RNA - Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Friday during a meeting with state officials as well as ambassadors of Muslim countries on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr -- an Islamic holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
“Historical experience indicates that the Zionist regime [of Israel], which has a legitimacy problem, will not last,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“This regime has been shaped on the basis of coercion, intimidation, massacre and the expulsion of a nation from its own land. And for this very reason, its illegitimacy has been permanently etched in the hearts of Muslim nations,” the Leader stated, noting that Palestine’s map cannot be erased from the history of the world's geography.
Such a regime, which has been propped up on false grounds “will, by God’s grace and through Muslim nations’ vigilance, be certainly destroyed," the Leader noted.
Ayatollah Khamenei said neither the efforts by certain weak regional states to establish covert and overt diplomatic relations with Israel, nor America's relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, would help resolve this regime’s problem.
The Leader reasserted the need for a referendum among “true Palestinians of all faiths,” being Muslims, Christians or Jews, stressing that such a move would lead to the establishment of the Palestinian government.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the referendum and the subsequent formation of such a governing system would eventually translate into the destruction of the "bogus regime" of Israel in the not-too-distant future.
Once that happens, the Leader said, the unity of the Islamic Ummah as well as its esteem would be further bolstered.
'Israel planted in region to divide Muslims'
The Leader called Israel the main cause of divisions in the region and among Muslim countries, stressing that the regime had been originally created with that aim in mind.
Ayatollah Khamenei said creating divisions among -- and even within -- Muslim nations was a policy specifically pursued by the US and Israel.
The only way to counter this policy, the Leader emphasized, would be to be vigilant and stand against such efforts.
'US plans in Middle East have failed'
Earlier, Ayatollah Khamenei told a congregation of worshippers in Tehran that the United States has evidently failed in achieving its intended policies in the region, stressing that Muslim nations worldwide are now more united than ever before in pursuing their common goals despite enemies' plots.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a sermon after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the United States has wasted trillions of dollars in its pursuance of certain policies in the Middle East but has achieved nothing instead as openly acknowledged by US President Donald Trump.
“The US president said that ‘we spent $7 trillion in this region, and gained nothing in return.’ This means defeat. The US has suffered defeat in the region. The Great Satan has fallen short of achieving its goals, despite all its efforts, evil dispositions, and hot-air rhetoric. It has just wasted its resources,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Tweeting in February, Trump had said that his country had “so stupidly” spent the sum in the Middle East.
‘Muslim nations closer to Iran’
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said that unity among Muslim nations had grown stronger, stressing that this was clearly evident in the powerful participation of Muslims in last Friday's rallies to mark the International Quds Day.
Each year, Muslims worldwide rally on the last Friday of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians in response to an initiative started by the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.
“This means that, despite the enemies’ propaganda, Muslim nations and the great nation of Iran have grown closer and more aligned with one another,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
Nevertheless, he emphasized, the enemies are constantly plotting against the Iranian nation. This, the Leader added, is because they are afraid of the Iranian nation's might, steadfastness as well as their ambitions to forge stronger bonds with other nations.
“The enemies will obviously continue their struggles but will fail,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
‘Economic plot’
Iran's Leader further urged the nation to be vigilant in the face of enemy plots specifically manifested in efforts to mount economic pressure on the country and disappoint the Iranian people.
Towards preserving the country’s economic interests, Ayatollah Khamenei advised importers to refuse to bring in commodities which are being already produced at home .
The Leader also advised members of the public against going on "unnecessary and expensive foreign vacations," and called for a serious fight against corruption.
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