Imam Khomeini had a special regard for his mentor and would often refer to his opinions, ways and methods. On the subject of establishing the Islamic regime and its importance he opined that if his mentor the late (Ayatollah) Haeri (founder of the Qum Theological Seminary) had been alive, he would have seized the opportunity to set up the Islamic regime.
The Imam remarked that, “If the late Hajj Sheikh (Ayatollah Abd ul-Karim Haeri) had been alive he would have done the same thing that I did” and that founding the Qum Theological Seminary was no less (in importance) than establishing the Islamic Republic in Iran.
Source: Howzeh Journal, vol. 6