The day Ayatollah Khamenei called the representatives in the sixth parliament who were considering negotiations with America traitors and dishonorable.

The video relates to Ayatollah Khamenei's speech on May 21, 2002, during a meeting with a group of war veterans and the families of martyrs.

In his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed strong reactions upon learning about meetings among some members of the sixth parliament discussing ways to negotiate with the United States. The leader of the Islamic Republic explicitly used terms like "traitor" and "unpatriotic."

Here are his exact words:

"Of course, we officials must fulfill our responsibilities; the government, the judiciary, and the parliament must carry out their duties. Anyone who shirks their main duty today and busies themselves with other matters, avoiding their responsibilities, is committing treachery and will face eternal damnation.

We officials must keep the Islamic spirit alive within us; we must cast aside elitism and free ourselves from greed, the pursuit of personal interests, and materialism. If some of our problems remain unresolved, it is because of these issues; we must correct them.

Some bind themselves with ties and create knots that prevent them from being useful to this nation and its ideals, and then they blame Islam, the Islamic system, and Islamic laws. What greater dishonor is there? Some feel weak in their hearts, or they are intimidated by the threats from the U.S., or they are drawn to the promises made by America; thus, they lean towards the U.S.

Then they accuse the faithful youth and sincere managers of this country of being incapable, leading them to believe that we must submit to America! Those who talk about negotiating with the U.S. either know nothing about the basics of politics or they lack the basic sense of honor; it is one of the two. When the enemy frowns in such a way, speaks arrogantly, and insults the Iranian nation, explicitly stating that they want to act against this system, some here shamefully and submissively say: What should we do? Should we go, not go, get closer, talk to them, request, or plead?

This is an insult to the dignity and honor of the Iranian people; it shows a lack of honor and is not true statesmanship. They try to give their actions a political veneer, but this is, in fact, completely against political understanding.

The Iranian nation has ideals and objectives that anyone in the world who respects these objectives and recognizes the Islamic Republic has been treated equally in negotiations and dealings. We have had relations with the Soviet Union, Europe, and the whole world. The issue with the U.S. is that they do not accept our Islamic and national identity and openly state this. Why do some so-called political thinkers not understand this?

It is truly regrettable. A government that explicitly states it wants to act against the Islamic system and the wishes of the Iranian nation and allocates a budget for the overthrow of this system—engaging in communication and negotiation with it is both treachery and folly