Mohammad Javad Larijani:

''The letter was to design the relations after the Soviet collapse.''

After we returned from Moscow, early in the morning we went to visit Imam Khomeini; he told us: "Was Marxism over or not?" and I replied: "It was completely over", ***I always pity that Imam's letter was never analyzed well so that its thoughtful and deep sources could be revealed and we could find its meanings.***Shevardnadze told me he was shelterless against Imam's looks.***Imam's message had a great affect, the letters literature was quite interesting for them, they were faced with a leader like Imam Khomeini who spoke strongly, opposite to countries who spoke with strain against the Kremlin officials or always argue with them.

How did the Soviet Union end?

The collapse of the Soviet Union made the bipolar world disappear, a world which through the last decades had decided about the political destiny of countries. This situation eased the reliance on culture to determine different layers of foreign policies in a government-nation level by the international players. On the other hand, it confirmed that along with the cultural role of politicians, we shouldn't forget that not seeing the effects of religious features, believes and traditions of nations on structuring a culture would cause disasters.

Gorbachev’s response to Imam Khomeini:

''Your message has deep concerns about the fate of mankind''

On January 4th 1989 Imam Khomeini’s message was delivered to Gorbachev by his selected delegations who were Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Mohammad Javad Larijani and Mrs. Marzieh Hadidehchi Dabbaq. Eight weeks later Gorbachev delivered his response to Imam Khomeini by the then Soviet foreign minister, Edward Shevardnadze in Tehran. Gorbachev saw a great value to Imam’s message in his response, but it was clear that he had not understood the spiritual dimensions of Imam’s message. Because he had first tried to describe his activities for promoting political freedom in the Soviet Union and then he had described the achievements of a communist economic from 1917 till now. In the meeting between Eduard Shevardnadze, those days Soviet foreign minister, and Imam Khomeini, Ali Akbar Velayati, those days Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Larijani, deputy of the foreign minister and a member of the delegation, and Alireza Nobari, then the Iranian ambassador to the Soviet Union were also present.

Iran-Russia relations

From Imam Khomeini’s letter to the collapse of the Soviet Union

When Mikhail Gorbachev, Head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, received Imam Khomeini’s letter from the Imam’s chosen delegation party, he turned to them and said: “Although the people of the Soviet Union and Iran are followers of different schools of thought, this does not prevent us from cooperating with each other based on our common principles and traditions.” On January the 4th 1989, when Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet foreign minister, traveled to Iran after his visit to Iraq and delivered Gorbachev’s official response to Imam Khomeini, he was also instructed to talk about bilateral relations.

The effects of the Imam’s letter to Gorbachev

Marzieh Dabbaq: The Imam’s letter to Gorbachev was monotheistic not diplomatic

Marzieh Hadidchi also known as Tahira Dabbaq, who was a political prisoner and an armed activist during the Pahlavi regime, started her anti Pahlavi activities in 1971. She escaped from the country with a fake passport in 1975 after being arrested and tortured by the SAVAK twice. She joined in food strikes in France and England for the freedom of Iranian political prisoners. In Saudi Arabia she spread Imam Khomeini’s announcements between the pilgrims. However most of his activities outside of Iran were related to training the Lebanese and Syrians in guerrilla fighting. During Imam Khomeini’s stay in Paris, she joined him and after the victory of the revolution she had some positions like the commander of Hamadan’s IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Sepah-e- Pasdaran) and manager of Tehran’s women prison. She was the first IRGC commander of the west of Iran after the revolution, three times MP, head of the women branch of Basij of I. R. Iran and the founder of the Intifada defenders union. She participated in this interview with Jamaran news agency despite her illness.

The Imam’s foreign admirers

The people and heads of several countries visited sites related to the Imam

The heads, intellectuals, and people of the countries of Tunisia, Komor, Lebanon and Turkey visit the places related to Imam, such as the Imam’s house, shrine, Husseiniah Jamaran and Negarestan-e- Imam.

The Imam and Religion

The Imam Paid Special Attention to Godly Religions

Sayyid Abul Hassan Navvab, who is the head of the University of Religious Studies, talked about the current relationship between Christians and Muslims, and that they need to be mended by holding talks. He further pointed out that the Imam talked of the ‘Prophets of God’ many times in his speeches, and always showed his respect to them. In addition Muslims have never insulted the prophet of any Godly religion.

The Imam issued a congratulatory statement for the birth of Jesus Christ and the start of the New Year

Jesus, a Prophet who resurrected the dead and awakened the sleeping

The great leader of the revolution issued a statement to congratulate the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ and the start of the New Year. The Imam’s statement was in line with the Islamic teachings and the rich Iranian culture, which recommend respect towards different religions and cultures.