Statements in Meeting with a Group of Commanders and Personnel of the Islamic Republic Army of Iran

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

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters; to each and every esteemed attendee, especially to the families of our dear martyrs. I hope that, God willing, the significant and valuable achievements of the Islamic Republic Army over the years have always been a crown of honor upon the heads of this faithful, patient, and hardworking collective. I also congratulate all esteemed attendees and all members of the Islamic Republic Army and their respected families on Army Day; and I express my gratitude for your gathering here today, as well as for the beautiful anthem, both in its lyrics and performance, which was very good.

Undoubtedly, one of the most prominent and beneficial actions and initiatives of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) was the declaration of "Army Day." If we take a look at the motivations that existed at that time in the minds of the enemies of Iran and the Revolution regarding all aspects of the country, we understand that declaring a day as Army Day was a significant, useful, and necessary act. Some of you young people may not remember those days, and some were not even in the world at that time; there was a very strong and dangerous motivation, even from within the army, to destroy the Iranian army; they were making efforts and providing logic and philosophy for this. Within the army, there were elements who, under the guise of a doctrinal and monotheistic army, wanted to eliminate and destroy the army; such motivations existed, and Imam stood against these motivations. Imam recognized that the army must remain strong and play a role, and the effects that had managed to separate the army from the people during the tyrannical era had to be eliminated; and they were eliminated. The army remained as a revolutionary entity, not just a revolutionary one in words and claims, but a revolutionary one in action, remaining in the field and playing its role.

Before the eight-year defense that was imposed upon us, there were also events, but during the eight-year defense, all truths became clear. In various arenas - which I have repeatedly referred to in this session and in other sessions regarding the memories of those days and what happened in the war and battlefield, especially in the early days of the war in 1979, and later in the years when I was president and did not go to the battlefield but received reports and participated in decision-making sessions - we witnessed what the army did. This day must be commemorated; this memory must be preserved, and the meaning of the 29th of Farvardin must be understood correctly. The 29th of Farvardin means that the army belongs to Iran, to the Revolution, to the people; and it stands in service of the people's goals and the goals of the Revolution; just as our dear youth sang in the anthem, the army stood by the Revolution. This is the meaning of the 29th of Farvardin. This was one of the great works and had lasting effects; it will have even more effects in the future, God willing, and I hope that you young people grow in this environment with this orientation and, God willing, will bring honor to your country.

One of the characteristics of the Islamic Republic Army of Iran is its revolutionary and religious insight. It is religiously committed, it is a religious obligation. This is a very significant statement. The meaning of religious commitment is that the army adheres to all the principles that Islam has established for the armed forces and military activities. When armies around the world feel victorious in a certain arena, they become unrestrained and commit actions that are shameful, and we have seen examples of this in various places. This occurs when they feel victorious - they show no mercy to the small or the great - and when they feel threatened, they also engage in actions that are considered crimes according to the sacred Islamic law and are also crimes under international law today. Of course, the powerful do not heed international laws, nor do they heed humanitarian laws; they use prohibited weapons and target civilians, which has occurred abundantly in wars where America was directly or indirectly involved. This is the state of the armies of the world.

The Islamic Republic Army and the military forces affiliated with the Republic are committed to Islamic obligations; they do not rebel in victory, nor do they engage in prohibited actions and use prohibited tools in times of danger. For long periods, our cities - both border cities and later even Tehran and Isfahan and many other cities - were under the savage and indiscriminate attacks of Saddam's missiles; in various neighborhoods of Tehran, Saddam's missiles were falling; missiles that had been equipped and sold by European countries and were directed by Americans; targets were shown to them; military targets were provided to the enemy through aerial photography, and these missiles would hit our cities, devastating defenseless civilians and destroying homes. After some time, we gained the capability to retaliate; we were able to acquire missiles, and we could retaliate; we could strike cities that were within the range of our missiles - including Baghdad itself - Imam told us that if you want to strike a non-military target, you must first announce via radio that we intend to strike such-and-such a place so that people can move aside. You can observe; such commitments are not common in the world.

The armed forces of many countries - or as far as we know, almost all countries - do not have these commitments; today you see an example of this in Yemen; a while ago you saw it in Palestine; you saw it in Gaza; you saw it in Lebanon; you have observed it in other places; they do not take these considerations into account, but the armed forces committed to Islamic laws do observe these regulations. If we have said - and we have said - that we do not use nuclear weapons, it is because of these commitments, because of this adherence to Islamic obligations and Islamic regulations. This is one of the greatest characteristics of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic.

Today, our enemies accuse the Islamic Republic of interfering here and there, which is false; such a thing does not exist; we do not interfere anywhere. Where we are attacked, we certainly defend ourselves, defend vigorously, but we do not interfere. We detest those who attack defenseless people, attack civilians, destroy children, kill women, and demolish homes; we declare our aversion, we declare our disavowal; these people have understood nothing of Islam, nor do they understand anything of human conscience. The characteristic of our armed forces is that they adhere to the principles of Islam and divine laws that are applicable everywhere - even in war or in peace. This is one of the characteristics of our armed forces. The reason that today our army, our Revolutionary Guard, our armed forces are popular among the people is precisely this: the people see that they think like themselves, act like themselves, share similar beliefs, and care for the same things that the people care for; this increases the connection between the people and the armed forces. This is one characteristic.

Another characteristic that our armed forces must pay attention to, fortunately they have paid attention to, and this is completely evident, is the issue of acting upon the noble verse "And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of tethered horses, by which you may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy." The meaning of this verse is that do not be caught off guard; it means that if an enemy attacks you, do not suffer losses due to lack of resources, lack of weapons and ammunition, or lack of preparedness, because your losses are the losses of the nation, your losses are the losses of Islam. Therefore, I said that the advancements that our armed forces have made in this regard are exemplary. That is, at the national level, although fortunately our country has a notable and acceptable level of scientific and technological advancements in the world, among the various advancements, our military advancements and armament advancements are among the best. The extent to which we have been able to advance the equipment and capabilities of the country over these years, in this time frame, under these pressures, under these sanctions, and with these resource shortages, is an extraordinary achievement; it is very extraordinary.

Fortunately, the armed forces in various sectors have been able to accomplish great things, either directly or through planning and utilizing scientific and technological devices, and this work must continue. What I emphasize is that the advancements of the country in the fields of armament and military preparedness must continue to progress; our enemies do not want this. Today, one of the tools of pressure on the Islamic Republic is precisely this issue - the issue of missiles, the issue of drones, the issue of military capabilities, and all these things that have been created by the talents of our youth inside the country without relying on anyone else - they want this not to exist, they want to stop this. Rational logic, backed by the verse of the Quran, tells us that this path must be followed.

The other side shamelessly threatens us militarily; shamelessly, they continuously threaten us; for a while, they were silent, but just a few days ago, one of them opened his mouth and began talking about options on the table and military options. Well, they make these boasts, they make these excessive claims, and then they say that the Islamic Republic should disarm itself; is this not a foolish statement? Even if they did not threaten us so explicitly, it would have been necessary, according to the command "And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of tethered horses," to be vigilant; even if they did not threaten us, we should have been increasing these preparations; now that they are explicitly threatening us. On one side, they threaten us, and on the other side, they say you should not build missiles, you should not do this, you should not do that, constantly issuing baseless and foolish orders in the media or in international agreements. No, the Islamic Republic has first proven and shown that it acts with complete authority in defending itself; the entire nation comes together like a solid fist and stands against the aggressor, against the unreasonable attacker; in defense, our nation has complete unity, and nothing else has an impact; this is one. And the Islamic Republic keeps itself prepared and maintains its readiness; this is the second point.

All the institutions of the Islamic Republic - from the Ministry of Defense to the organizations of the army and the Revolutionary Guard and other various institutions - must recognize this as a guideline and increase their preparedness day by day; both in terms of armaments, in terms of organization, and in terms of what has the greatest impact on the armed forces, which is spiritual readiness and morale. Fortunately, in our country, our forces, our brave young men, lack nothing in this regard; we feel no lack in terms of morale. What was the goal of the Revolution, what was the goal of the 29th of Farvardin, what was the goal of forming the Revolutionary Guards that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) planned, has been realized: high morale and great preparedness! Even now, many young people who have neither seen the Revolution, nor Imam, nor experienced the days of war, nor have any memories of those days, are sending me messages through various channels from within the army that they are ready for sacrifice. A pilot of the Islamic Republic Air Force sends one kind of message, a pilot of the Army Aviation sends another kind of message, a member of the Navy or Ground Force sends another kind of message; they are ready. This high morale that any army or armed organization possesses will certainly advance in confrontations, in tests, and in trials; you must proceed with this morale. Therefore, maintaining insight, maintaining the correct orientation, necessary preparedness, good morale, and the ever-increasing equipment and capabilities and military readiness is one of the essential tasks that the armed forces must undertake.

The Islamic Republic is not a threat to any country; we have never been a threat to our neighbors, let alone to distant places; this is clearly shown by our recent history. Even when some of our neighbors acted in ways unworthy of neighborliness, we showed restraint. The Islamic Republic does not and will not aggress against any country. Now, the fabricated myth of the nuclear issue and nuclear weapons has been raised by the Americans and, behind them, the Europeans and some other sycophants to claim that the Islamic Republic is a source of threat; no, the source of threat is America itself. Today, the greatest source of threat in the world is the American regime, which, without any restraint, without any adherence to conscience and religious principles, intervenes wherever it deems necessary and engages in destabilizing interventions; America has made the world unsafe. In our region, the destabilizer is the Zionist regime, which is America's attack dog; these are the ones who have made the world unsafe. The Islamic Republic does not make the world unsafe, does not make the region unsafe, does not even make the environment of its neighbors unsafe, and even in many cases tolerates the misbehavior of some neighbors with magnanimity. Insecurity comes from the unrestrained powers that seize everything. Today, the heartbreaking events in Yemen are ongoing, and the Americans support the oppressor, the Westerners support the oppressor; insecurity comes from them; they are the ones who make countries unsafe, they are the ones who make the living environment unsafe for people; insecurity belongs to them. The Islamic Republic considers security - both for itself and for others - to be the greatest divine blessing and stands firm to defend it; this must always be a reminder for the officials of the armed forces: maintaining the security of the country, maintaining the security of the borders, maintaining the public security of people's lives, are responsibilities of those who are active in this area.

We ask the Almighty God to increase the successes of the armed forces day by day and, God willing, grant you young people success so that you can play your role. The role is not only to fight; creating preparedness, creating progress, and internal personal development and organizational development, and similar tasks are among the great works; of course, if a conflict arises one day, participation in the battlefield is also part of preparedness and part of tests and similar matters. We hope that, God willing, God will grant you success in all areas.

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