“They (the Americans) are moving in this direction in a bid to be able to reinstate their previous hegemony,” Ayatollah Khamenei told a large crowd of pilgrims in the holy city of Mashhad on the first day of Persian New Year on Sunday.

The Leader said Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution liberated the nation of Washington’s deep-rooted grip, adding that Iranians proved that it is possible to stand up to the US. He said the revolution handed the country back to the nation, its true owners.

Before the revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei said, that US used to plunder Iran’s riches and the ousted Pahlavi regime was the main base of the UK and the US in the region.

The Leader reiterated that the Iranian nation has no issues with the American people but the US administration is the enemy of Iran.

‘US not honoring JCPOA’

Pointing to Iran’s nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Ayatollah Khamenei said the other side, under various pretexts and through deception, is not fully implementing its side of the deal such as removing all obstacles to Iran’s banking transactions or unfreezing the country’s assets abroad.

“In the agreement we reached with the Americans on the nuclear issue, the Americans did not deliver on their pledges… Today, all cross Western countries and those who are under their impact, our banking restrictions are still facing problem and repatriation of our assets are facing problem,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that “they fear the Americans.”

Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei said there is no guarantee that President Barack Obama’s successor would “fulfill these minimum obligations.”

“The US presidential candidates are vying with each other in inveighing against Iran…These are [proof of] enmity,” said the Leader.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew is making ceaseless efforts in order to prevent Iran from benefiting from the JCPOA results.

Regarding his choice of an economic motto for the New Year, namely “Resistance Economy; Plan and Action,” the Leader said that the West seeks to imply that Iranians have only one of two choices, namely either to come to terms with the US or suffer economic hardships.

The Leader said the West seeks to instill and propagate the notion that Iranians must either bow to the demands of the US or suffer the consequences. Ayatollah Khamenei warned that submission to the wishes of the US is tantamount to backing down from one’s stances and a loss of independence.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the West would like the Iranians to back down from its demands such as on the issue of Palestine and turn into what the US would like it to be and like some regional states be reconciled with “the Zionist enemy.”

The Leader said the enemy, if not resisted, will gradually expand its demands to the point where it will question the very founding principles of the Islamic Republic and seek to change its essence and substance.

Ayatollah Khamenei called for an increase in the productivity level in Iran, particularly in the energy sector, adding this can save billions of dollars.

Here is the full text of the message issued on March 20, 2016 by Imam Khamenei on the occasion of Nowruz.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

O Conqueror of hearts and sight,

O Planner of night and day,

O Transformer of power and circumstances,

Change our condition to the best of conditions.

Greetings be upon Siddiqat al-Tahirah, Fatimah al-Marziah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (God’s greetings be upon him and his household) daughter. And greetings be upon Allah’s Great Representative (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake and may God hasten his reappearance).

I would like to congratulate all Iranian families and each and every Iranian – wherever they are in the world – on the occasion of Nowruz.

Dear compatriots, happy New Year!

In particular, I would like to congratulate the dear families of the martyrs, the dear disabled war veterans, their honorable families and all self-sacrificing individuals, and I commemorate the memory of our great martyrs and our magnanimous Imam (r.a.).

The year that has just begun – the (solar) year 1395 – is blessed with the auspicious name of Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) both in its beginning and in its end. Both the beginning and the end of this year are marked by the birthday anniversary of that great personality – corresponding with the lunar months. Therefore, I hope that God willing, the year 1395 will be an auspicious year for the people of Iran by the blessedness of Hazrat Zahra (s.a.) and that we will learn lessons and benefit from the spirituality, instructions and life of that great personality.

Just like all other years, the year that came to an end – the year 1394 – was a mixture of the sweet and the bitter, of peaks and troughs. This is the nature of life. The previousyear involved events ranging from the bitterness of the Mina incident to the sweetness of the 22nd of Bahman rallies and the 7th of Esfand elections. As for the JCPOA (nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers) experience, it contained hopes and concerns that continue until today.

All these were among the events of the year and all years are like this. All years and days of one’s life include opportunities and threats. Our skill lies in benefiting from opportunities and turning threats into opportunities.

The year 1395 is ahead of us. In this year as always, there are both opportunities and threats. Everyone should make efforts so that we can benefit from the opportunities of this year in the real sense of the word and so that at the end of the year, the country will witness a tangible difference compared to the beginning of the year.

There are certain hopes for the year 1395. When one looks at the prospects and the circumstances, one witnesses certain hopes. Of course, we should work hard in order to fulfill these hopes. We should work day and night and try hard in a ceaseless manner.

The main point is that the people of Iran should do something to liberate themselves from vulnerabilities in the face of the enemies’ threats and enmities. We should do something to avoid being vulnerable in the face of the enemies’ threats. We should reduce our vulnerability to zero.

I believe that the issue of the economy is the first priority. When we take a look at priorities, we see that the issue of the economy is the most urgent and essential one. If the people, the administration and different officials can – by Allah’s favor – adopt correct, timely and proper measures, then we can hope that this will influence other issues – such as social maladies and moral and cultural issues – as well.

On the issue of the economy, what is important and fundamental is the issue of domestic production, the issue of employment and eliminating unemployment, the issue of economic dynamism and the issue of combating recession. These are the issues that people are faced with. These are the things that people feel and demand. The statistics and statements of the officials themselves show that these demands and requests of the people are legitimate and sensible.

If we want to resolve the problem of recession, domestic production and unemployment and if we want to manage the issue of inflation, the cure for all these things lie in the framework of economic resistance and the economy of resistance. The economy of resistance includes all these problems. With the economy of resistance, we can fight against unemployment, we can fight against recession, we can manage inflation, we can stand up against the enemy’s threats and we can create and benefit from many opportunities for the country. The condition is that effort is made on the path of the economy of resistance.

The report that our brothers in the administration delivered to us shows that they have carried out many tasks. However, such tasks are only preliminary tasks which are related to issuing directives and edicts to different organizations. These are preliminary tasks. The task that needs to be continued is taking action, putting things into practice and showing the results to the people on the ground. This is what constitutes our responsibility. By Allah’s favor, I will discuss this issue in detail with our dear people during the (Mashhad) speech.

Thus, the name that I want to choose for this year is, “The Economy of Resistance:  Action and Implementation”. The economy of resistance, action and implementation- this is a straight and enlightened path and the road towards what we need.

Of course, we do not expect that this action and implementation will solve all the problems in the course of one year, but we are sure that if action and implementation is carried out in a systematic and correct manner, we will be able to witness the results at the end of the year.

I thank all those people who worked and continue to work hard on this path. Once more, I send my greetings to the people of Iran and I congratulate them.

And I ask God to bestow His peace and blessings on Muhammad (s.a.w.a.), on his household and on the Imam of the Age (God’s greetings be upon him and may our souls be sacrificed for his sake).

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings