“Ever since the emergence of the cancerous tumor of Zionism in Palestine, the Western countries have been acting in collusion with the Zionist regime. In other words, Israel has been tasked with protecting the regional interests of the Western powers by posing a constant threat to the security of the Islamic countries in the region. And the Western countries, in return, have pledged to fully support this cancerous tumor. Today, it is the United States that is playing a major role in supporting the Zionist entity.” “Leader's Statements in a Meeting with Participants in IWMC,” The Center for preserving and Publishing the Works of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, January 31, 2002, http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=31.