Statements in Meeting with a Group of People from Azerbaijan

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

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters who have come to this very glorious and unforgettable occasion — the anniversary of the twenty-ninth of Bahman in Tabriz. Truly, your warm breath, your eloquent voice, your unyielding and silent motivations, which have been evident in all matters, have made the atmosphere of the Hosseiniyeh warm, captivating, and revolutionary today; just as throughout history, the people of Tabriz have always exemplified these remarkable characteristics.

Throughout our recent history, in major events, from the Constitutional Revolution and before it to today, one can observe two characteristics in Tabriz and Azerbaijan: one is that the people of Tabriz have always been initiators in various events, taking the initiative into their own hands. The incident of the twenty-ninth of Bahman is one such case. If the awakened people of Tabriz had not created that great event during the fortieth of the Qom incidents, this series of Arbaeen gatherings would not have taken place in the country, and it was uncertain how this massive spontaneous movement would arise and continue throughout the country. Therefore, the initiative was taken by the people of Tabriz. The same was true in previous matters, including the Constitutional Revolution; the people of Tabriz were the initiators and innovators. Many of the slogans that are currently circulating among our dear people across the country often originated from Tabriz.

The second characteristic is loyalty. Some enter a path but do not continue and do not remain loyal; various events shake them, make them hesitant; sometimes they turn back from the path, and sometimes worse than turning back, they deny the very movement and path; we have seen such cases. The people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan are loyal; they stand firm. God Almighty says in the Quran: "And whoever fulfills what he has promised to Allah, He will give him a great reward." (1) The one who remains loyal, stands by the truth and the word of truth, is not shaken by the passage of time and difficult events; God Almighty will grant him a great reward. Some are not like this; they break their promises; "So whoever breaks [his oath], breaks it only to his own detriment." (2) The promise-breaker acts to his own detriment and, in fact, harms himself due to his betrayal; the path of God does not suffer loss. You, the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan, have remained loyal and steadfast.

Our great Imam, despite not having a close acquaintance with Tabriz, knew the people of Tabriz well. During the first sedition of the revolution, when provocations occurred in various places, including Tabriz, the Imam said that the people of Tabriz themselves would respond to the seditionists, and they did; it happened just as he said. Nothing but the force of faith, zeal, determination, awareness, and insight could extinguish those seditions and fires.

Today, it is the same. The dear youth who did not see the Imam, did not witness the eight-year defense, did not see the Bakris and the self-sacrificing personalities of that day who were martyred, but with the same power, the same steadfastness, and the same insight, they present themselves in the arena as the young Tabrizi did on the twenty-ninth of Bahman and showed bravery and self-sacrifice in various fronts during the eight-year imposed war. Today, our youth are the same. What does this mean? Why? What is the matter? The matter must be sought in the truth of this statement: "The word of the revolution is the word of truth." This is the nature of truth. "The example of a good word is like a good tree"; this is a pure, healthy, and well-rooted tree that grows in healthy soil. "Its root is firm and its branches are in the sky"; its roots are strong, and its branches reach upwards. "It yields its fruit at all times by permission of its Lord." (3) Its fruit is everlasting and gives its produce in every season. This means it is not a one-time use, unlike many of the movements that occur in the world; under the name of revolution or coup or otherwise, they change governments, but they are one-time use; after a short period, the situation returns to what it was before that movement and sometimes worse. The word of truth is not like this; the word of truth is enduring.

Today, the movement of the revolution, the goals of the revolution, are the same things that were outlined on the first day by our great and wise Imam. These goals were in harmony with the nature of the people, so the people embraced them; otherwise, directing the hearts of millions of people towards one direction is not an ordinary task. When someone speaks with the nature, speaks of God, the natures turn towards him; "If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have brought their hearts together, but Allah brought them together." (4) It is the hand of God's power that guides hearts towards one direction; hence, this is the result. On the twenty-second of Bahman, the crowd that appears in the streets on the thirty-first anniversary of the Islamic Revolution is larger than the crowds of previous years; not only has it not diminished, it has become more vibrant and stronger; contrary to what exists in the nature of the world. If you throw a stone into the water, it creates a wave; but as time passes, this wave becomes smaller, less, and less perceptible until it disappears. The passage of time extinguishes social waves. What is this reality that the passage of time does not extinguish, but rather highlights more and more? Like the event of Karbala. That day, in that empty desert, without the presence of friends and full of enemies, Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) and his companions were martyred, and his family was taken captive, and that was it. Today, after centuries, the same event that should have left no trace in ten days or fifteen days, see how prominent it is; not only among millions of Shia in various countries, among Muslims, but also among non-Muslims, the name of Hussein ibn Ali shines like the sun; it illuminates hearts and guides them. This is how the revolution is. The longer this revolution lasts, the more truths it reveals.

Well, the enemy speaks differently. Some also speak with the same language as the enemy, using the enemy's words. Whether they understand or not, that is between them and God; but they speak with his language, trying to pretend that the revolution has deviated from its path; no, if it had deviated, so many hearts would not have been moved by the name of the revolution and the memory of the revolution; so much faith and motivation would not have been mobilized in memory of this revolution. It is the same in the world. This revolution, today, has its effects felt in the hearts of people in Islamic countries. Do not look at a few hostile governments; the nations cherish this revolution, honor it, respect it, and long for it for themselves; these are signs of truth, signs of permanence; "It yields its fruit at all times."

Well, as we have remained loyal until today by God's grace, we can remain loyal. If we preserve this loyalty, "He will give him a great reward"; God will reward. This reward is not exclusive to this world, nor is it exclusive to the hereafter; it is both this world and the hereafter; in this world, there is dignity, power, and reaching lofty ideals, and in the hereafter, there is divine reward, which is above all else. If, God forbid, we become weak in our promises, betray our commitments, and let our desires lead us astray, that will be to our own detriment; the revolution will continue on its path. Those who abandoned the revolution, those who stood against the revolution according to the enemy's wishes, have suffered losses. They think that now they can sit and conspire against the revolution, speak out, incite, and that they will get somewhere; no, that is a mistake.

In the matter of this year's twenty-second of Bahman, which showed this great divine miracle, this massive popular presence dazzled the eyes; the enemies and opponents — whether hostile opponents or oblivious opponents — thought differently, had designed another plan, and had other ideas in mind. For a long time, they tried to do something to ruin the event of the twenty-second of Bahman, which is one of the manifestations of the people's presence in this revolution; whether in Tehran or in other cities, they aimed to incite conflict among the people; they had predicted this. In their words, they said that on the twenty-second of Bahman, a civil war would begin in Iran! See what they had done, expecting a civil war in Iran. Some said this, while others hoped to show an opposing face against the Islamic Republic on the twenty-second of Bahman; they wanted to pretend that the people had broken away from the revolution, had broken away from the Islamic Republic, and had stood against it; they thought this way, calculated this way. The Iranian nation, with its awareness, insight, determination, and the hand of divine power that awakened their hearts, struck a blow to the mouths of all these opponents and made the argument clear to everyone.

The foreign enemies must also have awakened. The President of the United States and others like him repeatedly spoke of the people of Iran: "We are supporters of the people of Iran." "The people of Iran are opposed to the Islamic Republic." They have repeated these words many times. See how they felt when they saw the people of Iran in the streets on the twenty-second of Bahman. Is there a greater divine humiliation for the enemy than this? Is there a greater disgrace for the enemy than this? A number of people inside, some out of ignorance, some out of miscalculation, and some out of enmity and hostility, have repeatedly spoken against the Islamic Republic, against this overall movement of the system; they have said: the people, the people, the people! Well, these people. The twenty-second of Bahman showed where the people are, what they want, what they say. They were deceived by the illusions that were instilled in them. They thought or pretended to be ignorant that the people had abandoned the revolution, that the people had abandoned the Imam. On the twenty-second of Bahman, the awareness and insight of the people, the determination of the people, and the divine grace that encompassed the people gave a resounding response to them.

The foreigners are also similarly deluded. Words are used in meanings other than their own. The leaders of arrogant countries — a few arrogant governments — sit down and express opinions about the Islamic Republic and pretend that the global community is opposed to the Islamic Republic. Which global community? Which global community is opposed to the Islamic Republic? Four or five arrogant governments — most of whose own nations do not accept their words — are opposed to the Islamic Republic, to the Islamic Republic that has raised the banner of justice; they must be opposed. The day that the octopus-like network of global capitalism praises us and is not opposed to us, that day we must mourn.

Yes, a few arrogant and bullying governments oppose the Islamic Republic; however, the global community is in no way opposed to the Islamic Republic. The global community means the nations. The global community means many governments that are also dissatisfied with these arrogant powers; although most do not dare to express this dissatisfaction, we know they are dissatisfied. In conversations, in statements, it is completely clear; they tell us too; but they do not dare to protest, they are afraid. We are not afraid. We say openly what is in our hearts — which we know is in the hearts of the nations and in the hearts of many governments as well. We oppose arrogance, we oppose the system of domination, we vehemently oppose the domination of a few countries over the fate of the world, and we will fight against it and will not allow them to play with the fate of the world. Of course, it is evident; those governments are also opposed to us. Then, regarding the nuclear issue, they make excuses, they make excuses in the name of human rights, they make excuses in the name of democracy; everyone in the world knows that they are lying, they know that they are hypocritical.

Now they have sent their agents here again, to roam around the Persian Gulf and repeat the same lies and irrelevant statements against the Islamic Republic: Iran is pursuing nuclear bombs! Who believes your words? Who believes that you care about the interests and welfare of the nations in this region? You, who have trampled the nations of this region under your illegitimate interests as much as you could and as much as you have been allowed. You turned the Persian Gulf into a warehouse of weapons. These actions were carried out by the Americans. They suck the money of the Gulf countries and take it away, storing their weapons there instead. You are warmongers; you attacked Iraq, you destroyed Afghanistan, you have targeted Pakistan, and wherever you find the opportunity, you will repeat these atrocities. Then you come and talk about the Islamic Republic? All the nations in the region know, many of the governments in this region know; the Islamic Republic is a supporter of peace, a supporter of brotherhood, a supporter of the dignity of the countries in this region, a supporter of the dignity of Islamic countries. They have set out like peddlers! Their movement is also out of passivity. For thirty years, they have been conspiring against the Islamic Republic, and for thirty years, they have been failing. This year, for the umpteenth time, the Islamic Republic has triumphed in its struggle against the arrogant powers, and the arrogant powers have been defeated.

The events after the elections, which some created out of ignorance and miscalculation, were used by the enemy as an excuse, hoping to weaken the Islamic Republic; but it turned out the opposite; these events strengthened the Islamic Republic. If before these events someone wanted to prove to the people with reasoning that the enemy was lurking, after these events, the people saw with their own eyes that the enemy was lurking. And the Iranian nation is like this; when it sees that the enemy is lurking, it does not hesitate, it comes into the field. From now on, with the help and power of God, all segments of the people will, God willing, be more serious in their endeavors and will move with greater motivation; in the fields of science, in the fields of industry, in various work environments, in the administrative environment, in the business environment, in the trade environment. Everyone must strive, everyone must work.

The responsibility of the officials has also become heavier. The officials of the country, the officials of the three branches, in the face of this massive popular movement, in the face of this dazzling awareness of the people, their responsibility has become heavier. These people are ready to defend their country, their revolution, and their values. The servants of society must pursue their work with power and seriousness in front of this nation, working for the people. There are difficulties in the country, there are disarray, there are problems; however, there is no difficulty, no disarray, no problem that cannot be resolved with the hand of will relying on faith. God willing, the officials of the country in the three branches, in various sectors, and every individual, each in their own capacity, will strive to resolve these problems.

Everyone should know; the future of the Iranian nation is a bright future. This nation — as we have said before — has made its decision; it will, God willing, reach the peak of its goals and will not only become a model for the Islamic world but for all nations, so that they know where the path of dignity and greatness passes.

We hope that the Lord of the Universe will bestow all the blessings and favors upon the Iranian nation, upon you dear people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan, and that the sacred heart of Imam al-Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will be pleased with all of you and that you will be included in the prayers of that great figure, and that the pure spirit of our great Imam and the martyrs will be pleased with all of you.

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