Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Managers and Artists of the Sacred Defense

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

First of all, I welcome my dear brothers and sisters, the warriors of the cultural front of the Sacred Defense, and those who, in addition to their bodies, brought their souls, thoughts, art, hearts, and cultural capabilities to this arena, enriching the nation's capital. I especially welcome the esteemed families of the martyrs present here, the disabled veterans, and other self-sacrificers. I hope that the Almighty God accepts your valuable efforts and endeavors and grants the continuation of this glorious path to all those who possess a share of art, literature, and cultural assets.

War is one of the most profound events for a nation. We have all witnessed this through our own experiences, with our flesh, skin, feelings, and perceptions. It is not merely a matter of reading something in history or referring to statistics. However, the important point is that nations can transform this devastating event into an opportunity and an asset. You know, the losses of war are not only the deaths of the nation's beloved ones or the destruction that occurs and the assets that are lost. If national determination and the wisdom of the country's leaders do not come to the aid of the nation in a war, the humiliation and spiritual defeat that will weigh upon that nation may surpass all these losses.

Today, more than one hundred and fifty years and nearly two hundred years have passed since the disgraceful Treaty of Turkmenchay. Every Iranian who reads that history feels shame, humiliation, and defeat in their soul, and they ask themselves: how could the leaders of the country fail to mobilize national determination and the material and spiritual assets of the country to support the national identity of this country in such a significant event?! The invading enemy's army came to the heart of the country; then, through pleading, requests, offerings, and the mediation of false friends, and after numerous national losses and the insults inflicted upon the Iranian nation, they accepted to retreat a little, while they had taken seventeen cities in the Caucasus from Iran and deprived the country of a part of its own body! Today, when you recall this event in your mind or in history books and see what happened to the Iranian nation in that bitter incident, you feel shame and humiliation. Similarly, in the events of World War II, this very city of Tehran became a showcase for the officers of various countries to walk in the streets, look down on Iranians with contempt, exploit them, insult them, and violate their sanctities. This was one type, and that was another. These are signs of a great loss for a nation in a war.

In the war that occurred in this country in 1979, all these events were possible. Those who wanted to separate a piece of Iranian soil from Iran did not merely aim to make Iran a little smaller than it is. Their goal was to instill a sense of inferiority in this nation for centuries—at least a century or two. And in a people who had dared to rise against the vast empire of global arrogance; contrary to all international norms, to bring a completely popular government that does not pay tribute to any power in the world to power, they aimed to extinguish the spirit of courage and self-belief. What was their ultimate goal? This was it. And it would have happened. If it were not for the efforts of the warriors, the families, the public mobilization of the nation, the reporters who presented these scenes of honor before the eyes of the people, and the one who was the leader of all these honors; there would have been no doubt about it. They would have taken a piece of Iranian soil, then, with some bargaining, returned a portion of it and would have placed a burden on the Iranian nation—of course, over many years, and certainly more than the eight years that the war lasted—they would have done this, and every time the Iranian nation looked at that region of its own country, it would feel a sense of inferiority!

You saw that behind Iraq, the West stood united; the Soviet Union and all of Eastern Europe stood united; the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the governments of the Persian Gulf, which were under the influence of the United States, stood united and all helped Iraq; their goal was not to take a few cities from Iran and give them to Iraq or to establish an independent government. The goal was to destroy the Iranian nation. The goal was to eliminate the gaps that the Iranian nation had created in the power structure of the empire of global arrogance. But God did not will it. "God did not will it," what does that mean? It means that if the people of Iran had been negligent and asleep; if the warriors had not gone to the front; if the Imam had not roared and stood firm and did not mobilize all this talent and energy for this cause; would God still have willed it this way? No, the will of the Almighty God in favor of a nation is contingent upon the will of that nation. No truth or reality in the life of a nation changes by divine will; except when that nation itself endeavors for it. This is a clear statement of the Quranic verses and part of the certain religious teachings.

The loss that was supposed to occur—and if it were not for the national determination and the wisdom and prudence of the leaders and officials of the country, and the sincerity and seriousness of those who stepped into this path, it would have certainly happened—was transformed into an opportunity with this national determination and faith. Yes; we lost many precious lives in the war and endured many material and spiritual losses; but something emerged in the heart of this nation whose blessings and value for today and tomorrow of this nation surpass everything, and that is the feeling of self-reliance, the feeling of dignity, the feeling of independence, the feeling of immense national self-belief, and the belief that if a nation gathers around the axis of faith in God and righteous deeds, miracles that seem impossible will become possible one after another. This happened in our lives.

My dear ones! What concludes this matter is that the narrative of this incident is accurately conveyed. Your role becomes evident here. Each of you—perhaps most of you or all of you—went to these battlefields and were present there. Those who were not of age at that time have become aware of the issues. If this great incident is narrated correctly, its effects will be lasting. If it is narrated incorrectly, or not narrated at all, its impacts will be significantly diminished. Not that it will be entirely erased; but it will be greatly reduced. If, God forbid, it is narrated with malice, the matter will be reversed.

This eight-year period of the Sacred Defense includes thousands of incidents. I want to demand from the cultural and artistic community of the country to prepare at least a list from these thousands of incidents. They should sit down and think and apply artistic insight to the events of the war; create a list of these incidents; then place it against the artistic works that have been created about the war until today—which are certainly very valuable—and see how much of this list we have filled. I believe that if this work is done, we will realize that we have not yet articulated even one-thousandth of what should be elucidated and can be elucidated and scrutinized about this war!

I have seen or heard most of the artistic works about the war; of course, in recent years, less so. During the war and in the early years after the war, I mostly saw these writings and visual narratives and cinematic narratives, and so on, or I received reports about them. There are certainly valuable works among them; but all of these are minor compared to the immense treasure that was created during this eight-year defense by the Iranian nation.

Not all of the war is on the front lines. Many issues of the war are within homes; on the roads; in hearts; in decision-making bodies; in international forums. See, during the war, we faced a clear bias from organizations that claimed to be neutral in global issues. They made very grand claims. Those who today speak about weapons of mass destruction and chemical and biological weapons and consider them obvious issues, provided the Iraqi regime and army with chemical weapons; they built them or facilitated their production. The two great poles of the world at that time—namely the United States and the former Soviet Union—jointly came to the aid of Iraq with all their resources. Where in any of our artistic works has this been accurately elucidated and explained?

I have repeatedly said that there was a time when we wanted to import barbed wire—for which we had no production inside the country—from somewhere. The former Soviet Union did not allow us to pass barbed wire through its territory to bring it to Iran. They said it is a war tool! That is, the claim was that they did not help either side in the war! Meanwhile, Russian planes, Russian missiles, Russian experts, Russian officers, Russian explosives, and all Russian resources were at the disposal of the enemy and the opposing side in this war!

This so-called Europe, which claims to support human rights and speaks with politeness and decorum—both its eastern part; the current Yugoslavia and the other countries of the Eastern Bloc at that time, and its western part; namely Germany and the rest—did everything they could to help Iraq, but were unwilling to sell the simplest things to Iran. If at any time the Islamic Republic could obtain some things from them, it could only do so at several times the price and with great difficulty! Of course, their goal was clear—I mentioned this at the beginning—the discussion was that this national dignity, which was created by the great revolutionary movement of the Iranian people, must be eradicated. The breach that the revolution created in the power of Western culture and Western domination and the global system of domination must be filled. That was their goal; they had reached this policy. Where in our artistic works has this been reflected, in which film or play or other artistic works? Is it not possible to reflect? Is it not a valuable lesson for future generations of Iran?

Today, we see that when it comes to the Sacred Defense and the eight-year war and this absolute greatness that the Iranian nation created, which is the most important artistic subject, some works appear here and there that not only do not see the greatness; they search for a weakness, whether real or even perceived, and scrutinize it! What is the purpose of these actions? Why should we disregard this immense product of the Iranian nation?! This is a service to the Iranian nation that, in the aggression against its borders, its personality, its dignity, its history, its national identity—stood so valiantly and defended so courageously—we come to question it; and that too with the language of art?! These actions are taken. In my opinion, these are not coincidental; it cannot be said that now an artist has thought that this can be done; no. It seems unusual to me. Of course, the fault lies with the officials and leaders of the cultural and artistic issues of the country; they too must organize and work.

This nation put everything it had on the plate of sincerity and came forward. Rural men and women, urban underprivileged men and women, various families, numerous youth, different classes, the fighting organizations of the country—the army, the IRGC, even the police force and the massive mobilization of the people—all came into the arena. Truly, the Iranian nation accomplished a great feat during those eight years. In the centuries of history that can connect to our current issues, I do not recall that the Iranian nation has ever entered into a massive military endeavor with such willingness and dedication; with their faith, their emotions, and their own hands. In various periods, even during the Safavid era, when great wars and significant works occurred, the things we observe today did not exist at all. There are clear reasons for this; it is evident why. In any case, this phenomenon in our Iranian history is truly unparalleled; or if we are cautious, we can say it is rare. This phenomenon of such magnitude, with all its glory and beauty. What subject could be more attractive for an artist?

Look at the great artistic works of the world; many of them focus on the heroism of nations; even where they were defeated. In Napoleon's campaign to Russia, two great artistic narrators recounted this event: one is French, Victor Hugo; the other is Russian—the one who was defeated at first, Leo Tolstoy. The victorious side may provide reports; but you see, in the book of the defeated side, the defeat is depicted in such a way that it becomes a source of pride and dignity for the nation. In the movement of the nation, the valuable points that an artist can see are highlighted, emphasized, painted, and brought before the eyes.

In this eight-year saga, we achieved an absolute victory. We did not start the war to say we wanted to take a certain place and failed; that was not the case. The matter was that an enemy attacked us and wanted to take part of our land; the whole world helped them; we stood valiantly; they failed and were humiliated and returned. A victory greater than this? We must narrate this victory with all its dimensions, with all the characteristics it possesses, with all those thousands of incidents that brought it about. This is the work of our dear artists; it is the work of writers; it is the work of filmmakers; it is the work of poets; it is the work of painters; it is the work of cultural and artistic figures.

Today, the work of those who went to the battlefield and created that epic during these eight years—whether they are martyrs, self-sacrificers, or warriors—is complete. They have done their part. After their work is done, the work of a vast multitude begins; in addition to the reports given during the war. This very period of war created so many artists for us; how many prominent figures emerged! Beyond that, after the end of the war, it is the turn of this vast multitude, which is no longer a matter of eight years; it is worth it even if it takes eighty years.

I will not prolong the discussion. I sincerely and devotedly thank all those who have served this nation, this country, and the glorious memory of the war in the field of culture and art. I hope that God accepts all of you and grants you success, and that all dear brothers and sisters receive divine guidance and success, and that we can fulfill the great duty that rests upon all of us in front of this nation and this history, God willing.

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