Statements of the Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces at the Air Force Graduation Ceremony at Shahid Satari Air University

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I sincerely congratulate all the dear ones who are graduating today and the precious youth who are beginning their scientific and educational work with their epaulettes. I also congratulate the officials of this university who see the fruits of their efforts and planning in your faces. Furthermore, I congratulate the nineteenth of Bahman, which is a significant day for the Air Force and the entire Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and I send my greetings to the illustrious martyrs of the Air Force - Martyr Satari, Martyr Babaei, and others - who each became a star in the sky of this country's memories and have remained in the history of this nation.

If we analyze the events of the nineteenth of Bahman and the movement that the Air Force undertook, we can observe many meanings in this movement and on this day. That day, in fact, the army came and placed itself in the front lines of the nation; with the same goals, with the same aspirations, with the same motivations, and with the same methods. The nation was suffering; the revolution was a great movement that this great nation undertook to alleviate suffering and build a future. The nation was suffering from the black dictatorship and despotism that ruled this country. Firstly, this was a requirement of monarchy; because the monarchical system is one of ownership and domination, and it plunges its claws of power into every aspect of a nation's life, which is very difficult to endure. Secondly, that tyrannical dynasty intertwined this despotism and autocracy with moral corruption and the worst of all, with the complete submission of this country and this nation to foreigners and enemies. The nation was suffering from this.

When a nation is under the cultural, political, economic, and military domination of a foreign power, it does not find the opportunity to grow and move towards its aspirations. Every living being wants to grow. If you want to prevent the growth of a plant, it will break the container you have created around it and will break through the stone to grow. A human being and a nation are the same. The way that the powerful have devised to eliminate this feeling and motivation in a nation is through numbing, indifference, and sedating the nations. This was what the corrupt and immoral Pahlavi regime did, using all possible tools at its disposal: numbing, making indifferent, distracting, drowning in illusions, and of course sometimes showing off with appearances and ceremonies. That day, the army was afflicted by this calamity; the army could not endure it and broke through the shell. The arrival of the youth of the Air Force on such a day - at Alavi School - where I was present and witnessed that fervor and enthusiasm up close - was the breaking of that shell.

They were hollowing out the army from within. They provided the army with appearances and ceremonies and superficial glories only to the extent that it served their interests and related to their own apparent glory; but knowledge, technology, research, construction, and production? Absolutely not! The Air Force being able to point to a tool and say, "I have created this, and my children have made it from their own thoughts," was absolutely not the case; they were not allowed. A person is still a person; the youth of the Air Force back then, in terms of talent and quality, were like the youth of today’s Air Force; but they were not allowed. Education was within a specific framework and in a defined environment in a foreign country; orders, standards, and methods - not only in the military domain but also in the fields of culture and beliefs - were influenced by and in the hands of foreigners. They would provide them with a few tools! An army that is given a tool, but if a piece of that tool is displaced or broken, it cannot use it, what kind of army is that, and how independent can it be? This was the situation. At that time, it was not about whether the Iranian army could utilize its own production and research; absolutely not. It was not even about whether it could properly identify the aircraft or radar or modern electronic device that was provided to it! They were not even allowed that. This is the stone and barrier that seeks to prevent the growth of a being. As long as this being is numb and indifferent, this barrier exists, and when it awakens, that is when it breaks the barriers and removes the obstacles. This happened, and the army placed itself in the front lines of the Iranian nation.

The Iranian nation broke the barriers and removed the veils that had been placed before it to prevent it from understanding the truth. What awakened it was the remembrance of God, the name of God, the name of Islam, the warm breath of that divine and godly man, the revival of the lofty ideals and goals of Islam, and the bright horizon of the future; and this very promising path opened up before it. The armed forces, the army, the Revolutionary Guard, and various segments of the nation have, over these twenty years - truly and fairly - passed a successful test. Today, the Iranian nation stands proud before history.

You know that this past twentieth century was the century of revolutions. From the second decade of this century - or even from the first decade of this century - social and political revolutions began, continuing until the very end. Among the dozens of events that were either real revolutions or were called revolutions - there were coups that were labeled as revolutions - I do not find any nation like the Iranian nation that has so consciously, idealistically, courageously, and so awake and up-to-date defended its path, work, and ideals. This is unique to you. This is not exaggeration or flattery; it is a reality. Anyone who has knowledge of the past hundred years will testify that the Iranian nation is a great nation, a courageous nation, and a nation worthy of pride, growth, and progress. Likewise, if someone is informed, they know that no nation or revolution has faced such savage, brutal, and morally disgraceful treatment from its enemies as this nation and revolution have; yet they treated us this way. We removed these obstacles from our path and moved forward. Today, the army is an advanced, aware, knowledgeable, research-oriented, and productive army. Today, the army is a righteous army. Today, among the army, there are faithful youth, righteous individuals, self-sacrificing, courageous, and a source of pride - when any nation sees its armed forces like this, it feels joy. The corruptions, humiliations, and enslavements that one sees and hears about in many other places, thanks be to God, are either absent or very minimal in this army and in these armed forces.

Dear youth! Dear commanders! Do not let this state be lost. Wherever you are - whether in the Air Force, the Ground Force, the Navy, or in other armed organizations, in the Revolutionary Guards, in the police forces, and elsewhere - do not let this state of purity and sanctity, which has been unprecedentedly created in our armed forces, be tarnished; do not let it. Preserve it at any cost; especially you young people who are present in academic centers and your teachers and commanders. Be vigilant, and increase this purity and radiance day by day. The knots of this nation will be untied in this way, and you will reach your goals, and this nation will stand tall. No great aspiration is attainable except in the shadow of patience, perseverance, diligence, attention, reliance on God, and purity from the burdensome impurities. If you analyze these summaries that are made in the world regarding advancements and setbacks, you will see that this is the truth. Wherever any group has achieved a great goal, these things have been necessary: diligence, perseverance, and removing the burdens of everyday life. In collective work, one should not become immersed in these things - which are very good and necessary for individual life; but when it comes to ideals, they become "obstacles".

I hope that God Almighty grants you success. I certainly see many of my aspirations fulfilled in the Air Force; but let me tell you, there are many other aspirations that must be fulfilled by you. These are not personal aspirations; these are the aspirations of this nation, indeed the aspirations of each and every honorable member of the armed forces. You have much work to do and must strive hard. Do not lose sight of diligence and the path of God; move forward. God willing, every time one observes this place, just as it is now, it will be seen as better, more liberated, more advanced, more glorious, and richer in meaning than previous times.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.