Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: A patient but protesting nation.
Iranian identity has its advantages and we should not underestimate it. Sociologists have listed the features of this Iranian identity. It is a very great nation. Wherever this nation has come, they have solved problems and all doors have opened. If we turn to the nation, we have won, and if we see ourselves as separate and superior, we have lost, just as those before us lost. If we value and appreciate this nation as it truly is and deserves, this nation will respond and has responded.
Listen to the words of the families of martyrs, workers, and the oppressed. This nation is patient but protesting. We are all protesters. There must be protest. If there were no protest and there was a deadly silence, we should be afraid. If our officials did whatever they wanted and people just watched, we would have to say either this nation is dead or this ruling is like Saddam’s, where no one dares to speak. The fact that our society cries out is because they are Muslim and do not allow any deviation. They have learned this from the Prophet (PBUH) and their own authentic Iranian identity.