NCRI – In an unprecedented move, Ali Khamenei, mullahs’ Supreme Leader conducted Eid al-Fitr sermon (marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan) on Sunday while the majority of ranking Shiite clerics in religious centers in cities of Qum and Najaf declared Monday as Eid al-Fitr according to Islamic Calendar.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the clerics’ confrontation with Khamenei as a sign of public hatred and isolation of its regime. She said that crisis and schisms have engulfed the regime to the point that it has not spared the religious festivity of Eid al-Fitr.
“All signs point to the final stage of the regime which has lost its popularity not only among the Iranian people but also among many clerics who once were a part of or supported it. Increasing violence and suppression as well as today’s despotic statement by Khamenei will have no effect on its final destiny,” She added.
Mrs. Rajavi commended clerics who have opposed the regime and advised them to distance themselves from the criminals who rule under the name of religion. She further advised them to join ranks with the Iranian people and their uprising before it is too late.
Khamenei, in his Sunday’s remarks could not conceal his anger of Friday’s nationwide uprising and the defiance by the clerics. He termed the protests "false emotions" and "treason and irresponsible behavior.” He described them as "great pains, fatal and dangerous diseases" for his government and called on the leaders of the rival faction to express regret for their "sins and wrong doings.”
Despite escalation of scandals related to recent show trials and international calls describing the forced confessions as worthless, Khamenei said: "The confessions that the accused… give in the court and before cameras … are credible." While rhetorically saying that he opposes making “false accusations against others,” he said: “Making false accusations against a person is a crime … but making it against the state is a much greater crime.”
The Iranian regime is soon due at the negotiation table with the 5+1 powers over its nuclear dossier. Khamenei described the regime’s nuclear project as a “scientific endeavor,” and emphatically point out the importance of his nuclear project for obtaining “political strength.” What he actually means is to gain political power to enable its regime to expand fundamentalism and ominous dominance over the region and the world.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 20, 2009