Statements on the 29th Anniversary of Imam Khomeini's (may his soul be sanctified) Passing at the Holy Shrine of the Late Imam

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 Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth. God, the Wise, says in His noble Book: "He it is Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith to their faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Knowing and Wise."

The remembrance of greatness, lofty peaks, and the spiritual ascents of great individuals brings peace, assurance, and self-confidence to hearts. The noble verse considers tranquility and peace in the hearts of Muslims as stemming from divine victory and support, and introduces inner peace and assurance as a means of strengthening and increasing faith; the enemy pursues the opposite and contrary to this for the Islamic nation and for our active and dynamic believing community.

For thirty years, we have spoken of the great Imam on such a day; the Imam is one of the lofty peaks, and our nation will always speak of the Imam, and this is fitting; because the Imam is the symbol of the revolution, and this country will not achieve its goals and great aspirations without the powerful engine of the revolution.

This year, this coincidence with the days of the martyrdom of Amir al-Mu'minin brings to mind similarities between this true follower, this sincere follower of Amir al-Mu'minin, and that noble and great leader; there are similarities that are a source of pride for the Iranian nation and the Islamic community; paying attention to these similarities is important and beneficial for finding the right path and also for becoming more familiar with our great Imam. I have prepared three main points regarding these similarities to present.

One point is that in Amir al-Mu'minin, two seemingly contradictory qualities were combined; one is firmness and steadfastness, and the other is gentleness, purity, and tenderness; both existed in Amir al-Mu'minin - at their peak and in their perfection. Firmness and intensity in the face of every unjust movement: against oppression, against the oppressor, against deviation from the path of God, against tyranny, against seduction; in the face of these, Amir al-Mu'minin stood with utmost firmness and strength, which has not been seen until today. In the position of facing the divine remembrance and the remembrance of God on one side, and in dealing with the oppressed, the deprived, and the weak on the other side, he acted with utmost gentleness and tenderness. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) confronted Muawiyah with that firmness; he was advised to wait for a while and not to remove Muawiyah from the governorship of Syria; he did not yield. Amir al-Mu'minin's firmness in the face of those two old and very reputable companions who had expectations and wanted things that seemed unjust to Amir al-Mu'minin; he did not yield to their expectations and resisted with complete firmness and steadfastness. In the face of the Khawarij, who claimed Islam and stood against Amir al-Mu'minin, who was the true measure of Islam, Amir al-Mu'minin stood with utmost strength and firmness against their deviations and misunderstandings. On one side, one can observe such firmness from this noble human being and great friend of God.

However, on the other side, in front of the weak, in front of the oppressed, such tenderness, such gentleness, such purity is seen from Amir al-Mu'minin that one remains astonished. The story of going to the house of that martyr's wife who has orphans - anonymously - and going beside the oven and baking bread for them and entertaining their children is a well-known story, and you have heard it; one is astonished by such tenderness! Or in the incident of the attack on Anbar province in Iraq, where the wicked soldiers of Syria attacked and killed the governor of Amir al-Mu'minin and attacked the houses of the people, killing children and threatening women, Amir al-Mu'minin says, "If a Muslim dies of sorrow after this, he should not be blamed"; a Muslim should not be blamed for dying of grief and sorrow upon hearing that foreigners have attacked the homes of defenseless people and taken the adornments and ornaments of women from them; it is worthy of such a reaction. See; one observes such a strange and astonishing feeling from Amir al-Mu'minin regarding the defense of the rights of the weak! These two contradictory qualities in Amir al-Mu'minin.

In our late Imam, we observe exactly these two qualities. On one hand, firmness, strength, and steadfastness against oppressors, against evils. He stood against the corrupt and tyrannical Pahlavi regime like a solid rock; he stood against America like a mountain; in the face of threats, against the aggressor Saddam during the imposed war and the eight-year defense, against internal seditions, even against his old student and companion because he observed his behavior as contrary to the truth, he stood without any consideration; this is the firmness of the Imam.

On the other hand, one observes the tenderness and gentleness of the great Imam. A message from a martyr's mother reaches that great man; I myself delivered a message from a martyr's mother to the great Imam, and that firm man had tears in his eyes! The emotion in response to the message of devotion, sacrifice, and selflessness from the martyr's mother; and his defense of the oppressed, of the barefooted, is abundant in the words of the great Imam. This is one point and a remarkable similarity of the great Imam to the leader of the pious.

The second point. In Amir al-Mu'minin, there exists a remarkable phenomenon; three seemingly incompatible qualities are combined in Amir al-Mu'minin. Amir al-Mu'minin is both a strong and powerful human being, a powerful person, and at the same time, he is oppressed, and at the same time, in various events, he is the ultimate victor; these three qualities are evident in Amir al-Mu'minin and in the states of that great man.

To understand the authority and strength of Amir al-Mu'minin correctly, we must look at the vast extent of the territory governed by Amir al-Mu'minin; that magnificent country which was administered under the leadership of Amir al-Mu'minin; from the farthest east of present-day Afghanistan to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt - all of this vast region - was governed under the leadership of Amir al-Mu'minin; with complete power and strength. His iron will, his courage and military skill, his strong language and attractive logic - the words of Amir al-Mu'minin and his passionate and wisdom-filled sermons are still illuminating lessons for the hearts of all humanity - are signs of authority; a strong arm, a strong mind, a strong will, strong management, a strong tongue; a strong and powerful human being.

At the same time, this strong human being is oppressed; the signs of his oppression are in the behavior of his enemies, in the behavior of the envious, in the unjust accusations that his enemies leveled against Amir al-Mu'minin during his lifetime, in the companions who were attached to worldly desires - some of his close ones and companions separated from him due to worldly greed - these are signs of the oppression of that great man. The pressure exerted from various sides on this great human being is such that sometimes this patient, brave, and tolerant man, as is well-known, speaks to a well, conversing with it; this indicates the oppression of Amir al-Mu'minin. After his passing and martyrdom, for many years, his enemies who had seized power and the throne insulted him from the pulpits throughout the vast Islamic country and spoke ill of Amir al-Mu'minin - the embodiment of piety, justice, and fairness.

At the same time, when one looks at the overall situation, one sees that in this long confrontation, the ultimate victor is Amir al-Mu'minin. Today, observe where the name of Amir al-Mu'minin, the personality of Amir al-Mu'minin stands in the vast horizons of humanity and human history; it is at its peak, and there is no news of his enemies. His Nahj al-Balagha is a lesson for noble individuals; his conduct is the most prominent and brilliant conduct of a human being after the noble Prophet of Islam; his justice, his worship, and his great personality are now prominent in the world; his path has triumphed over the path of his enemies, and the ultimate victor was Amir al-Mu'minin.

These three qualities are also combined in our great Imam, in the late Imam. The great Imam was a strong and powerful human being; a person who was able to bring down the tyrannical, dictatorial, hereditary regime after two thousand years in this vast and great country; this requires great power; it is a sign of the extraordinary strength of the great Imam. He was able to defeat America, which had defined vital interests for itself here, and force it to retreat; to neutralize conspiracies; and to thwart the architects of the imposed war. Those who had planned the imposed war aimed to destroy the revolution and eradicate the Islamic system; the great Imam turned this threat into an opportunity; these are signs of the strength and power of the great Imam.

At the same time, our great Imam was oppressed, due to the extensive propaganda of his enemies against him; the insulting propaganda continued throughout his lifetime and for a long time after his passing; behaviors from those whose actions were not expected towards the great Imam were carried out, which were signs of the oppression of the great Imam, and one can find the sorrows of the Imam from the strong and powerful words in his statements, which show that this great man had many sorrows; this is also his oppression.

And the ultimate victory of the great Imam is the next point; that strength, that oppression, that victory. Like Amir al-Mu'minin, the great Imam also triumphed. His victory is manifested in the strength of the Islamic system, in the survival of the Islamic system, and in the growth and development of the Islamic system; many of the Imam's aspirations were realized after his passing; the self-confidence of the country, the self-sufficiency of the country, the scientific and technological advancement of the country, the political progress of the country, the expansion of the country's and the Islamic Republic's influence in the vast region of West Asia and North Africa; these are things that occurred, and this is the victory of the discourse of the Imam and the path of the Imam and the method of the Imam. Many of these aspirations have been realized, and many more of the Imam's aspirations, God willing, will be realized, and the Islamic Republic of our great Imam will attain greater elevation and greatness day by day, and this is what has made the enemies anxious and agitated. My dear ones, dear youth, the great nation of Iran! The movements you observe from the enemy are signs of the enemy's agitation and confusion, signs of the enemy's nervousness, not signs of his power. What the enemy today does against the Islamic Republic is not out of power; it is because he is agitated by the progress of the Islamic Republic, by the greatness of the Islamic Republic, by the steadfastness of the Iranian nation; he is agitated, nervous, and anxious; these movements stem from that.

The third point. The signs of the enemies of Amir al-Mu'minin are also instructive. Observe the opposing front of Amir al-Mu'minin, which has been specified in history: the Qasitin, the Nakithin, the Marqin. The Qasitin are the fundamental enemies of the government of Amir al-Mu'minin; the Nakithin are the weak and unstable companions who trampled the allegiance for worldly adornments, for worldly desires and impurities; and the Marqin [are] the misguided and ignorant ones who, in the name of Islam, in the name of following the Quran, stood against the Quran incarnate, which is Amir al-Mu'minin; this is the opposing front of Amir al-Mu'minin. The Qasitin, who were fundamental enemies, opposed the very principle of the government of Amir al-Mu'minin; and later history showed what alternatives these could offer to the government of Amir al-Mu'minin: the likes of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad, and Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi were those who, on behalf of the Qasitin, on behalf of those fundamental enemies, replaced the just government of Ali. The share-seekers and worldly seekers also acted in another way, and the misunderstanders acted in another way. Of course, the misunderstanding pertained to the masses of the Marqin, and their leaders were probably not in collusion with the enemies, as is claimed in history regarding the Khawarij.

The same three fronts existed against the great Imam; that is, the opposing front of the late Imam was also composed of these three sections. America, the Zionist regime, and their affiliates inside were the Qasitin against our great Imam. These were those who opposed the very principle of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system and the human sovereignty of someone like the great Imam; they too sought alternatives for this government; their alternatives are also today's Hajjaj ibn Yusuf; it is clear who they are. In the opposing front of the Imam, the Nakithin are the oath-breakers, the same weak-kneed companions. Woe to those weak-kneed companions who could not resist against worldly desires! They turned the field of competing in good deeds into a battlefield for power and a war for acquiring worldly possessions! Among them were all kinds [of people]; in the time of Amir al-Mu'minin, there were both the likes of Talha and Zubair, and there were also small individuals in this group of Nakithin. In the time of the Imam, the situation was the same, and the great Imam stood against this broad and diverse opposing front. The Marqin - the ignorant ones - were those who did not understand the situation of the country, the situation of the revolution, the situation of the Iranian nation, did not recognize the enemy's front, did not understand the methods of the enemies' hostility, became preoccupied with trivial matters, and could not recognize the greatness of the Imam's movement. If we want to observe examples, in our time, groups like ISIS and similar ones were, and at the beginning of the revolution, the Mojahedin and their ilk [were] whose leaders were treacherous and their subordinates - the lower classes - were ignorant and deceived.

This threefold group and the enmity of these three groups was not specific to the time of the Imam; it has continued after the Imam. Today, these same three groups have lined up against the Islamic system and the great legacy of the Imam, which is the Islamic Republic, and the resistance and steadfastness of the Islamic Republic has prevented their aggression. Of course, this mixed front, with all their might, tries to disrupt the Islamic Republic; they create problems, make the movement of the Iranian nation difficult, slow it down, but they cannot stop the progress of the Iranian nation.

Thanks be to God that we live in an era where we have seen a great man who had these similarities with the leader of the pious and the liberator of history, Amir al-Mu'minin, and was able to leave the fruits of this greatness for the Iranian nation.

Well, now hearts are ready, minds are ready; how did the Imam (may God be pleased with him) face this situation? What is the model of the Imam? I will briefly and concisely mention these; these are lessons for us. I will mention several qualities in the behavioral model of the great Imam in the face of this situation.

First, the Imam had a courageous and active response to these hostilities and enemies; he did not have a response of weakness and passivity; the Imam never became passive; he neither felt weak nor showed weakness; he stood against the enemies powerfully and actively.

Second: The Imam avoided being overly emotional; the Imam did not become emotional in the face of events and did not rely on feelings devoid of rationality; the decisions of the Imam were courageous decisions accompanied by strong emotions but based on rational calculations.

Third: The Imam observed priorities; he focused on priorities. For instance, during the struggles, the Imam's priority was to confront the monarchy regime, and he did not let peripheral issues enter his field of work; during the imposed war, the Imam's priority was the issue of war; the Imam repeatedly stated that war is at the top of matters, the sacred defense is at the top of matters, and indeed it was so. He focused on a priority issue and did not let peripheral matters enter his field of concern. In the early days of the revolution - in those first days and weeks - in the behavior of the Imam, one observes with astonishment his emphasis on the constitution, on establishing the system, on legal arrangements, and on these matters; that is, he focused on that main point.

Fourth: Trust in the capabilities of the people; the Imam considered the Iranian nation to be a great, aware, and capable nation, trusted them, and was optimistic about them; especially about the youth. Observe in the Imam's statements how optimistic he is about the nation, how optimistic he is about the youth.

Fifth: Distrust of the enemy; throughout his blessed ten years at the head of the Islamic system, the Imam never trusted the enemy for a moment; he was suspicious of the enemy's proposals; he was indifferent to their demonstrations; he considered the enemy, in the true sense of the word, to be an enemy and did not trust him.

Sixth: Concern for the unity and solidarity of the nation; this was also one of the qualities of the Imam's behavioral model in the face of these hostilities. Anything that divides the nation into two groups, into two poles, was rejected by the Imam.

Seventh: A firm belief in divine assistance and in God's promise; this is also the main point. The Imam relied on divine assistance; he made every effort, was fully present in the field, but his hope was tied to divine assistance and to God's power. The Imam truly believed in the principle of "one of the two good things is ours" - "we have nothing but one of the two good things" - and believed that if we do things for God, the door to harm is closed; if the work is done for God, no harm will come to us; either we will progress, or if we do not progress, we will have done what was our duty and will be honored before the Lord.

I tell you, dear brothers, dear sisters, and the great nation of Iran! After the Imam, we have followed the path of the Imam meticulously, and God willing, we will continue to do so: we will not fall into passivity and weakness, and with God's grace and power, we will stand against the greed and bullying of foreigners and enemies; we will not make decisions based on excitement and emotions, we will not pay attention to the text but to the peripheral issues they create for us, and we will not get distracted; we will identify our priorities with God's success and guidance; and with God's hope, we will trust our people and their capabilities and our dear youth; and we will absolutely not trust the enemy; we will keep our dear people away from division and polarization; and we have confidence in divine assistance. We have no doubt that the Iranian nation, with this motivation, and with this feeling it has today, with this faith, with this hope, will certainly succeed with God's grace and power.

We also know the enemy's plan; we fully know what the enemy's plan is and we will expose that plan to the people; and of course, our dear people know and understand and feel many things. Today, the enemy's plan consists of these three things: economic pressure, psychological pressure, and practical pressure; the goal of all three types of enemy pressure is to dominate our dear country, Iran, just as it has dominance and control over some of the unfortunate countries in the region.

Economic pressure is sanctions, preventing cooperation of countries in economic fields with us; they impose these pressures. The result they want from economic pressure is this; pay close attention! Their issue with economic pressure and sanctions is not merely to put pressure on the government and the state apparatus; they want to wear down the Iranian nation in their own imagination; they say let us wear down the Iranian nation so that the Islamic system will be forced to submit to our bullying; that is their goal. They neither understood the nation nor the system; this economic pressure is with this goal, which, with God's grace and the efforts of officials and the determination of the people, will, God willing, completely fail.

But psychological pressure; this is a very important and noteworthy point. They have highlighted the strengths of the Islamic Republic, the strengths that are a source of power and reinforcement for the country and the nation, and introduced them in their propaganda and interactions as challenging points; in order to discourage the Iranian nation regarding them.

For instance, one is nuclear progress. Nuclear progress has been a technological pride of the country. Nuclear progress in the country has been a source of technological pride and has identified the talents of our youth; it is not a small matter. You may remember the day when we needed twenty percent enriched uranium for treating diseases; our twenty percent stock was nearly finished, and we had to procure it. From where should we procure it? We had to obtain it from foreign countries - like America, like Europe, and the like - who placed all kinds of obstacles in our way, imposed all kinds of conditions and barriers on us; because they understood we were in need. When a nation needs something, when it has a vital need, it is forced to accept the conditions imposed by the seller; they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and repeatedly imposed conditions on us; months, perhaps more than a year, discussions and negotiations took place; they did not back down, they repeated their expectations. The Islamic Republic trusted its own youth and asked them for this. Our youth got to work and were able to produce twenty percent enriched uranium themselves in front of their astonished eyes, without having any external model! They were astonished; this is how it is. The scientific and technological movement of our specialists, our scientists, our youth - who are now those same scientists in the country, those same youth in the country, present - made the enemy anxious and furious; well, this is a very significant point of strength for the country; it is both a source of dignity and credibility, and in practice, it leads to the advancement of the country. This, which is a national point of strength, they came and in their dense and overwhelming propaganda, turned it in the minds of some into a point of challenge and a point of weakness; they said that the country's nuclear issue causes tension, causes challenges, causes pressure from enemies, what benefit does it have for us! They turn a point of strength into a point of challenge in order to take that point of strength away from it; this is one of the works; this is a completely fundamental and important psychological operation that aims to make a nation skeptical about its great achievements.

Another example is the missile issue. The construction of various missiles and missile power creates security in the country. Our youth do not remember, this very city of Tehran was burning under the daily and nightly missiles of the enemy! Houses were destroyed, people were killed; in the city of Tehran! The cities of the front - like Dezful, like Ahvaz, like Shush and other cities - are another matter; even distant cities were reached by the enemy's missiles! We had no missiles, we had no means of defense, we were forced to sit with our hands on our laps and watch! Today, our youth have been able to become the first regional missile power. The enemy knows that if one is hit, ten will be hit. Therefore, missiles are a source of security and a point of strength. See; the enemy focuses on the missile issue. Unfortunately, some inside also echo the enemy that "what benefit does it have?".

One of our other points of strength is the international justice-seeking of the Islamic Republic; this is a source of dignity for the Islamic Republic. That the Islamic Republic supports oppressed nations is a source of dignity; that it supports the Palestinian nation is a dignity. The Islamic Republic has strengthened the resistance force against the Zionist regime in the region. They created enemies, harmful and disruptive elements - in the name of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra and the like - in Iraq and Syria; the Islamic Republic supported the resistance force in this region; this is justice-seeking; this is defending the Palestinian nation; this is defending the independence of the countries in the region, defending the territorial integrity of countries. This is a point of strength. They turn this point of strength into a matter of interference by the Islamic Republic, into a challenging issue and introduce and emphasize it; this is the situation we have with the enemy today. Their agents inside are unfortunately busy; one day in the streets of Tehran on the occasion of Quds Day, which is the day of defending Palestine, they shouted "No Gaza, No Lebanon". Those who assist the enemy's psychological warfare from within are despicable beings, they are insignificant beings; this is disgraceful.

Today, there are also those who seek to impose a distorted version of the JCPOA on the country; foreign governments are pursuing this, and some inside are propagating that if this does not happen, there will be war; no, this is a lie, this propaganda is in favor of the enemy. The enemy's goal is clear; the enemy seeks for us to disregard our points of strength, to abandon our elements of national power so that they can more easily dominate our country, our nation, our destiny, and our future; they have such a thought, and the nation stands against this movement; this is practical pressure.

And as for practical pressure, I will only say one sentence to all our dear nation across the country; their practical pressure is that they create chaos in the country; this is their definite plan, which, of course, will hit a stone; just as it has until now. The enemy's plan is to exploit popular demands. There may be a group of people in a city, in a certain point of the country who have a demand, gather, and pursue their demands; for example, there are workers who are pursuing labor demands; or people in a city who are pursuing their urban demands. In such cases, the enemy plots, infiltrates its agents, in fact, wicked and evil individuals into these gatherings to turn the peaceful gatherings of the people into anti-security and chaotic movements to defame the country, the nation, and the Islamic Republic; the people across the country should pay attention to this; this is the enemy's plan, we are aware of it; they have sat down and planned for this; of course, in my opinion, rather in my firm belief, they have miscalculated, and our dear people will stand against what they have planned with power, courage, and awareness. And I recommend that our dear people, just as they have maintained their vigilance until today, continue to do so.

The presence of the people in the scene is very important. Quds Day is approaching; Friday is Quds Day; the world will see the presence of the people on Quds Day. With God's grace, this Quds Day, despite the fact that the people are fasting and the weather is hot - with mouths fasting like all other Quds Days - will be held stronger and more passionately than previous Quds Days.

I mentioned the JCPOA; let me say a brief sentence about the JCPOA. From some statements of some European governments, it appears that they expect the Iranian nation to endure the sanctions and grapple with the sanctions, and also to abandon its nuclear activities, which are a vital necessity for the future of the country, and to continue the limitations imposed on it. I tell these governments to know that this troubled dream will not be realized; the Iranian nation and the Iranian government will not tolerate being under sanctions and also being in nuclear limitations and nuclear imprisonment; this will not happen. The Atomic Energy Organization is obliged to quickly prepare the necessary arrangements to reach 190 thousand SWU - currently within the framework of the JCPOA - and to begin some other preparations that the respected President ordered from tomorrow.

I would like to address the honorable Arab youth at the end of this speech; and I say to them: Your peoples today have hope in you, you young people! Prepare yourselves for a tomorrow in which your countries will enjoy freedom, progress, and independence. Submitting to American hegemony, failing to take a firm and decisive stance against the usurping Zionist enemy, hostile positions against brothers, and flattering the enemies, all of this has made some Arab governments enemies of their own peoples. And you young people bear the responsibility of abolishing this false equation.

I invite you, dear ones, to be filled with hope, innovation, and action, and to build your personalities. Pay attention to building your personalities. The future will belong to you if you are the ones who build it today. If you build the future, enjoying its blessings will return to you. Do not fear the hegemony of the world of disbelief, trust in the promise of God, the Exalted and Majestic, and this is His statement, which clearly and explicitly states: "Or do they want to plot? But those who disbelieve are the ones who are plotted against." Friday is Quds Day, and defending the resisting and sacrificing Palestinian people on that day is a significant step on this path. I pray to God for you, for your success, and for your steadfastness on this clear path.

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