Statements in a Video Conference with Participants in the Ceremony Honoring Veterans of the Sacred Defense

On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the Sacred Defense

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 Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Remaining One of God among the worlds.

Peace be upon you, O Aba Abdillah, and upon the souls that have settled in your vicinity. May God's peace be upon you as long as I remain and the night and day remain, and may God not make this the last of my visits to you. Peace be upon Hussein, and upon Ali ibn Hussein, and upon the children of Hussein, and upon the companions of Hussein.

Honoring and commemorating the warriors and veterans of the Sacred Defense is among our national duties. Today, on the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the Sacred Defense, has been designated as the day of "honoring and commemorating the warriors and veterans and leaders in the field of Sacred Defense"; this is a very appropriate and correct action. This honoring, this commemoration, and this recognition are among our national obligations, in addition to being a firm recommendation of Islam. Who are the veterans and warriors that we honor today? They are those who sacrificed their lives, took their lives in their hands, gave up comfort, family life, parents, spouses, children, and in some cases, turned their backs on the future, and brought all their possessions to confront an enemy that they recognized they must defend against for Islam and for the country. They defended Islam, they defended the revolution, they defended national dignity, they defended honor; some of them ascended, and some remained and completed the task; فَمِنهُم مَن قَضیٰ نَحبَه وَ مِنهُم مَن یَنتَظِر; (2) this group that today is present in this nationwide session as warriors and veterans are among those who had the honor to go and had the success to complete the task.

A brief explanation of the why and how of the Sacred Defense: When can we properly recognize the importance and greatness of the warriors? When the greatness of the task becomes clear, when we can recognize the greatness of the field and the arena, then it becomes clear what value those who went into this field and worked have. The greatness of the arena means defining the Sacred Defense. I will briefly explain the why and how of the Sacred Defense today. Of course, these are points that have been said many times, but we must repeat them; we must say what is true, again and again, thousands of times; distortion is a serious matter and a great danger, and the hand of distortion exists.

1) The goal of the warmongers was to crush the Islamic system. 2) Saddam was a pawn of the main elements. First, the goal of the warmongers, those who imposed the imposed war on the Iranian nation, was to crush the Islamic system, to crush the revolution; their main and ultimate goal was this. Secondly, the main party was not Saddam and the Ba'ath Party; they were a means that was advanced by the main elements. Saddam was pushed forward using his ambitions and desires. He came into the field, but the main powers behind him were others; powers that had suffered serious blows from the revolution, some of which, like America, had been seriously harmed by the revolution. Some of the parties were those who, although they had not been expelled from Iran like America, could not be said to have lost such a significant benefit in this way, but they were concerned and unwilling for a new element, a new identity based on religion, based on Islam, with characteristics they knew and recognized, to emerge in this sensitive region; thus, they stood against the Islamic Republic. It was not just America; the Soviet Union of that day was also involved, NATO and Western European countries were also there; even Eastern European countries were positioned against us in this arena. Therefore, documents that were later revealed proved that America had agreements with Saddam before the war began; just as valuable military and intelligence assistance was continuously flowing to Saddam's forces and the Ba'ath Party during the war - which I will refer to later - military convoys were continuously visible to us. Ships docked in the ports of the Emirates and, continuously, every day, without interruption, went to Saudi Arabia, went to Kuwait, went to Iraq, and delivered supplies to Saddam's forces. This was the situation of the enemy and the front.

3) The weakness of the armed forces and military equipment. Internally, the conditions of the country were such that they encouraged the enemy to initiate this military attack; the internal situation of the country, the situation of the armed forces - which primarily, hope in wars is placed on the armed forces - was not good; the army had just emerged from the yoke of tyrannical commanders and was beginning to show its revolutionary presence. Of course, many of the army commanders were good commanders, but figures like Martyr Fallahi (3) or the late Zahir Nejad (4), who were significant personalities in the army, were not prepared to manage such a large organization as the army; they were actually inexperienced in this work. The IRGC had also been formed just over a year. At the end of September 1979, the IRGC was a one-year and a few-month-old institution; it had just been established. This was the situation of our armed forces.

In terms of military tools - everyone should really keep this in mind - we were in a state of utmost severity and scarcity; first, our military tools were few, incomplete, many of them were not known to those who had taken responsibility, and at the very beginning of the enemy's attack, some of them had been lost to us; the result was that our resources were very limited. A few months after the war began, when I was touring these units, I saw that the armored division of the army, which should have had about 150 tanks, had about 40 tanks; this was the extent of our resources; the rest of the resources were similar. The IRGC was completely lacking in resources; its resources were light rifles and mortars and the like; we had no military resources at all; this encouraged the enemy. The enemy understood this to a large extent, knew it, and was encouraged to attack.

4) The very sensitive and astonishing role of the leadership and command of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Well, the imposed war and our Sacred Defense began; here is where one recognizes the very sensitive and astonishing role of the leadership and command of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). In such conditions, Imam was able to lead the beginning of the war and then the continuation of this movement under his own eyes and will. Some deny it, express astonishment at how it is possible for an elderly cleric in his eighties to manage the armed forces in war; they think that Imam's military management and command was to go and sit in tactical headquarters and move people around, send units here and there. This was not the issue; Imam's matter was several other things: first, it was important and Imam's great work was that from the beginning he recognized the real volume of this campaign, from the beginning he understood what this war meant; many of us did not know, did not understand. Well, two neighboring countries often get into conflicts; it is not very significant. Imam, however, understood from the beginning that this was not an ordinary conflict between two neighbors, recognized the enemy, and understood who the main enemy in this war was and identified that Saddam was a tool. Imam spoke multiple times about the war, about the Sacred Defense; in a speech related to the war, Imam would say that America is worse than the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union is worse than America, and England is worse than both; meaning his address was to those whom he recognized as the main agents and behind the scenes of the war.

Secondly, Imam made a fundamental and vital diagnosis, which was that this important issue could only be resolved by the Iranian nation. This issue is not merely a matter for the armed forces. Although the armed forces later improved their situation, this task is the work of the Iranian nation; the nation must come to the forefront; just as the Iranian nation brought the revolution to victory, the Iranian nation must also bring the war to victory. Imam recognized this and acted accordingly, creating this great popular movement that I will refer to later. [Then] Imam's personality, his spiritual influence, his sincerity and innocence in his speech, which when he spoke, the effects of his innocence and sincerity were clear to everyone, they understood that he was expressing the truth; then his keen insight, which observed depths that truly meant "what the young see in the mirror, the old see in the raw brick". Sometimes we consulted with military officials on some military issues, and Imam would sometimes express points that truly astonished one as to how he paid attention to these points.

And then the unparalleled decisiveness; that extraordinary decisiveness; Imam decisively stated that impossible tasks, which seemed truly impossible, must be accomplished, for example, "the siege of Abadan must be lifted". Well, at the time when Abadan was under siege, I happened to be in Ahvaz; it was completely unimaginable how the siege of Abadan could be lifted [but] Imam decisively stated it. [Or he would say] "Khorramshahr must be liberated"; in the previous case, "Susangerd must be liberated"; meaning that Imam decisively stated what seemed impossible to those present there. Imam's leadership and guidance and command were these; and unfortunately, Imam's role in the writings related to the war, in discussions related to the war, has been neglected!

Another point about Imam's approach to this issue: Imam would position himself according to the circumstances of the war and express the main point. At one time, for example, a situation arose in the field where the people's morale had dropped, and they needed to regain their spirit; Imam would try to uplift the people's spirits and humiliate the enemy. The meaning of his statement that "a thief came, threw a stone, and ran away" (5) is that our warriors who went to the front are pursuing a fleeing enemy. Uplifting the nation’s spirit. At another time, it was necessary to prevent the warriors from becoming arrogant; suppose the warriors had managed to capture Khorramshahr after about a month of exhausting and extraordinary efforts - well, this was a very remarkable and significant achievement that our warriors, the army, the IRGC, and the Basij managed to reclaim Khorramshahr from the enemy - well, this could create arrogance; here, to prevent this arrogance from arising, which would have a very detrimental effect on all individuals involved in any capacity, Imam said, "Khorramshahr was liberated by God"; [meaning] we are merely instruments; he attributed the matter to divine will and power; this was necessary here. Suppose the warriors faced a problem, needed attention, needed encouragement, Imam would express his affection for them by saying, "I kiss the hands of the warriors" (6). He was attentive; like a kind father and a strong, knowledgeable manager, he was in control of the arena, and whenever necessary, whatever was needed, would be expressed by this great man. And in our research, in the work that is done, Imam's role must be made clear.

Several points regarding the Sacred Defense to prevent distortion and sowing doubt: Therefore, the essence and why of the imposed war become clear in these few brief sentences, but I will present several points regarding the Sacred Defense. Of course, many of these have been said many times, repeated, but they must be repeated; as I mentioned, the hand of distortion is lurking with motivation seeking to sow doubt.

1) The victory of the Islamic Republic and the defeat of the enemy. The first point is that as we said, the enemy initiated the war with the aim of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, establishing a weak and dependent government, and imposing its dominance over the country; and the enemy was defeated. This is a very fundamental and important point that sometimes raises doubts about whether Iran was victorious in this war or not; [the answer is that] the victory of the Islamic Republic in the imposed war is as clear as the sun! [That] all the powerful world of that day poured into one country to overthrow its system, to dominate it, to disintegrate its territory - they wanted to disintegrate parts of the west and southwest of the country - and after eight years of exerting all their efforts, in the end, they could not do anything, is this not victory? The Iranian nation achieved a brilliant victory.

First, they could not separate even an inch of the country's soil; secondly, they could not push the revolution and the system back even a step. And the system after the war and at the end of these eight years was much stronger and more capable than before the war began, and its vitality and capability increased; these are great victories that occurred. In the wars that took place during the reign of kings, during the tyrannies in the last couple of centuries, Iran always suffered defeat; whether during the Qajar era, or during the Pahlavi era, even in the war in which Iran declared neutrality. Iran, in both World War I and World War II declared neutrality, and the country was occupied in both wars, the first during the Qajar era, the second during the Pahlavi era. In the second war, in this city of Tehran, American and Soviet forces paraded in the streets, walked around, and created corruption before the eyes of the people; parts of the north of the country, parts of the south of the country were under their control and had a direct presence. The leaders of the three countries, without permission, without visas, without informing the leaders of Iran - [that is, the incompetent kings and their ignorant and incapable entourages] - held a meeting in Iran (7); Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran entered their meeting, and they humiliated him; that is, in a meeting where three people were sitting, when the Shah entered, these two, namely Churchill (8) and Roosevelt (9), did not stand up for him; they placed a chair there for him to sit, only Stalin (10) stood up; later, the communists wrote in their subsequent memoirs that Stalin saw that they were ignoring him, to attract him to his side, he stood up; this was the situation of the country, meaning the enemy could easily come. In the wars with Russia, the Caucasus was lost; (11) in the mischief of the British in Bushehr and the south and the Persian Gulf, we suffered many blows; all of [these] wars were like this, meaning there was no victory in them. In the Islamic Republic, the proud country of Iran was able to stand against the powerful world before it, namely the East and West and Europe and America and the Soviet Union and the reactionaries and all, and defeat them; this is the first point, which is a very important point and part of our national identity. The fact that it is sometimes said and is correct that "the Sacred Defense is part of national identity" is because the Sacred Defense was the manifestation of the emergence of the noble and prominent identity of the Iranian nation that was able to bring the war to victory.

2) The Sacred Defense was one of the most rational events of the Iranian nation. Some, citing a mistake made in a certain part or by a group, accuse the entire Sacred Defense of being ill-considered; this is absolutely not the case; the Sacred Defense was rational and prudent from beginning to end. The beginning of the work, from the speeches that were made at the very beginning - both what Imam said and what others said - indicates the rationality of entering this arena. Then the activities and cooperation of the IRGC and the army; see, this is a very important issue. At that time, the army was a traditional, established organization in the country, and the IRGC was a young, newly emerged revolutionary element; they had to work together; this is not easy, but this happened. Of course, after Banisadr fled, this cooperation became much better and more complete, but it was there even before that. I myself saw in the Abu Zar barracks that the late martyr Pichak was the deputy commander of the army commander of that barracks - I do not remember the name of that commander - the army commander was there, and his deputy was an IRGC member, and they worked together, lived together; in the western region, the Abu Zar barracks was a sensitive place and they managed a vast area of the war. Then, when the new situation arose and Banisadr fled, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) took command of the war, and the cooperation between the army and the IRGC was evident; in the operations of Imam Reza, breaking the siege of Abadan, in Fath al-Mubin, in Bait al-Maqdis, then in the operations of Kheibar and Badr and other places; this was a very significant achievement. What could be more rational and prudent than this? Then, the selection of innovative and courageous tactics that were truly extraordinary. For example, the tactics used in Fath al-Mubin; that is, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic were able to bravely emerge from behind the enemy's front and defeat and crush the enemy from behind. These tactics were truly innovative tactics. In Bait al-Maqdis, various significant works and new tactics were carried out; in air defense in Valfajr 8, in a few days, martyr Satari made an extraordinary innovation; in crossing the Arvand in that operation, a great achievement was made. All of these were prudent and significant works, rational works; fewer armed forces can advance with this intellectual capability and with this spiritual authority and prudence. Even accepting the resolution at the end of the work, in those conditions that Imam referred to as "drinking the cup of poison", this was also prudent. At that moment, this action was a prudent one; it had to be done. If it were not prudent, if it were not rational, Imam would not have done it. We witnessed closely what was happening; the work was very rational. Therefore, from beginning to end, the issue of the Sacred Defense was a rational phenomenon and one of the most rational movements of the Iranian nation, and we must be vigilant against distortions in this regard.

3) A new modeling for the people's presence in the Sacred Defense and the emergence of talents. The third point; in the Sacred Defense, a new model of popular presence was established. The manner of popular presence is astonishing, and based on this presence, talents emerged [which] I will briefly discuss each of these.

First, all segments of the Iranian nation, those who wished to participate in this arena, whoever they were, whatever they were, were able to find their place in a lively, efficient, voluntary, and enthusiastic network. For example, a 13 or 14-year-old warrior who had managed to reach the front by manipulating his birth certificate had a specific place; he could find his place, he would not remain idle; for example, he could bring water, deliver messages, and be a messenger, and so on. An elderly man of seventy could also go to the front; he too could find his place. The expectations from an elderly man at the front were completely clear; no one would remain idle; neither that 13-year-old boy would remain idle, nor that seventy-year-old man. Or suppose a schoolgirl of eight or nine or ten years old - an elementary school student - who wanted to participate in this work, she could find her place; she would write a letter to an unknown warrior brother and place this letter in the food packages and gifts sent by the people. It repeatedly happened that a warrior in the battlefield would open this food package and find a letter in it, reading that yes, a girl of seven or eight or ten years old had written, "Dear warrior brother! May you not be tired, I pray for you, and so on"; meaning a little girl could also be present here; a respected lady could help at the back of the front with her sewing machine, with her cooking tools, with her making jam, with her baking bread, with her washing clothes. I went to a place in Ahvaz where a group of respected women had gathered to wash the dirty clothes of the warriors; meaning everyone could find their place and were busy. A surgeon could specifically be present there and was present, and we saw. A small shopkeeper, a mosque cleric, a factory worker, a poet and singer, a driver and employer, a foundry worker, a rural farmer, an administrative employee, and various groups of people could participate in this vast popular network; this was a new model. There is no precedent for this in the world; we have not read or heard of such a massive popular mobilization anywhere. [Regarding] numerous wars, their books and films have come out, we have read many of these things, but there is no example of such a massive popular mobilization at all. This was a new model; a new modeling where everyone could cooperate, everyone could synergize, and everyone contributed.

Then, in this collective movement, what talents suddenly emerged. Suppose a young man from a village in a certain part of the country - for example, a village in Kerman - comes to the city and joins them, and later becomes, for example, Haj Qasem Soleimani; meaning such a massive movement [occurred]. A student youth who had never held a gun before voluntarily goes to the front, and in the course of events in the front, for example, in a year and a half, becomes a prominent and influential member of a high-level military headquarters. Suppose a young man from a newspaper group, who is engaged in journalistic activities, goes to the front and shortly thereafter becomes, for example, martyr Hassan Baqeri, the genius of war intelligence; and such remarkable cases emerged, and the enduring faces of the war and great martyrs of the war are of this kind. We saw some young officers, for example, martyr Sayyad, whom I knew from the early revolution and saw; at that time, he was a young officer or a lieutenant or a captain - who would come to us and go; he had visits - he became a capable experienced commander who managed to lead the army's ground forces for a long time and participate in the biggest operations. Martyr Babaei [is also] among these, and others who were there. This innovative model of popular presence can always be relevant. Today, we can also do this. If we strive and look at the people and issues correctly, we can utilize this model. Of course, the situation of war is one thing, the situation of the economy is another. Thinkers and intellectuals can view this [model] as a tool for national power and pursue it. At that time, the role of the rear in this model became as important as the front; because not everyone can take up arms; interests and tendencies and abilities are different; some can create roles at the rear and they did create roles. First, financial assistance, food supplies, which were important and had a significant impact, to caring for the wounded, to the glorious farewell of martyrs. I have often said that if such honoring and respect were not given to the martyrs, the enthusiasm for martyrdom would not have ignited in hearts as it did. When the body of a martyr - whether one or more - entered a city, the public presence and farewell of the people to him until the resting place was one of the very important events and impactful ceremonies. Cultural and propaganda support, from poetry and slogans to neutralizing the enemy's psychological operations - which the enemy was constantly engaged in psychological operations in the cities and villages of the country, and there were always people engaged in neutralizing these - to the reception and accommodation of war refugees, to the endurance of people from some cities under the enemy's bombardment like Dezful; one of the proud cases at the rear was the endurance of the people of some cities. This is the same in Kurdistan, in Khuzestan, and in other provinces; in some cities, people remained in the city even though it was a place of continuous severe enemy attacks.

4) The emergence of the highest moral virtues and spiritual ascension. The fourth point; in the Sacred Defense, the highest moral virtues emerged; both moral virtues and spirituality and spiritual ascension and elevation of the spirit. I really cannot find anything similar to this; now, there are a few here and there, but with this large number of people and this large quantity, I do not know of any place other than the battlefield of the Sacred Defense where such moral virtues have emerged; both moral virtues and aspects of spiritual elevation and religious spirits and the like. The biographies that have been written show these characteristics, the wills that have remained are the same, and the states that are narrated from some of the warriors are the same. Moral virtues like honesty, truthfulness, and purity. Well, the battlefield was a place of truth and purity; everyone was sincere [with each other]. Sincerity, working for God; there, some practiced sincerity, and they demonstrated their sincerity for God in action. Humility, serving others. One repeatedly reads in these biographies that, for example, a certain group slept in a tent at night, and when they woke up in the morning, they found all their boots polished; who polished them? It is unclear. After investigation, it becomes clear that, for example, the commander of the platoon or the commander of the group came at night and polished all their boots or washed their clothes that they had left to be washed, or cleaned the latrines; these are extraordinary things; this humility, this service, the spirit of service, self-sacrifice, and dedication; then those spiritual states, those midnight weeping, those early morning awakenings, that enthusiasm and love for monotheism, that indifference to worldly adornments, and in some cases, connection to the unseen. Some of these dear ones, these young mystics - truly mystics; the true mystics - reached a point in the battlefield where they could see the future, foretold their own martyrdom, the martyrdom of their friends, and the events that might occur; these are in the biographies of the warriors, and these are very [important].

Of course, it is clear that this point more than the other points mentioned is due to the blessings of Islam. Of course, the elevation and brilliance of other points were also due to religious faith, but this particular point is related to surrendering to God and the issue of Islam and the issue of religious faith, which truly leaves one astonished at the impact of this deep faith. Or the spirits of the mothers of martyrs. Well, I and you do not understand the feeling of motherhood; truly, no one can understand the feeling of motherhood except the mother herself; then this mother sends her young son to the front, when the young man comes and requests, she says, "Go, because you want to go for Islam"; go for Islam. Then when the body of this young man is brought back, she is happy that she has given him for the sake of God; she says, "I gave this [young man] for the sake of God." Thanks be to God, I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the families of martyrs, with the mothers and fathers of martyrs - repeatedly - one sees what spirits, what states, what sacrifices these mothers of martyrs have; this was only due to the blessings of Islam and for the great sacrifice that is a brilliant chapter in the thick book of the Sacred Defense. This is also this point.

5) The Sacred Defense and the creation of capital for the country. The fifth point; the Sacred Defense created capital for the country and produced valuable assets for the country. The benefits of the Sacred Defense are very numerous. First, the security of the country is due to the Sacred Defense; that is, the Sacred Defense demonstrated that the cost of aggression and invasion of this country is very high. This was proven due to the Sacred Defense; this provides security for a country. When a nation shows that it has the determination and power to defend itself and gives a crushing response to the aggressor, it causes the aggressor to hesitate in his aggression against this country and this nation, and if he wants to act wisely, he understands that it is not in his interest, it costs him a lot; this security is related to that.

Secondly, it gave our nation a spirit of self-belief. This self-belief among a large number of people, which fortunately today you observe in the field of science and in various fields - [that is,] construction and other things - is often due to the Sacred Defense; that is, suppose a twenty-something young man, with full authority, with complete self-confidence, leads a group, a division, and strikes a decisive blow against the enemy; this gives people a sense of self-belief, a sense of self-confidence. And the Sacred Defense was able to prove that the Iranian nation could rise with dignity from the depths of challenges like the imposed war.

Then, this movement towards technical and scientific innovation was also achieved during the Sacred Defense; because during the Sacred Defense, we needed many things that were not available to us, we did not have the resources, and the devoted, faithful forces went to think about how to create them. For example, suppose the late martyr Hassan [Tehrani] Moghaddam, at that time, in one section, initiated the missile-making project in a way that he and others told us to come and visit; we went there and saw that yes, they had started. Well, we needed missiles, and missiles were not given to us, the enemy had missiles, and they were hitting us with missiles, this made our capable forces think of doing something; and [they did] and did it well and managed it in the best way until today, which is now clear. Therefore, this was also a movement towards innovation.

Taking on seemingly impossible tasks; this was also one of the things that the Sacred Defense taught us. The Sacred Defense created this capital for us to know that there are some tasks that seem impossible, but in reality, if we strive, they are achievable; we learned this in the Sacred Defense, and this is also one of our assets.

Moreover, it elevated our human capital; fortunately, many of those present in the eight years of the Sacred Defense have been and are serving in various sectors of the country today - [that is,] today and yesterday and God willing in the future - countless individuals, one example being our dear martyr Soleimani, who had a remarkable activity in the field of diplomacy and international relations; that is, truly, even now, friends and faithful brothers and the dear Iranian nation are not aware of the breadth and scope of martyr Soleimani's work; they are aware of some things [like this] that he was present in a certain front; the intricacies of his work are much more than these words, which perhaps will gradually become clear in the future. This was a human capital that was formed during the war; that is, the foundation for figures like Qasem Soleimani was laid during the war, during the Sacred Defense. This is also a point.

6) The unveiling of the true nature and reality of the adorned civilization of the West. Another point regarding the Sacred Defense is that it acquainted us with the true nature and reality of the adorned civilization of the West; of course, since the Iranian nation had previously suffered from the West - from the British in one way, from the Americans in another way - they were somewhat familiar, but not to the extent seen in the Sacred Defense.

Of course, in the past, there were many scenes where the Iranian nation witnessed the enmity and treachery of Western governments up close; like the occupation of parts of the country after World War I, the occupation of parts after World War II, the mischief and wickedness of the British in the south, in Bushehr and the Persian Gulf, in the case of the Iran War and some other powers, and likewise in the case of Afghanistan; they had seen the treachery of Western governments, but not to the extent seen in the Sacred Defense. What was seen during the Sacred Defense, if we do not say it was more than what had been seen from the West over the years, it was not less; it equaled or exceeded it. The West was against us in both its forms; that is, not only capitalist West, the capitalist West, [but also] communist West; because communism is also a product of the West. In both forms! That is, England acted against us during the war, France acted against us seriously, Germany acted against us seriously, Yugoslavia, which belonged to the Eastern bloc, acted against us, and the Soviet Union was also known; that is, all the Western powers deprived us of the least resources - they truly deprived us of the least resources - nothing was available to us from abroad; not even light weapons, not even very simple ammunition was provided to us, [but] everything was given to the other side; from Mirage for bombing to Super Etendard for hitting ships to satellite intelligence for awareness of the gathering centers of our forces and movements, to money, to tanks, and all kinds of things were provided to the enemy, including chemical weapons; that is, even chemical weapons were provided, and Saddam used chemical weapons against us, as well as against his own nation; that is, in Halabja, Saddam used chemical weapons and in our country as well; that is, the West, Europe, trampled all its claims of humanitarianism and human rights, [and] denied them in its dealings with these; in defense of the corrupt and anti-human dictatorship of Saddam, it refuted all its claims. And this deep understanding is very precious for us; that is, we must truly know and understand that the Westerners are like this, and based on this familiarity, we must decide, think, and act.

7) The revelation of the capabilities and potentials of the Iranian nation to the world. The last point I want to mention is that a great event occurred during the Sacred Defense, which was that it revealed the capabilities and potentials of the Iranian nation to the world; that is, it became media. The media of the world were all against us, the media of the world were against the revolution; of course, today it is the same, it was the same then. At the beginning of the revolution, the official media of the world either lied or concealed the positive points or slandered [everyone] from Imam to the government of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system and the people and the judiciary and all and all, to the armed forces, to others; they were constantly working against them and wanted to introduce the Iranian nation to the world as an undesirable nation. The Sacred Defense became a completely resonant media, a loud voice to show the truths of the Iranian nation; it created a proper image for the Iranian nation and showed the courage of the nation, the resistance of the nation to the whole world; this was truly a strange and important event; it showed our national solidarity, showed our rear support to the world, and everyone understood this, and the enemy's fabrications were clarified. These several points regarding the Sacred Defense.

The elimination of fear and sorrow through resistance and steadfastness. Well, what we have mentioned regarding the realities of the Sacred Defense is very small and limited; we have been able to portray small sections of it. (13) The Sacred Defense is a magnificent tableau, a small part of this side and that side I have now mentioned, and others have also portrayed; we owe a lot [to the Sacred Defense]. War is naturally a devastating and violent phenomenon, but for us, from this devastating and violent eight-year phenomenon, the blessings that I have now counted a few of them were obtained; and [the blessings] are more than these. That is, we received good tidings from the war, we made progress, we gained vitality; this war, with all its difficulties, with all its problems, with all its losses here and there, brought us blessings; this is truly the case.

And the literature of war, in general, is a literature of good tidings; see, the Quran also speaks about martyrs, saying, "And they rejoice in what has come to them from behind them that there is no fear upon them and they do not grieve." (14) They give good tidings; they give good tidings of what? That they should not have and do not have two major afflictions; that is, the negation of these two afflictions is what they give good tidings of: one fear, one sorrow; they negate both fear and sorrow. In my opinion, if we want social vitality, if we want hope and liveliness and freshness in our young generations, we must believe in this heavenly and Quranic proposition; this "they rejoice" is very important. Fear and sorrow are two major afflictions for a nation, for a community, for a person. Fear and sorrow are two major afflictions; these two afflictions are removed through Quranic good tidings; just as if we resist, these two afflictions are removed. That is also [the statement] of the Quran: Indeed, those who said, "Our Lord is God" then remained steadfast, the angels descend upon them, [saying:] Fear not and do not grieve; (15) resistance is the same. If you want to have no fear, no sorrow, make resistance and steadfastness your model of action; then you will have no fear, nor sorrow; these are Quranic propositions.

Strengthening the literature of the Sacred Defense to counter the hands of distorting forces. Of course, I must say that we have been negligent regarding the Sacred Defense; of course, the works that our dear General, the Chief of Staff mentioned are very good and very valuable works that have been done, but at the same time, they are few; we need a lot of work. You see, the further we move away from the Sacred Defense in terms of time, the closer we must become in terms of knowledge; why? Because distortion is lurking, the hands of distorting forces are lurking. Well, you who are the men of war are present now; after all, you will say something, you will defend, but twenty years from now, many of those present today will not be here, thirty years from now, even more will not be here. The hand of distortion may distort this brilliant part of our history; therefore, we must work, our knowledge must increase, the literature of the Sacred Defense must be strengthened.

The literature of the Sacred Defense is not a kind of literature compared to other literatures; that is, it is not that we have epic literature, romantic literature, social literature, police literature, and now one is the literature of the Sacred Defense; no, the literature of the Sacred Defense is a source, various kinds of literature can be extracted from it and used, and it gushes forth; like a gushing spring from which various kinds of literature can be created; excellent historical, social, political, romantic, familial texts can be created based on the literature of the Sacred Defense and what is produced for the Sacred Defense. But the important point is the production of texts; we need to produce texts. If a good and precious text is prepared, then a play can be made from it, a movie can be made, poetry can be created. For example, I heard from this book of martyr Khush-Lafz, (16) one of our committed poets has created ten ghazals; very well, if committed poets enter, dozens of volumes from these books of the Sacred Defense may be created; poetry is a great art, so is film, so are cinematic works and the like. In the world, it is the same. In the world, perhaps part of the best cinematic works in the world is adapted from excellent writings and texts that have been written before them. They make films based on them. We must do the same; we must prepare these excellent texts, based on these texts, films should be created, theater should be staged, and so on. Therefore, it is an important task. Now, inside the country, I have heard that, for example, they are staging works by foreign writers like Victor Hugo or Charles Dickens; very well, let us do something so that our writings are also staged in other parts of the world - first here, then in other parts of the world - as theater and films are made from them; that is, we must put our efforts into producing excellent texts.

The importance of holding memorials and characterizing the elements of the Sacred Defense. One discussion is about memorials; memorials are an important discussion, a great work, and these memorials prevent generational gaps from occurring and familiarize the young generations [with the Sacred Defense], which itself impacts the formation of individuals like martyr Hajji, for example, or the dear martyrs defending the shrine, which is also one of the blessings and consequences of the Sacred Defense.

Another very necessary task is to honor and characterize personalities. Some personalities are of course famous - famous military figures, famous IRGC figures, famous law enforcement figures, and some of them are famous fighters who were not among these, but were Basijis - but many are not famous. Many of these biographies that are written are of individuals who have no fame and there are many of these, but they have done great works, important matters are attributed to them. For a person, a commemoration should take place, and discussions should be held about him, research should be conducted, speeches should be made, and the details of his life should be discussed. Of course, the discussion of the defenders of the shrine, which I have made a reference to, is among the astonishing discussions of our time, which is a very important event. Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian, and Afghan warriors all move together in a united front for a common goal; this is a strange thing; this is among the great phenomena of our time and of course, it is one of the blessings of the Sacred Defense.

The necessity of fulfilling our duties regarding the issue of Corona. Well, my remarks have concluded; I want to say a word regarding the issue of Corona. Do not underestimate Corona; [that] the loss of 150 compatriots is a small matter? Some have an inappropriate calendar (17) or evaluation of this issue. Suppose every two days a three-hundred-person airplane crashes and all of them die; is this a small matter? If we have 140, 150, or 170 deaths every day, is this a small matter? The remedy is in our hands. Well, you see that the officials are truly sacrificing themselves; from doctors and nurses and managers and [others], they are constantly trying, working. We, the people, must fulfill our duties; this social distancing, this wearing of masks, these instructions that are given, this washing of hands, are necessary actions that must be taken.

Now the discussion of Arbaeen has come up; some love Imam Hussein, love Arbaeen; [well,] it is clear, we all [do]; now many of you who have gone, I have been deprived and have been eager - although we are far, we speak of you - (18) but going for the Arbaeen march is only subject to the discretion of the relevant national Corona headquarters. If they say no - which they have said so far - everyone must comply, everyone must submit. That is, for example, suppose we rise and go to the border to express our devotion to the Imam, no [it cannot be done]; we express our devotion from inside the house. Two or three important visits on the day of Arbaeen are recommended; on the day of Arbaeen, all people should sit and read the visitation of Arbaeen with attention and express their complaints to Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) and say, "O Lord of Martyrs, we wished to come, but it was not possible, the situation is like this, until a decision is made, may they help us.

We hope that God Almighty will decree goodness and righteousness for the Iranian nation in every way and reward our dear warriors who have worked hard and made efforts; may He elevate the ranks of the dear martyrs. May God Almighty, God willing, gather our great Imam, who was the leader of this great movement of the Iranian nation and still is - Imam is still guiding us - with His beloved ones and His friends and reward him; may He grant him the appropriate reward for the value of this period of life and assist you dear brothers, the officials of the armed forces, the officials of the government, and the officials of various sectors in fulfilling your duties, and may He guide us all.

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

1) At the beginning of this ceremony, Major General Mohammad Baqeri (Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces) presented a report. 2) Surah Al-Ahzab, part of verse 23; "... some of them have passed away, and some of them are still waiting ..." 3) Martyr Brigadier General Valiollah Fallahi (Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic during the Sacred Defense) 4) Major General Qasemali Zahir Nejad (Commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Republic during the Sacred Defense) 5) Sahifeh-ye Imam, vol. 13, p. 221; radio-television message at the beginning of the school year (1359/6/31) 6) Sahifeh-ye Imam, vol. 16, p. 143; message to the Iranian nation and the warriors (1361/1/2) 7) The leaders of the three countries of America, England, and the Soviet Union met from December 6 to 9, 1943, in a conference known as the Tehran Conference, at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran. 8) Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of England) 9) Franklin Roosevelt (President of the United States) 10) Joseph Stalin (General Secretary of the Soviet Union) 11) Treaty of Gulistan 12) Out of counting and accounting 13) Explaining; stating 14) Surah Al-Imran, part of verse 170; "... and for those who follow them and have not yet joined them, they rejoice that there is no fear upon them and they do not grieve." 15) Surah Fussilat, part of verse 30; "Indeed, those who said: 'Our Lord is God' then remained steadfast, the angels descend upon them [saying:] Fear not and do not grieve; ..." 16) When the moonlight was lost 17) Assessment, evaluation 18) Derived from a verse by Hafez.