Hossein Khomeini traveled from Homeland to Iraq and from Iraq to the United States of America in 2004 (2004 AD), after the US military attack on Iraq, and met with some leaders of the right-wing opposition of the Islamic Republic. In Iraq, he has made similar statements to the Hojjatiyah Association: “My most important demand is the separation of religion from the government, because no one can take over the government in the name of God and Islam until the time of the 12th Imam.
During the early 2000s, Hussein Khomeini spent time in Najaf, Iraq, where he gave several interviews to international media. In one widely discussed statement, he expressed that “freedom must come to Iran, no matter how — through internal reform or external intervention.” This remark was interpreted by some as a call for foreign involvement in politics, provoking outrage among hardliners in Tehran. His criticisms of the regime and of Velayat-e Faqih led to increasing pressure from Iranian authorities.
