Speech at the Graduation and Epaulette Ceremony at the Air University

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

For me, today, as I witness the faithful and proud youth of our nation in our beloved homeland successfully passing the highest stages of aviation knowledge and related sciences, and as we are independent from foreigners, it is a great celebration. For the Iranian nation, today and similar days are truly a festival and a celebration.

There was a time when Iranians, with all their outstanding national traits and their unparalleled cultural reserves, had to turn to the homes of the enemies of this nation and rely on others to pass these courses; those who did not care for the welfare of Iran and Iranians. Today, our pilots, our distinguished technical officers, and our excellent scholars in various fields needed by the Islamic Republic of Iran's army do not need to go to America and Europe or even to countries that do not have much advantage in terms of knowledge and where they used to go in the past. This is a victory. This victory, like other victories, stems from the great revolution of the Iranian nation and the self-confidence that this nation has gained under the shadow of this revolution and the demonstration of its deep faith.

Today, the Iranian nation, in the true sense of the word, is self-reliant and self-confident. The Iranian nation has realized that it can untie knots, open paths, remove obstacles, destroy barriers that hinder progress, and defend its dignity, religion, revolutionary and Islamic values, and its ancient historical and scientific honor. The Iranian nation did not achieve this easily. The armed forces have made great efforts in this path throughout the years of the imposed war and before that and up to today. The people's forces have always been behind the armed forces and, in many cases, alongside them, present in the forefront of danger. This means that our nation has collectively defended itself, its honor, its future, and its existence.

Today, you dear young people, while you are studying or graduating in this center of knowledge and learning to defend the country, the experience of the Iranian nation has been instructive for the world and for many weak nations. This is an example that you, despite the enemies who wanted to say you cannot do it yourselves, proved, and the professors, managers, and officials proved that they can train capable individuals for the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We must improve and advance day by day. There are many other examples available on a large scale and in the vast scope of the lives of these people.

Today, the nations of the world have learned from the proud and great nation of Iran not to be intimidated by the threats and intimidation of great powers. It was the Iranian nation that first shouted that global arrogance is hollow inside and has nothing but thunder and lightning, nothing but bluster, nothing but false displays of power. Our nation first shouted this, and our great Imam taught us and other nations. Today, nations see this through experience. Today, the arrogant power of America has shown that it is hollow inside. Before our nation said it and our revolution shouted it, the people of the world thought that if the power of America and other great powers pointed, nations, countries, and military forces around the world would dissolve and be destroyed at their signal! Today, the events of the Persian Gulf have shown that the superpowers have fabricated this lie to intimidate nations.

Whether America launches a military attack on Kuwait or not; whether this attack is long-term or short-term, it has already been defeated. A superpower that considers the whole world its own and considers the Persian Gulf as its own domain and has been wandering in the hot sands of Saudi Arabia for four months has already been defeated. No matter what event occurs, this defeat will not be compensated. To prove that America has been defeated in the events of the Persian Gulf, it is not necessary for anyone to wait for a military confrontation. This is a truth that our revolution, with power, confidence, faith, reliance on the infallible experiences of history, and the definite divine traditions, and reliance on its own experience, has said and it has been proven.

Another point is that the events of the Persian Gulf have proven to the most skeptical individuals of our nation—if such individuals exist among us—that we must strengthen our armed forces as much as possible, with quality and depth, and we will do this. The superpowers—and today specifically America—do not suffice with intervening around their own homes, in Grenada and Panama and the like; they have extended their intervention to distant regions like the Persian Gulf; although this was not their first time. The first time they conducted military intervention in these regions was in 1980 when American forces, by order of the Democratic president, attacked Tabas with the intention of reaching Tehran. Of course, their charred and blackened corpses returned from halfway!

It is strange! Our dear country and great nation and historical region are the laboratory of such great experiences. Incidentally, the first time Americans directly intervened in executing a military coup in a country was on August 19, 1953, when they directly orchestrated that disgraceful coup with money, agents, plans, and military and paramilitary forces in Tehran. Unfortunately, on that day, negligence led to the success of the American plot. But it ended, and the Islamic Revolution has closed the door on all these aggressions and insolences and wickedness towards Iran, and your courage and capabilities and the presence of the nation must keep this door closed forever. They came, and they included the Persian Gulf in their aggressions, interventions, and inappropriate and wrongful actions.

With this experience and other experiences, we need to strengthen the armed forces; strengthen with modern and advanced tools, strengthen with maintenance and self-sufficiency, strengthen with constructions within the military forces and the defense industries organization, strengthen with knowledge—what you are doing here—strengthen with continuous and ongoing experience and practice, strengthen with faith which is the support of all of them.

Preserve and strengthen your faith. Increase your Islamic commitment and devotion day by day. This will make you victorious. This will be a means for you to overcome the enemy. Your advanced tools are not more advanced than your enemy's; but this faith of yours will enable you to overcome the most advanced tools. Strengthen this within yourselves.

I congratulate the graduates and dear young people who officially received their epaulettes today and became military members of this university and will be our valuable officers in the future. I sincerely thank the commander, officials, and dear workers. As a drop from the vast ocean of the revolution and the great nation and also as a responsible person, I sincerely thank you for advancing the work well.

I honor the memory of our dear martyrs, especially our dear brother Martyr Major General Babaei—that brave, faithful, courageous, capable, and sincere young man—and Martyr Brigadier General Khazraei and other dear ones whose names I do not remember. I hope that all of them are gathered with the sacred spirits of the saints and with the pure spirit of our dear Imam and enjoy divine blessings.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings