Leader says Ukraine victim of crises concocted by US, demands end to war

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has blamed the American regime for the current Ukraine crisis, and demanded an end to the war in Ukraine, saying the Islamic Republic of Iran has always opposed war and destruction anywhere in the world.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a televised speech on the auspicious occasion of Eid al-Mab’ath, which marks the day on which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was chosen as God’s final messenger and started his prophetic mission.

The Leader said Ukraine fell victim to the US’s policies and the crises created by Washington.

“The US disrupted the stability of the country by interfering in its affairs and organizing rallies and creating a color coup,” he said. “We oppose the killing of people and the destruction of the infrastructure of nations.”

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in eastern Ukraine, collectively known as Donbas.

The two regions broke away from Ukraine in 2014 after refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.

Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at “defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.”

‘US feeds off self-made crises’

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader called the US a perfect example and manifestation of modern ignorance, saying it feeds off the crises it creates all around the world.

“The American regime is a perfect example of modern ignorance. This regime is a crisis-producing and crisis-consuming regime, and it feeds off creating crises in the world,” Ayatollah Khamenei maintained.

As an example, the Leader pointed to the US formation of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, denouncing Washington for plundering oil resources in eastern Syria, stealing Afghanistan’s assets, and supporting Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

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Iran

“America is a regime in which immorality is promoted, discrimination is increasing exponentially, and national wealth is being exploited by the rich and wealthy,” he said.

“A country as rich as the United States is in a situation where people die on the streets when it gets hotter or colder. What do these events mean?” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

‘America is a mafia regime’

The Leader also slammed the US as a mafia-ruled country, saying the US mafia installs individuals or overthrows them in other countries.

“America is basically a mafia regime – political mafia, economic mafia, arms mafia and all kinds of mafias that run and rule the policies of that country and control the country,” the Leader explained.

“If the United States fails to create a crisis, the arms factories will not be able to make the most of it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “They have to create crises in order to maximize the interests of these mafias.”

The Leader then pointed to the West’s double standards in dealing with the crisis in Ukraine, stating that Western countries support the killing of Yemeni people in the Saudi war, but they call for an end to the Ukraine crisis.

Ukraine rues being 'left alone' by West, offers neutrality; Russia calls for surrender

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued for second day, with explosions reported in Kiev as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rued being "left alone" by the West and announced readiness to declare neutrality.

Leader: Western support merely ‘a mirage’

According to Ayatollah Khamenei, there are lessons to be drawn with regard to the Ukraine crisis, first of which is the fact that “Western powers cannot be trusted” and their support for their puppet regimes is only “a mirage”.

“All governments need to know this,” the Leader warned warned.

Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani have acknowledged that the US simply abandoned them amid their domestic crises, he said.

The second lesson, he continued, is that the people are the most important supporters of the governments.

“If the people of Ukraine had been involved, the Ukrainian government wouldn’t be in this situation. The people didn’t get involved because they didn’t approve of the government,” he said.

The Leader added that the situation in Ukraine is reminiscent of the situation in Iraq when the US invaded the Arab country and the Iraqi people did not defend their homeland so that the US would take over.

“But in the same Iraq, when Daesh attacked, the people got involved and were able to push back and crush Daesh, which was an enormous danger,” he stated.

“The main factor in the independence of countries is the people, and we have experienced this in the Holy Defense (Iraq’s imposed war on Iran), during which all global powers supported Saddam, but the Islamic Republic of Iran was able to overcome and defeat the enemy with the help of the people,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“Everyone should open their eyes and ears and think and act correctly and be able to benefit from these great lessons. We cherish the memory of the great Imam who taught us these lessons,” the Leader added, referring to the founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

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