Statements of the Supreme Leader on the Nineteenth Anniversary of the Passing of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth. For nineteen years, on such an occasion, the Iranian nation has made time and place a manifestation of love and devotion to Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified). Most of our nation are youths who did not experience the fruitful life of the Imam; either they were born after his passing or were very young during the ten years of his blessed life. However, these faithful and radiant youths across the country love the Imam and his memory and name so much that it seems they have had the privilege of conversing with him. As we read in the Supplication of Samat: "And we believe in him while we have not seen him, truly and justly"; sincere and pure faith without having experienced the life and words of that great man is not exclusive to our nation. In many regions of the world and among Muslim countries, this same feeling exists regarding our great Imam. This is due to two major factors: one is the greatness of the Imam and the various dimensions of his personality, which is an exceptional character in contemporary times, indeed in the near past. The other is due to the greatness of this revolution. The monumental work that the great Imam accomplished with his faith, his wisdom, and his resolute will during this period of time: establishing the Islamic Revolution and forming the Islamic Republic system. The greatness of this revolution also reflects the greatness of our great Imam. This revolution was a divine miracle. While the enemies of Islam and the enemies of the Islamic Ummah have been propagating against Islam and the clergy for almost a hundred years and while a dependent regime in this country sacrificed the interests of the Iranian nation to the enemies and foreigners for fifty years, completely making the country dependent on foreigners - the Pahlavi regime - the great Imam rose with the banner of Islam, with the banner of opposition to domination and oppression in this country and brought this great work to fruition. The Islamic Revolution is different from all other revolutions; it is not merely a spiritual and cultural revolution, nor is it merely an economic revolution, nor is it merely a political revolution; it is a comprehensive revolution. Like Islam itself. Just as Islam has spiritual and ethical dimensions, divine dimensions, it also addresses the lives of people; there are economic, political, and social dimensions in Islam; the Islamic Revolution also had various dimensions, and the secret of the enduring nature of the Islamic Revolution and its becoming more vibrant day by day in the region and the world is precisely these various dimensions that are balanced and aligned with human needs.

The Imam, with his words and actions, has left a continuous guidance for his Ummah - for us people - meaning that the hand of the Imam, the finger of the Imam guides us through all the twists and turns of our lives, and one of the strongest and best spiritual legacies of the Imam is his will. It is appropriate at various times for the people, different officials, and the youth to revisit this will; to reflect on it. Today, on the occasion of this great gathering and the awareness and alertness of your hearts, I will present a few points from the Imam's will here. The first point is that the Imam emphasizes in his will that this revolution is a divine revolution and its main foundation is the people; meaning this revolution belongs to the people. The meaning of this statement is that no one - no class, no individual, no group - can and should claim ownership of this revolution; consider themselves its owners and others as tenants of this revolution. If anyone were to consider themselves the owner and possessor of this revolution, the most appropriate and deserving would be the Imam himself, who was the axis of determination, will, and personality around which the revolution came into being; but the Imam considers himself insignificant and God as the all-powerful. This is evident in the Imam's statements and is emphasized and stated in his will. Therefore, the owners of this revolution are the people. A heavy responsibility rests on everyone to preserve this great divine trust. The people must consider themselves the guardians of this revolution. The identity of the revolution, its meaning, is tied to the slogans of the revolution; to the orientations of the revolution; to the values and foundations of the revolution. There have always been, there are today, and there will be in the future those who, under the pretext that the world situation has changed, want to change the slogans of the revolution or separate the religious dimension from the revolution or separate the dimension of social justice from the revolution or separate the dimension of opposition to domination and foreign interference from the revolution or separate the dimension of being anti-despotism from the revolution. Various motivations, under various pretexts, may always enter the field to change the slogans and goals of the revolution. The people must be vigilant; they must know. This revolution is alive with its slogans. The most fundamental slogans inscribed on the banner of this revolution are its Islamic nature; adherence to the foundations of religion and religious principles and rules; opposition to domination; confrontation with global arrogance; defense of the oppressed of the world, and that too a clear and sincere defense of all the oppressed.

Among the highest slogans of this revolution is the belonging of this revolution to all the people; no class, no group, has preference over others in relation to the revolution. Today's youth are just like the youth of the Sacred Defense; they are the owners of the revolution. It cannot be said that those who brought the revolution into being or were involved in its creation at the time of the revolution are more related to the revolution; no, there were those who had no presence in the very inception of the revolution, but during the Sacred Defense, they risked their lives and came to the field; they too are as related to the revolution as those who were present at the beginning of the revolution. Over these twenty years following the end of the Sacred Defense, youths have emerged who, with their awareness, extraordinary enthusiasm, interests, divine motivations, scientific efforts, and social and political endeavors, have guaranteed the survival and vitality of this revolution; they too are the children of the revolution; they too are the owners of the revolution; their relationship with the revolution is like that of those who were present at the dawn of the revolution; in the future, it will be the same. The youth class, successive generations - all - have a unified relationship with the revolution; all are partners in the revolution and all share the duty of preserving this trust of the revolution.

Our youth today, the youth of our contemporary generation, and the youths who will come in the future must know that the path of the revolution is a path that requires determination, faith, and steadfastness. Some have this steadfastness, while some turn back along the way; of course, these act to their own detriment; "So whoever breaks his pledge, he only breaks it to his own detriment." Those who turn back from the path of the revolution are like those who fasted in the summer and kept their fast until late in the day, but an hour or two before sunset, they lose their patience; they break their fast. This is like someone who has not fasted from the beginning of the day. Invalidating the fast at any time during the hours of the day is an invalidation of the fast. If there is no steadfastness on the path of the revolution, if there is no continuity of movement, a person’s relationship with the revolution is severed. This is disloyalty to the revolution. There have always been those who have been disloyal to the revolution, who have diminished their attachment to the revolution, who have turned their backs on the revolution. The Imam's will is that our youth, our people, and our various generations look with a realistic perspective. The essence is the revolution; individuals are not the essence. Being revolutionary is about maintaining one’s relationship and actions and continuity with the revolution. This is the first point.

The next point is that the Imam announces in his will that this revolution will expand; it will cut off the hands of the colonizers from the Islamic world. This is the great Imam's prophecy. Today, when we look at the scene, we see that this has happened. The expansion of the revolution, according to the Imam, is not through creating discord in countries, nor through military invasions, nor through the spread of terrorism - unlike some other revolutions - the expansion of the revolution among nations is through modeling the Islamic Republic system. That is, the Iranian nation should elevate the Islamic Republic system to such a level that when other nations look at this model, they become eager and follow that path; through promoting Islamic teachings and through clarity in defending the oppressed classes of the Islamic world and the oppressed nations that have been trampled by the oppression of global arrogance. This is the expansion of the Islamic system that has occurred.

Today, the nations of the world look to the Iranian nation, draw strength from it, gain motivation from it, and derive energy from it. Today, the anti-arrogance slogans of the Iranian nation have spread throughout the Islamic world. Today, if you go to any of the Islamic countries, regardless of the regime or ruling apparatus, you will see that their nations look at your slogans, at the motivations and ideals you have outlined, with eyes of dignity and respect; the slogan of opposition to oppression, opposition to domination, defense of the oppressed, defense of the Palestinian nation, enmity with the octopus-like network of Zionism. This is the heart of the Muslim nations; this is the expansion of the Islamic revolution. You even see that the slogan of the Iranian nation regarding nuclear energy - the one for which the Iranian nation stood firm against the pressures of the enemies and demanded its right - has become so reflected in the Islamic world that the spokespersons of Islamic and Arab countries declare that the demand for nuclear energy has become a public demand of the Arab nations.

Enemies and friends of the Iranian nation acknowledge that the expansion that the Imam predicted for the revolution has now materialized; among them is the issue of the Palestinian cause. The hearts of nations beat for the Palestinian nation just like the Iranian nation. Nations, like the Iranian nation, consider the Israeli regime to be an artificial and imposed regime in the region. Of course, governments are not in harmony with the nations, and unfortunately, what has strengthened Israel is precisely this. The Zionist regime has no internal strength, no power, no ability to stand on its own feet. Today, two factors keep the Zionist regime standing: one is the unconditional and shameless support of America for this degenerate regime; and the other is the failure of Arab and Islamic governments to support the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, many Muslim governments today do not fulfill their duties towards Palestine as they should and are not in harmony with their nations. If they too were to align with their nations and defend the oppressed Palestinian nation, the situation in the region would completely change. This is the public demand of the nations, and this is the expansion that our great Imam foretold.

The third point that is prominent in the Imam's will and has been disseminated and expanded in the Imam's statements throughout his blessed ten years of life and is important for our nation and our youth is that the Islamic revolution aids the progress of the nation; the Islamic revolution aids the creativity and innovation of the nation; it is precisely the opposite of what the enemies of Islam have propagated for many years. The enemies of Islam have portrayed that religiosity is incompatible with progress; they are not compatible. If a nation wants to progress, it must abandon religion, it must go to the embrace of the West and completely color itself in Western hues to be able to progress. This was instilled in the Iranian nation as a belief over decades. Our great Imam emphasized from the beginning of the revolution until the last day and in his will that the revolutionary spirit is the spirit of moving forward, the spirit of progress, the spirit of innovation and creativity, and this has indeed been realized in the Iranian nation.

Today, the Iranian nation believes in itself; it enters the field of science, it enters the field of politics, in every field that the Iranian nation earnestly enters, it stands at the forefront of nations. The current status of our nation in scientific innovations, in political power, in international dignity, is incomparable to the period before the revolution; this nation has awakened, has come to life; this is due to the revolution. The more the revolutionary spirit is alive and vibrant in the nation, the more the spirit of innovation and creativity will be alive; just as the revolution itself was a great innovation. The Imam, with the Islamic revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, charted the middle path between backwardness and Westernization. Nations thought they either had to remain backward or become Westernized; the Imam showed that no, there is a direct path, a straight path that does not make a person a captive of the West, nor does it make them Westernized; but allows them to traverse the path of progress and advancement; the Iranian nation has traversed this path. Dear youth! For the progress and elevation of your country, cling to this straight path as much as you can. With reliance on God Almighty and belief in your inner strength, you can remove all obstacles from your path.

One of the reasons for the enmity of global arrogance and the global conspiracies against the Iranian nation in the issue of nuclear energy and similar matters is this. You see that while the Americans are at the forefront and some Europeans follow America in opposing the Iranian nation’s access to nuclear energy and threaten and use harsh words, they go and sign nuclear energy contracts with other countries that are scientifically and industrially far behind and are much more distant from the Iranian nation! What does this mean? It means that if nuclear energy leads to greater independence for a nation, they consider it permissible for that nation. They oppose the nuclear energy that a nation has obtained through its own initiative, by its own hands, without needing them, with complete independence. Our dear youth, our great nation, have achieved this scientific and industrial rank relying on their own strength; they have not created dependency, rather this is against dependency. The same nuclear energy that is given to other nations by the arrogant governments creates dependency; but for the Iranian nation, which is bubbling from within, innovating, creating, and producing, it leads to cutting off dependency. Global arrogance and the enemies of the Iranian nation are opposed to this.

Another important point in the Imam's will (may God’s peace be upon him) is the attention to the cold war and the psychological operations of the enemy. When the enemy cannot achieve anything in the field, they resort to psychological warfare; to discourage, to create despair, to empty the hearts of nations. Through psychological warfare and threats, they try to empty the field from the nations opposing them. This means that they have no power to resist this nation in the practical field. This psychological warfare has continued from the very first days of the revolution until today, which marks thirty years. Sometimes they said this revolution would not last more than two months, sometimes they said it would not last more than two years. Today, thirty years have passed, and this revolution has advanced with full power and has made the Iranian nation more cohesive, more hopeful, and more energetic day by day.

Today, the cold war and psychological warfare are conducted in various forms. They want to convince the Iranian nation and the Iranian youth that you cannot achieve anything without connection and ties to the dominating powers. This is a great danger that the Imam has pointed out. They deny the great advancements of the nation. The revolution has passed through many obstacles over these thirty years - when one looks at the history of revolutions, such numerous obstacles in the way of a nation and a revolution are rarely seen, and revolutions usually remain behind these obstacles and surrender to the enemy - and despite all these threats, sanctions, and various forms of enmity and sabotage, it has been able to advance, conquer peaks; it still has its eyes on higher peaks and continues to move forward with power. They want to take this motivation away from the Iranian nation. I tell our dear youth; university youth, seminary youth, active youth in the fields of industry, agriculture, science, or art: you are halfway there, and what you have traversed has faced very significant challenges; but you have succeeded. You can pursue the other half of the path and that remaining part of the path - which the enemy wants to prevent you from traversing and reaching the peaks - with firm determination. You can do it; just as you have proven that you can.

Today, the Iranian nation stands with dignity and strength against the arrogant powers, and they have not been able to do anything. What they could do, in the east and west of our country, they tried to besiege the country. With the intelligence of the Iranian nation and the faith of the Iranian nation and the cohesion of the Iranian nation, thanks be to God, the work of global arrogance - the work of the enemies of the Iranian nation in the east and west of our borders - has led to the increasing power of the Islamic Republic, which today they themselves acknowledge.

Another point in the will of the great Imam is a warning to the youth against the conspiracies that target only the youth. A youth of a country, if they want to propel that nation forward like a driving engine, needs to be lively, energetic, healthy, strong, and dedicated to work and progress. To destroy this spirit in the Iranian youth, they try with various conspiracies; by promoting corruption, by promoting immorality, by promoting drugs, with guided gangs, to distract the Iranian youth. The Iranian youth must be vigilant. Today, if the officials of the Islamic Republic are fighting hard against drugs, this is a great jihad, a very profound movement in the path of the progress of the Iranian nation. They do not want the Iranian youth to be lively in the workshop, in the laboratory, in the university, in the scientific environment, in the industrial and agricultural work. The youth who are preoccupied with sexual temptations or are enslaved by drugs have no energy to work, no patience to think, no strength to work, no creativity, and no firm determination and will. Today, the fight against organized conspiracies to lead the Iranian youth to lusts, to drugs, to various sexual distractions, is a very dangerous conspiracy. The fight against it is primarily the responsibility of the entire nation, especially the youth. The youth must be alert. The enemy knows that piety and God-consciousness of the Iranian youth and their religiosity help them progress in various fields; they want to weaken this. The Imam warns; both to the youth, to universities, to seminaries, and to all the youth of the country to be awake, to be vigilant. Deceiving the youth and weakening them means holding back the nation. The entire nation must feel responsible, and the officials must also strive diligently in this path, which is a great jihad.

Another fundamental point in the will and in the statements of the Imam is the issue of confronting the world’s bullies. The dominating and bullying powers of the world have always existed throughout history, but with the advancement of science and industry and modern communication capabilities, this domination has become easier for them. Therefore, you see that the Americans express greed towards the entire world and under the pretext that our interests are threatened in such and such a place, they intervene. As if their interests take precedence over the interests of the entire world; over the interests of nations. Well, how should one respond to this bullying and arrogance and disregard for rights? There are two types of responses: one response is submission; one response is resistance. Submission to the world’s bullies encourages the bully to bully more. The submission of nations, the submission of the world’s politicians, the submission of intellectuals of various societies to the bullying of global arrogance encourages them to advance; it encourages them to bully more. For nations, there remains only one true path, and that is resistance. If a nation wants to rid itself of the evil of the bullying of the bullies - and today the evil of America - it must stand against the bullying of America with all its power and strength.

Today, look at the behavior of the American rulers - the President and his entourage - and see how they speak. Their speech resembles that of insane people; sometimes they threaten, sometimes they order assassinations, sometimes they slander, sometimes out of desperation they request help, sometimes they target the stability and security of a nation; they swing back and forth like madmen. Their behavior is not that of logical, wise, and prudent politicians. Of course, a significant part of this reflects America’s failures in various regions: failure in Afghanistan, failure in Iraq; they entered Afghanistan and Iraq with promises of democracy, freedom, and human rights. Today, after several years, the situation in these two countries is such that no nation wishes to have such a situation; insecurity, backwardness, poverty, the increasing dominance of arrogant powers, trampling on the national interests of those countries, and ignoring the rights of those nations, and of course behind it, complete failure in achieving the declared objectives or the objectives they had in their hearts but did not declare. These failures are reflected in the behavior of American politicians; in their disagreements, in their quarrels, in their decision-making. This is the state of the world’s bullies. Well, what should be done in response to this bullying? The Imam’s recommendation is steadfastness. Today, fortunately, various political groups in our country speak of loyalty to the line of the Imam; this is a blessed phenomenon. In some past periods, it was not like this. Some political currents explicitly spoke of turning away from the line of the Imam! Today, fortunately, political groups in our country all speak of leaning towards the thoughts of the Imam and the line of the Imam. Very well, one of the most prominent points of the line of the Imam, which is reflected in the will and in all the statements of the Imam, is the necessity of firm resistance against the greedy and arrogant powers. This position must be preserved with all strength by the Iranian nation and all the various groups and elites of the country who are loyal to the Imam and faithful to the opinions and thoughts of the Imam; the Imam was like this. The Imam never refrained from defending the oppressed of the world for the sake of considering the bullies of the world. The Imam throughout time referred to the Palestinian issue as a central issue. The Imam explicitly emphasizes in his will and statements the call of "O Muslims!" for the oppressed nations; a clear defense of the rights of the oppressed, a clear defense of the rights of the Palestinian nation and every other oppressed nation. This is the method of the Imam; this is the line of the Imam; this is the way of the Imam and this is the recommendation and will of the Imam. Fortunately, the Iranian nation and the officials of the country have followed this method, and for thirty years, in every field where the Iranian nation has faced the arrogance of America, you have been victorious and your enemy has been defeated and lost.

Of course, the enemy does not remain calm; the enemy continues its psychological and political efforts. The enemy slanders. Today in the world, the slanders of the Americans and Zionists against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic have no buyers. The slander of human rights violations, especially from those who have committed the most severe human rights violations and have the lowest rank in the assassination of the oppressed and in the aggression against nations, is the blackest score. These accuse the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic of Iran of human rights violations! This is of no importance. Or regarding the nuclear issue, the Iranian nation has repeatedly declared that we are not seeking nuclear weapons; everyone knows this; logic confirms this. Today, when the Americans want to speak about the nuclear issue of Iran and take a stance, because they cannot explicitly ignore the rights of a nation and declare that they oppose the rights of a nation, they accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons to justify their statements in the public opinion of the world. They themselves know they are lying; they themselves know this statement is false. Today, no rational nation, no rational officials seek nuclear weapons. And the Iranian nation, both from an Islamic and intellectual basis opposes such weapons, and also from the perspective of prudence and rationality opposes them. Nuclear weapons bring no benefit other than the costs of creation and maintenance. Nuclear weapons do not give a nation power; because they are not executable and usable. Those who possess nuclear bombs today know well that if they make a mistake and use this nuclear weapon, it will backfire on them - just as they once supported terrorists, it backfired on them - so that it will not be long before the terrorists of the world acquire nuclear weapons and take security away from all the arrogant powers of the world and from all nations. They know that nuclear weapons are not usable. They understand this well; but at the same time, they accuse the Iranian nation. No; the Iranian nation is not seeking nuclear weapons; it is seeking peaceful use of nuclear energy in life matters; and it will pursue this path and, to the dismay of the enemies, will achieve this with full power.

The memory of the Imam reminds us of the dignity of the Iranian nation and the awakening of the Iranian nation; it reminds us of the exemplary nature and role model of the Iranian nation for all the Islamic Ummah and the oppressed nations. The memory of the Imam is energizing; it is hopeful. This memory must be kept alive, and the path of the Imam and the line of the Imam and the signs that the Imam has set for traversing this path must be appreciated; especially the youth and the officials of the country must regard the recommendations of the Imam and the Imam's will as a guideline. Today, the three branches of power and various officials of the country - whether military, civilian, political, social, or service-oriented - must consider the Imam's will and guidance as their operational guideline. The dignity of the Iranian nation, the lasting security of the Iranian nation, the material growth and development of the Iranian nation, and the spiritual and moral elevation of the Iranian nation depend on acting upon these recommendations.

O Lord! We swear by the pure souls of the martyrs and the pure souls of the great Imams to grant success to the Iranian nation in traversing this path; increase the dignity of the Iranian nation day by day. O Lord! Accept the spiritual gifts from this gathering and from the hearts of the Iranian nation and from our hearts and tongues for the pure soul of our great Imam; bestow Your mercy, forgiveness, and grace upon the blessed soul of the Imam. O Lord! Gather the martyrs, who are the pioneers of this path, with Your saints. O Lord! Include all the servants, all the self-sacrificers, all the strivers of this path of truth and reality in Your grace, mercy, guidance, and assistance. O Lord! Make the sacred heart of Imam al-Mahdi pleased and satisfied with us; make us true soldiers of that great one.

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