• "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi."—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 2006 [1]


• "Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei … received a group of experts on Mahdism (faith in the eventual reappearance of the Savior of the World, Hazrat Mahdi Aj). At the meeting, the IR Leader highlighted the importance of Mahdism and described waiting for the re-appearance of Imam Mahdi … as an integral part of the faith."—The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran Sayyid Ali Khamenei, 2011[2]


• Our time "is an era of the appearance of Imam Mahdi."—President Ahmadinejad, 2009[3]


• Hazrat Mahdi, "[t]he twelfth Shii Imam, [has lived] in a state of occultation since 874 A.D. upon a Divine command and [will] reappear some day when God deems appropriate to administer justice throughout the world… Ayatollah Khamenei described the emergence of the Islamic Republic as a prelude to the landmark, global movement, adding that the Iranian nation created an authentic ambience of [preparedness for the reappearance of the Mahdi] by establishing the system [of Islamic governance]."—The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran Sayyid Ali Khamenei, 2008[4]


• Note: Shi'a traditions state, "The Twelfth Imam will return as the Mahdi with 'a company of his chosen ones' and his enemies will be led by the one-eyed Antichrist and the Sufyani. The two armies will fight 'one final apocalyptic battle' where the Mahdi and his forces will prevail over evil."[5]

• "The commander Khamenei has announced registration for the forces of martyrdom in all of Iran's provinces."—July 26, 2005[6]


• "40,000 time bombs in Iran—this is the number of volunteers so far, and the registration is still open."—Saudi Al-Arabiya television news network, July 2, 2005[7](Within a year 52,000 Iranians joined the "Lovers of Martyrdom."[8])


• "It is the zenith of honor for a man, a young person, boy or girl, to be prepared to sacrifice his life. … Martyrdom-seeking operations demonstrate the pinnacle of a nation's honor."—Ayatollah Khameini, May 1, 2009[9]

• Iran "not only wants to attain nuclear weapons but … has, compared to virtually all other holders of nuclear weapons in the past, far less fear of using them."—Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, 2012[10]


• "We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah, for patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam remains triumphant in the rest of the world."—Ayatollah Khomeini, 1980[11]


• "An atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel but [an atomic bomb] would just produce minor damages in the Muslim world."—Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Former Iranian president and "Expediency Council" Chair, 2001[12]

“The risks of an Iranian nuclear weapon falling into the hands of terrorist organizations are profound. … And it would also provide Iran the additional capability to sponsor and protect its proxies in carrying out terrorist attacks, because they are less fearful of retaliation.”
-President Obama, 2012[13]

Tehran "spent the country's funds on Hezbollah, Hamas, the extremist movements in Bahrain, Iraq and Yemen, and the Muslim Brotherhood, and supported every extremist in the region."—'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, director-general of the Saudi Al-Arabiya television news network, February 21, 2010[14]

• "I can tell you with complete sincerity that Iran fully and comprehensively supported Hezbollah, and Hezbollah feels indebted to the [Iranian] leadership."—Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran Khamenei, Al-Jazeera TV, July 25, 2009[15]


• "Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has assisted Hizballah in rearming, in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."—U.S. State Department Report on Terrorism, 2010[16]

• "Iran is our mother. … She gives us information, military supplies and financial support."—Hamas Commander, March 9, 2008[17]


• "In 2010, Iran remained the principal supporter of groups implacably opposed to the Middle East Peace Process. Iran provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups."—U.S. State Department Report on Terrorism, 2010[18]

• "[T]he [U.S.] Department of the Treasury charged that the Government of Iran had forged a 'secret deal' with al Qaeda to facilitate the movement of al Qaeda fighters and funding through Iranian territory."—U.S. Senate Resolution 360, 2012[19]


• "Operatives and members of Osama Bin Laden's family have been hiding in Iran since 9/11. The roster of al-Qaida figures in Iran is a who's who for the terror group."—AP Exclusive, May 13, 2010[20]


• Iran's Revolutionary Guards are working with Al-Qaeda in Yemen, where the Detroit "Christmas bomber" was trained.—U.S. Intelligence reports, 2010[21]

• "Iran has provided weapons, training, funding, and direction to terrorist groups, including … Shiite militias in Iraq that are responsible for the murders of hundreds of American forces and innocent civilians."—U.S. Senate Resolution 360, 2012[22]


• "The Qods Force continued to supply Iraqi militants with Iranian-produced advanced rockets, sniper rifles, automatic weapons, and mortars that have killed Iraqi and Coalition Forces, as well as civilians. Iran was responsible for the increased lethality of some attacks on U.S. forces by providing militants with the capability to assemble explosives designed to defeat armored vehicles."—U.S. State Department Report on Terrorism, 2010[23]

• "Iran's Qods Force provided training to the Taliban in Afghanistan on small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery, and rockets. Since at least 2006, Iran has arranged arms shipments to select Taliban members, including small arms and associated ammunition, rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107mm rockets, and plastic explosives."—U.S. State Department Report on Terrorism, 2010[24]

• "We are proud and honored to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran gives us support and help."—Abu Ahmed, the spokesman for Islamic Jihad's armed wing, 2011[25]

“It will not be tolerable to a number of states in that region for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and them not to have a nuclear weapon.”
-President Obama, 2012[45]

• If international efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons fail, "we must, as a duty to our country and people, look into all options we are given, including obtaining these weapons ourselves."—Prince Turki al-Faisal, 2011[46]


• "We cannot live in a situation where Iran has nuclear weapons and we don't. It's as simple as that. … If Iran develops a nuclear weapon, that will be unacceptable to us and we will have to follow suit."—Senior Saudi Official close to Prince Turki al-Faisal, 2011[47]

• If Iran develop[s] nuclear weapons, "everyone in the region [will] do the same."—King Abdullah, 2008[48]

• Muslim nations "must possess [nuclear] weapons in order to strike terror in our enemies."—Yusuf al-Qaradawi, leading Muslim Brotherhood cleric, 2009[49]


• President "Mubarak said that Egypt might be forced to begin its own nuclear weapons program if Iran succeeds in those efforts."—Wikileaks, 2008[50]

“If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, I won't name the countries, but there are probably four or five countries in the Middle East who say, 'We are going to start a program, and we will have nuclear weapons.' And at that point, the prospect for miscalculation in a region that has that many tensions and fissures is profound. You essentially then duplicate the challenges of India and Pakistan fivefold or tenfold.”
-President Obama, 2012[51]

• "[I]n October 2011, senior leaders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force were implicated in a terrorist plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States on United States soil." —U.S. Senate Resolution 360, 2012[52]


• "Leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt referred to Iran as 'evil', an 'existential threat' and a power that 'is going to take us to war.'"—Wikileaks, 2010[53]


• "I believe [Ahmadinejad] is going to take us to war. ... It's a matter of time."—Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi, 2006[54]


• "The bottom line is that [Iran's leaders] cannot be trusted."—King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia, 2010[55]


• Iran's leaders "lie to us, and we lie to them,"—Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Jaber al-Thani of Qatar, 2010[56]

“Those nations that refuse to meet their obligations [under the NPT] will be isolated, and denied the opportunity that comes with international recognition. That includes accountability for those that break the rules—otherwise the NPT is just words on a page. That's why the United States and Russia are part of a coalition of nations insisting that the Islamic Republic of Iran face consequences, because they have continually failed to meet their obligations. … [W]e will not tolerate actions that flout the NPT, risk an arms race in a vital region, and threaten the credibility of the international community and our collective security.”
-President Obama, 2012[57]

Iran is currently in violation of six UN Security Council resolutions and numerous international human rights agreements.[58]

Iran is actively helping dictator Bashar al-Assad slaughter thousands of innocent civilians in Syria. —The Investigative Project, 2012[59]

• "Our nation's second important mission is introducing the Islamic Revolution to the entire mankind."—President Ahmadinejad, February 25, 2008[60]


• "Without a doubt, Iran's going nuclear will change the balance of power in the region … and a great part of the region will come under the moral influence of Iran's Islamic Revolution."—Sobh-e Sadeq (mouthpiece of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei among the Revolutionary Guards), 2007[61]


• "The Ahmadinejad regime aspires to expansion, hegemony, and a clear takeover on the ground, and to do this he needs a nuclear umbrella to protect him from deterrence by [any] superpower."—'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, director-general of the Saudi Al-Arabiya television news network, 2010[62]


• Iran "is like an octopus—it is rummaging around in Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Gaza, and Bahrain."—Bahraini army chief of staff Sheikh Maj.-Gen. Khalifa bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, 2008[63]

• "At the end of the day, we are an anti-American regime. America is our enemy, and we are the enemies of America."—Secretary of Iran's Guardian Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, 2007 [1]


• "Thanks to God, the countdown for the decline of America's demonic power has begun."—President Ahmadinejad, 2008 [2]

• "Israel is a cancerous tumor that must be removed, and God willing it will be,"—Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, 2012[1]


• "The U.S. president says that Israel's security is his red line. ...This red line drawn by Obama and people like him will be crossed by Muslim nations that have risen up."—Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, 2011[2]


• "Israel is a fraudulent, illegal and usurper regime. ... Therefore, any negotiation that acknowledges the existence of this regime is doomed to be illegal and unstable ... the language of force is the only means the occupiers of Qods and Palestine believe in."—The Office of the Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei [3]



Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"See what has become of Israel. They [the West] gathered the most criminal people in the world and stationed them in our region with lies and fabricated scenarios. Today, it is clear that Israel is the most hated regime in the world. … But whether they want it or not, with God's grace, this regime will be annihilated and Palestinians and other regional nations will be rid of its bad omen."—President Ahmadinejad, 2010 [4]

Government-Controlled Media
The "Israeli people must be annihilated. Residents of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa [and other urban areas] can be targeted by Shahab and Ghadr missiles until [the] final annihilation of [the] Israel[i] people. … In this report, we will offer [a] concise description of mid and long-range ballistic missiles that can target territories of this regional cancerous tumor i.e. Quds [Jerusalem] occupying regime."—Alireza Forghani, former governor of Kish Province, February 2012 [5] (part of an article that was published by multiple media outlets controlled by the Iranian regime)