine and will not turn away from helping them and other oppressed Islamic countries and we will also remain firm on our pledge to Jerusalem and to Imam Khomeini, who founded al-Quds Day, to defend Jerusalem and Palestine.
Ayatollah Arafi also pointed out his regret that some Muslim scholars and organizations ignore the importance of defending the people of Palestine under a united banner. In regard to institutions such as Egypt’s al-Azhar University, he said that we expect them to use their experiences to aid the entire Islamic ummah in the common fight against the enemies of Islam.
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