Statements on Meeting with Commanders and Personnel of the Army on the Occasion of Army Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran

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 and virtuous family, and upon his infallible descendants, especially the Awaited Savior on earth.

Happy Army Day; Happy New Year; Happy the Day of the Ascension on the twenty-seventh of Rajab and the birthday of the Commander on the thirteenth of Rajab to you and also to your esteemed families, your children, and your spouses, who are indeed your comrades in the difficult arenas of life, where a soldier's life is truly filled with hardships, pressures, and struggles. Your spouses and children, who empathize and accompany you in such conditions, are truly your comrades and fellow warriors.

One of the best and most intelligent actions of our dear Imam was the designation of Army Day; this act not only strengthened the foundation of the army but also solidified its roots in this land, discouraging many conspirators and dreamers who had other thoughts. The designation of Army Day by the Imam meant that the revolution and the Islamic Republic accept and endorse the army with this identity and this set of characteristics. Well, that identity was worth contemplating in terms of anthropology, human science, and organizational science; it meant a Muslim and faithful body like the rest of the people and an uncertain head with occasional flaws within the organization. However, the Imam designated Army Day to neutralize any conspiracy regarding the armed forces and the Islamic Republic army; it meant that I accept this army with its characteristics, and the Islamic system accepts it too. Now, I have spoken privately with the Imam (may God be pleased with him) dozens of times about the specifics of the army—either one-on-one or in the presence of others—and I know this was the Imam's heartfelt and profound thought that the army must be supported, preserved, and strengthened, which was indeed a correct thought.

This army shone in all the events after the revolution; now, if one wants to recount some of these events one by one, it becomes difficult. For example, against the internal conspiracies, the army stood firm more than anyone else; this is very important. There were many—there still are—who want to create disruptions from within in organizations affiliated with the Islamic Republic; well, it was even more so back then; both the motivations and efforts were greater. They wanted to create problems for the army from within; that is, to create an identity incompatible with the Islamic system from the army; some wanted to do this. The one who faced and countered this motivation and disruption the most was the army itself! No external force—whether intelligence or military—could confront such a conspiracy against the armed forces; the army itself could, and the army stood firm. Now, this is one example; there are many such instances.

The experience of the army during the Sacred Defense was indeed a proud experience. I say this to you because I witnessed it closely. Many of you are young and did not experience that era—or were not in the army; some of you were not even born then—we saw it up close; the army played good roles and showed good manifestations; now, apart from playing roles in the field of battle and military operations, it showed sweet things. For example, if I may say, individuals from the army demonstrated that they are at high levels of spirituality and ethics; they practically showed this. Well, in terms of words, we all speak; I too, who speak so much about God, the Resurrection, Heaven, and Hell, must be tested in times of incidents, experienced, and seen how much I truly fear God, how much I take into account, how much I fear Hell; this is it; it must be observed in practice.

We had and have individuals in the army who have shown in practice that they are at high levels of spirituality; one of them is the late Sayyad Shirazi, another is the late Babayi. We have many such individuals; now, I mentioned these well-known and famous names; we have many like them. I have seen examples of them in Ahvaz, where we were for a while, and observed them closely. I have often said that it was midnight, and I was visiting a unit in Ahvaz—which had the capacity of no more than a battalion—next to a tank, a soldier responsible for the tank was standing and praying the midnight prayer. Who would think of this in that desert, in that cold weather; it was midnight, in the middle of winter, standing and praying the midnight prayer. At that time, the discussions that are now common, the tears, and the Basij children had not yet become widespread, which we saw up close. Or there was a lieutenant colonel or a second lieutenant who came to me with a feeling of emotion and close to tears, and I thought he wanted to request leave from me; for example, he was worried and wanted to take leave and leave Ahvaz. He came and his request was that you do something so that at night when these volunteer youths go with Mr. Chamran for what they call tank hunting, I can go with them too. Can you imagine that? A senior officer—now I don't remember his exact rank; let’s say he was a second lieutenant, around that level—comes and voluntarily wants to cooperate with the Basij youths who have come from Tehran and want to go at night in the darkness or using the darkness to strike pinpoint blows against the enemy—this was how it was, in the early days of the war.

Well, the army showed its identity. I want to convey to you that today our army is a thoughtful army, a spiritual army, and an army with pure and sacred motivations; this is very valuable. If you look at the military forces of many countries, you see that savagery and brutality seem to be part of their essence. A military force that is expected to behave in such a manner can cultivate ethical individuals, pure individuals, noble individuals, and faithful youths with pure motivations among themselves; this is very valuable, which we are witnessing today. This, in my opinion, is one of the most important outcomes of the work that the esteemed Imam did in designating Army Day.

Well, my message to all members of the army is to appreciate this position, to recognize the value of serving in this way. You are serving in a combat organization, you are actively present, and God Almighty records this as a good deed for you; this is very valuable, appreciate this; maintain this state. Increase your spiritual, mental, and motivational readiness day by day, as well as that of your subordinates.

Security is very important for a country. Sometimes in a country, there is no bread, there is famine, there are problems, and there is insecurity; if you ask the people whether they want bread or security, they will certainly prefer security; that is, the very thing that the interventions of the superpowers in our region and many other regions have caused to weaken. For example, suppose a bus is moving from one place to another; it is not certain that the residents and those on board can safely reach their destination and not be attacked by the enemy; in the streets, it is the same, inside homes, it is the same; these are important. Security is very important. The role of the armed forces in establishing security is a significant role. The army may not have any movement in terms of security, but the more powerful and stronger you are, the very essence of the army's power creates security in the country. The security of the country is provided by the armed forces and their power and capabilities and their motivation. This is one of the important issues.

My message to all military personnel is to increase these capabilities as much as they can; everyone, wherever they are. Even a simple guard who has a guard post can be effective in strengthening the army. That is, when he guards well, does not become lethargic, and keeps his eyes sharp where they need to be, he is helping to strengthen the armed organization; whether it is the army, the IRGC, or any other organization; up to the commanders, up to the builders, up to the maintainers, up to the warehouse keepers, up to the producers, and up to the planners and strategists and the like. All of these can have an impact on strengthening the military organization. Therefore, appreciate this that each of you, in any movement you make in this direction, has done something in accordance with God's pleasure and has performed a good deed.

And increase the prominent individuals who can be role models among yourselves; that is, everyone should strive. Indeed, martyr Babayi is a role model; a model of ethics and not merely a military model, a sacred human being; martyr Sayyad is the same; and many others among those whose names some people do not even remember and some we do not even know, have existed and been present in the army. Increase these examples day by day within this great and respected organization that has material and spiritual glory.

Well, it has been said that [the armies] are the secure fortress; the fortresses of the people. This important point is to know that the fortress of the people and the fortress of the people are not only the armed forces; the armed forces are among the most important fortresses of the people's security; this is also by God's permission; for the soldiers, by God's permission, are the fortresses of the people. Various organizations can all work alongside and in harmony with the army; economic organizations, cultural organizations, educational organizations, research organizations; the whole country. What we expect from various organizations is the same; everyone should strive to act like a fortress and a guard against the enemy's attacks for their country and their nation, to work, to be active; whether it is the economic sector, the cultural sector, the scientific and research sectors, or the military sectors; the goal of all should be this. The tasks are different, but the goal is one. Therefore, if the goal is to preserve and protect national security, national dignity, the development and progress of the country, and to protect the country from the evils of enemies, then military organizations and academic organizations and research organizations and cultural organizations and economic organizations are all indeed great forces that are working together; helping each other, complementing each other, not looking at each other with eyes of competition, not looking at each other with eyes of jealousy. [In this case], such cohesion will arise in the country. This is what we emphasize.

I have highlighted economic slogans in the past two or three years because I felt that the enemy wants to strike at this vast national entity from this angle. When we have economic problems, various sectors will not be able to carry out their proper tasks, so we must see what the sensitive and key point is in this set of responsibilities that rests on the shoulders of the country's officials, the government, the three branches, and various organizations. What is the key point today? Today, strengthening the economy in the country is a key and priority point; that is why I emphasize this, I emphasize the livelihood of the people, I emphasize the livelihood of the employees of various organizations, I emphasize the livelihood of the armed forces; these must be pursued, these must be pursued seriously; this is the responsibility of the officials. If the officials look at the enemy's motivations, they will find more motivation for this work. When we study or listen to the words of our enemies, we see that they actually emphasize this point so that they can use economic weaknesses and shortages for destruction and disruption. Well, when one understands this, their motivation increases to take the matter seriously.

The resistant economy that we have proposed—which is a set of work, a set of movement and action—has several key points for our near future, which are the issues of employment and production. I have conveyed these to the officials closely, privately, and in detail; these are not my words; I am not an economist; these are the words of economic experts, the words of distinguished and prominent individuals who are active in this field and give us advice; I also look at the country's level and see that this is a priority. The enemy finds its greedy paths. We must look to see what the enemy's motivation is, what the weak point is that the enemy might strike us from, and we must block it; my expectation from various officials in different sectors is this. The issue of the economy is thus one of the top priority issues.

Of course, we have many strengths. The strengths of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation in terms of quality and quantity are, in fact, multiplied more than the problematic points and weaknesses. There are many strange and abundant strengths in us that have caused the country and the Islamic system, despite the strange and bizarre enmities it has faced and continues to face, to stand proud and not submit to the enemies.

Look! The tactic of the superpowers and the great aggressive powers is to bluster; we have said this many times. The aggressive powers that want to extend their hands everywhere and intervene everywhere and have interests defined for themselves in every country, and if those interests are disturbed, they say that a certain government, a certain country, a certain system has clashed with our interests—meaning in every country, in every region, they define interests for themselves without right, without logic, without a correct argument; this is how the superpowers are—, in order to secure these interests and force the governments of each region to obey, they exaggerate themselves, they bluster, they frown. Do you remember the frowns that some previous American administrations made? Now it is a different kind.

For a country, the worst situation is when the officials of the country are afraid of the enemy's frown and threat; if they are afraid, they have actually opened the door for his entry and invasion. Work must be done with reason, logic, and wisdom; there is no doubt about this, but it must be done with courage; doing it with fear, with anxiety, being influenced by the bluster and bad behavior and frowning of the powerful in the world is the first misfortune. Well, if someone wants to be afraid, let them be afraid, but not on behalf of the people; do not be afraid on behalf of the people. The nation stands firm. If the nation had not stood firm, from 1979 until today, which has been about forty years, and various plots have been employed against us, money has been spent, weapons have been produced, threats and policies have been made, and so on; if the Islamic Republic had considered these, had been afraid, had retreated, there would have been no trace or sign of Iran and Iranians left. The enemy—whether America or greater than America—cannot do anything against a system that is connected with its people, that loves its people and is loved by its people, against such a system and such a people who are resistant against the enemy.

Of course, there is no doubt in the enmity of these; that they plan, think, and act with their various apparatuses; throughout these nearly forty years, this enmity has existed; every government that has come to power has acted on this enmity. To say that they agree with a certain person, disagree with a certain person, or consider a certain person, no, this enmity has existed since the time of Imam (may God be pleased with him), after the passing of the Imam when I took on responsibility, this enmity has existed, and it continues to this day. Different governments with different tastes and preferences have come and gone, and in all these circumstances, this enmity has existed. What has been able to stop this enmity is the power of the Iranian nation, the steadfastness of the Iranian nation, and the insensitivity of the Iranian nation to the bluster of the American superpower and similar countries in Europe and so on; this must continue; and if this state, this spirit, this power is to continue—which it must—much of it is your responsibility as the Islamic Republic army, a significant part relates to economists, a significant part relates to those involved in culture and education, and so on. Everyone must work hand in hand; God Almighty will help, just as He has helped until today.

May God's mercy be upon our dear martyrs. Today, the families of some of the dear martyrs of the army are also present here. These martyrs will never be forgotten by us; martyrs will not be forgotten by the Iranian nation, and the dear people of Iran, the great nation of Iran, with their spirit of devotion to the martyrs and inclination towards the martyrs, will act.

Well, thanks be to God, in a way, the wheel of elections has also started rolling; although we have not yet reached the main part of the elections, the preliminaries have begun. Elections are one of the honors of the Iranian nation. These elections are a source of dignity, pride, and honor for the Iranian nation in the world before nations. All the ill-wishers and enemies of Islam tried to show religion and Islam and spirituality as opposed to popular sovereignty; the Islamic Republic has shown that no, we have something called "Islamic popular sovereignty"; it is popular sovereignty and at the same time Islamic, and they cannot be separated. These elections demonstrate this: Islamic popular sovereignty. It is a source of pride, a source of honor, a source of power; the nation also feels in the elections that the key to the country's affairs is in their hands. They feel that they are the ones who can determine the main elements of the country; this is very important.

Of course, there is still time until the day of the elections, and if we are alive, I will express my remarks on other occasions, but what I say today is this: everyone must appreciate the elections; the government officials must know, the electoral candidates must know, the people must know, those involved in the elections must know; appreciate the elections. Let us honor the elections. The elections must be held healthily, securely, and broadly. If this happens, which God willing will happen despite the enemies who constantly whisper, those who see the foreign radios and foreign media, which today, radio is a small thing compared to the vastness of the media, know how the enemies are trying to tempt to spoil the elections—and the Iranian nation, God willing, with the same awareness, with the same vigilance they have always shown against this hostile movement, will continue to move forward and hold a broad, lively, enthusiastic, healthy, and secure election, God willing; this will be a great asset for the country, and this alone will provide the country with much security, which we hope will happen, God willing.

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