[Announcer narrates with footage of speech and crowds filling the streets in the surrounding area]: On the first Friday prayer sermon His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei advised all the people to comply with divine commands. He referred to the month of Ramadan as a month of valuable opportunities. He said if the opportunities during this blessed month are used properly a lifelong treasure will be obtained. Among these opportunities he mentioned fasting, worship, reading the Koran and avoiding sin. He said in this great month hearts must be purified to prepare for the its blessings.

The leader of the Islamic revolution said the nation of Iran is a spiritual society of prayer and worship. He emphasized that the nation of Iran's spiritual relation with Almighty God has brought astonishing results and effects and the blessed month of Ramadan must be used to increase this spiritual treasury more than ever.

In the second Friday prayer sermon His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei discussed the reasons and the message behind the defeat of the imperialist front by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He mentioned the war between Iran and Saddam and his supporters and said the real objective of this great and heavy project was the destruction of the Islamic revolution because Western analysts and officials understood that the Islamic revolution would become the central inspiration for the Muslim world; they tried to block its progress.

He said the imposed war was a channel for various pressures from the governments of East and West, NATO, Europe, and the region's reactionaries against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added that each one of those pressures would bring down a nation and a country but the nation of Iran stood up against those pressures, became more aware, stronger and more determined each day and defeated the enemy front.

The leader of the Islamic revolution said the defeat of Saddam and Iraq's Ba'thist regime against the nation of Iran was a basic blow to the structure and body of that regime. He said in reality the basic blow from the nation of Iran destroyed the aggressor Saddam and that was his fate later on.

His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei discussed the remarks in recent months by American and Western officials about the embargo against the nation of Iran. He said: During the war the nation of Iran was under a strict embargo and various sanctions, but it has brought itself to a place where today it has the first word in the region in terms of military ability, and it has also made proud advances in other areas such as the nuclear issue. This shows that any kind of embargo will have the opposite result against the steadfast reliance on internal power, the initiative and the spontaneity of the Iranian nation.

The leader of the Islamic revolution said the imperialist project to defeat and suppress the Islamic revolution before the spiritual steadfastness of the Iranian nation is a new research topic in psychological and sociological studies; he advised scholars in the political and social sciences to reflect on the causes of this instructive reality.

He mentioned the dimensions of America's defeat in its effort since 11 September to create a New Middle East and ultimately to surround and defeat the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added: In a multidimensional plan the Americans tried to create a Middle East based on the interests of the Zionist regime with Israel as the capital but they were frustrated in all the dimensions of this project.

His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei cited the coming to power of the pious and populist Hamas government in Palestine as one of the American defeats in creating the New Middle East. Despite the American plots and even the unfortunate assistance from some Palestinians, the populist Hamas government is still in power, and this reality is a great victory for the people of Palestine over America and Israel.

He mentioned the international importance of Jerusalem Day and added: The nation of Iran and other Muslim nations will cry out their support for the nation of Palestine on this great day.

The leader of the Islamic revolution cited as another dimension of America's frustration with its project to create the New Middle East the defeat of the Zionist regime's loud and boastful army by Lebanon's Hezbollah. He said the Americans did not even imagine that Israel's army would be defeated by Lebanon's Hezbollah, but the complete and shameful defeat of Israel's army in its 33-day war with Lebanon's Hezbollah was another frustration for the American project. The Hezbollah not only did not disarm, they continued with more power than before.

His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei said Iraq is another area where America's policies are at a dead end. He said America's objective was to create a hand-picked government in Iraq, and achieving this objective would have been a great help creating the Greater Middle East and surrounding the Islamic Republic of Iran, but after four years of occupation, all the analysts now believe America has reached a dead end in Iraq and is looking for an honorable way out.

His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei said another dimension of the New Middle East project was to weaken the Islamic Republic of Iran. He said Iran's enemies have also been completely frustrated with this objective because through the efforts of the nation of Iran and with God's help the Islamic Republic of Iran is stronger today than in previous years in all the political, scientific, economic and social fields. The nation of Iran is more intelligent, lively and active and is present in all public affairs.

The Exalted Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned the polls that have been conducted in the Muslim nations and emphasized: America becomes more hated every day in the Muslim world. It is isolated in world public opinion and there is no doubt that that nation's current president and officials will be tried one day in an international court for creating the disaster in Iraq.

He said the demands of the American media are bearing no result. He said: To flee the defeat that has overtaken them in Iraq the Americans are accusing Iran, but even in the report that was read recently in the American Congress, connecting Iraq to the US arms market is America's only achievement in the occupation of Iraq. This shows the ultimate defeat and weakness of the American government.

The leader of the Islamic revolution advised the nation of Iran to appreciate the direct divine path. He said following God's path has made this nation powerful and humiliated its enemies, and the nation of Iran must continue alertly on this proud path. It must come out of its vulnerability and arrive at a place where no power will dare even to threaten it.

His Holiness Ayatollah Khamenei also honored the memory of Ayatollah Taleqani; he mentioned that he held Tehran's first Friday prayer by order of the hidden Imam and mentioned his emamate. He added that Ayatollah Taleqani was a crusading steadfast ayatollah who was tested well in various previous eras and after the revolution. After holding and leading the Tehran Friday prayer he gradually spread the Friday prayer throughout the country and turned it into a center for spirituality and resistance. This center must become more passionate and vigorous every day with the yearning of the people and especially the youth, and through the efforts of the Friday imams.

Crossposted to the The Satellite News