Statements in Meeting with Thousands of People from East Azerbaijan

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

I welcome you and thank each and every one of you dear brothers and sisters who have come from afar and today have illuminated our Hosseiniyeh with your presence, your statements, your slogans, and the sincerity and devotion that you possess.

On the eve of the historic and unforgettable day of the twenty-ninth of Bahman, what we can convey to the people of Azerbaijan and Tabriz is that we have always felt pride and honor when looking at this brave region, this land of faith, this land of sincerity. Whenever one looks at Azerbaijan at any point in history and sees the people of Azerbaijan, one feels pride and dignity.

In the successive events of the last one hundred and fifty years in Iran, the people of Azerbaijan have been at the forefront; sometimes they were pioneers, sometimes they stood alone. In the tobacco boycott, which was ordered by Mirza Shirazi from Samarra, one of the first places where the people responded was Tabriz, where the great scholars of Azerbaijan - the late Haj Mirza Javad Mojtahed and others - responded, and the people came into the field; they broke the back of colonialism at a certain period. In the Constitutional Revolution, it was the same; in the events following the period of minor despotism, it was the same; in the subsequent events until the Islamic Revolution, it was the same; that the twenty-ninth of Bahman became a flag, became a model; this is important. What is important is that a nation, a group, or an individual can create a model, so that this model can reproduce itself. The work of the people of Tabriz in the events of the twenty-ninth of Bahman was such; otherwise, the events of the nineteenth of Dey in Qom could have been forgotten. The people of Tabriz did not allow that important and bloody incident of the Qomi people to be forgotten due to propaganda, negligence, or malice; they acted like Hazrat Zainab. If there was no Zainab, there would be no Karbala. If there was no Zainab, the event of Ashura would not have been able to expand and remain in history. The movement of the people was like this. Then it became a model. The first Arbaeen was initiated by the people of Tabriz, and subsequent Arbaeen commemorations followed, culminating in this great movement.

Well, the essence of the revolution is the same. With the public effort of the Iranian nation, this revolution has created models. My dear ones! The pressures that have been imposed on Islamic Iran, on the Islamic Republic over these thirty-three years, can perhaps be said to be primarily aimed at preventing a model from emerging before the eyes of the Muslim peoples of the region; because without a model, movements are difficult; with a model, movements are easy. When a nation becomes a model, a movement becomes a model, it encourages and brings forth talents. They wanted this not to happen.

They impose sanctions to weaken the country economically in their own minds, so that others look and say that Islam is leading the nation backward economically. They assassinate scholars to halt scientific progress, so that the Iranian nation cannot take its great and advanced scientific movement, which is a blessing of Islam and the revolution, and present it to the world, to the Islamic community. They accuse us of repression, of being against human rights, and similar things, to turn world public opinion against us; however, despite all these efforts, these propaganda, these malice, the revolution has shone and continues to shine.

The more they attacked the Islamic Republic, the stronger it became. The eight-year war made us stronger. If there had been no eight-year war, these brave commanders, these outstanding men would not have emerged among the nation; this great, sincere movement of the people would not have had the opportunity to manifest. If there had been no economic pressure, no economic sanctions, no scientific sanctions, the talents of our youth would not have had the opportunity to emerge; everything was ready, everything was prepared, but they did not pursue it, they did not reach it. They imposed sanctions, and the inner talents surged forth, the nation rose, the nation grew, and this flag was raised higher and higher. After this, it will be the same. "They want to extinguish the light of God with their mouths, but God will complete His light, even if the disbelievers dislike it"; they want to extinguish the light, but God has willed that this light be completed. And it will be completed.

What I feel in judging Tabriz and Azerbaijan and these faithful people in this great process is that these people have always possessed enthusiasm and insight, a resolute determination accompanied by awareness; keep this. I must say that the enthusiasm I saw in the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan has been unparalleled. It has been like this over the years; in the trips I have made to Tabriz, in the meetings I have had with the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan. And enthusiasm has not been alone; it has been accompanied by insight, by analytical power, by precise understanding. This is why the people do not lose their way, this is why they are present everywhere. Wherever they need to be present, they are present; this must be maintained, this must be preserved; it must be passed down from generation to generation.

Our youth today - many of whom are present in this session - have not seen the war; you have not seen Shahid Baqeri, you have not seen the Baqeris, you have not experienced that great period of hardship, you have not seen the Imam; but your spirit is the same spirit, your thoughts are the same thoughts; your path is the same path, your discernment is the same discernment; this is very important. This continuous flow must continue. This flow is like a river, like a stream that irrigates the region; this is insight. As the Tabrizi poet says: "If the stream does not exist, Baghdad will not exist." The existence of a prosperous city is due to the vital water artery that exists within it. This faith and insight is that vital artery; it is the reviver of thoughts and hearts. And this has left its mark on the world.

Today, a sense of awakening is felt in the Islamic world; we no longer say this. In these years, we have said that the Islamic awakening movement has begun, the Islamic movement has started. Many looked at the surface of the matter and said there is nothing to it, what are they saying; but today, the eyes see clearly, the ears hear the cries. The scene is one where everything is clear and evident. The situation in Egypt is a very important matter. Egypt, a great ancient nation with deep understanding and good youth, had been connected to America and the Zionist enemy by a bunch of treacherous mercenaries. The people were suffering, and they could do nothing; because the pressure was great. This great movement that occurred there was not a sudden movement. Great social movements are not momentary events; these are momentary manifestations. Events accumulate over time, with various factors - knowledge, insights, sufferings, grievances - gathering together, and suddenly manifesting at an appropriate time. And it manifested in Egypt.

Egyptian intellectuals and aware Egyptians were connected; some would come and go; we were aware, we knew what feelings they were experiencing and how they viewed the issues. Today, I also look at the statements of these Egyptian youth and the people of Egypt - to the extent that it is published and made available to us - I can understand what their characteristics are. The main factor of their movement is their frustration with the humiliation imposed on this nation by the dependent rulers. When you submit to America, when you accept the overwhelming power of the superpower, the consequences are these things. A nation must stand against the bullying and tyranny of the dominating powers so that it does not have to suffer the consequences of that submission. When governments are weak, cowardly, or weak-willed, or treacherous - being weak-willed also leads to treachery; it makes no difference - and they submit to the superpowers, the consequences are these. They want a fabricated entity called Israel to gain power here, and you are forced to follow it. An independent nation has the characteristic of looking to see what is right, which path is correct, which aligns with its discernment, its faith, and moves along that path, takes that action. When there is no independence, this is not the case. This dependency brings humiliation to a country; this is what frustrated the Egyptian youth, and suddenly their movement manifested.

Today, I see their resolute determination, I observe their faith. One can see the effective presence of the youth in Egypt. You dear youth should value yourselves greatly. You have become the model for the youth of the world. Youth is decisive, transformative, the engine of progress, the breaker of deadlocks. This is the power of youth. In Egypt, there are also youth who are doing many things; likewise, those who have felt and experienced the suffering and hardship of that tyranny, that tyrant, with their bodies, with their souls, with their entire existence. The movement is a movement from the mosques; it is a Friday prayer movement; it is a movement in the name of God; these have great value. And the movement is a public movement.

What I can say with certainty is that when the people come into the scene, all the hostile tools of the powers become ineffective. America can only bully a country as long as the people of that country are not against it. It is easy to bully governments. Governments that do not rely on their people are forced to follow America's orders. One day America installs someone, one day it supports someone, and one day it withdraws that support, and they are forced to leave. And when they leave, they are no longer given any regard; you see that. Before him was Mohammad Reza, a little before him was Ben Ali of Tunisia. When governments do not rely on their people, this is the case. When the people come into the scene, when the people understand, when the people feel, when the people decide, then the powers can do nothing. This event has occurred today in Egypt. As long as the people are in the scene, they cannot take any action, they cannot do anything.

Of course, today the Americans are trying to see if they can deceive the people of Egypt, dissuade them, with some minor and initial achievements, to convince them and return them to their homes so that they are no longer in the scene. It is unlikely that such a trick will succeed. When the people awaken, when they feel their power, when they feel their ability to influence, it is of no use; the people come into the field and pursue lofty goals if they are outlined for them, and God willing, they will achieve those goals.

We are witnessing the sweet fruits of the resistance of our great nation, which are the steadfast face of Islamic Iran, the dignity of Islamic Iran, the influence of Islamic Iran in various events, in the region and even beyond this region. We feel that faith and Islam have given us dignity, have given us progress, have brought us closer to our ideals. The more we strengthen our faith, the more we realize Islam in society and the more we promote Islamic values among ourselves, the greater this dignity will become, the greater this progress will be, and the material and spiritual life will be improved; and this depends on the efforts of the youth, on the efforts of the people, on the faith of the people. And fortunately, one observes this. One sees this determination and will in our men and women, in our youth and elders, in various sectors of this country, among different ethnicities, and God willing, it will continue, and God willing, you youth will witness the era when Iran, by the grace of Islam and the grace of the Quran, can shine at the peak of greatness.

We hope that the Almighty God will bestow His mercy, grace, and kindness upon you dear people of Azerbaijan and the people of Tabriz, and we hope that the Almighty God will assist the nation of Iran to continue this path of honor and dignity with speed and complete steadfastness, and may He include our dear martyrs in His mercy and forgiveness.

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