Statements in Meeting with the People of Isfahan

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Remaining One of God on earth, and God's curse be upon all their enemies.

I am very pleased that, thanks be to God, I have the opportunity to meet once again with a group of dear and distinguished people of Isfahan in this Hosseiniyeh. There is much to say about Isfahan and its people, but this meeting is on the occasion of the twenty-fifth of Aban, so I will begin my remarks from here. The period from the twenty-fifth of Aban to the end of Aban is one that not only Isfahan but the country and our history and knowledge must never forget. On the twenty-fifth of Aban in the year 1361, the people of Isfahan held the funeral for about 360 martyrs in one day; this is not a small matter. About 360 martyrs entered Isfahan in one day and were carried on the hands of the people. You young people were not there; you did not see those days, that epic, and that fervor. A few days later - we mention this until the end of Aban because perhaps it had not yet reached the thirtieth of Aban - 250 more martyrs were brought to Isfahan; again, the people held their funerals, carried them on their hands, and showed resilience; it requires a lot of endurance, a lot of capacity. Spiritual capacity is greater than physical and social capacity. The fact that the people of a city carry their own children, their best young people, on their hands without flinching is very important. If these were written in history, if they were read to us in books, we would not easily believe them, but we saw it with our own eyes. How did they endure? On the same day and the day after the funeral of about 360 martyrs, young people lined up to go to the front and went. Two powerful divisions that were in the city of Isfahan and the cities of Isfahan province - the Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) division and the Najaf division - were again filled with a crowd of faithful and self-sacrificing youth. Neither the parents prevented them, nor did the young people hesitate. Again, those two divisions, which had suffered this heavy loss, were filled. In the Moharram operations, most of the martyrs were from Isfahan; this is Isfahan. You must not let this be forgotten.

My dear ones! Know that one of the main points of attack by the enemies of this country and the enemies of this revolution is to diminish these prominent points; they rely on making these things forgotten. You see that if a martyr exists in a certain Western or European country - regardless of how they were martyred; killed for a cause - they do not allow their name to be erased from books, they do not allow it to fade from memories; why should we allow this great movement of the people of Isfahan to be forgotten? This is Isfahan.

Well, this year, these days coincide with the days of Arbaeen. Do you see this march? Do you observe this great, millions-strong movement between Najaf and Karbala, between Najaf and Imam Hussein? Do you see this fervor and enthusiasm? Do you see this movement? This movement, when necessary, is accompanied by danger; still, this fervor and enthusiasm exist in our nation, in our people, in our youth; this must be preserved, this is what guarantees the survival of this country.

Now, a few sentences were also mentioned by Mr. Tabatabai, and he said that I have remarks and opinions about the virtues of Isfahan and its people; this is indeed the case. Isfahan is a city of knowledge, a city of religion, a city of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, a city of work and innovation, a city of art and culture, and a city of martyrdom; it is a province of martyrdom. When we say city, we mean the entire province of Isfahan, with the center being this ancient and glorious city. Khomeini-Shahr in Isfahan, which is one of the cities of Isfahan, has more martyrs than some provinces of the country. Recently, they held a memorial for over two thousand of their martyrs. One city of Isfahan has sometimes given more martyrs than an entire province; this has meaning. Why do they become martyrs? Why do they go? What motivation is this? What spirit is this? This is a city of pioneering and advancement.

They referred to the movements of the people of Isfahan in the field of resistant economy; yes, I share this opinion. The people of Isfahan are so generous in charity - spending wealth in the way of God - that they surpass others, but in their ordinary lives, they practice frugality, which again puts them ahead of others; both are good. [When] we want to spend wealth in our personal lives, in our ordinary lives, we should be frugal; this is the characteristic of Isfahanis; when we want to spend generously in divine and public ways, we should also be generous; this is also the characteristic of Isfahanis. The benefactors in various sectors in Isfahan are like this. A city of delicacy, a city of art, a city of great and renowned martyrs; a martyr like Ayatollah Beheshti on one side, and on the other side martyrs like Shahid Khorramzadeh, Shahid Hemmat, Shahid Kazemi, and Shahid Radanipour, and great figures and renowned individuals, each of whom can be a beacon and illuminate the path of a nation. These are virtues; this is your identity; the identity of the people of Isfahan is this. Standing firm on the right path means the city of revolution. Before the victory of the revolution during the Pahlavi era, martial law was declared in ten to fifteen cities; in Isfahan, martial law was declared several months before all other cities and before anywhere else; this is Isfahan. The identity of Isfahan is this: a city of revolution, a city of religion, a city of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, a city of service, a city of work, a city of knowledge, a city of training human resources. I was just telling friends in that room that in various sectors, the presence of trained human resources from Isfahan is prominent and clear; these must be preserved, these must be maintained.

All our dear youth should know that the enemies do not sit idle; they plot; the art is to recognize the enemy's plans, the enemy's plots, the point that is the target of the enemy's attack, and to have a plan to confront them, to counter them, to neutralize the enemy's actions. Weakness in the face of the enemy is the gateway to all the harms that befall a country. We want to elevate our country to the heights through the blessings of Islam; we want to bring the Iranian nation - as it deserves - to a point where it becomes a model; not only for the Islamic world and Muslim nations but for humanity; well, this is a great task, this is a difficult and long path. The enemy of Islam does not want the name of Islam to attain such greatness and glory; the enemy of Shia also does not want this; therefore, they sit and plot, they engage in activities, they devise plans. We must not be oblivious to their plans.

What I see as necessary today is standing firm on the principles of the revolution in the first place. The principles of the revolution are the same things that exist in the will of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and in the statements of Imam; these are the foundations and pillars of the revolution. I advise the youth to read the will of Imam; you have not seen Imam, but Imam is embodied in this will; he is embodied in these statements and speeches. The content of that Imam who was able to shake the world is the same things that are in this will and similar documents; Imam cannot be interpreted; Imam cannot be understood contrary to what he was; his words exist. Adherence to the principles of the revolution is necessary.

The other day, I told a group of scientific and elite youth who were here that this is not out of obstinacy, nor out of the zeal and fanaticism of ignorance; this means that if this country wants to remove the dust of centuries of imposed backwardness from itself, it must follow this path; if we want the problems of this country to be solved, if we want this country to gain dignity, to gain prosperity, to become a country that is a model in terms of material, spiritual, ethical, and cultural advancements, we must continue the path of the revolution; the revolution was and is the only remedy for this country and will be in the future.

Today, one of the things that is practically important is the issue of the economy; the enemy is focused on the economy of our country. From the enemy's perspective, the economy of the country is a weak point that he can exploit to achieve his malicious goals regarding our dear country and the Islamic Republic; we must work on the economy. I said resistant economy means an economy that springs from within and reduces our need for others and increases the strength of the country against external shocks; this is the meaning of resistant economy. "Resistant economy, action and operation," this action and operation must be visible to the people, and the people must see this; this is our expectation and demand from the officials, which we also share with them; we regularly discuss these issues with the officials and tell them. The indicators of action and operation must be demonstrated.

Among the things that are necessary today is political insight; political insight! You see; when there is insight, a person can recognize their surrounding environment and both near and far environments; this is what insight means. When there is no insight, a person becomes captivated by something that truly has no attraction; some people are captivated by America, but this captivation is a false captivation; it has no attraction. Now, we said these things; then you saw that in this election, the most prominent political figures of that country said the same things we were saying, more or twice or several times over. This president who has been elected in America says, "If the money we Americans spent on war in these years had been spent inside America, we could have rebuilt America twice over, and we would not have all these ruined roads, all these ruined bridges, all these ruined dams, all these ruined cities, and all these poor people in America." Those who are captivated by that imaginary point, are they willing to understand these things? These ruins exist in that country, and the money of that country is spent on dishonorable activities; are these wars that he says we spent several trillion dollars on - he says we spent several thousand billion dollars - honorable wars? There are two types of wars; one war is an honorable war where a person respects humanitarian laws. Well, an enemy has attacked a person, and a person is forced to fight back; this war is honorable; but the war that America has waged in this region in recent years is not an honorable war. They destroyed people's homes, killed tens of thousands of civilians, killed women, killed children, dropped bombs, bombed mourning ceremonies and wedding ceremonies, and destroyed the infrastructure of several countries. You see what they have brought upon Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan! This several trillion has been spent on these things. These are the things we have always said. Insight is knowing who you are dealing with, knowing what they think about you, knowing that if you close your eyes and do not think, you will be struck; this is insight. Our expectation from the political and non-political elites of the country is that they have this insight. Fortunately, the people have this insight; it is surprising! Ordinary people and the masses have this political insight, but some of our elites, relying on their delusions, do not have this insight.

Of course, I have no judgment regarding the elections that have taken place in America. America is America; whether this party or that party comes to power, they have not brought us any good, only harm. One imposed sanctions, one bombed, one attacked oil platforms, one helped our enemies. We have no worries; we are, by God's grace, prepared to face any potential incident. In the world, some are mourning why the elections in that country turned out this way; some are happy and rejoicing. We neither mourn nor rejoice; it makes no difference to us. We think about how to guide the country through potential problems; the nation must think about this. The way to overcome all the problems that may arise for the country, whether in this period, ten years from now, or fifty years from now, is for the country to be strong from within. See how strength is achieved. The internal strength of the system is the foundation of the work; both political strength, economic strength, cultural strength, and above all, the spiritual and psychological strength of individuals, especially the elites and especially the senior officials of the country. If this strength exists, no danger threatens the country. The country is prepared against all dangers. Our dear youth must continue this blessed growth of revolutionary spirit. Discussions, controversies, and focusing on small and trivial matters are not the issues of the country; the issue of the country is the revolutionary spirit; the issue of the country is the revolutionary orientation; and in terms of practical and planning matters, the issue of the country is the economy, which we have repeatedly stated, scientific advancement, which we have repeatedly stated, and the unity and cohesion of all the people, which we have also repeatedly stated. These are the main issues of the country.

The people of Isfahan, thanks be to God, have been successful in the distant and recent past and have emerged from tests with honor. The hard tests for Isfahan in the distant and recent past have been constructive tests. A test means practice; a divine test means practice, means a drill. A drill shows a person's weaknesses and they try to eliminate those weaknesses and turn them into strengths; this is what exists for the Iranian nation. Isfahan, thanks be to God, is at the forefront and pioneering in this regard. We hope it will always be this way. My dear ones! Know that the tomorrow of this country is far better than today, and by God's grace and with His power, this country, thanks to the revolution, thanks to the divine verses, thanks to reliance on faith in the Quran and Islam and the teachings of the Imams of Guidance (peace be upon them), will be able to overcome all problems and will progress, and we hope that this will be the case, God willing. We are very happy to have visited you, dear brothers and sisters. Please convey our greetings to all the brothers and sisters in Isfahan.

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