A senior Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) official says The Islamic Republic wants to be friends with the United States, but the U.S. does not want its friendship.
Mohammad Reza Naghdi, former head of the Baseej militia and the current cultural affairs deputy of IRGC speaking at a meeting on Wednesday maintained, “Some say our problems are because of our desire to have independence and [instead] we should be friends with America. We do want to be friends but they do not want. America is inherently humanity's enemy and will never be our friend.”
He added, “Relations with America has two possibilities; either we have to surrender, keep silent and be their milk cow or we have to wage a struggle, in which case we might save some of what belongs to us. There is no third way in relations with America”.
Naghdi was the commander of the IRGC militia during mass protests in 2009 and played a major role in suppressing the popular uprising against the disputed reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In his remarks Naghdi also attacked those who say Iran was better off during monarchy. He said kings were not “virtuous”. He labeled ministers of the last shah “dirty as mud and deceitful”, adding that Mohammad Reza Shah “was a nobody” in running the country.
Naghdi insisted that Iran never experienced freedom in its history, except during the Islamic Republic.
The 1979 revolution and the post revolution ideology was driven by a strong belief that the shah was a dictator, running the country all by himself.