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Our people say "Death to America," and this is like saying "I seek God's refuge from the accursed Satan," which is recited before any chapter of the Koran, even before "In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful." Why is this? So the believer will never forget, even for a moment, the presence of Satan. So he will never forget, even for a moment, that Satan is ready to attack him and to destroy his spiritual shield and is faith... The saying "Death to America" is for this purpose.
— Ali Khamenei
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Our people say "Death to America," and this is like saying "I seek God's refuge from the accursed Satan," which is recited before any chapter of the Koran, even before "In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful." Why is this? So the believer will never forget, even for a moment, the presence of Satan. So he will never forget, even for a moment, that Satan is ready to attack him and to destroy his spiritual shield and is faith... The saying "Death to America" is for this purpose." in the context of "March 14, 2005 speech" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ali Khamenei" (Quotes, 2005)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 03, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ali Khamenei
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei (Persian: سید علی حسینی خامنهای; born 19 April 1939) is the second and current Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously President of Iran from 1981 to 1989.
About Ali Khamenei
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei (Persian: سید علی حسینی خامنهای; born 19 April 1939) is the second and current Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously President of Iran from 1981 to 1989.
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