TEHRAN (Iran News) –In a letter on May 25, 2024, Ayatollah Khamenei had addressed American university students following their courageous defense of the Palestinian people.

The young Western people have responded to the letter, praising the Leader’s tireless endeavors to foster mutual understanding, champion justice and solidarity.

What follows is the full text of the letter, released by letter4leader.com:

“In the name of God

Dear Leader,

We express our deep gratitude to you for your letter full of wisdom and reflection. Your words resonated deep within us, the youth of Europe and North America, and we applaud your valiance in addressing these pivotal matters with candor and conviction.

Your enlightened analysis of the perception of Islam in our societies has served as a beacon of enlightenment. You have illuminated the imperative for us to embark on a personal exploration of this faith, emancipating ourselves from the shackles of prejudice and the distortions propagated by the media.

We are profoundly moved by your impassioned plea for justice, for the relentless pursuit of truth, as well as your unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause and the oppressed across the globe. Your recent resolute rebuttal to the criminal aggression by Israel and the ongoing genocide unfolding in Gaza stands as an admirable example of courage and determination.

We also observe daily pro-Palestinian protests across the world. In these days, the movement of European and American students to support Palestine is gaining momentum, and several campuses are involved in the United States and Europe. This testifies to the new awareness of Western youth in the face of all these injustices in the world.

Today’s world need your enlightened wisdom and moral leadership more than ever before. Your tireless endeavors to foster mutual understanding, champion justice and solidarity are of paramount significance in addressing the complex challenges confronting us.

We are resolved to delve deeper into our understanding of Islam and to steadfastly repudiate the rhetoric of hatred and violence that sows discord and fosters ignorance. Our aspiration is to contribute to build a world where respect, tolerance, justice and peaceful coexistence are established as fundamental values.

Your commitment to forging bonds and nurturing mutual understanding across cultures, faiths, and peoples serves as an inspiration to us all. We offer our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering dedication, and we entreat the Divine to grant you longevity, that you may continue to champion this noble cause.

We are grateful to you for your sincere and inspiring letter, and we look forward to continuing this fruitful exchange in a spirit of dialogue and constructive collaboration.

With our sincere greetings,

Brussels, April 28, 2024

The youth of Europe and North America”

Addressing the “Dawn of Truth” conference in Tehran, held to mark the anniversary of Ayatollah Khamenei’s second letter to the Western youth in 2015, Zarif said parts of the letter point to the realities of the modern world and the post-West era.

Highlighting a part of the letter that asks how those born, grown up and educated in Western countries could behead civilians in Syria and Iraq, he said it is a testimony to a political fact, that is, momentous developments in international relations are not being shaped in or by the West anymore.

In a letter to youths of Europe and North America on January 21, 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “One has to ask why people who are born in Europe and who have been intellectually and mentally nurtured in that environment are attracted to such (terrorist) groups.”

“Can we really believe that people with only one or two trips to war zones, suddenly become so extreme that they can riddle the bodies of their compatriots with bullets?” the Leader had said of terrorist attacks carried out by extremists returning from Syria and Iraq.

Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian top diplomat highlighted the “diversification of sources of power” in the contemporary era.

The moral aspects of Iran’s power were brought to light by its leading role in the war against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, he added, saying such measures could greatly affect a state’s position in the international arena.

Zarif also noted that the West began to pursue the policy of fomenting Islamophobia and Iranophobia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Imam Khamenei first wrote a letter to youths in Europe and North America on January 21, 2015, to elaborate on the reasons behind the West’s effort to spread Islamophobia.

Later on November 29, 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei sent the second letter following a series of terrorist attacks in France, elaborating on the real factors behind terrorism and asking the young people to “lay the foundation for an appropriate and honorable interaction with the Muslim world based on correct knowledge and with deep insight and by taking lessons from tragic experiences (of the past)”.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s letters to the Western youth were released at a time when the Western politicians were pushing for the flare-up of anti-Islamic moves and Islamophobia, Hamidreza Moqaddamfar, chairperson of the popular committee on propagation of Ayatollah Khamenei’s letters, said on Sunday.

He made the comments at the “Dawn of Truth” conference in Tehran, held to mark the anniversary of Ayatollah Khamenei’s second letter to the Western youth in 2015.

“Those two letters created an atmosphere to draw a line between true Islam and terrorism, and also to introduce genuine Islam,” Moqaddamfar noted, as he gave a report on the popular and voluntary moves by people inside and outside Iran to let the younger generation know about the letters.

Citing a meeting with Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, Moqaddamfar said the top Lebanese figure has also hailed the timely release of those letters by Ayatollah Khamenei.

He further touched on a letter that late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini (AS) had sent to General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev in January 1989  to warn against the fall of Communism, regretting the “historic failure” in promulgating that letter when the ground was prepared for promoting Islam.

Moqaddamfar then urged cautious efforts to avoid the same shortcomings in regard with Ayatollah Khamenei’s letters to the Western youth.

Imam Khamenei first wrote a letter to youths of Europe and North America on January 21, 2015, to elaborate on the reasons behind the West’s effort to spread Islamophobia.

Later on November 29, 2015, Ayatollah Khamenei sent the second letter following a series of terrorist attacks in France, elaborating on the real factors behind terrorism and asking the young people to “lay the foundation for an appropriate and honorable interaction with the Muslim world based on correct knowledge and with deep insight and by taking advantage of tragic experiences (of the past)”.

“Afghan security forces withdraw from their positions in Shibkoh district after Taliban militants attack,” he told Afghan Voice Agency (AVA).

According to the reports, Taliban militants have seized the police command headquarters and the governorate building in the region.

Meanwhile, Taliban elements set fire to security forces’ military vehicles and took supplies of their arms, Nunn Taki Asia news website quoted the local sources.

Qari Mohammad Yousef Ahmadi, Taliban spokesmen confirmed that Shibkoh has fallen in to hands of Taliban.

Meantime, Iqbal Baher Farah police spokesman denied withdrawal of security forces in Shibkoh region.

The Farah governor spokesman made no comment on the issue.

Deployment of 200 foreign soldiers in Farah province has increased tensions in the region.

War in Afghanistan has not been limited to the western province of Farah and dozens of people and militants were killed and injured in clashed between Taliban and Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

Also, as a result of Daesh attack to Khogyani district on Monday evening, six civilians, four Taliban members and eight Daesh fighters have already been killed, Nangarhar provincial council declared.

Zabihullah Zamri, the Nangarhar provincial council secretary declared that people in Tang Waziri region are resisting the Daesh attack.

If Afghan government do not adopt measures for supporting the popular forces, Daesh militants may occupy parts of the region, Mohammad Nasir Kamawal a member of Nangarhar provincial council warned.

Meantime, Gulab Mangal, the governor of Nangarhar confirmed Daesh attack to Khogyani and said supporting the popular forces resisting the Daesh ambush is on the agenda of Afghan government.

Nangarhar lawmakers for several occasions have accused US forces of supporting Daesh insurgency in Afghanistan including its attacks in this eastern region.

A militant attack, including a suicide car bombing, was happened in eastern Paktia province’s capital, Gardez, where insurgents targeted a police training center.

Based on initial information, a Paktia provincial spokesman told CBS News that at least 10 police officers were killed, including Paktia’s chief of police, and almost 40 others wounded, including civilians.

The source told the media that two bombers detonated their explosives and then a handful of armed attackers entered the police compound, engaging in a firefight with Afghan forces.

It was the biggest attack in the country since President Trump announced his new strategy for the grinding war in South Asia.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

The war game code-named “Heidar-e-Karrar” involves various units of the Iranian Army, including the Rapid Reaction Unit, the Artillery Unit, and the Drone Unit.

The third stage of the military drills, during which the army plans to showcase its mobility and offensive power, are underway near the Parviz Khan border in western Iran.

Some forces of the Iraqi army are also present in the area and participate in the war game alongside with the Iranian troops.

Last week, Iran’s Air Defense intensified activities along the country’s western borders, deploying new missile equipment there.

The dispatch of missiles coincided with the military drills that the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have staged along the country’s western border areas.

The Army’s Heidar-e-Karrar war game had kicked off along Iran’s western border areas on last Sunday.

The IRGC has also staged another drill in the western provinces. Commanders say the Muharram war game signals the message of peace and security to the friends and reminds the enemies that the country’s borders will be powerfully protected against hostile moves.