Foreigners' role in recent riots obvious: Leader

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei received thousands of people from Qom province on Monday morning in Tehran.

The meeting took place on the occasion of the uprising of the people of Qom against the Pahlavi regime on January 9, 1978; a landmark protest which was in response to an article published in Ettela'at newspaper, insulting the founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khomeini. Many believe that this demonstration was the start of a wave which ended the Pahlavi regime one year later. 

During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei called for the continuation of the commemoration of the 1978 uprising, saying that the 1978 uprising was a major evolutionary incident, it was not an ordinary incident.

Referring to Iran's great days and events including the Islamic Revolution anniversary, Martyr Soleimani's martyrdom anniversary, and the 1978 Qom uprising anniversary, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the strategy of the enemies and opponents is to diminish such great days.

Referring to the recent riots in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that the role of foreigners in the riots was completely obvious. He added that the goal of the rioters was not to eliminate the weaknesses of the country but to destroy the country's strengths.

Ayatollah Khamenei also slammed the enemies' propaganda against Iran.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution in his Monday remarks also called on Iranian authorities to do evolutionary tasks for the progress of the country in different fields.