Full Text of the Supreme Leader's Statements at the Majestic Gathering of the People of Karaj

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 and Prophet, Abul Qasim Muhammad, and his pure and immaculate family, especially the remaining proof of God on earth. Peace be upon the righteous servants of God.

Before any discussion, I find it necessary to sincerely thank you, the dear people of Karaj, who with heartfelt and passionate affection, have formed this great gathering and brought together this roaring sea of people in this place. I also extend my gratitude to the brothers and sisters who welcomed us along the way and expressed their affection. I felt it necessary to visit this city, which holds dear memories for me and has played a role in the revolution, the war, and the great events of these glorious years. Thanks be to God, today I have the opportunity to stand before tens of thousands of passionate, faithful, and revolutionary people in this county.

The matters I wish to share with you are partly related to your city and partly to the general issues of the country. It is good for you, dear brothers and sisters, to be aware of these matters, and at this time, the people of Karaj, like the entire great nation of Iran, should continue to play their significant role in supporting this revolution, as they have done and, thanks be to God, will continue to do.

As for the part related to the county of Karaj, in summary, after the victory of the revolution, the distinction of a city is no longer just about having excellent weather or beautiful and lush gardens. God Almighty has granted this blessing to Karaj, but there are other greater blessings that have been abundantly bestowed upon this region and its faithful and revolutionary people.

Today, among the primary distinctions of any city is how much its people feel responsible for their destiny, their country, their revolution, and their revolutionary system, and how they fulfill the duties that contribute to the dignity of the nation and the progress of the country. If I were to speak about this regarding the city of Karaj, I must say that Karaj has performed very well in this regard throughout the revolution. We have witnessed this and observed it closely. From those critical moments when the Islamic Revolution was victorious and the enemy tried with all its might to preserve its existence against the revolution, the city of Karaj, its people, and the youth of that time played their role. It was here that people heard that military tanks were supposed to move from a region towards Tehran to defend the barracks that had fallen into the hands of the people in Tehran and to reclaim them. The people of Karaj declared their readiness to stand against those tanks and prevent Tehran from being attacked. Perhaps this very declaration of readiness averted the problem from Tehran. This was the first step that this awakened, young, and vibrant city took in the revolution.

Of course, I am not surprised at all because I had seen this city closely in revolutionary contexts and movements before the revolution. In 1966, exactly thirty-one years ago, passionate and faithful people gathered in the Grand Mosque of this city to hear speeches during those days of absolute oppression. I used to come from Tehran during the days and nights of Ramadan to speak with these people. Of course, the police and the oppressive and anti-freedom security apparatus of that regime did not allow that Ramadan to be completed as desired, and they interrupted the sessions. From that time, I knew the people of Karaj, their spirit, and their vitality in this city; therefore, I am not surprised.

Since the victory of the revolution, this spirit has been repeated. In this regard, one can refer to the formation of the Seyyed al-Shohada Brigade from the people of Karaj and the faithful youth of this city, which soon transformed into a powerful and strong division and later became part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Today, it is a fully organized division and an operational corps composed of the youth of this region. I have heard that the Basij of this county and even the Islamic councils here, even after eighteen years since the revolution, are still active and vibrant. Therefore, this blessing—the blessing of people's participation in defending the dignity of the revolution and the honor and pride of the country—is a great blessing. I tell you that with this spirit, the youth will be able to play their role in every stage of the country's advancement and development, and people like you can claim to be active members of a vibrant and honorable nation like Iran.

Of course, reports about the issues and problems of the people have been provided in connection with this trip and before it. Here, discussions and inquiries will be held with officials and various sectors, and God willing, the problems will be identified and conveyed to our diligent and hardworking brothers in the government, and they will be pursued so that, to the extent that the serving government can and within its capacity, these difficulties will be resolved. The city of Karaj, with a population of over one million—which has increased more than fivefold over the past twenty years—needs services in terms of cultural issues, health and treatment, communications, and so on. We hope that with the grace of the Almighty and the follow-ups that will be made, the officials will fulfill their duties in these areas, and the dear, faithful, and revolutionary people like you will be appreciated.

As for the issues related to the country, any nation that is alive, awake, and aware and wants to save its country from the problems imposed on it must advance with power in the field of work, effort, and construction, and not pay attention to the words and sayings of the enemies and others. It makes no difference; all sectors of construction are important in this regard: scientific and industrial construction, economic construction, cultural construction, and moral construction. If all developing nations thought about standing on their own feet, with their own will, according to their needs, and made efforts themselves and demanded from their officials, and all moved together towards their great goals—which, thanks be to God, the Iranian nation is doing—certainly, the field for international bullying and arrogance would not be open. Unfortunately, the world is not like this; but the Iranian nation is.

Despite the fact that the Iranian nation must not pay attention to the words of the enemy and must advance on the path of construction and progress, it must also know what the enemy thinks about it and what plan it has devised for enmity. Dear brothers and sisters! If you become heedless of the enemy and we become heedless, certainly the enemy will take advantage of this negligence and block the path of progress and independence of the nation. To know what the enemy is plotting, everyone has a duty, and government agencies are also active in these areas; but the enemy's propaganda is also indicative.

In recent months, two propaganda streams have been launched by the enemy's news agencies throughout the areas related to the Islamic Republic system, about which I will speak briefly:

One stream is that they are trying to show that the Islamic Republic system is facing fundamental and unsolvable economic problems! They promoted this both during the previous government and since the new government came to power after that thirty-million election in Iran, the enemy's propaganda has continued to focus on this issue as a pretext. This is one propaganda stream.

Another stream relates to the cultural, intellectual, and revolutionary issues of the people. They are promoting the idea that the Islamic Republic system, or its officials or the government, is indifferent and negligent towards revolutionary values, or is moving in that direction! The main propaganda of global arrogance about Iran is based on these two lines.

First, let me tell you what the enemy's goal is with these two propaganda streams. Why does it want to portray the situation as economically bleak and why does it want to depict the situation as a cultural and revolutionary defeat? The reason is simple: they want to extinguish the light of hope in the hearts of the Iranian nation, especially the youth; they want to extinguish the light of hope in hearts and make people despair.

My dear ones! Hope is the greatest driving force for humans. Hope for victory, hope for progress, and hope for success motivate every human being to move. If you want any active and lively person to stop moving, it is enough to make them despair. If you make them despair, active hands will become weak; active and firm knees will tremble. They want to make the Iranian nation despair. Why? Because they see that the Iranian nation is moving towards a good and bright future where both its material world is secured and its dignity, pride, faith, and influence in the Islamic world are secured.

Today, the Iranian nation is seen on the international stage and in the eyes of the world's nations as a vibrant nation moving towards goals that are inspiring for any nation and that excite any human community anywhere in the world; that is, towards self-sufficiency and absolute independence from all those who humiliate nations with industry and manufactured goods, plunder the wealth of nations, take away the resources of nations, and crush their honor, dignity, and spirit of independence.

With its revolution, the Iranian nation struck a blow to the mouths of such arrogant powers. In the war, it struck an even stronger blow. In the field of construction, it was able to strike the enemy's mouth with its power and will, and it dazzled them with its movement, determination, and speed of action. The Iranian nation continues to advance.

We are still in the middle of the journey. They want to stop the nation in this movement and make it despair. That is why they launch those two propaganda streams. Their goal is this. But let me tell you that both propaganda streams are false, contrary to reality, and based on deception. If the Iranian nation continues with the cohesion that, thanks be to God, exists today between it and the government—officials are moving towards building and developing this country, and the people trust the country's officials, and the construction and renovation of the country have begun under the shadow of Islam and the revolution—it will be able to stand tall in the world and among countries as a wealthy nation with knowledge and a life worthy of active and proud people, in a reasonable future and within a calculable period of time.

Of course, this is very bitter for the enemy. There may also be some who, due to the enemy's insinuations, have become pessimistic; but pessimism should not be allowed in these fields. Half of our nation's population is young. Young means the center of energy, hope, and initiative. We have a nation with a young population, with expanding universities, with an increasing number of graduates from scientific centers, which today has increased many times over compared to before the revolution, and this country has tens of times more universities and scientific and research centers than it did then. This is the human resource, this is the centers for educating and training human resources, and those are the resources of this country.

A country with underground resources, with fertile lands, with the power to harness the country's waters—although the country's water is scarce, it is capable of better harnessing and utilization—and above all, a country with religious foundations—wherever there are religious foundations, people are raised with piety, and when they are pious, they make the best use of material and spiritual reserves—why shouldn't it reach that point? Why should some doubt that Islamic Iran, with the passage of a reasonable period of time, will be able to become a model and an example for countries in this region and other regions? There is no doubt about it. Therefore, the propaganda that Iran is suffering from incurable economic diseases is hostile, pessimistic, and based on enmity and hostility; it is the generalization of small problems to everything and everywhere and is contrary to reality.

And as for the second point, the propaganda about officials or government officials or young people being distant from the foundations of Islam and religion and the revolution. This lie is even bigger than the first! It is not true at all. Today, in this country, anyone who is serving in a major and decisive responsibility, their greatest goal is to be able to build this country with the life-giving teachings of Islam; to develop this country with the blessing of God's religion; to bring this country to the dignity that God's religion has desired for the people; to bring this country to the prosperity, knowledge, and civilization that Islam gives to humans and nations. The goal is this.

Our nation is a nation that, in the depths of the darkness of irreligion and tyranny, was able to bring out the sun of religion from behind the clouds and create a revolution based on Islam and the Quran that dazzled the eyes of all the world's nations—not just Muslim nations. It is still the same today. Today, if you go to Latin American countries and among Christian communities—communities that have the least connection with Iran and Islam—you will see that the name of the revolution and the blessed name of the great Imam of this revolution—Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)—are known. From all corners of the world, dozens of books and treatises and hundreds of articles and poems and literary pieces from various literatures and cultures have been issued in the greatness of this revolution. This is the revolution that this nation has initiated.

This revolution and these revolutionary values and this dignified Islam have been able to bring this country, which was once considered a pawn of global arrogance, to dignity. This Tehran that you see was once a safe haven for Zionists who came to the gardens of northern Tehran for recreation and rested in the homes of the regime's aristocrats and nobles, only to return to occupied Palestine and fight our Palestinian Muslim brothers with more peace of mind and suppress them. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis and Americans were in this country, dominating all its affairs. The best areas of this country were in the hands of the mercenary servants of global arrogance. The best areas and the best facilities of this country belonged to foreigners. The value of this nation on the international stage and in the world's international policies was not even equal to the value of a small country in some corner of European and Latin American regions.

Today, this country, thanks to Islam, has become so dignified that even its enemies admit that this nation is a dignified nation and this country is a powerful country. A nation that has gained such a great benefit from Islam will never turn its back on Islamic values.

Both the youth of this nation, the officials of this country, the various classes, and all those who want Iran to be proud know that as long as the flag of Islam is spread over this country and the light of pure Muhammadan Islam shines from this country to the entire Islamic world, this country is dignified; this country is proud among nations, and this country—both materially and spiritually, both scientifically and culturally, and in all aspects that are important for a nation—has a future. This nation, with these characteristics, will not abandon Islam and the Quran and the values that the Quran has presented in opposition to tyrannical values, and through Islam, it will be able to save other nations by the grace of the Almighty. This is the state of the Iranian nation, which the enemy either deliberately or mistakenly misunderstands, misinterprets, and misrepresents.

Of course, we do not expect anything from the enemy. What is important for the Iranian nation is that the dear Iranian nation must recognize its elements of power. Today, you enjoy dignity, personality, and greatness in the world. Today, the government and the nation of Iran are recognized among the governments and nations of the world as a prominent, dignified, courageous, and indomitable government and nation. You must see where the Iranian nation and government have obtained this bright and magnificent image from.

The first factor that has bestowed this great gift upon this nation is the magnificent flag of Islam and the Quran. Today, this flag is entrusted to you, the people, and you have preserved it. No one imposed Islam on the Iranian nation. Islam emerged from the depths of the hearts of each and every Iranian and was able to give them spirit, strength, and ability and transform them into resilient individuals in various global and domestic arenas and different aspects of life. You must preserve this and appreciate its value; I know you do appreciate it.

Of course, some classes have heavier responsibilities. The respected clergy and faithful intellectuals have additional responsibilities in these areas. In a city like Karaj, with its large population and so many young people, there should be modern and attractive religious and promotional centers in multiple forms, and faithful and interested young people and teenagers should be able to satisfy this feeling and attraction according to the natural attraction they have towards spiritual values at a young age. This is a duty that falls on the cultural officials, respected clergy, esteemed scholars, Islamic associations of schools, and various institutions.

The second element has been the unity and solidarity of the nation. I tell you, my dear ones! The Iranian nation, by the blessing of unity of word, has been victorious in the war, in mobilizing forces for the sacred defense fields, in all the various fields that were presented to this nation, and in the revolution itself. If there had been no unity of word; if the Iranian nation had been afflicted with divisions, discord, and schisms—which the enemy wanted to do, but thanks be to God, they did not succeed—it would have remained unsuccessful. You must preserve this unity.

The city of Karaj is an example of the coexistence of various classes from different parts of the country with each other. In this city, both the native people of Karaj and this region and the guests and travelers who have come from different parts live together in complete peace and kindness. Throughout the country, a harmonious and united spirit has been able to make people successful in all programs during the revolution. You must be careful to preserve this unity.

You must not allow the enemy, with invisible and hidden hands, to create discord among the people under various pretexts. In sensitive times, it has been seen that when a situation arises, even the enemy's radios outside the borders—which are set up with exorbitant funds and carefully select topics to create anxiety and concern among the Iranian nation—practically raise divisive issues to separate hearts. Do not pay any attention to these words and these whispers that arise from the dark and malevolent hearts of your enemies.

Our great nation is a united nation; it is Iranian, it is Muslim, it seeks the dignity and greatness of Islamic Iran, it seeks to establish truth and justice in Iran and then on a global scale. These are common goals that bring separate individuals together; let alone brothers.

Another aspect of unity is the unity between the nation and the executors. Today, one of the major problems of countries is this part of the issue. In various countries, there are deep differences between the public or major sections of the people and the executive bodies, and everything of the people is sacrificed to these differences; the people's bread and water, the people's security, the people's comfort. In some European countries, even over ten years, more than ten governments have come and gone. Why? Because of the competitions of people who are not thinking about the interests of their country and are thinking about their group interests. There is such a country in our neighborhood as well. Today, you see in Afghanistan, Afghan groups all belong to one country; but they have fallen upon each other in such a way that even blood enemies do not fight each other like this! This is the misery of a nation, this is the misfortune of a nation that God Almighty has afflicted with such a situation. In a country where brothers fight each other and everyone thinks of themselves, what is lost is the interests of the entire nation.

Of course, the enemies tried very hard to drag the great Iranian nation into this abyss as well; but they could not. By the grace of the Almighty, the structure of the Islamic Republic system is such that creating such differences among the people is a very difficult task for the enemies. Of course, your vigilance has played a role, and I want to emphasize your vigilance once again.

Thanks be to God, this second part—meaning the unity and harmony between the people and the officials—has existed since the beginning of the revolution; especially since the time when foreign-seeking and foreign-worshipping elements removed their evil from this revolution and left, and the faithful forces and the forces of the Imam's line found more room to be present. Since 1981, it has always been like this. The people are kind to the officials, they are interested in the officials; the officials also consider themselves servants of the people. It is the same today, it was the same in the previous government, and it is the same in this government. Appreciate this unity. Unity of word is one of the main elements for the cohesion that is the main condition for the success of the Iranian nation.

Today, the enemies of this nation—that is, the Americans and the Zionists, the greatest and most stubborn enemies of the Iranian nation, the regime of the United States of America, and under its wing, the usurping and illegitimate Zionist regime in Palestine—are willing to use every effort to strike a blow to the Iranian nation.

When I compare the scene of their international efforts with the scene of the sincere and faithful efforts of the Iranian nation, I see that the divine will and the grace of the Almighty for this nation dictate that no matter how much they try and no matter how much effort they make, in the end, they will not prevail over this nation, and this nation will be able to bring the enemies to their knees in all these arenas.

We hope that God Almighty will grant success to the dear Iranian nation and make you, the dear people of Karaj, more successful in the beautiful movement of active coexistence you have undertaken. I will not keep you here any longer. Some of you have been waiting in this gathering for hours, and I do not find it appropriate to keep you under the sun any longer. God willing, you will be successful and supported.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings