Statements at the Graduation Ceremony of Army Officer University Students

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 al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the remainder of God on earth.

First of all, I congratulate all of you dear young people, the beloved lights of our eyes; both those who have received their degrees today and graduated, entering the ranks of the young officers of the Islamic Republic of Iran's army, and those who have received their epaulettes today and have begun their journey towards active service; God willing, may you all be successful. The graduates of today - who received their degrees today - received their epaulettes yesterday, today you have become young officers of the Islamic Republic's army, and tomorrow, God willing, with divine grace and hope in God, you will be powerful commanders and responsible leaders of your armed forces. You have arranged the field very well; a beautiful display was shown in the field; I thank the organizers of this display and its performers.

I will first present a main point, and then a few other points for our dear youth. The main point is that being in the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not merely a job like other professions that one pursues and engages in, but rather it is taking on a sacred responsibility. What is that sacred responsibility? It is the preservation of security. Security is one of the most important and effective factors needed by a society. If there is no security in a society, no correct or positive work can be done in that society; if there is no security in a society and the country is threatened by enemies, no scientific or research work can be properly conducted, nor can economic activities be carried out, nor can intellectual and cultural work be done. In an insecure environment, everyone is concerned with preserving their own life. You, the armed forces and the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are the guardians of this country's security. This is an extraordinarily important, sensitive, sacred, and valuable responsibility; you must appreciate this; for this reason, if you young people - who have pure hearts and bright souls - intend to do this with sincerity from now on, you are worshipping. That is, your training, your attending classes, the missions you carry out, the great works you perform, all of these are considered acts of worship; when work becomes sacred, and a person intends to do it sincerely, it becomes worship; therefore, this is the fundamental difference.

The issue of security, as I mentioned, is very important. The greatest blow that enemies can inflict on a country is to deprive that country of its security. What you see today in some of the countries in our region is what the enemies have begun to do; they are taking security away from the people of those countries; the factors behind these wicked acts have also been identified. In the world today, the arrogant powers, especially the United States, along with the intelligence services of the West, backed by the money of some reactionary countries in the region, are creating chaos in our neighboring countries and those close to us; they are destroying security; this is the worst enmity and the most dangerous malice against a nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to say to the well-wishers of these countries, such as Iraq and Lebanon, who are struggling with problems, that their priority should be to remedy insecurity; their people must also know that [although] they have demands, which are rightful demands, these demands can only be met within the framework of legal structures. The enemy wants to disrupt the legal structures. When there are no legal structures in a country, a vacuum is created, and nothing can be done, no positive action can be taken; they had similar thoughts for our dear country; fortunately, the nation came to the field in time and was vigilant, and the armed forces were also present, and it was neutralized; and this remedy exists for all countries that are facing this problem. This is the first point; know that you are the guardians of security, meaning the guardians of the most important asset of a nation, which is the key to other assets.

The next point is the comparison of the army of the Islamic Republic with the armies of the arrogant powers. I have no concern with all the armies of the world; we neither know them all, nor do we want to speak about them; my discussion is with the arrogant armies. Let us make a comparison between our army - of which you are the young and blossoming flowers - and the arrogant armies; there is a fundamental difference, a deep and inherent difference. The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as we have defined, considers itself the guardian of its country's security; its primary responsibility is this. The mission of the armies of the arrogant powers is primarily aggression, usurpation, and inflicting blows on countries that can be harmed for various reasons and interests; this is the difference.

We have never initiated any war during the period of the Islamic Republic; defense has been firm and powerful; but attack and aggression, absolutely not! In the philosophy and logic of the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, there is no place for aggression. But look at the armies of the arrogant countries in the last hundred years - and when I say the last hundred years, I mean that I have a significant awareness of this period, having witnessed it closely, meaning it has happened in our time - the traces of the crimes of the armies of the arrogant powers can be seen almost everywhere in the world.

The British army in the Indian subcontinent, namely in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh today, in Burma, and in the small countries of the Indian Ocean, has committed such crimes in this century, namely in the twentieth century, that one truly feels disgusted at the recollection of how they invaded a nation with military forces. There are astonishing accounts of mass killings here; this was just one part of the work. The British army did the same in the region of the East; throughout this hundred years, they committed the same acts in West Asia, and the same in parts of North Africa; they have committed so many crimes against nations that they will never be forgotten by those nations. Of course, the politicians - both the politicians of those weak countries and the politicians of Britain - wanted to obscure these facts, to somehow make them forgotten, but they cannot be forgotten; they are recorded in histories and will remain recorded.

The same applies to the French army; the French, whose voices today regarding human rights and democracy are deafening, have committed so many crimes in North Africa, in Algeria, in Morocco, and in Tunisia! In East Asia, in Vietnam, before the Americans entered Vietnam, the French committed many crimes there; they committed atrocities in East Asia; in present-day Syria and Lebanon, the French army has committed astonishing crimes; they have inflicted so much pressure on these people! These are all from the last hundred years. The nature of the arrogant armies is such.

When it comes to the United States, it is already clear; in August 1945, with one bomb in Hiroshima, they instantly killed one hundred thousand people; when this bomb fell in Hiroshima, in the very first hour, one hundred thousand people were killed; of course, later tens of thousands more died over time due to the poisoning caused by the nuclear waves. Three days later, they dropped another bomb in Nagasaki, killing another fifty thousand people. The question arose: if you wanted to end the war - after all, they say we wanted to end the war, we wanted to conclude the international war with this act - the first bomb was sufficient; why did you drop the second bomb in Nagasaki? The answer is: the first bomb was made with uranium, the second bomb was made with plutonium; we wanted to test it! See, for the sake of testing a bomb, the lives of 150,000 people were instantly destroyed; this is the nature of the arrogant army, the godless army, the army devoid of ethics; this is the difference between the armies. Of course, these are limited examples that I am giving; if someone wants to speak about the crimes of the armies of the arrogant powers and go beyond this hundred years - over two or three hundred years - many books can be written and should be written.

Well, where does the strength of these armies come from? Where do the resources of these armies come from? The strength of these armies relies on the arrogant governments; that is, the problem does not lie with the army itself, but with the support of the army, meaning the arrogant systems. See! The reason why you and I insist, emphasize, and repeat that we rely on the Quran, that we want an Islamic system, is this. When humanity falls into the hands of systems that are devoid of ethics, devoid of religion, and devoid of proper direction, this is the result; their army becomes this. The backing of these armies that have committed so many crimes were the political powers that ruled over these countries; they supported these armies, and these armies, in turn, maintained and preserved those systems; this is the nature of the work. Of course, on this side - on the side of the Islamic system - the Islamic system values its army, its armed forces, its Revolutionary Guard, its Basij, its law enforcement; the armed forces are also an important and effective part of the beautiful and interesting system of the Islamic Republic, which is composed of various elements throughout its structure; this is the next point.

The third point is the characteristics of the army of the Islamic Republic; the army of the Islamic Republic has devoted itself to the Islamic Revolution with all its being over these 40 years, bringing all its capabilities to the field. It faced a historical test against the internal factions of the country, each of which emerged from this test in one way; the army of the Islamic Republic emerged victorious in this test; this is the judgment I can make regarding the army of the Islamic Republic; from the very first hour of the victory of the revolution, even a little before the victory of the revolution, when the revolutionary elements of the army began to show themselves, I have been aware of the issues of the army until today - it has been 41 years - the army has shown itself well in this field.

First, many elements of the army from the era of the tyrant, who preserved their faith and belief, were able to enter the field and actually shape the army of the Islamic Republic; Martyr Sayyad, Martyr Sattari, Martyr Babaei, a little older than them Martyr Fallahi, Martyr Fakouri, the late Zahirinajad, the late Salimi, are elements from the army of the tyrant. You see that these brilliant figures were able to welcome the Islamic Republic and draw a large crowd of the army behind them. When Martyr Babaei was the commander of the Isfahan Air Base, I went to visit that base. The entire base, whose commander at that time was Martyr Babaei, a believer and revolutionary man, was managed like a Basij unit; I visited various parts of it. Martyr Sayyad was a symbol of revolutionary movement and religious faith. This was one of the works that many elements from the previous era came to welcome the Islamic Republic; now I have named a few; a significant number of them also attained the high rank of martyrdom, some served and worked, and we witnessed their efforts.

Secondly, the army has shown self-sacrifice in all fields; in confronting the separatists affiliated with foreign powers in the early days of the revolution, in some parts of this country, the army was among the forces that entered the field and made efforts; during the eight years of sacred defense, the presence of the army was significant; in border guarding in the years following the victory of the sacred defense, it was the same; in supporting the resistance front, the army has played a role that has been recorded and will be clarified, announced, and published in due time.

Thirdly, the army has made transformations in its internal capabilities; both in organization, in operational tactics, in construction, and in the thought and culture of the ranks of the army. This religious spirit, this spirit of faith in the officer training universities of the Islamic Republic's army, is a very prominent and important thing, and it has not been easily achieved; over time, capable and faithful commanders have been able to create these traditions deeply and sustainably. The anti-religious orientations of the army during the tyrant's era have completely changed 180 degrees, transforming into religious, cultural, and Islamic orientations.

The next point is about the future; well, we have understood the nature of the Islamic army; we have briefly described the current existence of the army of the Islamic Republic; there are responsibilities regarding the future. My dear ones! See, what does a free nation mean? What does it mean that "freedom is one of the values"? What is a free nation? A free nation is one that can freely will, freely act, and recognize its true national interests, and with that independence of will and action, secure those interests for itself and its country; this is what a free nation needs; and these characteristics and specifications introduce a free nation to us. If a nation can make this correct distinction and decide and not be influenced by the enemy's destructive calculations, it will achieve good results. Destructive calculations; see, one of the enemy's actions is to alter the calculations of the country's officials and the influential thinkers of the country, and subsequently the general public; it is as if you could introduce malware into someone's computer that would give you all the wrong information; in the public and general management of a country, in their thoughts, in their calculations, sometimes the enemy influences. A free nation is one that does not accept this influence, truly thinks freely, thinks independently, acts courageously, and pursues its national interests. Well, what does this require? It requires insight.

If we lack insight, if we do not have the correct vision, open eyes, and necessary vigilance, we will neither correctly identify our true interests nor correctly identify the path to reach these interests, nor will we correctly recognize the person who must carry this great burden. When there is no insight, it is like a person who has no eyes and cannot see the way; insight is of such importance for a country, a nation, and the individuals of a collective. If such characteristics exist in a country, in a nation, then that nation will achieve its desired results; of course, this imposes certain obligations on all collectives, including our armed forces. We cannot assume that those who have insight in the country, the armed forces will close their eyes and say whatever they say; no, this insight is public; in the Islamic system, it is like this; in the Islamic system, each of you must see, think, recognize, distinguish, and act; feel a sense of duty and be careful that the enemy does not influence your thought processes.

Now, from what we have discussed in this last point, several conclusions can be drawn: the first conclusion is that one should not trust the enemy; naive optimism should not exist.

Secondly, one should not overlook the enemy's movements; one must always be vigilant about the enemy's movements. One of the important sections of our armed forces is the intelligence and awareness sections; one must not overlook the enemy's movements, one must always be vigilant about the enemy's plans, schemes, and movements.

Thirdly, the enemy should not be underestimated; as Saadi says: "The enemy cannot be considered insignificant and miserable"; we must recognize the enemy by its own measures, prepare ourselves for self-defense against the aggressive enemy.

And the next obligation is that my dear ones! One should not be deceived by victories; victories are valuable, and they bring joy, but one should not be deceived by victory. Many achieve initial victories, but after that, due to some factor, they encounter problems, the famous historical example being the Battle of Uhud during the Prophet's time, where the Prophet himself was present, and the Muslims were victorious, but a negligence caused that victory to turn into defeat, and a great commander like Hamza, the master of martyrs, was martyred, many were martyred, many were wounded, and the Islamic army was defeated. Victory must be preserved; preserving victory means that we must maintain the factors of victory. The factors of victory are faith, constant struggle, continuous effort, unity, and synergy; these must not be lost.

My dear ones! One should not become preoccupied with trivial material distractions; many of us have good motivations, high aspirations, but sometimes trivial material distractions seem large to us; pursuing a position, pursuing wealth, pursuing desires distracts us; when we become preoccupied, we lose sight of our goal, that which we said must be pursued continuously, disappears, and victory will be lost. Therefore, we must pay attention; the factors of victory must be preserved, and we should not become preoccupied with distractions.

What is particularly relevant in this regard for the armed forces and security forces is that they must be vigilant against sedition. In the Quran, it is stated: "Sedition is worse than killing"; in another place, it is stated: "Sedition is greater than killing"; "worse" means more severe, "greater" means larger. Killing is a bad thing, undesirable, but sedition is worse than that. Well, if sedition is worse than killing, then the forces that are guardians of security must prepare themselves, organize themselves to confront sedition; they must maintain their readiness against sedition; this is what the institutions must pay attention to.

And the last point I will mention is the issue of hope for the future. In your statements, in your actions, in what one observes from the youth of the country in various sectors - whether armed forces or many of the youth in other sectors - thanks be to God, our youth are full of hope. In spite of the enemy's desire to extinguish hope in hearts, to remove this light and brightness from hearts, thanks be to God, hope is abundant in the country; this hope must be preserved, and one must be assured that God Almighty will fulfill His promises.

Today, we are witnessing the fulfillment of divine promises before our eyes. Dear ones! Who could have imagined that the Zionist regime, which the armed forces of several countries could not overcome - in one war, the Israeli forces were able to defeat the forces of three Arab countries in six days; in another war, they defeated them in about ten to twelve days - this powerful military force that three divisions from three countries could not overcome, was forced to retreat by the faithful youth of Hezbollah, defeated, raising their hands in surrender within 33 days! More importantly, against the determined Palestinian youth in Gaza - Gaza, which is a tiny strip - they were defeated in 22 days in one instance, and in another instance, they were defeated in 7 days and requested a ceasefire; who could have imagined these things? When there was steadfastness, when there was patience, when there was reliance on God, when there was belief in divine promises, this happens; we have witnessed these things before our eyes, and after this, it will be the same.

Today, we see that the arrogance, with the heavy costs it has incurred in the region of West Asia - our region - has been unsuccessful until now! They themselves are saying this; they say we have spent seven trillion dollars here and have nothing to show for it; they themselves are admitting this; this indicates that one can rely on the spiritual power of faith, depend on it, and be hopeful for the future, and I tell you, these returning marches that are taking place these days in Gaza will one day lead to the real return of the Palestinians to their land, and the rightful owners will return to [that] land; God willing. I ask God Almighty to grant His blessings to each of you and your families.

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