Hamid Reza Asefi:

The message to Gorbachev was a sign of Imam’s power

This letter has different dimensions which we could speak about it; philosophical, religious and cultural dimensions which are all notable, but about the political dimension of the message; we should consider that in the situation which the message was sent no one could have thought or predicted about the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Imam had done it, and this shows that if any one wants to view the situation with out considering the developments of time he has too have a inspirational point of view.

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.

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.

Gorbachev and Imam Khomeini

Gorbachev: “I’m sorry! I should have listened to Imam’s message”

In 1999, on the anniversary of the death of Imam Khomeini’s demise, in an interview with the IRIB News Agency in Moscow, Gorbachev regretted ignoring the Imam’s warnings three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union and said: “I think Imam Khomeini’s message addressed all the ages throughout history.” He also added: “When I received this message, I felt the person who wrote it was thoughtful and cared about the situation of the world. By studying the letter, I realized that he was someone who was worried about the world and wanted me to understand more about the Islamic revolution.”

The attack on Faydhiah School

Residence in Tehran