Today, Jan. 31 or Bahman 12 in the Iranian calendar, marks the 22nd anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini's return home after some 15 years of living in exile. From a broader perspective, it marks the anniversary of a day that turned out to be a turning point in the history of Iran and the cornerstone of a new era characterized by the sovereignty, independence and self-determination of the Iranian nation.

Shortly after his return, the late Imam led the Islamic Revolution to victory and put an end to some 2,500 years of despotic monarchy as well as the foreign influence in this country.

The fact is that foreign influence and interference in Iran increased in the past two centuries due to the weakness, incompetence and submissiveness of the Qajar and Pahlavi kings.

During the World War I and II, Britain and Russia openly interfered in Iran's internal affairs. Then in the early 1950s, the U.S., which had emerged as a new superpower following the World War II, started hatching plots against the Iranian people aimed at undermining their sovereignty and plundering their national wealth.

In 1953, the United States, in coordination with Britain, engineered a coup against the government of prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq and paved the way for restoration of dictatorship and return of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had fled the country to Italy. This was because the U.S. and Britain knew that their interests would be served under a despotic imperial rule, not a democratic government, in this country.

The late Imam Khomenei launched his Islamic movement against the Pahlavi regime in early 1960s in protest against the dictatorship and the foreign influence and interference in this country. Consequently, the former regime sent the late Imam into exile at the behest of the United States, which was pulling the strings of the regime in Tehran. When this was done, the then U.S. ambassador in Tehran wrote a letter to Washington and expressed happiness with the sending of the late Imam Khomeini into exile, saying that "Washington can now freely implement its policies in Iran without any objections."

However, the founder of the Islamic Republic led the Islamic Revolution even from exile, and upon his return home, he received an unprecedented welcome from the Iranian people. Just a few hours after his arrival, the Imam announced that he would put the kind of government in Iran to a referendum. The result was that some 97 percent of the Iranians voted for the Islamic Republic.

Today, some 22 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iran is stronger than any other time in its 2,500 year history, enjoying full independence, sovereignty and self-determination.