Speech at the Allegiance Ceremony of the Minister and Staff of the Ministry of Intelligence and Personnel of the Information Protection Unit of the Armed Forces

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

I extend my condolences to you, the hardworking and faithful brothers and sisters, on this tragic and calamitous event. It is a source of pride for the country's intelligence apparatus and its personnel that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) was pleased with them and valued your sincere efforts, which are carried out with faith. This is a source of pride for you, that you were able to gain the satisfaction of that divine, celestial, wise, great, and intelligent man.

In the intelligence agencies of the world, there are usually groups of individuals who, relying on their intelligence power, engage in rebellion and corruption. Fortunately, our country's intelligence apparatus has a very promising characteristic. Thanks be to God, faith, piety, attention to duty, and adherence to truth are among the educational principles of our intelligence apparatus; this spirit is even stronger than in many other executive bodies. Naturally, this apparatus is more efficient than the intelligence centers of the world.

Although our intelligence apparatus is young and alone in the world, and deprived of the usual and common aids that intelligence agencies typically enjoy, the same spirit of faith, sincerity of intention, sense of duty, commitment, and adherence to moral values give you greater efficiency and compensate for other deficiencies; appreciate this spirit.

One of the factors of success for our intelligence agencies, which has been evident since the beginning of the revolution, is the public sense of responsibility of the people towards the enemy's movements and their readiness to defend the borders of the revolution. This state still exists among the people today. The Islamic Republic system, with its human goals and its firm determination to preserve independence and human and national dignity, naturally faces great enemies in the world. The nature of domineering systems is to confront any nation that claims independence.

The issue is not whether we give them an excuse or not, or what we do to avoid confrontation with the well-known world-devouring and plundering enemies; the issue is that when a system of domination rules the world, and there are powers whose survival is only possible by exerting dominance over countries and nations, and their governance and power are based on encroaching upon nations, interfering in their affairs, taking control of governments, using their resources, and running their industries with their consumer markets, unfortunately, in this system, any nation and government that arises and wants to live independently and not pay tribute, those powers stand against it.

The Islamic Republic of Iran does not intend to pay tribute to the great powers and has proven that it will not pay tribute to any power and will not be intimidated by any power. Therefore, we will never lower our rightful positions to gain the favor or cooperation of the world's domineering powers. We have demonstrated this resolve over the past ten years, and our dear late Imam, who was the embodiment of the Islamic Republic system and the embodiment of steadfastness and resistance against bullying, stood firmly against the enemy's demands and was not intimidated by them.

Some believe that we should not antagonize global powers and provoke their anger towards us! These individuals are unaware that the nature of those powers is one of domination, and the system of global arrogance clashes with any nation and system that does not pay tribute to it. Of course, I must immediately add that our firm belief is that the enmity of the enemies will continue until they despair of us. As long as they are hopeful of their aggression, opposition and enmity will exist. When they despair of striking the system and demanding tribute, and feel that the Islamic Republic is established and their intimidation frightens no one, then the danger will be removed or reduced.

We must appreciate the firm stance of the Imam. Undoubtedly, this stance was not his personal stance; rather, it reflected the stance of the Islamic Republic system, of which Imam (may his soul be sanctified) was the symbol, teacher, architect, and guide. Our stance is exactly the same, without any addition or subtraction. In such circumstances, all forces defending the borders of the revolution, including the intelligence forces, must act strongly and vigilantly. With your strength and power, the enemy retreats. With the exercise of the Islamic Republic system's authority, the enemy becomes despondent. No enemy will cease its aggression with weakness and frailty. The weakness of submissive and oppressed governments that gave way to global powers emboldened the arrogance against them. The weakness of the vile past regime in this country made the arrogance dominate all the affairs of these people. If that regime had had a little Iranian honor—not to mention Islamic, of which they were unaware—the enemy would not have dominated the affairs of the country to such an extent.

One must be strong and authoritative in one's work. One of the most fundamental tasks in this regard is intelligence work. The reason for the dear Imam's attention to you was this very issue, as he considered intelligence work important and observed sincerity in you. Intelligence agencies must cooperate with each other. Of course, protections have a separate discussion and area. The collection of the country's intelligence agencies, without centralized and unified command and independence, will not be able to sufficiently and necessarily utilize all the good and efficient forces. Good and centralized management, considering all aspects, must guide the general movement of intelligence forces in the country.

Of course, your great popular support must be maintained. The people must maintain their intelligence awareness and be sensitive to the enemy's movements. In the Islamic Republic system, the great presence of the people demonstrates divine authority and greatly discourages the enemy; but this point does not mean that the enemy's movements and malice have ended; no, one cannot expect the enemy to stop its malice. What prevents the enemy from continuing is the people's vigilance. Strengthen your connection with the people and make sincerity, piety, and connection with God the cornerstone of your work.

God willing, may God grant you success so that you can carry out the essential and important tasks and the heavy duty that rests on your shoulders in the best possible way; so that, just as Imam (may his soul be sanctified) was pleased with you during his lifetime, God willing, in the celestial realm, his pure soul will also be filled with satisfaction towards you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings