TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that years of "troublemaking" by the United States has not broken the Islamic Republic, which must face head-on its challenges at home and abroad.
"We should understand the obstacles on the path taken by Imam" Khomeini who founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei said at the 25th anniversary of his predecessor's passing.
"The external challenge before Iran is the troublemaking of the global arrogance -- frankly speaking, that of the United States," the Leader added in remarks broadcast live on national television from Imam Khomeini's mausoleum, south of Tehran.
Iran and the U.S. have had no diplomatic ties for more than three decades.
Ayatollah Khamenei warned officials of American efforts to "sow discord among leaderships" and foment coup d'etats and "color revolutions".
But the Leader said foreign intervention seems unlikely, saying new military invasions "are not a priority for the United States" after suffering losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iran's domestic challenges include "shifting focus away from the real enemy and on to (internal) disputes ... and losing national unity".
The negotiations will resume in mid-June, with Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany, meeting in Vienna.
A quarter of a century after Imam Khomeini’s passing, Iran remains at a crossroads in navigating its way out of economic and diplomatic troubles, created by outside forces.
Wednesday marked 25 years of the Islamic Republic without its founder.
Imam Khomeini is held in high esteem by the revolutionaries for toppling a U.S.-backed dynasty, with the stated mission of ridding Iran of Western decadence and poisonous corruption in government.
The Islamic state that was founded in 1979 on a vision of establishing a Muslim democracy lives on, but the country faces daunting challenges.
When Imam Khomeini passed away in 1989, the country was grappling with the aftermath of an eight-year war with Saddam Hussain’s Iraq, during which Iran’s economy was isolated.
Tehran was also trying to find a role on the international stage after descending on a path hostile to Western countries, particularly the United States, aggravated by dismay at their military support for Baghdad.
On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of faithful from across the country were at Imam Khomeini's mausoleum to renew allegiance with Ayatollah Khamenei who epitomizes the Imam's ideals.
While Imam Khomeini rejected the technical means of Western civilization, Ayatollah Khamenei has warned against the "invasion” of Western cultural values, which the Leader says pose a threat to those of the Islamic Republic.
On Wednesday, the Leader hit out at the "Great Satan”, saying its effort to bring Iran "to its knees” have failed.
"Despite the sanctions imposed upon it, Iran today is launching satellites and sending live organisms into space and is producing nuclear power,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
