I must tell you that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, that evil traitor, has gone. He fled and plundered everything. He destroyed our country and filled our cemeteries. He ruined our country’s economy. Even the projects he carried out in the name of progress, pushed the country towards decadence. He suppressed our culture, annihilated people and destroyed all our manpower resources. We are saying this man, his government, his Majlis are all illegal. If they were to continue to stay in power, we would treat them as criminals and would try them as criminals. I shall appoint my own government. I shall slap this government in the mouth. I shall determine the government with the backing of this nation, because this nation accepts me.

This government represents a regime, whose leader and his father were illegally in power. This government is therefore illegal. The deputies appointed to work in the Majlis are there illegally. The Majlis itself and the Senate are illegal. How can anyone appointed by the Shah be legal? We are telling all of them that they are illegal and they should go. We hereby announce that this government, which has presented itself as a legal government is in fact illegal. Even the members of this government before accepting to be ministers, were considering the whole establishment to be illegal. What has happened now, that they are claiming to be legitimate? This gentleman, Dr Bakhtiar, does not accept himself, and his friends do not accept him either. The nation does not accept him and the army does not accept him. Only America is backing him and has ordered the army to support him. Britain has backed him too and had said that he must be supported. If one were to search among the nation, one would not find a single person among all strata of the nation, who accepts this man, but he is saying that one country cannot have two governments. Well of course, it is clear that this country does not have two governments and in any case, the illegal government should go. You are illegal. The government of our choice relies on the nation’s backing and enjoys the backing of God. If you claim that your government is legal, you must necessarily be denying God and the will of the nation. Someone must put this man in his place.

We want our army to be independent. You army commanders, you generals and major generals, do you not wish to be independent? What is our reward for saying that we would like our army to be independent? Is it right to punish us by killing our young men in the street just because we wish you to be your own master rather than taking orders from foreign powers? At this point I would like to thank those units of the army, which have joined the ranks of the nation. We praise the NCOs, the air force, and officers of the air force, who are already with us and call upon the rest of you to join. Abandon your foreign masters and do not fear that if you abandon them , we will come and hang you. Such rumours are spread by your enemies. Can you not see your other comrades, the officers, the NCOs and the pilots, who have joined us? We love them, we respect them and we want to keep our strong army intact. We want to have a powerful country. We want to preserve the structure of the army, but for the service of the nation.

Enviado por Enrique Ibañes