Speech in Meeting with Representatives of the Guardianship in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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

I am very pleased to meet with you dear gentlemen. This meeting has always been a source of joy for me. Whenever the esteemed representatives of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) would come during that time, and we had the honor of meeting them, witnessing these figures of knowledge and action, individuals who did not merely suffice with pursuing the path of knowledge and religion, but also took significant and decisive steps in the path of action, and thanks be to God, were largely successful, always brought us happiness and joy. It is the same now. I must thank all the gentlemen responsible for this great task and those who work with you.

The matter for the office and the domain of representation in the Guard has two parts that should not be mixed: one part is the ordinary and usual duties of this organization; that is, naturally, what duties the offices or the domain of representation have, which is an important matter. The other part is that since the representation of leadership in the armed forces is a representation of command, and in fact, since the leader is also the commander, and there is a special flow between the armed forces and the supreme command of those forces, therefore, it can have missions related to command, according to the conditions — apart from the main mission. For example, in some cases, the supreme command may deem it appropriate to assign the connection of protections or similar matters — which pertain to the supreme command — to the office and domain of representation; however, these are not natural and ordinary duties, but extraordinary and special duties that are of secondary importance. What is of primary importance is the primary responsibility, which constitutes the ordinary mission of this domain of representation.

As an introduction, I reiterate a point that is clear to you gentlemen, and that is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a military force whose survival and health are closely linked to the survival and health of the system. That is, if this force remains healthy and strong — according to ordinary standards — there will be no concern about the revolution and its health and survival; because when such a faithful, sincere, and devoted military force with a revolutionary vision and a great force — like the Basij — exists in the country, military threats are truly not a concern for the revolution. Moral and spiritual threats are another matter that other institutions must undertake and manage to counter.

If the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is knowledgeable and acts according to Islamic duty, it possesses these characteristics, and if it is not knowledgeable and does not act according to Islamic duty, it will not have this status and characteristics. What is important in the Guard is that it has religious knowledge so that it does not make mistakes and is not deceived. It is not enough for only the commanders to have religious knowledge. Since the structure of the Islamic army is such, and because the Guard is an Islamic army that has emerged from Islam and the revolution itself, it must have such a feature.

It is not the case that we say the commander is good and trustworthy, and the body of the Guard is whatever it is. The situation should not be like the former lords and rulers who would go to a country or province or city and then entrust all the affairs of that city or region to them and no longer care about the body of the people. The situation in military units was the same. A regiment or military unit was entrusted to one person, and they no longer cared about him and did not ask what this regiment needed or how it operated or how it was managed and fed! The good and bad of such military units were with one person, and they demanded responsibility from him.

In the Islamic army, the discussion is not like this at all. Although the commander has very high responsibilities, each member of the body is responsible to the system's officials and those who bear the heavy burden of responsibility as a whole. Therefore, the entire body must have religious knowledge.

The second point is about piety. Each brother in the Guard must possess religiosity and piety — that is, purity and adherence to religious standards. This is the main responsibility — that is, knowledge, action, and religious awareness. Of course, religious knowledge and awareness also include political issues, and it does not only mean prayer and fasting and the like. Knowing the enemy and the friend, understanding the currents, and the ability to analyze political issues are part of the same section of religious knowledge and action. This is the main duty of representation, and from top to bottom of the Guard, they must be present in this process. Of course, this process is not under the command of the commander, and fundamentally, the commander of the Guard and the domain of representation are not parallel; although they are obliged and tasked to cooperate, assist, and confirm him.

The representation apparatus should in no way be considered as an opposing or disruptive force in the command matter. This is truly a criterion. If in a military unit, the command is disrupted and becomes unstable, there is no hope for that military set.

In principle, a military unit is different from a group of individuals. An army in its general sense — that is, a military set — has a meaning other than the meaning of a hundred people, five hundred people, or two thousand people; because there may be two thousand people, but they are not an army; because the essence of an army is also based on several other things — other than individuals — the most important of which is the organization and management of the military unit, which is fundamentally different in content from non-military managements. Therefore, if an army lacks organization, it is not an army, and even if there are ten times as many people, it has no military value; because it is as if they are not armed. Or it is as if there is no one at all. If there is organization, but there is no command at the top, it is still of no use. The meaning of the absence of a commander is not that the body of the commander is not there. If the commander himself is there, but he does not have the powers of command or does not have the power and capability of command, he is no longer a commander. So, one of our fundamental criteria is that no disruption should occur in the command work from the domain of representation.

On the other hand, since the work of knowledge and action and maintaining direction in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an elemental matter and in fact, breathing life into the body, and the domains of representation undertake this important task, therefore, there should be no disruption in this matter from the command side. Therefore, the domain of work of these two is different; but care must be taken that from the top to the lowest ranks of the Guard — whether operational or administrative ranks — the presence of leadership representation is fully felt, and all units and front lines and rear lines and headquarters feel it. This matter may even be realized through the presence of individuals or the issuance of directives.

The existence of the domain of representation must be felt; because in my opinion, the matter of the domain of representation is a very important matter. I remember that three or four years ago, when we met the brothers of the representation offices among the senior officials, I always recommended in response to complaints about some disorders that existed here and there, that the main issue is the representation offices of the Imam, which are formed with the presence of a group of clergy familiar with responsibility and possessing knowledge and revolutionary spirit and tireless and hopeful in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If this important matter is secured in the Guard, in our opinion, no other problem is a main problem and is solvable. Therefore, you have an extraordinarily important responsibility.

Today, you also know well that we must be prepared. Indeed, our military forces cannot remain indifferent to the issues of the fronts. Full readiness must be there. The presence of the army and the Guard must be strong. God willing, with your help and the measures you take, this important matter will be secured, and readiness will exist in all respects.

We must consider this point that whoever enters the Guard, under the influence of your spiritual training and will, should increase his spiritual perfections day by day and progress. No spiritual and moral decline should be observed in the Guard. Brothers! Become familiar with the Quran and Hadith and Islamic concepts and raise your mental comprehension power and be truly vigilant and attentive in practice and be people of worship and obligations and supererogatory acts and purity. Just as in our general mentality and that of the people, these matters have existed about the Guard, now to a large extent, these points still exist. In the view of many people, the Guard is truly considered a sacred element. We must truly realize and generalize this perception and increase it from what has existed so far, God willing.

We pray for you gentlemen and consider it our duty to support and confirm wherever necessary without hesitation; because we truly consider the work to be an important task. God willing, may God make you gentlemen successful and supported.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings