Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a Public Meeting with the People of Lar

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 progeny and his chosen companions. O God, send blessings and peace upon Your guardian and proof, the Proof of God, al-Hujjah ibn al-Hasan, and upon his forefathers.

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for granting me the opportunity to meet with the sincere and dear people of the Lar region in this ancient city, in the midst of your gathered brothers and sisters. In my previous travels to Fars Province, I always wished to meet with the dear people of the Lar region and the city of Lar; unfortunately, this was not possible in the past. Today, in this enthusiastic and affectionate gathering, I feel that the heart of every Muslim and believer who is familiar with Islamic teachings will undoubtedly accompany their life, environment, city, and community with the same atmosphere of sincerity and purity that I observe in you. I sincerely thank you for your affection, and I express my love, devotion, and sincerity towards you. Here, I find it necessary and appropriate to thank all the people of Fars Province. Today marks the last day of my trip to this vast and proud province. During these nine days that I have spent in your province, the people of Shiraz and other cities have shown their love and sincerity to the fullest; I must express my gratitude to all of them.

Fortunately, the officials of the country have paid attention to the issues of Fars Province. Yesterday, the government delegation - the cabinet - convened in Shiraz and held fruitful discussions regarding various issues of the people of this province, including the issues of the city of Lar and the Lar region, and made good decisions. We hope that divine success will be granted to the officials of the country so that they can express their devotion to you, the people who truly deserve to be served, and fulfill their duties.

The name of Lar in the recent history of Iran is inseparable from the name of the late Ayatollah al-Uzma Sayyid Abd al-Husayn Lari. Wherever there is a mention of Lar and a look at the recent hundred or hundred and twenty years of the country's history, the name of this great man stands out prominently.

We do not wish to rest on the laurels of the past, but we want to recognize ourselves through understanding our history, our past, and the prominent figures of this history; to understand our present correctly and to discern and open the path for our future.

The Lar region, over a hundred years ago, recorded a very eventful Islamic movement in our history thanks to this great man and the help of the people of this region - the people of the cities and tribes. If our evaluation of nations is based on measuring their awareness, their national determination and will, their insight and courage in action - if this is the measuring tool for the value and worth of populations and nations - we must say that the people of Lar and the great Lar region are among the most distinguished people of our vast country according to these criteria and standards. At a time when the issue of freedom and the struggle against despotism was not raised in many parts of the country, in this region, thanks to the spirituality of this great and knowledgeable cleric, the issue of fighting against despotism was raised for the people. At a time when resistance against foreign occupiers had little clear meaning for many nations in our region and our own nation, the people of the Lar region, under the leadership of this great Sayyid, stood against the British occupation; they placed their lives in the hands of the oppressors. The late Ayatollah Sayyid Abd al-Husayn Lari wrote in a letter to his son that the pressures are great, but I will stand firm until the last drop of my blood. When the leader stands like this, when the people's guide stands so sincerely, naturally, the national determination and will are activated in the right direction and guide the nations. After that great man, his son, the late Ayatollah Sayyid Abd al-Muhammad - who is a prominent religious figure - also carried out struggles.

From the past of Lar, we must draw a lesson for our current situation and the future of our dear and powerful nation, and that is that this model showed that if a nation has a correct leadership, a leadership that does not surrender to worldly desires, and enters the most difficult arenas, it will be able to triumph over the greatest and most obstinate enemies. The Iranian nation applied this experience, which it learned from its history in this region and other parts of the country, during the Islamic Revolution. With the slogan of raising the banner of Islam, with the slogan of following the principles of Muhammad's laws (peace be upon him), the Iranian nation moved during a time when the world's powerful believed that they had removed all religion and religiosity from the lives of the people. This is a very important point: the revolution of the Iranian nation was able to draw the world's attention to itself at a time when the powerful of the world - the policies of global arrogance - thought they had cut off the roots of religion and religiosity everywhere, including in Islamic countries. They were at ease, believing that no prominent name of religion would remain, and that the religious effects on the people would weaken day by day; they had comforted themselves with this. It was during such a time that the Iranian nation, by raising the banner of Islam, returned religiosity to the lives of people all over the world. This is a reality. We rose for Islam; we raised the banner of Islam; but even in countries where their religion is not Islam, this impact was given by our revolution and our nation, which inclined them towards religiosity, towards spirituality, towards the absolute of religion. This miracle was created by the Iranian nation, and this revolution, with the name of Islam, with the blessed name of the Quran, was able to become a model for most nations of the world.

If today you travel to Islamic countries, you will see that the atmosphere is completely different from thirty years ago - that is, before the victory of this revolution. Back then, if someone spoke or acted for freedom or independence, it was under the banner and slogan of atheistic and non-divine schools, but today in the Islamic world, intellectuals, students, and responsible individuals, when they speak of independence and freedom, do so under the banner of Islam. This was thanks to your uprising, the Iranian nation, and the great Islamic revolution, whose roots you observed in the near history: the Tobacco Uprising, the Constitutional Revolution led by great scholars, and among the most prominent of them, the uprising of the people of Laristan under the leadership of this great man. When we look at the past, we look at it with this perspective. The past serves as a means and a mirror for us; it is a source of lessons to pave the way for our future.

What is primarily at stake for the Iranian nation today is adherence to Islam. All the goodness and blessings that a nation aspires to achieve come to fruition through Islam. In order to attain freedom, independence, public welfare, scientific progress, and to be at the forefront in various human fields, to achieve the peak of dignity for ourselves - as the Iranian nation - our unique path today is adherence to Islam. Islam brings all of these to a nation in its teachings, in its essence. Adherence to Islam is the greatest path for the Iranian nation today.

The second matter is the issue of unity, which I emphasize in this trip - in various cities - and in all the speeches I give to our dear nation. The reason is that the enemies of the Iranian nation have found one of the ways to strike at this nation by creating discord among the Muslim people; just as they have pursued the same policy in the Islamic world and among the Islamic Ummah. Since the beginning of the revolution's victory, they have tried to scare our neighboring Muslim countries - including the countries neighboring the Persian Gulf - from the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution; unfortunately, in some cases, they succeeded; while the Islamic Republic has extended a hand of brotherhood to all Muslim nations and governments. The Islamic Republic is fundamentally committed to Islamic unity; Islamic unity means the solidarity of nations and cooperation among governments. Fortunately, the nations are united; sectarian, factional, and religious differences cannot create a rift among nations, except by the enemy's whispers. However, unfortunately, the hands of politics can pull governments this way and that. Today, we also declare: the neighboring countries are our brothers; our hand of friendship and brotherhood is extended to these countries. We do not need them; this brotherhood is not out of necessity. The Iranian nation has proven that with trust in God and self-confidence, it overcomes challenges, but we consider discord contrary to the interests of the Islamic world; hence, we have extended a hand of friendship to all countries. Fortunately, today, despite the efforts of the enemies of the Islamic world and despite the efforts of the espionage apparatuses of America and the Zionists - who are constantly engaged in sowing discord - and to their dismay, the relations of the Islamic Republic with the countries of the region - Arab and non-Arab countries - are healthy, good, and brotherly; and this must be strengthened day by day.

The same applies, with even greater emphasis, to the internal situation of the country. Since the beginning of the revolution, they have tried to sow discord among the great Iranian nation under the pretext of ethnicity, religion, and political differences. We have overcome this enemy plot, but we still consider ourselves and all our dear brothers and sisters in need of vigilance and caution in this regard; lest the enemy be able to carry out its schemes. Shia and Sunni, people from different parts of the country, supporters of various political tendencies, all must know that the Iranian nation, despite this diversity in religion, ethnicity, and tastes, is one nation; it is united; it is one hand. It is with this unity that it can defend its interests, its identity, and its dignity against the fiercest enemies and bring the enemy to its knees by the grace and power of God.

Thanks be to God, in the Lar region, although Sunni brothers are also present here - in some areas and cities - the brotherhood between Shia and Sunni people in this region is a model and commendable brotherhood. We have studied this in reports; I was also aware of it, and today, signs of it are evident in this gathering. We must all strive for Islam; Shia and Sunni must all make efforts for the exaltation of the word of monotheism, for the elevation of the authentic Islamic values, for the implementation of Muhammad's laws (peace be upon him); we must not allow differences of opinion, differences in jurisprudence, differences in tastes, and even sometimes personal animosities and personal biases to dominate our lives and our conduct and to please the enemy.

Today, the enemy strives to incapacitate the center of this great Islamic movement, the center and heart of the Islamic Ummah, namely the Iranian nation, which has become the source of movement for the Islamic world. The enemies' efforts, the efforts of global arrogance, are focused on removing this practical model from the sight of the world's Muslims. The Islamic Iran is a practical model. The Islamic Iran, with its existence, its power, its progress, and its unity, shows the Islamic world that it is possible to establish an Islamic system in the face of the accumulated plots of the enemies and in this tumultuous world; it is possible to bring the governance of Islam to the forefront. This experience is presented by Islamic Iran before the eyes of the Muslim nations.

The enemy's view, the enemy's desire, the wicked wish of the enemy is to remove this example from the sight of the Islamic nations; whether through political, military, security, and economic aggression, or through propaganda and slander. One observes that some of the paid journalists in our neighboring regions - the Arab region - write about the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic with such audacity that it astonishes one. They direct accusations at the Iranian nation, at the Islamic community, at the Islamic Republic that truly astonishes one how much a person, a paid pen, a lowly individual can degrade themselves to serve the enemy and stand against Islam and the Quran for petty worldly gains!

The only way to confront this is in your hands, dear brothers and sisters! The confrontation is that we must increase our unity day by day; we must bring our hearts closer together; we must double our efforts for the progress of this country. Today, thanks be to God, many efforts are being made; I must point out that in this Lar region, many charitable people are doing good works here, which we are aware of; their reports are brought to us: serving the people, helping the people, assisting the needy, supporting science, establishing mosques, and so on. These are works that the people of this region carry out out of their own volition and enthusiasm. This service is being carried out on a large scale by the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system throughout the country, and God willing, we must continue to advance in this direction day by day. We must advance the science of the country, the economy of the country, and all the various political, social, spiritual, and ethical efforts in this country. This is the only way that this country can stand against the plots of global arrogance.

It is the people's efforts that can make the country self-sufficient. The investments that people make in various sectors are very valuable, especially in the production sector. And I consider it the best deed, the best charity, for those who are interested in serving the people to invest in productive endeavors; it creates employment, helps the progress of the country, and alleviates poverty and deprivation from significant parts of the country. This is the general policy of the Islamic Republic: to seek help from the financial capital, the intellectual capital, and the capable and efficient workforce of our dear people, for this country belongs to them and the future belongs to them.

Today, the policies of global arrogance in this region have been completely exposed to the nations. The nations know what the policies of global arrogance want; what they have come for. The presence of Americans in the Persian Gulf is a source of insecurity; the nations have understood this. The day when foreign governments and the powerful bullies of the world could dominate countries and sensitive waterways and passages of the world under the pretext of creating security is long gone. Today, nations know. The people of Iraq know why the Americans came to Iraq. They themselves admitted it, saying we came for oil. Under the pretext of saving the people of Iraq, they created the greatest calamities for the people of Iraq. "When I saw the end, it was you, the wolf"; today, like a wolf, they have fallen upon the people of Iraq, but they claim that they are seeking the security of the people of Iraq; this is a lie. The most important source of insecurity for the people of Iraq is the reckless presence of the occupiers, who pay no heed to the lives, property, honor, or national pride of the people.

At the beginning of the occupation of Iraq, I told the occupiers in Friday prayers that the way you are humiliating this nation, laying the Iraqi youth on the ground and your oppressive soldier placing his boot on his back, know that the Iraqi nation will not remain silent in the face of your actions. The Iraqi nation is a proud nation; it is a nation with dignity; you are inciting the Iraqi nation against yourselves with your own hands. This has happened today. They are looking for the main factor behind the people's movement against the occupying military forces. As always, their calculations are wrong. They accuse Iran; they accuse Syria; they accuse this and that. Accuse yourselves. The presence of American forces is enough to provoke the pride of the Iraqi people against them; it does not require anyone from outside Iraq's borders to incite them; you are foolishly accusing this and that. You are the main accused and the main criminal. The Americans are the first criminals in the matter of Iraq. It is the same everywhere else. The presence of America in the Persian Gulf, in this very sensitive region of the world, is a source of insecurity. The security of this region must be ensured by the governments of this region. Just as American interference in the Palestinian issue causes the matter to become more entangled.

The knot of the Palestinian issue will not be untied by American interference; it will become more tangled. The more the Americans interfere in this issue, the more they complicate the knot. The Palestinian nation is a nation of awakening; it is a free nation; it is a nation of enlightenment. It has elected a government; let that government carry out its work with the support of that nation. Their interference, especially one-sided, bullying interference, in favor of the usurping Zionist regime, makes the Palestinian issue more difficult with the passage of time. Of course, these issues will be resolved; both the issue of Iraq and the issue of Palestine will be resolved; but it will be resolved on the day when, with the resolution of these issues, nothing will remain of the dignity, identity, and existence of American arrogance.

I thank God that in this trip - both to your city, Lar and the Lar region, and to the entire Fars Province - what I knew and had seen about Fars Province and its dear people, I witnessed once again in practice. We have many stories, memories, and accounts with the scholars of Shiraz, with the prominent figures and scholars of Fars during the struggle, which I referred to regarding the late Ayatollah martyr Sayyid Abd al-Husayn Dashtgib and the other scholars in the last year and the year before the victory of the revolution; and the late Ayatollah Rabani Shirazi, who was one of the prominent scholars, one of the top scholars of Qom, and a very experienced fighter; we discussed various issues with him while we were in exile. At that time, a correspondence took place between us and the late Ayatollah martyr Dashtgib; on that day, it could be understood how much the province of Fars was a source of struggle, accompanied by awareness, knowledge, and firm determination; and they demonstrated this; they showed it in various periods. Today, thanks be to God, after nearly three decades since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, when one enters this province, one observes the freshness and vitality of the revolution in the cities and in this province; especially thanks to the presence of you dear youth. You dear youth are particularly present in this vast arena, among this dense crowd, and in the other arenas that this country and this nation present to the spectators of the world.

Dear youth! This country belongs to you; this country belongs to you; the future belongs to you. You are the ones who must fully benefit from the fruits of this revolution, God willing, in a long and prosperous life. Do your utmost; work as much as you can; learn science; do not lose the spirit of movement and effort. And consider ethics and spirituality, attention to the Almighty God, remembrance, prayer, and connection with the Quran as valuable. These will help you, God willing, to give the Iranian nation the position it deserves.

O Lord! We swear by Muhammad and the family of Muhammad to make our hearts more inclined to Islam day by day and to become more familiar with Islam. O Lord! Bestow Your mercy, blessings, and grace upon these dear people. O Lord! In this year, when rainfall in this region and in some other parts of the country has been less than in the past, compensate for this deficiency with Your grace and favor, with Your various bounties. O Lord! Protect the youth of this people; grant them a good end; guide them. O Lord! Make the future of these youth a future full of brilliance and pride for themselves and for this country, and unite the pure spirit of the martyrs with Your saints, and unite the pure spirit of the Imam of martyrs with Your saints. O Lord! Make us also join our dear martyrs, and make the sacred heart of the Awaited Imam pleased and satisfied with us.

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