Why did Iran transform itself into an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini? Well, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki, “The late imam had repeatedly made it clear from the early days of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that one of the objectives of the revolution is to oppose the Zionist regime and help the Palestinian nation.”

In other words, one of the major reasons that Iran even exists in its current form is to fight Israel. In case he felt he was being unclear, Mottaki reiterated his statement by saying, “One of the major reasons for the late imam’s opposition to the former shah’s regime was its support for the Zionist regime.”

Mottaki’s commentary on the purpose of the 1979 Iranian Revolution was given to a group of Iranian and foreign scholars on Sunday as a part of a conference honoring the legacy of Ayatollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khomeini’s revolution transformed Iran from one of the most peaceful regimes in the Middle East into the world’s number-one state sponsor of terror. This conference gave Iranian leaders and Islamic scholars a chance to publicly re-pledge themselves to Khomeini’s cause.

While speaking to a gathering of foreign guests at this conference on Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “You should know that the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime, which has 60 years of plundering, aggression and crimes in its file, has reached the end of its work and will soon disappear off the geographical scene” (emphasis ours). He then added, in reference to the United States, “The bell on the countdown of the destruction of the empire of power and wealth has begun to ring.”

These comments by the Iranian president should clear up any confusion. If Western politicians and political commentators are still wondering exactly what Ahmadinejad meant in 2005 when he said that Israel should be “wiped off the map,” he is now making himself doubly clear.

Khomeini once said, “Establishing the Islamic state worldwide belong to the great goals of the revolution.” and “We will export our revolution throughout the world.” After 29 years, the Iranian mullahs are more committed than ever to the destruction of Israel, the destruction of America, and the establishment of a worldwide Islamic caliphate. They tell the world as much. Yet world leaders still persistently treat the Iranians as if it’s all just for show.

Iranian-backed revolutionaries have already conquered the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Revolutionary Islamist activities in Iraq and Egypt stand ready to bring both of those countries into the Iranian sphere as soon as the moment is right. Israel is surrounded, and Ahmadinejad says it is about to “disappear off the geographical scene.”

Are we going to have to see war before our Western leaders acknowledge the Islamist threat? For information on the consequences of nuclear-armed Iranian revolutionaries on the world scene, read “Nuclear Iran Means Nuclear War.”