Iran Leader’s letter to overseas students raps West’s failures on Gaza

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has castigated the “moral, political, and social failures of the West” toward the Gaza tragedy in a message to the Union of the Islamic Students Associations in Europe and America. 

The message issued on Friday is part of the Leader’s regular correspondence and rapport with students based or studying in the West about the pressing issues of the world.   

“You are familiar with important global issues and its fresh and old wounds. The most recent is the unprecedented tragedy in Gaza,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote.

“The most prominent is the moral, political, and social failures of the West, its politicians, and Western civilization; the most instructive is the inability of liberal democracy to establish freedom of expression and their fatal neglect of the issue of economic and social justice,” he added. 

Ayatollah Khamenei touched on widespread pro-Palestinian protests, especially among students in the United States and Europe, calling them another important current issue which presents “the dim but encouraging glimmer of hope”.

“The West Asia region and our beloved country also face numerous small and large issues,” the Leader added.

“All of these are grounds for thought, work, and initiative for a blessed organization like your union. I pray for your success from the Almighty and Wise God,” he said in his address to the Iranian students abroad.

The Leader praised the Union of the Islamic Students Associations in Europe and America as a deep-rooted, reputable union of Iranian youth, saying “the continuation of its activities is a promising phenomenon”. 

“This collective presence – in its own capacity – can play a role in the current complex issues of the world. 

“The ability to have an impact on major issues, depends more on the motivation, faith, and confidence of the activists involved, than on their numbers or how well-equipped they are and this valuable asset, praise God, is present and evident in you, the faithful and Revolutionary Iranian youth.”

In May, Ayatollah Khamenei wrote an open letter to students in the US protesting against the Israeli war on Gaza, saying they stand "on the right side of history".

University protests in the US against the war in Gaza, which started in April at Columbia University and later spread to other campuses across the country and elsewhere in Europe and Australia, have garnered headlines worldwide.

Hundreds of students and professors have been suspended for participating in these protests at different universities.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter addressed students whose “awakened conscience has moved them to defend the oppressed women and children of Gaza”.

“This message is an expression of our empathy and solidarity with you. As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it,” read the letter.

It stated that the protesting students in the US had formed a new branch of the “resistance front” in their support for the Palestinian people, who had been struggling for freedom for decades.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter came more than nine years after he addressed the youth in Europe and North America, which marked the first time a top Iranian official directly addressed youth in the West.

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