Statements at the Joint Graduation Ceremony of Armed Forces Students

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, virtuous, and infallible family, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

I send greetings and congratulations to the dear youth and the light of the eyes of the Iranian nation, who today celebrate their graduation day, and I also congratulate the young men who are entering the military academies of the country today and are receiving their epaulettes. I thank the dear brothers and esteemed commanders for their reports, and I also appreciate the beautiful anthem you performed.

The first point I want to convey to you, dear youth, is that you have engaged in the armed forces and have chosen this path; this is one of the most vital professions in managing this dear land and the administration of the country. This is a great honor for you. Military professions—whether from the various branches of the army, the various forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or the police organization—are among the responsibilities that rank at the top of the list of important national duties. You have accepted these responsibilities; you have recorded this honor for yourselves and your families by accepting your presence in various sections of the armed forces. The armed forces are considered the steel shield of national security—the steel shield of national security!—and national security is the foundation of all the important software that plays a role in the country's progress. Without security, there is nothing. If a country lacks the power to defend its security, it has no choice but to define itself under this power or that power; it is forced to connect itself to one of them; what does this mean? It means to hold its national dignity hostage. If it does not do this, meaning it does not spend its national dignity, naturally, its political voice in the world has no credibility; even if it has economic progress, this economic progress does not guarantee continuity. See how important security is! And you are the guardians of security; the armed forces are the fortress of security, dignity, and national identity. Today, you have entered such a realm. Therefore, it is truly appropriate to congratulate you.

Thanks be to God, our armed forces have also passed a good test. One day, the armed forces are merely in uniform and appearance, but our armed forces are not like that; they have proven themselves in the field and emerged victorious, having passed significant tests. The most important of these was the eight-year imposed war; they imposed a war on our country, a war that was truly global in nature. The latest was, of course until today, the confrontation with the ISIS sedition, which was also very significant. In the imposed war, our armed forces defended every inch of their homeland and the sovereignty of their dear Islam, thwarting the collective conspiracy of the East and West of that day; our armed forces accomplished this. At that time, the political and military East and West of the world each supported the aggressor Saddam in their own way; our armed forces were able to defend the soil of the country and the sovereignty of the sacred and dear Islam and to succeed. In the ISIS sedition, which was a wicked plot by America—ISIS was created by the Americans to disrupt the stability of this region, with the ultimate goal being Islamic Iran—again, our armed forces, alongside the armed forces of the targeted countries, were able to overcome this sedition and thwart this plot. These are honors; these are golden medals on the broad chest of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic. My dear ones! Know your worth, appreciate this mission, take pride in the past of the armed forces, and think with all your being about the future that is in your hands and invest in it.

Military universities are a valuable center for nurturing aware, courageous, and efficient human resources; aware, courageous, efficient. This human resource, with these important characteristics, is trained and advanced in our armed forces' universities. I have made many recommendations to the universities; today I will make a few recommendations, some of which are repetitions of previous ones. First, strengthen knowledge and research; enrich the universities in terms of knowledge and research as much as you can. Then, enhance spirit, piety, and ethics; this is my next emphatic recommendation. It was reported that you have made progress in these areas; I accept this, but I emphasize that this path must continue. Our officer students, in each of the organizations of the armed forces, must see their spirit, piety, and ethics improve day by day. The next recommendation is to organize the training and accommodation environment for students; the esteemed officials of the armed forces should pay attention to this. Workshops, classes, and student accommodation centers should, God willing, improve day by day in terms of readiness for life. Attention to the literacy level of entrants; sometimes reports indicate that in some universities, entrants have scientific and mental deficiencies. And other constant recommendations. These [recommendations] were regarding university matters.

In these past few days, a significant political and military issue has drawn attention to itself, namely the unprecedented events in dear Palestine. We cannot be indifferent to these matters, to this important incident. Fortunately, the officials have made correct and good positions. I want to convey a few points in this regard to our dear ones, to the Iranian nation, and to all our brothers in Islamic countries.

The first point is the same as what has been present in various analyses made in the past two or three days, and that is that since the fifteenth of Mehr, the usurping Zionist regime has suffered an irreparable defeat both militarily and informationally; everyone has spoken of the defeat, and my emphasis is on the 'irreparability' of it. I say this devastating earthquake has been able to destroy some of the main structures of the usurping regime's governance, and rebuilding those structures is not easily possible. It is unlikely that the usurping Zionist regime, with all the noise it makes, and with all the support it receives from the West today, can repair those structures. I say that from Saturday, the fifteenth of Mehr, the Zionist regime is no longer the previous Zionist regime, and the blow it has received is not easily compensable.

The second point, which I believe is very important, is that this calamity was brought upon the Zionists by their own actions. When oppression and crime exceed limits, when savagery reaches its peak, one must expect a storm. What have you done to the Palestinian nation? The courageous and at the same time self-sacrificing actions of the Palestinians are a response to the crimes of the usurping enemy that have continued for years and intensified in recent months; the current government ruling the usurping Zionist regime is to blame. In the recent history of the world—at least as far back as we can trace in this recent period, that is, in the last hundred years or more—no nation among the Islamic nations has faced enmity like that which the Palestinians are currently facing; enmity with such wickedness, such malice, such ruthlessness, such bloodthirstiness has never been seen in the face of Islamic nations and countries. Nations have often been oppressed, but their enemies have not been so shameless, so wicked, so ruthless. No nation among the Muslim nations has been under such pressure, siege, and deprivation as the Palestinian nation has been and is; neither today in the world do we find such a case, nor do we find it in this period that is now before our eyes. Western governments, especially the United States and Britain, have not supported any regime as much as they have supported this fake, oppressive, and bloodthirsty regime; first the British, then the Americans, and alongside them various governments—at a time when the East bloc existed in the world, the former Soviet Union and others—all supported this oppressive regime. And the behavior of this oppressive regime has been such that it has shown no mercy to men and women, to Palestinian children and the elderly, has not respected the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and has unleashed settlers like rabid dogs upon the Palestinians, trampling worshippers underfoot; well, in the face of all this oppression and crime, what can a nation do? A proud nation, an ancient nation—the Palestinian nation is not just the nation of today and yesterday; it is a several-thousand-year-old nation—what reaction can it show in the face of all this oppression? It is clear that it will raise a storm; if given the opportunity, it will raise a storm. O Zionist oppressors! You are to blame; you brought this calamity upon yourselves; you are the cause of this storm; you brought this calamity upon yourselves. A nation has no choice but to respond with pride and courage in the face of such enmity.

The third point: this wicked and oppressive enemy, now that it has received a blow, has adopted a policy of portraying itself as a victim, and others are helping it; the media of global arrogance are assisting it to show that it is the victim. Of course, this is also a wrong calculation, which I will explain later; this portrayal of victimhood is one hundred percent false and a lie. Because the Palestinian fighters have been able to break free from the siege of Gaza, liberate themselves, and reach the military and non-military centers of the Zionists, is it a victim? This usurping regime, whatever it is, is not a victim; it is an oppressor, an aggressor, ignorant, and a liar; it is all of these, but it is not a victim; it is an oppressor. No one can create the face of a victim from this monstrous, devilish creature.

The fourth point: this portrayal of victimhood has been used by the occupying regime as an excuse to continue its double oppression. Attacks on Gaza, attacks on people's homes, attacks on civilians, massacres and mass killings of the people of Gaza; this portrayal of victimhood is a pretext to multiply these crimes; with victimhood, it wants to justify its own atrocities. I said, this is also a wrong calculation. The leaders and decision-makers of the usurping regime and their supporters should know that this very act will bring a greater calamity upon them; they should know that the reaction to these oppressions will be a heavier blow to their ugly faces. The determination of the courageous Palestinian youth, the determination of the self-sacrificing Palestinians, becomes more resolute with these crimes; today it is like this. The day has passed when people would come hoping to create a position for themselves in Palestine through dialogue and interaction with the oppressor; that time has passed. Today, the Palestinians are awake, the youth are awake, and the planners of Palestine are working with complete skill. Therefore, this calculation of the enemy is also wrong; it thinks it must portray itself as a victim to continue its criminal attacks. Of course, the Islamic world must not remain silent in the face of these crimes; it must react.

The last point: supporters of the regime and some individuals within the usurping regime have made nonsensical statements in these past two or three days, and this continues, including that they introduce Islamic Iran as being behind this movement; they are mistaken. Of course, we defend Palestine, we defend the struggles, we kiss the forehead and arm of the skilled planners and the courageous young Palestinians, we take pride in them; this is true, but those who say, 'The actions of the Palestinians are due to non-Palestinians,' have not recognized the Palestinian nation, have underestimated the Palestinian nation; their mistake lies here; this is where they make a wrong calculation. Of course, the entire Islamic world is obliged to support the Palestinians, and God willing, it will support them, but this work is the work of the Palestinians themselves; the skilled planners, the courageous youth, the self-sacrificing activists have been able to create this epic, and this epic, God willing, will be a significant step towards the salvation of Palestine.

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