25th Death Anniversary of Ruhollah Khomeini (13930314 4526610)

America can't do a damn thing against us ( fa, آمریکا هیچ غلطی نمی‌تواند بکند) is a slogan originally used by the former

Supreme Leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...

, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

, for the first time to assure the Iranians that the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

would not be able to restore the ousted

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

back to the Iranian throne. The statement then became an unofficial slogan for the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

which resulted in the establishment of an Islamic Republic under Khomeini's rule.

Application

Responding to Iran's request for extradition of the

Muhammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

, provided for the Shah's travel plans to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. By doing so, Carter sought to eliminate the possibility of the extradition in exchange for hostages who were held by the revolutionary Iran for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981) after a group of Iranian revolutionary students affiliated with

Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line ( fa, دانشجویان مسلمان پیرو خط امام ''Dânešjuyân-e Mosalmân-e peyrov-e Xatt-e Emâm''), also called the Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an Iranian student g ...

broke into and entered the Embassy of the United States of America in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, and took its diplomatic staff hostage. This, in turn, had been an action in response to the US offering political asylum to the Shah. A week after the incident, the sheets and finances of Iran were confiscated by US. Yet, in spite of what were deemed by Iran to be international threats, there was still the possibility of holding trials for alleged American spies, and the reaction of Ayatollah Khomeini against the threat of Carter published regularly by international media, was the slogan "America can't do a damn thing against us." The slogan appeared on many walls and banners such as a billboard along the Iran-Iraq border, and a banner which was hung in front of the U.S captured RQ-170 drone. The slogan was also used by Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor, or alluded to in varied form. It was also used by some other Iranian officials.

References

External links

The lecture of Ayatollah Khomeini in which he used the slogan for the first time
{{Iran–United States relations Iran–United States relations Iran hostage crisis Political catchphrases Political quotes Slogans 1979 neologisms Anti-Americanism Political terminology of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini