Statements in Meeting with the People of 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 taken the long journey in this cold weather from Tabriz and some other cities of Azerbaijan, and have made our Hosseiniye (Hosseiniyah) a place of spiritual, divine, and emotional atmosphere today with your presence; I express my gratitude and appreciation. Every year, the twenty-ninth of Bahman (Bahman 29) brings this sweet and cherished memory for this humble servant, as I meet with a group of my dear ones, beloved youth, and brave and valiant men from the region of Azerbaijan; this meeting is very sweet and desirable for me. We ask the Almighty God to increase His favors, guidance, and assistance towards you dear people day by day, and God willing, may all of you witness brighter, sweeter, and more desirable futures in the beloved land of Iran.

What the various lessons and experiences of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic teach us are unforgettable and lasting matters that guide our nation, our officials, and you dear ones, especially the youth, step by step towards the heights. Our experiences tell us this, our observations and what we see with our own eyes guide us to this truth. One example that I find necessary to mention is the massive march of the Iranian nation on the twenty-second of Bahman this year. Everyone said that this year the crowd was larger than in previous years, more enthusiastic, and happier. Why? This is not the news of one or two individuals; in Tehran, in the provinces, in Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad, and other major cities that we have news from, this is the situation. The question is why? What was different this year that the people gathered in this massive scene with more warmth, eagerness, and enthusiasm than in previous years? The answer to this question is instructive for us; the answer is that the Iranian nation felt this year that its country, its system, and its dear Islam needed this presence. There is a malicious enemy front that has all the communication devices and media of the world in its grasp, and many politicians of the Western world are puppets of this malicious front, namely the front of capitalists, cartel owners, trust owners, large company owners, bloodthirsty capitalists, and Zionists, the global Zionist network that controls most of the world’s media and modern media today, such as these television channels and especially the internet channels; they belong to them. For a long time, they have concentrated their propaganda on this point that the Iranian nation has become weak regarding the system, Islam, and the declared goals. They continuously propagated this and intensified this attack in their propaganda loudspeakers to convince our dear nation of this great lie. What was the goal? The goal was to weaken the brave Iranian nation, the faithful Iranian nation, the tested nation of Iran in difficult and great arenas. When the nation becomes weak, the country becomes defenseless; when the nation is not present, the officials are left alone. No political entity in the world can operate and advance without the backing of its own people. This was their intention. They particularly focused on the twenty-second of Bahman, employing various propaganda tricks to perhaps empty, silence, and diminish this scene of presence; the people understood this. What astonishes a person, what humbles a person in the face of the greatness of this nation, is the insight and timeliness of the Iranian nation. This unparalleled insight of the people, this timeliness, astonishes a person. This is what has kept the nation steadfast, this is what has preserved the country. The Iranian nation understood that today the enemy has this goal; with their actions, they struck the enemy in the face; with their presence, they neutralized the enemy's propaganda. Young and old, men and women, all over the country came into the arena and scene of presence. According to a report I received - a credible report - at least in eight hundred and fifty cities across the country, this demonstration existed in this extensive form, which the television cannot show all of it. This is the Iranian nation, this is insight, this is the timeliness and presence of this nation. This nation will not be defeated. Those who needed to receive the message have received it. Those who were concocting fantasies for the Iranian nation in their alcoholic, pestilential minds understood what was happening in Iran. Of course, in their propaganda, they tried to prevent this truth from being reflected, but those who needed to understand did understand. The intelligence agencies of our enemies and the main policymakers in the countries opposed to the Islamic Republic understood that the heroic Iranian nation is present in this way; they are present in the middle of the field. Of course, they wanted to prevent world public opinion from understanding this. This also exposes them; these are the same people who claim to advocate freedom of communication and information, claiming that they do not hide news, do not keep news concealed, do not censor. Well, if they were not censoring, they would not say that thousands came to Tehran! Were there thousands? The millions present in the arena on the twenty-second of Bahman in Tehran were thousands? They said there were hundreds of thousands across the country! Were there hundreds of thousands? In each of the major cities, hundreds of thousands gathered, tens of millions came into the scene. This is the nature of propaganda. Well, we have seen enough of the lies, deceit, and despicable tricks of the enemy; this has always been the case from the beginning of the Revolution until today; it will continue to be so, but their goal will not be fulfilled.

The sincere message of a nation, when it comes from the heart, will have its effect. We have said many times, the feeling of presence, the feeling of revolutionary spirit, the feeling of movement that is accompanied by firm determination will penetrate everywhere like the pleasant spring air; it will gradually benefit everyone. Look, this is exemplified in North Africa and in all Arab countries and in the entire Islamic world and in the hearts of every thoughtful and intelligent Muslim in minorities - minorities that are in countries where Muslims are a minority - and in Islamic countries, where each heart gradually feels its identity and personality over these years. Islam has reached a critical point in its great movement. Future generations will witness many great and important things; the world will turn upside down. These dominating materialistic policies of the arrogant powers that have enslaved nations will gradually dissolve, melt away, and be destroyed; this is the future of the world. The main center is here, the initial surge started from here, and this nation stands firm. The key point is steadfastness and resilience. My dear ones! My youth! The valiant men and women of Tabriz and Azerbaijan! The main point is in this steadfastness. Why do we commemorate the twenty-ninth of Bahman every year? The issue is not that we want to stop in the past. Many of you who are here and many of the youth of Azerbaijan and the city of Tabriz did not see that day, did not experience it, were not in the world at that time; yet they commemorate it. This is not a stop in the past; it is a demonstration of the correct path towards the future.

And now Tabriz and Azerbaijan. We have repeatedly stated that the people of Azerbaijan and specifically the people of Tabriz and many other cities of Azerbaijan have been at the forefront of the most significant events and positive transformations in this country for over a hundred years and have played a role; from the tobacco boycott, where the late Haj Mirza Javad Tabrizi entered the field, to the Constitutional Movement - both the first Constitutional Movement and what occurred after the Minor Tyranny - the center of the struggles was Azerbaijan, the city of Tabriz. The renowned heroes of Tabriz carried letters and decrees from great scholars in their pockets; they referred to them, emphasized them, such as Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan; not to mention the great scholars who were present in this movement. Even these heroes and brave fighters of Azerbaijan emphasized that they followed the scholars of religion and the decrees of the religious authorities; the remaining documents and evidence from that day tell us this. It was not that this movement was a purposeless and spontaneous movement; it was a religious movement, born from a sense of religious zeal. Everyone was religious throughout the country, but some areas, due to their local characteristics - that zeal, that bravery, that manliness - highlighted this religious movement; Tabriz and Azerbaijan have been like this.

After the Islamic movement began from the fifteenth of Khordad (Khordad 15) in 1963, it was the same. From there, scholars were imprisoned, exiled, and brought to prison in Tehran. Throughout these years, it was the same. At the beginning of the Revolution, the twenty-ninth of Bahman was a major landmark, a milestone on this great path of the Iranian people's movement. I have repeatedly said, I do not want to repeat; if it were not for the twenty-ninth of Bahman, the events of the nineteenth of Dey (Dey 19) in Qom might not have had this impact. The movement of the people of Tabriz on the twenty-ninth of Bahman revived the blood of the martyrs of the oppressed nineteenth of Dey, brought it to life, and conveyed its message to the whole world, to the entire country. The movement of the people of Tabriz was this impactful. Then came the issues of the Revolution, the issues of war.

The first martyred Friday prayer leader and martyred prayer leader from Tabriz; of the five martyred prayer leaders, two of them are from Tabriz. Among the divisions, among the commanders, the Ashura Division and the Azerbaijani and Tabrizi fighters and their commanders are among the distinguished ones. A division is a collection of youth; not all the people are in the division; but if all the people are not on the path, if all the people do not have their hearts in this direction, a brave heroic division like that cannot be formed. The bodies of the martyrs are constantly brought, buried, and the people become more eager; parents send their young ones more to the front; all of this has meaning. These are the secrets of the success of the Iranian nation.

My dear ones! We, the Iranian nation, were humiliated and degraded during the monarchy. We were belittled, our rights were taken, our oil was taken, our talents were stifled in our youth, we lagged in science, we lagged in technology, we lagged in international political engagement, we lagged in influencing the nations of the world; the Iranian nation was chained and shackled. The nation moved, changed the path. What the Iranian nation claims today is the struggle against global oppression, the struggle against global arrogance; of course, this has blessings for the nation itself. When a nation stands firm, it does not fear the powerful and noisy network of the enemy, its knowledge progresses, its economy progresses, its social issues progress, its youth become aware; it also influences other nations; its thoughts, its religion, its slogans reach the world. The slogans that we once shouted here in a state of oppression, the Iranian nation was alone, today have become almost universal slogans in the Islamic world. A nation can be influential and can strengthen itself. This strength will continue. God willing, we will progress in science, we will progress in the economy, we will progress in construction. This nation, these youths, these efforts, these steadfastnesses will make the country like a bouquet of flowers and God willing, it will become a model for the Islamic world. What we need to pursue is to follow the correct line, the straight path, the path of God, the path of Islam, the path of faith, the path of Sharia; we must be vigilant, awake, and fulfill our duties.

The day after tomorrow, that is, in about two weeks, there will be elections. The same puppets of the always-present puppet show in the world media have started working to make these elections lackluster. I say; I have said it, I repeat again: the presence of the people in the elections can advance the country, keep it safe and secure from the enemy; it can cause the enemy to falter and hesitate in its plots; it can force the enemy to retreat. A lively election is a strong punch in the mouth of the enemy.

God is with you, God is with you. "Whoever is for God, God is for him"; when a nation moves in the way of God, God helps it, divine traditions assist it. The hearts of the people are in the hands of God. These firm resolves and wills are the product of divine power, and God willing, the Almighty God will help these people in this election as well. God willing, the elections for the ninth parliament will be lively, with feeling, with insight, and with the abundant presence of the people so that, by divine grace, a good parliament will be granted to the people. Good representatives will, God willing, come from your selection and enter this field of work, enter this field of service. ... Thank you ...

We ask the Almighty God for your success, God willing, may the Almighty God always keep you steadfast and lively and grant you His approval.

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