Statements at the Shrine of the Martyrs of the Operational Areas in the Mard Region in Eastern Karun

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, the infallible guides, especially the Remaining One of God on earth.

If we disregard the spiritual factors and what God the Exalted has promised to the believers and the Mojahedin (strugglers) on the path of truth, according to the ordinary laws of human societies, the dignity, power, reputation, and identity of any society depend on struggle and effort. No nation can achieve a worthy position among the nations of the world or in history through laziness and complacency. What elevates nations, both in history and in their own time, among the nations of the world is struggle, effort. This effort, of course, takes various forms; there is scientific effort, economic effort, and social cooperation among individuals, all of which are necessary; but at the forefront of all these efforts is the readiness for self-sacrifice, which makes a nation stand out among others. If there are no individuals in any nation who are ready to sacrifice their lives and comforts for the sake of achieving lofty ideals, that nation will not reach anywhere. What the revolution did for us, the people of Iran, was to illuminate this path before us; our entire nation understood and felt that they must strive for lofty ideals and stand against the enemies of these ideals; and they stood firm.

Our Sacred Defense, the eight-year war of this country, is the story of the steadfastness of the Iranian nation and our youth in the face of the wickedness and enmity of global disbelief and arrogance. It is true that we faced a Ba'athist regime - Saddam - who was indeed a sufficiently wicked element, sufficiently anti-humanity and anti-mankind, but he was not alone; what caused this war to last for eight years were the behind-the-scenes factors of global arrogance that encouraged him, promised him, and provided him with resources. When in these lands of Khuzestan - which you have now observed some of - our enemies were forced to retreat, a European government provided them with means to continue their wickedness and malice at sea; they gave them missiles. They did not allow the operations taking place in the region to conclude the fate of the war; they encouraged him. In other words, the hand of global arrogance, the hand of these European governments and the American government, was behind the wicked Ba'athist regime, encouraging it to continue its actions. They did not want the Islamic Republic to emerge victorious and proud from this great incident; they stated this explicitly.

After the operations that took place in this region - the Dar Khoyn region; this was a very decisive area of the Thamen al-A'immah operations - where the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran planned and designed together, in this region they were able to push the enemy back and crush the morale that the enemy had gained due to the support of the Westerners and foreigners and Europeans; they broke the siege of Abadan; after this operation, the operations of the Way of Quds; after this operation, the operations of Fath al-Mubin; then the operations of al-Bayt al-Muqaddas; these successive operations that our dear warriors, our self-sacrificing youth, in the framework of the army, in the framework of the IRGC, in the framework of the Basij and popular forces, in the framework of tribal groups, even in the framework of the police and gendarmerie and committees of that day, came to the battlefield and performed these acts of self-sacrifice; these operations could have concluded the war and brought it to an end; but the enemy front of the Islamic system - that is, these Europeans and European governments and the American government - did not allow it; they encouraged the opposing side, provided them with new resources, and instilled hope in them for victory in this war; thus, the war lasted for eight years. Eight years of war is no joke; the great and famous wars of the world in recent times lasted four, five, or six years; eight years of war, and that too in this vast region, from north to south - from the northwestern region of the country to this southern end - these conflicts existed. Their intention was to make the Islamic system feel that it was incapable of confronting these enemies; they wanted to portray the Islamic Republic as a weak and powerless entity. God the Exalted showed His power and crushed the mouths of the enemies of the Islamic Republic and the enemies of the raised flag of Islam with the iron fist of divine tradition and rubbed their noses in the dirt, showing that the Islamic system, because it relies on the faith of the people and the emotions of the people, can defend itself against all the material powers of the world and can compel the opposing side to confess its impotence. They admitted their impotence; they accepted that they could not withstand the decisive fist of those who submit to Islam and the believers in divine promises; their propaganda was neutralized. They tried to convince us, the people of Iran - we believers in the noble verses of God - that you cannot stand against the material powers of the world; they wanted to instill this belief in us. And I say to you, dear brothers, and to all the people of Iran: the defeat of a nation occurs when it believes that it cannot do anything; this is the beginning of the defeat of any nation. They wanted to create this feeling in the hearts of Iranians during the imposed war, but the situation turned out to be the opposite. The imposed war - that is, the Sacred Defense of the Iranian nation - showed that a nation, under the shadow of unity, under the shadow of faith in God, under the shadow of good opinion of God the Exalted and belief in the truth of divine promises, can pass through all difficult passages and can stand against the enemies and can compel the enemy to retreat; the imposed war demonstrated this to all of us.

I tell you, do not let the memory of the Sacred Defense fade away. Coming to these war zones - whether during the Nowruz holidays or throughout the year; thanks be to God, now throughout the year, people from all over the country travel to these areas and visit these lands - is a very commendable act, a correct act, a wise act that the people of Iran are doing; keep the memory of these lands alive. These lands, these deserts, this Karun River, this road from Ahvaz to Abadan or Ahvaz to Khorramshahr, these various regions that introduce themselves to you by different names today, are witnesses to the greatest acts of self-sacrifice and struggle. I will never forget in those early months of the war - in those months of hardship, the lack of forces, the lack of resources, the lack of training, the lack of cohesion and organization, in that comprehensive material hardship - our youth with good spirits came from Ahvaz to various regions; including here, the Dar Khoyn region. A group of faithful and Hezbollah youth, whom I sometimes know personally, came to this village of Muhammadiyeh nearby, digging individual trenches; in the darkness of night, they would come out of these individual trenches and go two hundred meters ahead, digging trenches there; they would spend the entire day under the scorching sun of Khuzestan in the trenches, enduring hardships, getting closer to the enemy; until the time for operations arrived, which was in the month of Mehr, the month after the attack - the enemy's attack began at the end of Shahrivar 59, in Mehr 60 - in this Dar Khoyn region and all the surrounding areas, with the forces of the army, IRGC, Basij, and others, they were able to reap the rewards of those struggles and gift them to the people of Iran; these are valuable memories, and we must not let them be forgotten.

In each of these regions, events have occurred that if one of these events were to happen in any country and any nation, it would be enough to elevate that nation in history. The very issues that occurred in the operations of al-Bayt al-Muqaddas, or what happened in the operations of Fath al-Mubin, or what happened after these in the operations of Khyber, every bit of these operations and the personalities from whom these sacrifices emerged and shaped the events can create a collection of great, lasting, and unforgettable honors for the Iranian nation. The enemies want us to forget; they want the issue of the Sacred Defense to fade from our memories, the sacrifices to be forgotten, the personalities who played roles in these sacrifices to be either unrecognized or forgotten; this is what they desire. Some want to discredit that era, discredit those individuals, discredit that direction and that path that Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the wise and insightful servant of God had determined; because they know that every bit and every point of these events is unforgettable for the Iranian nation and has significant constructive impacts.

I again say to the people of Iran, cherish this movement of the نور (Light) travelers; I express my gratitude and appreciation to you dear brothers and sisters who have come from far away to this point and have formed part of the vast movement of نور (Light) travelers, and I hope that God willing, all of you will be rewarded and that all of you will leave this region with full hands, accompanied by experiential learning and insight and with the divine spiritual lights. May God the Exalted protect all of you. O Lord! Unite the pure souls of the dear martyrs of the imposed war with Your saints. O Lord! Keep the memory of these dear ones and self-sacrificers alive in our memories and in the text of our history. O Lord! Keep us steadfast against the enemies, against enmities, against wickedness, with the same spirit that is desired and pleasing to the Prophet Muhammad and the Imams of guidance until the end. O Lord! Grant victory to the people of Iran over their enemies; unite the pure spirit of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) with Your saints.

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