Statements in Meeting with Commanders and Personnel of the Air Force

On the occasion of Air Force Day; at the Hosseiniyeh of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, and upon his most virtuous and pure descendants, especially the Awaited One on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers, hardworking and active personnel of the Islamic Republic Air Force; the occasion is truly one that brings honor to the Islamic Republic Air Force. I thank the choir group for their excellent performance and the profound and meaningful poem they recited.

Well, we have been discussing the very important event of the 19th of Bahman in 1979 for many years, but the topic is truly inexhaustible; much has been said, yet there are still more things to say. As the poet says: "One can speak of the beloved's tresses for a lifetime." The event of the 19th of Bahman in 1979 was a decisive incident. The Air Force, during the reign of the tyrannical regime, was, in fact, the closest part of the army to the tyrannical apparatus and the political system dependent on America. None of the other branches of the army were as trusted, relied upon, and hoped for by the tyrannical regime as the Air Force was. It was from this very branch that the tyrannical regime received a crushing blow; this crushing blow is meant in the truest sense of the word; that is, the army, with the order they had established, with the atmosphere they had created for the army, suddenly a group of personnel from this very army - from that sensitive Air Force branch that was so trusted by them - came to pledge allegiance to the Imam of the Revolution, to the leader of the Revolution; not secretly, but openly, in broad daylight, raising their identification cards above their heads! I was there; in Iran Street, as they were heading towards the school where the Imam resided, they moved in groups - like platoons - one after the other, chanting slogans and holding their identification cards above their heads; it was a very strange incident; it was indeed the embodiment of this noble verse: "So God came to them from where they did not expect." They were struck from a place that did not fit into the calculations of the tyrannical regime; in their calculations, they could have anticipated everything, except for this one; and it was precisely this one, the most distant possibility, that occurred; that is, the Air Force of the army at that time, with its dependent commander, with its various dependencies - with its numerous instrumental, equipment, and training dependencies, etc. - suddenly came and stood alongside the people, pledging allegiance to the Imam and the leader of the Revolution; this was a remarkable blow; they had no expectation of it. We also did not expect it; that is, the revolutionaries and the believers on this side of the line did not have such an expectation either. This was, in fact, an unanticipated provision: "And whoever fears God, He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect." Sometimes a help, a support, a breath, a blood reaches a person from a place that he never imagined and does not fit into his calculations. For this front, too, it was an unanticipated provision. We did not calculate it; that is, it did not even occur to any of us - the Iranian nation and the fighters and revolutionaries and Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) - that such individuals might come forth from within the army. Of course, before that, I had friendly close communications with very few elements of the army in Mashhad and knew they were aligned with us; some others were in Tehran within the army who had connections with some friends - these were there - but that such a group would rise with this massive and visible movement was truly an unanticipated provision; it was beyond calculation.

Well, let us take a lesson here: always keep the unanticipated provision in your calculations in a general sense. It is true that rational and material calculations are influential; there is no doubt about it, and they are necessary - no teaching of Islam tells us not to make rational calculations, not to engage in intellectual and material calculations; no, one must certainly calculate - but also leave a space for calculations beyond material issues; beyond what human reason can reach; this is the unanticipated provision; this is what has not been calculated and comes to us; this exists in all our calculations; in all the works of the believers' front, this must be observed and kept in mind and anticipated. In prayer, we read: "O He who, when matters become tight, opens a door that the imaginations have not gone to." When matters become entangled, when, according to appearances, a deadlock arises, sometimes the Almighty God opens a way from a corner of this deadlock that - the imaginations have not gone to - human thought and imagination have never reached; such a thing exists. One example is the imposed war.

The imposed war began while we were, in terms of resources, in terms of the number of forces, in terms of organization and structure, very far from that aggressor - the Ba'athist regime of Saddam - he was prepared, his equipment was organized, his organization was solid, his divisions were known, both his air and ground forces were ready, his defenses, his supports, his engineering, [various parts] and everything was ready, [but] we had problems in all these matters; we had problems in equipment, we had problems in human resources, we had problems in engineering, we had problems in support, we had problems in tools and organization. Once, in this very meeting of the 19th of Bahman, I said that on that day, our Air Force commander brought me a list of usable aircraft, saying that within a maximum of seventeen or eighteen days, all our flying machines would cease to operate and would be finished, because they needed parts; the last one was the C-130. In those early days, the first, second, and third days, the F-5, F-4, and F-14 would gradually be phased out, for example, what remained for fifteen or twenty days was the C-130 aircraft - these were transport aircraft - that we had a number of. On that day, we imagined it this way; but "He opened a door," our Air Force remained active until the end of the war, it worked, it labored. "He opened a door that the imaginations have not gone to" means this; keep this in your calculations always. If we are believers, if we operate under the grace of reliance on God and hope in God, then this door will be opened for us; not that we should suspend rationality, not that we should set aside material calculations; no, all of these are necessary and we always emphasize them, but alongside this, leave a space for divine assistance; if we are indeed people of reliance on God, people of hope in God. In these 37, 38 years since the beginning of the revolution, it has always been like this, and we have always witnessed divine assistance. Now, let me say a few sentences about the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran before returning to this discussion.

The Air Force has also passed good tests after this incident; as I reflect back in my mind; in the coup attempt that was arranged before the start of the imposed war - composed of elements from the Air Force and ground forces and civilians, etc. - the one who was the primary cause for thwarting this operation was an Air Force officer; a pilot! He came to me and informed me of the situation, the apparatus was alerted and prepared; a massive movement that was to take shape at Shahid Nojeh Air Base in Hamadan and spread from there to Tehran and other places was thwarted by an Air Force element; I will never forget this; the system does not forget this kindness, this help, this great service.

The first place where the jihad of manufacturing parts in the army began - where they started to build - was the Air Force; before that, there was no manufacturing in the Air Force; they did not even allow our technical elements to recognize complex and composite parts. In the Air Force, the jihad of building parts with the very title of "jihad" came into existence; they truly undertook a jihadist movement. The first place was the Air Force; later, of course, the other branches of the army also began this work, but the initiation of this work and the innovation of this work was with the Air Force.

From the very first day of the imposed war, it was the flights of the Air Force that gave the nation morale. At that time, I was a member of parliament, [when] I went to the parliament and reported the number of operational sorties they had made, everyone was astonished; such movement, with this magnitude! The news spread, and throughout the country, people felt it. Over time, it was the same; in various operations that both the army and the IRGC carried out - especially in significant operations like Valfajr 8 and Karbala 5 and similar ones where important and great works were accomplished - the role of the Air Force was a decisive one. May God's mercy be upon martyr Sattari, who at that time was an air defense officer; he carried out the air defense in Valfajr 8 with such speed and seriousness that everyone was astonished, the enemy was astonished too; [because they managed to] shoot down so many planes! The Air Force is a reputable force. After that, you have worked until now. And work, dear youth! Work, strive, think, act, take action, fill the gaps, strengthen the managements, increase construction in the Air Force as much as you can. I know your constraints - your constraints are the constraints of the country - fill these constraints and gaps with your high human effort, with your knowledge, with your piety, with your hope and reliance on divine grace; and it can be filled, just as many of these works have been accomplished until today.

Well, this role of hope and reliance on the Almighty God brings about unanticipated provisions; where is this? When a person, under reliance on God and hope in the Almighty God, employs rationality. If it is the other way around, no; if we want to employ rationality under the shadow of trust in the devils, it will be different there. The Quranic verse in Surah An-Nur states, "Their deeds are like a mirage in a plain; the thirsty thinks it is water; but when he comes close, he finds nothing, and finds God with him." Hope in the devils is this; hope in material and satanic powers is this. Rationality and prudence and wise functioning in various matters - in diplomacy, in national issues, in domestic administration, in equipment, in science, in industry, and so on - is necessary, but trusting the devils, trusting someone who opposes your very existence is a great mistake. One cannot trust that power which cannot tolerate the very existence of the Islamic Republic, which cannot accept the very rise of Islam; one cannot trust him; one cannot hope for him; "like a mirage in a plain; the thirsty thinks it is water"; if you rely on God, the unanticipated provision exists; if we trust the devil, it will be "like a mirage in a plain; the thirsty thinks it is water"; this is a statement that each and every one of us must always keep in mind; every single Iranian must keep this in mind. Strive, work, innovate, bring forth your true God-given power, bring it to the field, with reliance on God, with hope for divine assistance, then God will help. But if you sit waiting for the devil - the greatest devil - to come and help, then it will be the same "like a mirage in a plain; the thirsty thinks it is water"; no good will come from him to us.

Now this gentleman who has just come to power in the United States says you should be thankful to America, be thankful to the Obama administration! Why should we be thankful? We are not thankful at all; [he was also] in the same apparatus that imposed these heavy sanctions with the intention of paralyzing the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation; their hope was to paralyze us. Of course, they did not achieve this hope and they never will, and no enemy can paralyze Iran. He says be thankful; no, we are not thankful at all. Why should we be thankful? For the sanctions? For creating ISIS? For setting the region on fire? They set Syria on fire, they set Iraq on fire; why should we be thankful? For supporting the sedition of the elections in 2009 in the country? On one side, he writes me a letter expressing affection and cooperation, and on the other side, he openly and explicitly supports the seditionists and says we stand behind you and are pursuing sedition in the country; the face of hypocrisy [is this]; the same velvet glove that was drawn over the iron fist, which I have said many times. We do not express gratitude. We know what they were doing; we understand what they were doing; this one says be thankful to him, and fear me! No, we do not fear you either. On the 22nd of Bahman, the people will respond to these threats and words in the streets; they will show what position the Iranian nation takes in the face of threats. No, we do not fear anyone's threats. Yes, we are thankful to this gentleman who has just come; our gratitude is because he has reduced our burden and revealed the true face of America. What we have been saying for over thirty years about political corruption, economic corruption, moral corruption, social corruption in the ruling apparatus of America, this gentleman came during the election and after the election and made it public and naked. Now, with the actions he is taking, he is showing what the truth of America is, what American human rights mean; they put handcuffs on a five-year-old child! This is their human rights.

The Iranian nation has found its path; the Iranian nation is advancing its movement with logic and rationality and reliance on God, with power, with speed, with self-confidence, and is traversing this path. Today, the Iranian nation is confident in itself; our youth work with self-confidence; our academic institutions, our university collections are filled and overflowing with thought and innovation that is taking place today in the field of science; in the field of construction, it is the same; in various fields, it is the same; rationality is taking the lead in the country, but with reliance on the Almighty God, with trust in the Almighty God. We know that the Iranian nation will certainly succeed in this path and will reach its desired results, its desired ideals.

May God's mercy be upon Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who clarified the truths regarding these matters for the Iranian nation during his blessed ten years of life at the beginning of the revolution. Look at the statements of the Imam; the Imam recognized both the friend and the enemy, and recognized the Iranian nation; [he also recognized] the goals. The fact that the Imam repeatedly emphasizes, insists that we should not trust the devil, not trust the enemy, warns us against trusting the enemy, is due to his understanding of the enemy. Of course, we used to say these things; today these words are on display, on the scene, everyone is seeing this; the behaviors of this gentleman are showing what the truth of America is and how it is, and what the essence of these words regarding human rights and human friendship and so on is; this is what we can derive from these moments and from reflecting on the Imam's statements.

I hope that the Lord of the worlds grants you success, you young people, God willing, be prepared to accomplish the great task that is upon you. Your generation must accomplish great things; the previous generation accomplished important works, and many important tasks remain that you must undertake. God willing, prepare yourselves with reliance on the Almighty God and pass this trust on to the generations after you.

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