Statements in Meeting with Various Segments of the People, Families of Martyrs and Veterans on the Eve of the Ninth Parliamentary Elections

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

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters. Thanks be to God, our meeting today in this Hosseiniye is filled with the fragrance of martyrdom and the blessed memory of our dear martyrs, as well as the presence of our esteemed veterans and the families of martyrs and veterans. I greatly appreciate the value of such gatherings. In places where the memory of martyrdom, the mention of martyrs, and the praise of the greatness of martyrs exist, every human being, every heart feels a sense of greatness; they feel self-sufficient from anything other than God. I hope that the Almighty God bestows His favors, mercy, and grace upon all of you dear ones and gathers the pure souls of our dear martyrs and also the Imam of Martyrs with His saints.

These days belong to Imam Askari (peace be upon him), who can serve as a model for all believers, especially the youth. This Imam, whom supporters, Shiites, opponents, and non-believers all testify to his grace, knowledge, piety, purity, infallibility, courage in the face of enemies, and patience and perseverance in the face of hardships, was only twenty-eight years old when he attained martyrdom. In the glorious history of Shiism, we have many such examples. The father of our dear Imam of the Time, with all his virtues, ranks, and miracles, also passed away at the hands of the enemies' poison and crime when he was only twenty-eight years old; this becomes a model; the youth feel they have an excellent example before their eyes. That great Imam, Jawad al-A'imah (peace be upon him), was martyred at the age of twenty-five; this Imam Askari (peace be upon him) attained martyrdom at the age of twenty-eight; and all these virtues, all this nobility, all this greatness, which not only we affirm and praise, but even their enemies, their opponents, and those who did not believe in their Imamate all acknowledged.

In our time, it is truly and justly an exceptional period - this era of the Islamic Republic until today is an exceptional era in our history, a golden piece - these martyrs whom you know, these dear ones of yours, your youth, are all models. Every young person who moved with motivation, with a sacred and pure faith, left his home, his comfort, the embrace of his parents, the cool air in the summer heat, and the warm and soft environment in the winter cold, and went into the heart of those bloody, anxious, and terrifying events, risking his life and soul to fulfill his duty, he is a model. This is a manifest greatness before our eyes.

People like us who have aged and become old men find joy in seeing these examples; however, the youth, in addition to this spiritual and heartfelt enjoyment, learn lessons and take examples. Our martyrs are alive; just as the Almighty God has informed us: "And do not think of those who have been killed in the way of God as dead; rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision"; they are with the Almighty God, alive, observing this world, witnessing events, seeing destinies, and observing our actions. When our feet stumble on a stone, when we cannot guide ourselves properly, when we fall, they become worried. When we understand, see, and take firm steps, moving straight on the path, approaching the goal, they become happy. When the Iranian nation achieves victory in a domain, those pure souls rejoice. When, God forbid, due to our negligence, our shortcomings, the nation falls behind and faces fundamental and general problems, they become worried. And I tell you; in this era we are living in, the enemy has created this vast front against us and has repeatedly failed; one can guess that our dear martyrs are in a state of joy, they are happy, they are content. A nation with this coordination, with this grandeur, despite all the hardships along the way, despite all the wicked and hostile enmities, when it moves forward so firmly, takes strong steps, and progresses toward the goal, they become happy; the pure spirit of the Imam becomes happy, the pure souls of the martyrs become happy. Not that we want to depict the scene contrary to reality; the exact reality is what I have stated.

Today, the world of wealth, power, and global arrogance, all the oppressors, all the wicked, all those whose hands are up to their elbows in the blood of nations, all those who lie to their nations, all those who are willing to empty the pockets of nations for their own benefit, all of these have lined up against the Islamic Republic and formed a front. What do they want to do? They want to break this nation; they want to prevent the Iranian nation from this path and this movement that has begun and has led to the awakening of the entire Islamic world - and this is just the beginning, and God willing, brighter futures lie ahead - if America, the West, Zionism, and the capitalists and parasitic Jews affiliated with the Zionist organization can convince the Iranian nation, bring them to their knees, force them to retreat, they can say to the world: "Look, we have put these pioneers back in their place." This is the goal. All efforts are aimed at this. They did not say this one day; they concealed it; today they explicitly and openly say it. They say we want to impose sanctions - oil sanctions, central bank sanctions, what sanctions, what sanctions, what sanctions - to issue resolutions through the United Nations Security Council, followed by another resolution, followed by another resolution. What is supposed to happen? So that the Iranian nation becomes tired. It is strange; the more time passes, the more vibrant, alive, steadfast, and determined the Iranian nation has become.

This year, your twenty-second of Bahman - this massive movement of the people in support of the system - was a slap in the face of global arrogance. Their wish was to bring groups into the streets against the system. The event they wanted to happen in Iran, where the people would rise against the system, has happened for themselves! Look at the European countries; those who come into the streets, those who clench their fists, those who break windows, are the people of those very systems. The dream they had for you has been realized for themselves; the arrow they shot at the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic has ricocheted back toward themselves. This is the victory of the Iranian nation.

Today, we are moving forward in all dimensions with a strategic perspective. There may be some shortcomings in one area or another, but the great movement has generally been forward, and the nation has not allowed the enemy to rejoice in the plots they are making. They have done everything: they have martyred our youth in the streets; they have martyred our scientists through their own mercenary killers, their own terrorists; they are constantly engaged in political, propaganda, economic, and security work - sending spies - they are doing these things regularly; they are spending money to tire the Iranian nation. Look and see that today the Iranian nation is more vibrant, more alive, and more determined than ever. The youth of today are not less lively and motivated than the youth of ten or twenty years ago. This is a sign of the forward movement of the Iranian nation and the retreat of the enemy.

The Almighty God has also provided for this nation. These elections, these visits to the polling stations, all of these are manifestations of the people's presence and a demonstration of the people's power. It has been perhaps six months or more that they have been propagating against the elections on Friday - all kinds of propaganda - to discourage the people, to make the polling stations empty.

In all the world, enthusiastic elections are a manifestation of the vitality and the determined presence of a nation in various arenas. Wherever elections are held with widespread participation of the people, it is a sign that the nation in that country is awake, alert, and aligned with its system. They want to take this from the Iranian nation. All these hundreds and thousands - and if we also consider the newly emerged internet media, it amounts to millions - millions of media outlets have been activated to discourage the people. Sometimes they said the people will not participate, sometimes they said they will boycott, sometimes they said there will be fraud, sometimes they said this and that; to prevent the people from going to the polling stations, to discourage them. What I feel and strongly believe from God's grace is that the Iranian nation will deliver an even harder slap to the face of global arrogance on the upcoming Friday.

God's hand is with you. The guidance of our hearts and souls is in God's hands. "All matters are in His hands"; everything is in God's hands. When the hearts of the nation, the hearts of the officials, the hearts of the compassionate are with God, God makes the path easy, facilitates it, opens the way, grants success, and God willing, this success will be bestowed upon the Iranian nation.

Truly, elections are a slap in the face of the enemies of this nation. What is important is that the people participate; of course, it is also important to vote for the qualified candidates. Both are important, but participation is the priority. The more the people's presence increases, the stronger the backing of the Islamic Consultative Assembly will be, and a stronger, more capable, and braver parliament will be formed; it will be able to convey the voice of the general public to the world with full power. This is why this presence is very important; it is a very significant presence. And I believe that this time, the sensitivity of this election may be even greater than previous times; because the arrows in the quiver of global arrogance against you people have run out. They have struck as much as they could; they have done everything they could think of; these are the last arrows. You must stand firm; you must, with God's grace and favor, display your will and determination to the enemy so that they understand that they cannot resist against this nation.

God bless you. May God, God willing, bestow His blessings upon the dear Iranian nation, upon you dear youth. I once again extend my warm welcome to all of you, I honor your presence; especially the dear families of martyrs, especially the esteemed veterans and their families. I hope, God willing, that all of you have been recipients of divine grace.

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