Imam Khamenei says anti-US policies stronger than Hiroshima bomb

May 22, 2007

Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, "The Islamic system (of Iran) detonated a powerful bomb in the world of politics, which was thousands-fold stronger than the bomb detonated by the U.S. in Hiroshima." He was speaking to Iran's paramilitary forces, the membership of which ranges from an estimate of 400,000 members to the force's commander's claim of eleven million members.

This paramilitary group is called the Basij, a volunteer force. Most of its younger members are students, making it "connected to the university and the scholarly atmosphere on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is connected to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps." In the course of his remarks to the Iranian Volunteer Forces, Khamenei said, "Even Europeans are speechless before this oppressive America," and that Iran has countered America's power.

Khamenei asserted that the awakening of the people in Lebanon, Palestinian territories, and Latin America was a consequence of the solid determination of Imam Khomeini, who preceded Khamenei.

Khamenei's remarks were broadcast via state television and radio.