Ayatollah Khamenei says resistance sole way to counter US pressures, hybrid warfare

The Leader pointed to the US’s enormous pressure campaign and hybrid warfare against both Iran and Venezuela and noted, “The successful experience of the two countries showed that resistance is the only way to counter such pressures.”

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran on Saturday.

The Leader lauded the victory of the Venezuelan government and nation in a tough struggle against the US and a hybrid and all-out war it has waged against Caracas and stated, “Your resistance and that of the people of Venezuela is very valuable because it enhances the value, status and merits of a nation and a country as well as its leaders.”

“Today, the US views Venezuela in a different [manner] compared to the past,” the Leader said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi (R) attends a meeting between Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (L) and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran on June 11, 2022. (Photo by khamenei.ir)

Praising the progress Iran has made in science and technology in the face of US sanctions, Ayatollah Khamenei said “such major steps have been taken under the circumstances that the heaviest and most unprecedented sanctions and pressures have been imposed on the Iranian nation, and the Americans themselves called it the ‘maximum pressure’ [policy].”

Since leaving the 2015 Iran deal, the US has been leading a so-called maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, using the tool of sanctions and economic pressure to force Tehran to bow to its demands, but to no avail.

In his remarks, the Leader also welcomed a 20-year partnership agreement signed between Tehran and Caracas aimed at bolstering bilateral cooperation in various fields, and emphasized that the Iranian and Venezuelan governments must further strengthen their relationship