RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Qom’s Qods Prayer Hall, Ayatollah Ali-Reza Arafi offered his condolences on the martyrdom anniversary of the sixth Imam, Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, and said, “The path that the infallibles followed was a path which has affected the entire Islamic ummah.”
The head of the Islamic Seminaries of Iran also commemorated the Hijri calendar anniversary of the oppressive Pahlavi regime’s attack on Qom’s Feyzieh Seminary which occurred on March 23, 1963 and led to the martyrdom of many seminary students.
Referring to the developments in the Middle East, he said that the apparent power of Daesh has collapsed in Mosul and Aleppo and a strong attack from the Resistance Axis is currently silencing Daesh’s evil voice and all those involved in this campaign should be giving their due appreciation but we mustn’t be negligent.
“Because the Daesh phenomenon is rooted in the Takfiri and terrorist ideology which has been trained under the shadow of the United States and in Saudi Arabia, [US President] Donald Trump and others who claim to be fighting Daesh are definitely lying. If they were telling the truth, they should have dried up the ideological roots of this phenomenon,” he said.
Ayatollah Arafi stressed that these terrorists are under the shadow of US, said, “The phenomenon of terrorism in the region is in the form of the hypocrites, al-Qaedah, Daesh and other groups rooted in the US, Israel and their regional allies. The origin of these groups is also in the Takfiri ideology which is presented at their scientific centres.”
He added, “Of course, the Americans are lying, and if they were right they would have acted differently, only Iran has stood against the wave of terrorism, Iran and the Islamic Resistance have a right over all of them and if they didn’t, the entire region would have been taken over by a wave of terrorism. Today, Qom and the Islamic Seminary are the hallmarks of unity and confrontation with the Takfiri ideology. We hope that the Resistance will achieve an ultimate outcome against the Takfiris and the international liars will wake up and stop supporting terrorism.”
The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom referred to the new sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and stated that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, had explained this, but some government officials didn’t understand or believe in the depth of these issues or that engaging in these issues was a great mistake.
“Today, sanctions have been imposed under the pretext of progress in industry, missile production, terrorism and human rights,” the head of al-Mustafa International University added.
Ayatollah Arafi said, “Our Foreign Minister [Mohammad-Javad Zarif] has also stated that these sanctions are contrary to the appearance and spirit of the outcome of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).”
“We expect no more ignorance and ease in work and we must stand firm. Misconceptions in relations with the arrogant powers shouldn’t be prevalent among the officials and in society and there is no other way than through firm resistance to arrogance in all fields,” he added.
The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom warned that retreat from the “wolves| and the ignorant impressions which sometimes influence the authorities will cause the country to collapse.
“We mustn’t be ignorant, but must stand firm,” he stressed.
Ayatollah Arafi commemorated the anniversary of Operation Mersad [July 26-30, 1988], which was the last major military operation of the Iran–Iraq War and ended in a decisive victory for Iran, said, “Today, the hypocrites have gathered in different places to deceive the nation. They must know that they won’t achieve anything.”
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