Your Excellency's message expressing anxiety over the worsening of the relations between the Moslem country of Iran and the United States has been received. I appreciate Your Excellency's good will and draw your respected attention to the point that our militant, noble nation took such cutting-off of relations as a good omen and celebrated it with rejoicing and illuminations. I thank you for your prayers to Almighty God for our militant people, but should mention that Your Excellency should not be worried about the greater and more dangerous problems mentioned in your message, because the Moslem nation of Iran welcomes the problems which may result from the cutting-off of relations and is not afraid of those greater dangers.

That day will be dangerous for our people on which relations such as those existing during the former treacherous regime are re-established, but God willing they will not be re-established. I want Your Excellency, in view of the spiritual influence you have among Christian people, to warn the U.S. government of the consequences of its tyrannies, its imposition of force and its plundering, and advise Mr. Carter, who will be confronted with defeat, to treat the nations which want absolute independence and do not want to be affiliated with any power in the world, according to humane criteria, to follow the teachings of Christ (may God's blessings be on him) and not expose himself and the U.S. government to further scandal.
 

I pray to Almighty God for the prosperity of the oppressed of the world and hope they may be freed form the hands of the oppressors.
 

Ruhollah Al-Musavi Al-Khomeini

April 16, 1980