Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with members of the Basij and personnel of the Information Protection Department of Hamadan Province

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure and virtuous progeny, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

This is a very radiant gathering, full of sincerity and purity. The nature of a meeting formed by Basij youth; boys and girls who have voluntarily brought their precious youth to the field to use it for God, Islam, the advancement of the country, and the dignity of the Iranian nation, as well as the young individuals who are the unknown soldiers of the Revolution and the Imam - a fitting name for them - namely the brothers and sisters engaged in the country's information apparatus, is such that if one observes the waves of purity and sincerity in such a gathering, it is not surprising.

You dear ones should know that this great and miraculous work; that is, the uprising of an Islamic and independent government, especially in this very sensitive region of the world - which was truly an impossible task - was not achieved except with the help and support of these very sincerities and purities. Look at the situation of the Arab countries, the neighboring countries, and the collection of Islamic countries, and see how, if any effort is made in these countries that slightly conflicts with the interests of the dominant powers of the world, they create uproar and chaos and prevent any movement that is in favor of the national dignity of these countries. Look around you; see Iraq - I do not want to name the other Islamic countries - when one observes these phenomena, then one understands how a country like Iran, in the heart of this sensitive region, with all these material and spiritual resources - which has always been a lost paradise for the colonizers and wherever they could reach, it was considered a great blessing for them - and while this country was entirely considered the capital of American regional power, suddenly transformed into a peak of resistance and a sense of dignity and Islamic aspiration and confrontation with the arrogance and greed of America. This is a miracle; it was not even conceivable; but this miracle happened. Social miracles, unlike the miracle of Moses' staff turning into a serpent, are directly related to human will; however, social miracles are directly connected to the will of individuals; "Indeed, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves."

Whenever a nation decides, wills, acts, and performs movements commensurate with its goal, then the social miracle occurs. Of course, in social transformations, being right is not enough. Many times, the waves of falsehood come and trample the truth and pass through. Being right, combined with action, will, and steadfastness, is what realizes that miracle. This steadfastness, this resistance, this decision, and this sacrifice in the scene of our society and country occurred thanks to these very sincerities, insights, and perceptions that are today manifested in the gathering of the faithful and Basij youth of our country, of which we observe a valuable example here. However, what is greater than that incredible event is that the Islamic Republic, despite all the turbulent and hostile waves surrounding it, not only survived but also grew.

Today, the story of the Islamic Republic is not the story of twenty years ago; back then, the enemies' greed for the destruction of this revolution, from the perspective of the existing political logic of the world, was not an impossible thing; but today it is impossible; why? Because this sapling has taken root; it has grown a large trunk and has branched out. That is why today our enemies are angrier and more furious about this great phenomenon that grows day by day. Who would have thought that the Islamic Republic, in the year fifty-nine when they imposed war on us and we had no RPGs to shoot and could not produce them, would today have made advancements in weaponry that are astonishing to them; the name of the Shahab-3 missile is now repeatedly mentioned in all the news and telegrams and news agencies of the world. In the field of science, its advancements are such that the collection of young scientists and elites of this system, who are connected and belong to this system, excel in most global tests. In the field of technology, it has reached a point where, unlike all its peers, it can produce technology and nuclear enrichment by itself without the use of help, guidance, or assistance from others; these advancements shake the very foundations of the aggressive powers. When they look at the scene of society after twenty-five years and see this fervent, sincere, and faithful young generation - like you - and the Islamic faith, sincerity, purity, and youthful enthusiasm and desire to move forward in you, each of these is like an arrow piercing their eyes and hearts. What can they do in the face of this great phenomenon? They threaten military attacks, which is of no use; they threaten economic siege, which is of no use; they implement economic siege to a large extent, but it does not have an effect; they try to draw the active young generation inside the country towards issues that disrupt work, but they face resistance.

Regarding issues that disrupt work, we must be vigilant; both the institutions must be vigilant, and the youth themselves. Let me say here that I do not view the issue of the spread of addiction, vagrancy, and unemployment, and some political movements as a normal and conventional phenomenon at all. Behind all of these, I see the hands and wicked, conspiratorial minds of the enemy; of course, we must fight. Can we expect the enemy not to be hostile?! Behind the push to lead the youth towards immorality, sexual promiscuity, and the like - which they are trying to do - are the hands and fingers of the enemy. The issue is a political issue; it is a security issue; it is not an ordinary social issue. You youths must always remember that behind the issue of addiction, the inclination towards immorality and sexual liberation, and issues like this, are political hands and minds that are plotting in the policy-making rooms of the world for this purpose. We do not say this on a whim; we have understood and recognized these things. Of course, we must fight and strive. They also create uproar; a few years ago, when they executed the traffickers, foreign radios said they are executing freedom-loving figures! Of course, from their perspective, a drug trafficker is truly a freedom-lover; because he wants opium and heroin to be free in the country! If today there is a correct and intelligent confrontation with moral corruption and immorality in society, they will create uproar; this is obvious. Their uproar does not change the truth, nor does it change the duty; officials must know what they are doing. The enemy, with the propaganda it has, has no argument that if necessary, it will say that day is night and convince a number of simple-minded people with artistic tools and various propaganda methods; this is what they do in the world.

Last night, in the gathering of friends - gentlemen scholars and students - I said that today the propaganda apparatuses affiliated with Zionism and America, and in fact affiliated with the international plundering capitalists, which mostly own the media, are deceiving humanity; they pretend to be supporters of democracy, while they are one hundred percent lying; they pretend to be supporters of human rights, while they are one hundred percent contrary to reality and completely lying. These companies and trusts and international cartels do not care at all about the rights of nations; they do not respect the rights of humanity. Does it even occur to the oil company that contracts Iraq's oil all at once and extracts and sells it, how a poor family in Basra or Nasiriyah or Amarah or Kirkuk or Mosul or Baghdad lives and that this wealth belongs to them? No; in their calculations and accounting, there is no other consideration than profit for themselves and for the company and their insatiable pockets; and then they talk about human rights. They propagate about all domestic issues, and their propaganda has no value. Today, our nation, thanks to divine assistance, has been able to uproot despotism in this country.

The Islamic Revolution institutionalized two issues in this country: one, freedom, and the other, independence. That society which for two thousand five hundred years suffered from despotism and tyranny - our great Iranian society, which we had truly become accustomed to despotism - is no longer like this today thanks to the Revolution, and if anyone, God forbid, ever thinks of dealing with the people despotically, the people will no longer accept it. Now you see how much they propagate about the presence of despotism in the Islamic Republic. This statement is like saying that today is night!

Independence has also been institutionalized by the Islamic Republic in Iran. This nation will no longer accept dependence on the great powers at any price - pay attention! That is evident; "Death to America" is there, God willing - what I want to say to you dear youths and to all Basijis and all committed youths of the country is that what we have done so far is very valuable; this very institutionalization of freedom and independence in the country, in terms of importance and value and the material and spiritual achievements that have been gained over the past twenty-five years thanks to the Islamic Republic, is indescribable, but these are not the end of the work; these are the beginning of the work.

We must build a model country and show that Islam can satisfy human beings in terms of their material and spiritual needs by implementing its laws and exercising its sovereignty; we must embody justice in the reality of our society and take it into our hands; show it to the world; these are our duties, which have not yet been accomplished. Of course, the work is very difficult, and the amount of construction we have done so far must be doubled; and of course, these goals I mentioned cannot be fully realized only through construction; we must work. "Truth is the broadest of things in communication and the narrowest in sharing"; a person can express the purpose, goal, and desire well in words. When you look at this peak of Alvand from below, it seems that reaching the peak of Alvand is within reach; now set out on this winding path, and you will see that each step requires strength, breath, and will. If we want to reach the lofty peaks of humanity - which are what I have mentioned and today none of the countries of the world have reached these - we must work; we must strive; we must see the distance; we must maintain our determination; we must not let our knees tremble on the path; we must not feel fatigue; our will must not weaken; we must move forward. Not that this is impossible; it is completely possible. I said yesterday in my speech that it is practical and possible; because the Almighty God has given humanity a tool with which all difficult tasks can be accomplished, and that tool is reason and will. We, the Iranian nation, thanks to divine grace, also have a very effective tool, and that is the youthfulness of our nation. I have always said that this is a very great blessing. Now in this gathering, look, most are young. Your Hamadan is younger than the other provinces of the country. This youthful force is a gift from God to us; another thing God has given us is the experience of progress and success. We are not like other countries that say, should we do it, will it happen? Will it not happen? Maybe it will not happen? No; we have tried; we have moved; we have acted and seen that it is possible; provided that a person wills. So, we also have this experience.

This twenty-year outlook that has been prepared as a national and historical document for our country, I recommend that you youths take it and read it. This outlook has been prepared with the opinions of experts in economic, political, and social issues and is achievable; it is possible to reach this outlook. If this outlook is realized, a significant part of our demands - the very ones I mentioned - will be realized; but it requires effort and work.

Two things must be kept in mind: one, to think about work and effort and not to tire of it, that a person must keep this desire and will to strive alive within themselves; especially you youths, who must absolutely not let the desire to strive and work weaken in you. The second is to find a point where you must work. If you are a student, if you are an employee, if you are self-employed, if you are military, if you are civilian, find the point where you must be present and work. Jihad is not only in the battlefield; that you shout that we are not from Kufa - which I also completely agree with - does not mean that if a battlefield is prepared, we will come and take up arms and fight; this is one of the tasks - and we do not have a war, God willing, we will not have one - but the ongoing work, the work of producing knowledge, producing construction, serving, striving for justice, striving to maintain public chastity and modesty, striving to guide and build others, and foremost of all, striving to maintain one's own chastity and soundness of soul. My dear ones! Be very careful of yourselves; "Fear God." It has been said that the Friday prayer leader must invite the people to piety and God-consciousness at every Friday prayer; why is this done? It is because the path of life - which is the straight path between heaven and hell - is a slippery path, where a person must constantly look at their feet; be careful; move correctly, so that their foot does not slip; this is maintaining piety; this is the foundation of all works. Keep these two issues in mind and know that this country will reach those goals.

The nature of falsehood is that it roams freely. "Falsehood has its turn"; now America is roaming in the world. Sometimes they also flaunt that we are at your western gate, and we are at your eastern gate - in Iraq and Afghanistan - they are indeed telling the truth; but is this power for America or weakness? We believe that this is a sign of their weakness and puts pressure on them. Today, America is facing problems in Iraq that it is thinking about how to get out of these problems. America entered Iraq of its own accord; but today it does not plan and decide of its own accord. Today, America's planning in Iraq is generally reactive; it is doing things that they are forced to do. I said at the time when the Americans either started the attack or were about to start, in Friday prayers, you are entering of your own accord, but know that you cannot leave of your own accord. To this day, crippling costs have been imposed on America, and after this, even more crippling costs will be imposed on them; staying in Iraq costs them, leaving also costs them; this is a point of weakness for America that they are present in Iraq, not a point of strength. America, in addition to material costs - which is said to be about two hundred billion so far - has also suffered losses in Iraq; the expenses of military campaigns and equipment and, in addition, human casualties. As they themselves report or we estimate, the ratio of American casualties compared to Iraqis is higher than the ratio of their casualties compared to Vietnamese in the Vietnam War, or a higher percentage. In the Vietnam War, for every twenty Vietnamese killed, there was one American; but here, the Americans themselves say they have had a thousand casualties, and the Iraqis seventeen thousand; that is, one to seventeen. Of course, according to calculations one makes or news one hears, the casualties of Americans are more than a thousand. If this is the case, then the ratio goes much higher than this. They have not been able to subdue Iraq; they have put it in their mouths; it is stuck in their throats. Whatever they do is to their detriment. Today, America is in a contradiction in Iraq; on one hand, they need security to be established in Iraq; because if they want to implement their objectives in Iraq, it cannot be done without security. The fact that every day a pipeline is blown up and every day American forces are targeted somewhere, they cannot operate. On the other hand, the very presence of American military forces is a factor of insecurity; it is itself a source of rebellion; it confuses and disrupts the situation and incites the people against them. If they want to establish security for this government that has come to power, they must create a strong army; but on the other hand, the Americans are also afraid of the existence of a strong army in Iraq; because they know that a strong army in a potential Islamic and Arab government is a threat to Israel; this is a contradiction. Another contradiction is that they claim they came to establish democracy; but they are unable to establish democracy; because it contradicts their interests; because if elections were held in Iraq today, the majority of those who would be elected would be the most opposed to them. Is this democracy?! This is another contradiction they are caught in and have no way out.

Today, there is a government in Iraq that is not elected by the people; however, this government can adopt a method that attracts the people to itself; this is our message to the current government in Iraq. We have no motivation to oppose and fight with the government that is currently in power in Iraq, and our belief is that this government - which is not based on the people - can attract the hearts of the people; under certain conditions. The first condition is that it should distance itself from the Americans as much as possible. The second condition is that it should hold elections at the appointed time in a free manner, so that for the first time in Iraq's history, the people can elect their own rulers, representatives, and leaders. This has never happened in Iraq's history, and for thousands of years, this will be the first time that the people of Iraq want to do this. The more they expedite the holding of elections; strive to ensure it takes place on time, the better it will be for their image in front of the Iraqi nation. The third condition is that they must seriously confront the occupation; the presence of occupiers in Iraq has no logic, nor did their attack have any logic. The occupiers lied when they said they were going to fight against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; their lies were exposed all over the world, and everyone understood that they came to Iraq for oil, to show power, and to find a base in the region. As long as these occupiers are present in Iraq, it is an illegitimate act, and it increases the people's hatred towards them; just as the people's hatred towards America and Britain is much greater now than it was a year ago; because of the behavior the occupiers have exhibited and the people have seen up close what an occupier is. That Abu Ghraib prison, those indiscriminate killings, those bombings of cities with airplanes, that attack on a wedding party killing a number of innocent people, and their act of stopping a number of passing civilians with cars and executing them. The people of Iraq see these issues; they understand; day by day, their hatred of Americans and British and the occupiers increases. Therefore, the current government can truly attract the hearts of the people; it can somewhat draw the people to itself; of course, under the conditions mentioned.

And regarding the trial of the wretched and unfortunate Saddam Hussein. There is a lot to say about this trial; everyone in the world analyzes this matter, and you hear it too; but the point I want to make is that the most important point in Saddam Hussein's indictment is the initiation of the eight-year imposed war of Iraq against Iran. We do not claim this; no, we have nothing to do with this court; but the Iraqis themselves must say this; because this war was imposed on us by Saddam Hussein, as well as on the Iraqi nation; the Iraqi nation did not want war. For eight years, he forcibly took the youth of the people from their homes and sent them to the front lines, and then returned them dead or wounded; sometimes he returned the corpses to families, sometimes he did not. This war was imposed on the Iraqi people, and Saddam deprived the Iraqi nation of its abundant resources in this war. It is true that this war caused us a lot of damage, and Saddam Hussein was responsible for these damages; but for the Iraqi nation, the losses were not less, but rather more; because we were not just watching while he did whatever he wanted, we were defending ourselves and striking back harder; but the Iraqi fathers lost their resources; they effectively destroyed their own resources; these actions were done by Saddam Hussein. Today, the Iraqi nation must hold Saddam accountable and ask him why he imposed the eight-year war on the Iraqi nation and threw us against our neighboring country, Iran, while there was no animosity between the Iranian nation and the Iraqi nation; we have always been friends, brothers, and familiar with each other. For many years, our people have gone to Najaf and Karbala for pilgrimage, and they have come to Mashhad and Qom for pilgrimage; we have been close and kind to each other. Few neighboring nations have been as friendly as our nation and Iraq. Saddam Hussein must be tried for this great and unforgivable sin. The punishment for this trial is not execution; it is a hundred executions; it is a thousand executions. Of course, if they want to try Saddam for this crime, many will be condemned in that court; only Saddam will not be condemned. One of the most criminal figures to be condemned in that court will be the American regime; because they were the ones who helped Saddam; they were the ones who gave him the green light to use chemical weapons. This current ugly-faced American Secretary of Defense - who sometimes comes and says a word or two against the Iranian nation - came to Baghdad and after the Halabja incident shook hands with Saddam; in fact, he gave him the green light saying we have nothing to do with you; do whatever you want! During the Reagan administration - when the father of the current American president was the vice president - they constantly took satellite images and gave them to the Iraqis showing where the Iranians were gathering, where they were moving. Of course, at the time when our brave youth - like you Basijis - crossed the Arvand River - thousands of troops crossed this wide river - and took Saddam's father out, the eyes of those satellites were blind; they did not see; they could not provide any benefit; many times this happened. The same commanders of our current IRGC, the same Mr. Safavi and other brothers, sat down and designed; what miracles youth accompanied by faith and courage can perform! Was it possible?! To transfer thousands of troops from far away to the banks of the Arvand; on this side of the water, in such a way that the enemy does not realize; then transfer them across this river and again the enemy does not realize. This was done by these young people. Now, of course, some of them have gray beards; but at that time, they were young like you. Thanks to faith, you can still do it.

America is in contradiction in Iraq; it is in trouble. They are in trouble all over the world. They have caused instability and insecurity in the world; but more than anyone else, they suffer from this instability and insecurity. The world belongs to you; the future belongs to you; dear Iran belongs to you; you shape and adorn the outlook. You must advance knowledge; you youths must advance technology; you must take on the defense in all various fields; both the defense of the political sphere and the defense of the moral and religious sphere, and if one day it comes, the defense of the military sphere.

O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, protect these youths for Islam and Muslims; increase the brightness and purity of their hearts day by day; send down Your mercy and grace upon them.

O Lord! By Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, we beseech You to bestow Your grace and mercy upon our dear martyrs, the pioneers and veterans of this path, and foremost of all, the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified).

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