Statements of the Commander-in-Chief in Meeting with Army Commanders and Personnel on the Occasion of Sacred Defense Week

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Dear brothers; welcome. I hope that all of you have been under the attention and favor of the One and Only and the prayers of His Holiness, the Awaited Savior.

The gathering of army personnel during Sacred Defense Week is very fitting; because in the Islamic Republic, there is a continuous and strong connection between these two phenomena. The army has undertaken difficult duties, made great efforts, traversed good fields, and accomplished great tasks during the eight-year war, before it, and also after the war until today. In the seventeen years since the victory of the revolution, there have been personalities in the army who have truly entered the field of struggle and sacrifice sincerely.

I once told you army brothers that the army is one of the places where America and the tyrannical regime and the enemy's hostile propaganda were defeated. They worked a lot on the army and pinned a lot of hope on it; but they were mistaken. They thought that because they had brought a few faithless and unpatriotic individuals and placed them at the head of the army during the tyrannical regime, the army belonged to them! Whereas the army belonged to Islam, Iran, and the nation.

Thanks be to God, the army returned to its rightful place, and you have worked hard over these seventeen years. Among you are those whom I know and have seen in the battlefield for years, witnessing their efforts, sleeplessness, struggles, sweating, facing death, not fearing the enemy, and their midnight tears up close. I have recounted many times that during the war, when I moved within the ground forces units, I saw individuals under heavy fire a few kilometers from the enemy, scenes that are hard to believe if one has not seen them.

God Almighty has taught us a point that is the essence of reality and the core of truth, and it must be understood and accepted without hesitation and used. That point is: 'God sets forth a parable: a good word is like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches reach to the sky, yielding its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord.' (Ibrahim: 24-25). This is a principle. The places where God Almighty gives parables in the Quran 'Indeed, God is not ashamed to set forth a parable of a mosquito or anything above it' (Baqara: 26) require more attention; because in such cases, the Quran conveys a great and enduring truth by relying on a tangible example. If we have intellect, we must understand. One of those cases is right here.

Look at an ordinary tree that you have planted in fertile soil, tended to it, and protected it from pests, and you have no worries, 'yielding its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord.' At the time of fruiting, you take the basket and go to pick the fruit. This is a parable. The good word is like this tree. All the correct truths of the world are the good word and the words of God. In our context, we find the good word. Here, the army of the Islamic Republic is the good word.

There may be two kinds of armies: one is the army of the Islamic Republic, meaning the army of God, religion, spirituality, truths, and shining values, and the other is the army of colonialism, the aggressor army, the army of disbelief, the Ba'ath Party army, and the army of Mohammad Reza. The first, which is the army of spirituality and human values, is the good word, and wherever it is found, know that its growth is endless, and its fruiting is certain. If we see that we are not picking fruit somewhere, know that there is a fundamental flaw in the work, and we could not pick the necessary fruit; like the day of September 22, 1980. At that time, our army was limping; that is why we suffered losses and problems arose for us. Its limping was because it was not yet completely purified. There were flaws in its corners that later revealed themselves.

The battlefield is a field of testing. It is like the goldsmith's crucible where when gold is placed and heated, impurities reveal themselves, otherwise, as long as it is in the form of a ring and in someone's hand, it is not clear which has a higher or lower grade. We had good people and faithful personalities in the army; we also had unsuitable people. The war clarified everyone's duty and became like the goldsmith's crucible. The pressure at the beginning of the war brought out some of the impurities and immediately removed some of the impurities in the initial steps. Following that, the army opened its chest, raised its head, and equipped itself with faith, piety, and religion. Of course, by these values, I do not mean sanctimoniousness and merely lowering one's head and reciting prayers. The faithful effort of each person is to do the work according to the need. In the battlefield, it is one way, and in the field of construction within the army, it is another. When organization is discussed, it is one way, and when it comes to tools and equipment or showing readiness and maneuvering, it is another. Faith, piety, and religion show themselves in these places, otherwise, some people thought that if they went to the prayer room earlier than usual, grew a beard, took a rosary in hand, and occasionally bowed and bent before this or that official, the matter was settled. Of course, in a friendly meeting, the matter is currently settled, but in practice, no! The matter is not settled in this way, but with faithful work.

The leader of this nation and revolution was a man who took on the hardest tasks in the world at the age of eighty. The day Imam entered Iran, he was almost eighty years old. He did not say I am old or tired. One day in 1979, when I had come from Ahvaz to Tehran, I met him and expressed some complaints about a subject. He told me to inform the people he had in mind to form a meeting. The meeting was held in the middle of the day without prior notice, and the old man, young at heart, energetic, and powerful, conducted the meeting without expressing fatigue. When work is for God, there is no fatigue, and it is not time-bound. Once, one of the black-hearted individuals who had mistakenly entered the ranks of the faithful said something, and Imam replied: 'If you do not want to do it, step aside; I will do the work myself and take on the burdens!' They did not believe that Imam would enter the field so youthfully. His power of faith made these tasks easy. Of course, the power of faith in him was at its highest level compared to the fields we enter. We do not expect such faith from everyone; but we want to show you the highest example.

When the army becomes like this, it will be the good tree and will grow. Is our army today the same as the army ten or fifteen years ago? We have advanced a lot compared to the past. Today, the army is a powerful and capable army. Today, the army, with the spirit of religion, piety, and revolutionary zeal, has gathered all the experiences of many years of war and various trainings within it. Seventeen years since the revolution is not a short time. Today, those at the head of the army are many of whom are truly at the required level in these respects.

You, my dear ones, know that as long as you have determination and effort, you have the possibility to advance and grow and to make grow. Of course, I do not mean personal growth; I mean the growth of this good tree. Currently, our army is stronger, more cohesive, more useful, and more effective in difficult days than most armies you know and are familiar with; but you can advance ten times more than this, and you must. Each of you, wherever you are, consider that place a bastion of truth and spiritual values. Work and strive and do not waste a moment. Strengthen the organizational structure of the relevant section and the entire army, educational work which is very important, construction work, innovation, and take these tasks more seriously. Of course, what appears in front of television cameras is less than what exists in reality.

Today, fortunately, the army is engaged in the field of armored and anti-armor equipment, in the field of various types of defensive equipment, and many other tasks; it is well engaged. Innovate and take shortcuts as much as you can. You can and must believe that you can; just as you could. One day, neither the enemy nor many friends believed even this much. Faithful elements showed that it is possible and they could. You can go further than this.

In the field of construction and also in the field of maintenance, strive. Maintenance is very important. The world's bullies have become stubborn with you and thought they could bring you down. One day, they did not even give us barbed wire and RPG bullets; but you managed to bring yourselves from that situation to here. Today, let them not give; what importance does it have? But despite those policies, there are many in the world whose eyes are on money and trade. They think that arms embargoes and... will be effective; no. In the middle of the war and economic embargo, we obtained forbidden and prohibited things and those fruits they thought were heavenly from many places, and we obtain them today as well. Suppose we cannot obtain them, we will make them; but considering the restrictions that exist in this field, we must value what we have.

We must maintain the equipment, fighters, and other existing means, even an ordinary rifle. Waste and extravagance in the army's assets are forbidden and religiously prohibited. No one has the right to do this waste; just as the waste of human resources is the same. You do not have the right to leave capable elements idle. Worthy and good work must be obtained from capable people. This cycle must move continuously. Keep these things in mind and more importantly, pay attention to the supporter and guarantor of the success of all these, which is the spirit of faith. A faithless being, even if at the highest level of expertise, is not useful; they must have faith. Faith is where the heart feels settled. A faithless person is fickle, wavering, and unreliable. Strengthen faith in yourself and in the sections under your responsibility. It is from these recommendations that the enemy becomes frustrated and afraid.

If today you see that the Zionists' and Americans' and the world's arrogant powers' and the world's ill-mannered people's propaganda mouthpieces have lined up against the Islamic Republic and have opened their mouths and each in their own way speaks against Islam and Muslims and at the forefront of it the Islamic Republic, it is because of this faith; because they are intensely afraid of this faith. Preserve this. Strive as much as you can in the field of religion and Islam and attention to God and movement for the people and being useful for the country and the revolution. This is an effort that will not be wasted, and you will see its product in the army and the country and above all before God Almighty. Pay attention that the army and the Revolutionary Guards are two organizations, but they are two brothers. Be careful that this brotherhood increases day by day. This is an important point.

I hope, God willing, that Sacred Defense Week will be blessed for all the army personnel, the Revolutionary Guards, the law enforcement forces, the Basij, and the sincere faiths that have prepared their owners for armed defense for Islam and the Quran in various parts of this country. God willing, you will be successful and supported.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings