Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in Meeting with the People of Kangaur

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, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for granting me the opportunity to be present among you, the faithful and loyal people of this region of Kermanshah. I send my greetings and salutations to this great gathering, to these enthusiastic youth, to the faithful men and women, to the dear people of Kangaur, and also to the brothers and sisters who have participated in this great assembly from the surrounding areas, from Sanqur and Harsin. I pray to the Almighty God for your success.

This region of Kermanshah, like other parts of the province, has characteristics that pertain to its people; loyalty, kindness, noble qualities of heroism, faith, sincerity, purity, and spirituality are widespread throughout this province. However, some areas of the province have unique characteristics. Your city is known as a host for the pilgrims of Karbala and the holy shrines. Kangaur has been a resting place for the lovers of Hussein for many years and centuries. The love for religion, spirituality, and the clergy is among the other characteristics of this county; the names of great scholars from this province are associated with this city: the late Haj Agha Bozorg Mohammadi Iraqi, a spiritual scholar and a man of piety and devotion, who was a prominent figure in this province, lived in this city, and the blessings and bounties of this great and spiritual man have reached the people of this city. His martyred son, the late Haj Agha Bahaddin Mohammadi Iraqi, who we knew during our studies in Qom and had sincerity towards him, is also a product of this city; a scholar and martyr.

Although your city was not in the forefront of the war, it was one of the important centers of jihad and the bravery of the youth. The greatest support during the imposed war came from the youth of this city and this region of Kermanshah towards the front lines; therefore, the number of their martyrs is also high. The various supports and logistics from this city to the front lines are well known to the warriors and those familiar with the war era. May God's blessings be upon the people of this city who have always passed good tests in the past, whether during the revolution, during the imposed war, and in the trials of the past two decades. This is the identity of a city. These moral, spiritual, and ethical characteristics of a city can serve as evidence for its future. Therefore, I believe that, God willing, the city of Kangaur and this region of Kermanshah will have a very good and bright future by divine grace.

Of course, there are shortcomings. The issue of employment - which the esteemed Friday prayer leader mentioned - is a completely valid point; it is not only related to this city but pertains to the entire province. The major problem of this province is the issue of employment; this has been discussed with the officials, and God willing, it will be raised more emphatically in the future so that they can seek and find correct and proper ways to resolve this issue. However, this people's talent, this people's spirit, this readiness to work, this enthusiasm, this loyalty to the revolution, these are promising characteristics. The country, the revolution, and the system have been able to overcome very difficult stages until today because of these characteristics.

My dear brothers and sisters! Today, our beloved country is not comparable to previous eras. We were a nation suffering from stagnation, rigidity, and isolation in all areas. The revolution revived the country, revived the nation, awakened the spirit of innovation in this country, and brought dignity to this nation. We have traversed many paths, achieved many advancements; and this path continues; we do not stop in the middle of the road.

There is an important point, which is mentioned in the noble verse of the Quran in Surah Al-Fath: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are only pledging allegiance to God; the hand of God is above their hands. So whoever breaks his pledge, breaks it only to his own detriment; and whoever fulfills what he has promised God, He will give him a great reward." When a nation begins a path, reaching results requires perseverance on that path, progress on that path, not stopping midway, and not being satisfied with intermediate achievements. One of our afflictions is that we imagine that the progress we have made is the final results; we stop here. Another affliction is that we think that because we have not reached our final goals by this time, we should extinguish the light of hope in our hearts; we should think that we will no longer have access. The path that the Almighty God and Islam teach us is this: "So call to [the path of] your Lord and be steadfast as you have been commanded and do not follow their desires"; walk carefully on the path you have recognized, take firm and steady steps, and show perseverance. If we show perseverance, then we will reach the lofty goals of Islam; the same Islamic society that I described and illustrated a few days ago in Kermanshah. That justice, that true democracy, that human dignity, that Islamic freedom, will be realized through our progress, through our steadfast steps, through our not tiring, and through keeping the light of hope in our hearts, by divine grace, through these very youth.

The youth generation of our country is a hopeful generation. Wherever one looks, one sees that our youth today are educated, aware, and possess the positive revolutionary characteristics of a person who can move forward, can envision distant horizons, and can hope to achieve them; this can be observed in the dear youth of our country, and I have clearly seen it in this land. This is what drives us forward, gives us hope; it is the exact opposite of what the enemies want.

The enemies of the Iranian nation, through various propaganda, try to disrupt this solid front, this continuous movement; sometimes through blackening, sometimes by hiding the brilliant successes of the Iranian nation from the revolution until today; their effort is to say that the revolution has not been able to cope. What burns them is that the Iranian nation, with the self-confidence gained through the revolution and with the clear faith that the revolution has given us, has been able to stand firm against the material and spiritual domination of the enemies.

Our country was under the feet of the enemies. Tehran was considered a safe and calm point for the wicked Zionist agents, where they could come, eat from the bag of the Iranian nation, and rest; to gain the calm that they could not find in the occupied lands. Our country was a place where the policies of America, England, and occasionally other arrogant and colonial countries determined and outlined the life policies. Those who held the government and power of the country had neither the ability, nor the will, nor the honor to stand against the enemies of this nation, nor did they have such a popular backing that they could oppose the arrogant and foreign interveners. Today, those whose policies dominated this country see that the Iranian nation stands with complete independence against their demands. They have acknowledged that many of America's policies - especially its Middle Eastern policies - have failed and have not succeeded due to the steadfastness of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic; it is evident that they are angry. Their effort is to blacken - this is one of the ways - especially today when the nations of the region have awakened. The awareness of the nations of the region and their Islamic awakening has brought the Iranian nation and the Islamic revolution in Iran to the forefront and placed it before them. They do not want to be emulated; they do not want Iran and the Iranian and the Islamic Republic of Iran to be a model for those nations; hence, they blacken - especially in the eyes of those nations - they downplay the advancements and exaggerate the weaknesses.

Everyone must be vigilant. In the country, those who are writers, the press, those who have media, those who have platforms, must be careful not to assist the enemies' desires. Some knowingly, some unknowingly, with their comments and words, assist the enemies' desires; everyone must be vigilant. The enemy today wants to present an undesirable image of the Islamic Republic to the nations of the region so that they are not drawn to this side and the line of resistance against global arrogance - which is a characteristic of the Iranian nation - does not spread among them; therefore, we must be careful.

The officials of the country, wherever they are, at various levels, should strive to eliminate shortcomings; to remove problems from the people's path; to make life easier for the people within the country's capabilities; to not cease their efforts and endeavors; this pertains to the officials of the country. Those who have platforms for speaking, who have media, whose voices are heard in society, should strive not to diminish the prominent points of this nation according to the enemies' desires, not to weaken them, not to downplay them. The vigilance of the Iranian nation must always be preserved.

We have embarked on a very difficult path and, by divine grace, have passed through many of its challenging sections. The imposed war was one of the difficult sections; the years of sanctions, consecutive and ongoing, were among the difficult sections. The Iranian nation has proudly and powerfully passed through all of these; after this, it will also pass through all the dangerous bends with perseverance, steadfastness, and success. This requires national unity, which fortunately exists today and must increase day by day; both unity and agreement among the various segments of the people, and the affection and kindness between the people and the officials, which, thanks be to God, exists today.

This scene that you see here today - which is repeated in other counties of Kermanshah and throughout the country - does not exist anywhere else in the world; this unity, this affection, this good opinion, this love that exists between the people and the officials of the Islamic Republic; this is specific to the Iranian nation and specific to the Islamic Republic.

O Lord! Bestow Your mercy and blessings upon this people through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, remove the small and large problems of the Iranian nation through the efforts of the people and the efforts of the officials. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, crush and frustrate the enemies of the Iranian nation. O Lord! Unite the pure souls of our dear martyrs with the Prophet. O Lord! Make the pure soul of the Imam pleased and satisfied with us. Make the sacred heart of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him) pleased and satisfied with us; include us in the prayers of that great one.

I am very happy to meet with you, the dear people of Kangaur and this eastern region of Kermanshah.

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