Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with a Large Gathering of Basijis from Across the Country

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

Dear Basiji brothers and sisters; welcome. Especially to you brothers and sisters who have traveled from distant places and other cities, enduring the effort to attend this sincere and spiritual gathering filled with the spirit of devotion, love, and sacrifice.

Basij Week is truly an opportunity to present the great movement that was founded in this country by the late great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), and this movement, in this Islamic and religious region, will God willing become a model and example for other nations. Disregard the fleeting events that sometimes arise in the public minds of nations due to the hostile propaganda of the enemies, which become obstacles and barriers to nations taking this as a model. The enduring movement is this. "Have you not seen how God sets forth a parable of a good word as a good tree, whose root is firm" The issue is that the root and foundation must be healthy, strong, and stable. The Basij movement is of this kind. Despite the hostile statements of the enemies of the Islamic Republic—who try to view every achievement of this nation with a pessimistic eye and present it as a flaw—and to spite them, the Basij movement is a wise, logical, stable, and completely prudent movement.

The wisdom of our great Imam was revealed in many issues. This is one of the most prominent of those issues. Without intending to cast doubt on the efforts of the organized military forces—which in our country, the IRGC and the army are truly two efficient and valuable armed forces that have made great efforts and provided great services—we must say that the main work in any military movement is the support of the people, and this support—which in our country took the form of the Basij—is a healing remedy for weaknesses, defeats, and setbacks in any military battle and any other battle.

Therefore, both in the imposed war, before it, and after it until today, the essence of virtue is directed towards the Basij. The Basij movement itself, from the first day until today, has been a wise movement. We do not care about the propaganda of the enemies, who accuse our best youth and the most devoted, sincere, and enlightened elements of this nation of fanaticism and backwardness. Insight, logical and wise movement, precise calculations, precise work, and scientific results have been among the characteristics that have been felt in the popular Basij from the first day until today.

I want to say that the first armed military organization of the revolution that emerged from the revolution was truly the child of the Basij. The Islamic Revolutionary Committees also, in fact, emerged from the mobilization of forces. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps itself, with all the blessings that have been seen from it over the years, is in fact a product of the mobilization of popular forces. Then, thanks be to God, until today, the Basij exists and is present as an institution, an organization, and a force, and it must continue to be so. This was a wise movement.

For a country that is the target of so many hostile and malicious attacks from the enemies, there is no remedy other than the mobilization of popular forces. If the mobilization of the people's forces did not exist and the great Imam did not use the faith and love of the people in organizing these faithful and enlightened elements throughout the country—various ethnic groups, border guards, tribes, youth, university students, clerics, school students, old men, women, young girls, and other segments of the nation—and did not create this vast active force, without a doubt, the Islamic Republic could not have resisted all these conspiracies, malice, enmity, and obstacles.

When you look around the world, from every direction, there has been a hostile cry from a group, center, or group against the revolution from the first day until today, and it still exists and will continue to exist; there is no surprise in this. The nature of this movement, which wants the Iranian nation to be independent, does not allow foreign interference, cuts off interfering hands, thinks independently in policies, ignores the companies that control everything in the world, and considers the hellish cancerous network of Zionism as the enemy, it is obvious that there is a lot of enmity against it.

Of course, the Iranian nation will not make a mistake in identifying the main enemy. Let all the people of the world know this. The main enemy, in front of the Islamic Republic system and the Iranian nation, are firstly the Zionists, who know that in the eyes of the Iranian nation, their usurping regime in Palestine is an unacceptable, unrecognized, unofficial, and declining regime. Most of the enmity also comes from them. Zionist capitalists around the world, especially in America and Europe, are active. Radios, newspapers, mass media, and many facilities are at their disposal and are active against the sacred Islamic Republic system and the Iranian nation. Another enemy is the American regime, which is in fact the other side of this coin. That enmity is also because the great economic, political, and military base of America in Iran—which it had predicted and arranged—has been lost.

Any system, with any thought, logic, and approach that came to power in Iran and did not stop America's excessive demands in this country, would not have been so much the target of enmity. Therefore, the main enemy is these two vile and malicious elements—the Great Satan and the Zionists. The Iranian nation will not be mistaken. Wherever any enmity is observed, it is from these two enemies. If any other name, group, loudspeaker, person, or government enters this field, it is secondary and minor. The main enemy is the Zionists and also the American government and regime, which is influenced by companies, arms sellers, and international plunderers and is managed and supported by them. This is the essence of the issue.

If you look from the beginning of the revolution's victory until today, the sequence of enmities has been continuous and they have not allowed any gap to exist in the hostility against the Islamic Republic. Before the imposed war began, there were various economic and political enmities and threats. When the imposed war occurred, all enmities were concentrated on the issue of war. Anywhere in the world, if there were those who were enemies of establishing a government based on the enlightened ideas of Islam and progressive Islamic thought, they tried in the issue of war not to let the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, with military victory, remove their enemy from the battlefield and wanted to prevent the military victory of the Islamic Republic.

In the war, helping our enemy—the Ba'athist regime of Iraq—was considered a necessary and obligatory matter for all of them, and they did it without hesitation! If we are very optimistic and do not say that the original start of the war was due to the provocation and interference of the arrogant powers—some may doubt this issue; but there is plenty of evidence in this regard—without a doubt, the continuation of the war and the assistance to the Iraqi regime, to prevent the military victory of the Islamic Republic, leaves no room for denial and doubt.

Look at those governments that were considered global powers at that time! The power of the Marxist system, wherever it existed in the world, was behind the Iraqi regime. The military, financial, and political power of America was behind the Iraqi regime. The Iraqi regime, which today they portray the leaders of as ugly with various means and propaganda and speak of the ugliness and atrocities resulting from their actions; this same regime, with the same characteristics and the same nature, creating atrocities such as Halabja and the war of cities and using chemical weapons and others, was endorsed for several consecutive years by these so-called human rights advocates and supporters of nations and opponents of chemical weapons and others!

America helped, the Western bloc countries almost completely helped. Some openly and some secretly helped. America and the Zionists and their agents and allies and dependent merchants and their financial backers used whatever they could to try to defeat the Islamic Republic in this eight-year battle, to inflict a blow, or to damage the system, or to eliminate the system, or to humiliate the system, or to take a piece of the country. The Iranian nation stood firm and the mobilization of forces showed its essence and truth in that great event.

After eight years of imposed war, finally, the enemy admitted its incapacity and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation, to spite the enemies, were able to emerge proud and victorious from this war and did not allow an inch of the Islamic country's land and the movement of this nation to be usurped by the enemy. The greatest honor of the Iranian nation in relation to the war is that during eight years, all powers stood behind the Ba'athist regime to humiliate and defeat the Islamic Republic; but they could not. The Iranian nation stood and sacrificed. The great Imam showed the greatest experience of his luminous leadership period here and did not allow the Iranian nation to feel defeat and failure for a moment, and finally, the enemy was forced to retreat with humiliation and could not withstand the blows of the warriors of Islam and retreated and left.

The war lasted eight years. Now, nearly eight years have passed since the period of reconstruction and renewal of forces and the period of the Iranian nation reaching the tasks that it could not perform for its country during the eight years due to the war. In this second eight years, they have done whatever malice and enmity they could against this nation and have not spared any effort. Again, the vanguard is America and the Zionists. You can see all the enmity and ignorance and malice towards the truth of this revolution and towards the free and independent nation that wants to live with its belief there. The Iranian nation has no crime other than this.

The crime of the Iranian nation is only that it wants to live free and independent; not to obey the oppressive and arrogant powers of the world; to determine its own path; to determine its own destiny. The crime of the Iranian nation is enmity with oppression and defense of the truth and in one word, defense of Islam. The crime of the Iranian nation is following Islam, moving in the light of Islam, and living with the luminous laws of Islam. The world-devourers cannot see this. The enemies of nations cannot tolerate this. Islam and the Quran do not align with oppression and aggression and tyranny and with the domination of autocratic regimes over nations and the people of the world. It is obvious that a nation that lives with such a system, with such a thought, and under such a beacon, will not submit.

They want regimes to be in power in Iran and in any other country that are disconnected from the people, connected to those powers, trample on the interests of the people, ensure the interests of the world-devouring companies, do not act according to the people's judgment and for their good and welfare, and move according to the finger of global arrogance. The reactionary regimes you see are like this and how much they are beloved and desirable for these American rulers. But the sacred Islamic system is a system where all the people are awake and alert; they decide with will, they are present in the scene of life issues, the country's officials—the government, the judiciary, the legislative power—think freely and Islamically, act for God, do not pay attention to the enemy's threats, and are not tempted by anyone's enticement. Such a system is not desirable for them.

In such a country and system, any virtue that exists in the people is considered a flaw by them! From the perspective of the Americans, the greatest flaw of the Islamic Republic is that it does not accept the usurpation of the Zionist usurpers in Palestine. Their greatest point of enmity with the Islamic Republic system is that why do you not accept that the boot-wearing Israelis move in people's homes without permission and beat them and be the rulers of those people?! The whole world has accepted it, why don't you accept it?! The greatest strength of this nation, from their perspective, is the greatest weakness!

The Iranian nation has set its belief and faith and love, social justice, and welfare and security under the shadow of Islam and monotheism and the luminous and sacred laws of Islam as its goal and strives for it and raises its slogan. This, from their perspective, is backwardness and fanaticism and misunderstanding, and they criticize it! The Iranian nation has fought against the arrogant American regime from the first day; it will continue to fight. As it appears from the evidence, even now, the arrogant American regime is determined to confront this thought and this path and this goal and this nation.

Of course, during these seventeen years, whether the arrogant American regime or other aggressive enemies, in confronting this nation, their arrows have always hit the stone and their noses have been rubbed in the dirt. In the future, too, by the grace of God, whether they or others, anyone who confronts and fights with this nation and intends to violate and attack and wants to trample on the rights of this nation, again their arrow will hit the stone and their nose will be rubbed in the dirt.

Fifteen years ago, when the great Imam said: "America cannot do a damn thing," some said, what is your reason that it cannot do a damn thing; maybe it will do something. But if today we say, America cannot do a damn thing, we have the past fifteen years as evidence before us. Until now, what could they do that they have not done? You saw that they could not do a damn thing.

As I feel, the Zionist devils even tempt the leaders of the American government and in a sense, they are also in some cases, their agents. Today it is felt that for aggression and confrontation and malice and enmity against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic, there is a strong and intense temptation from the Zionist devils towards the leaders of the American government; but the past experience is before us and them.

This nation is truth-speaking and truth-seeking and stands in the position of truth. We did not aggress against anyone, we did not act against any nation, we did not usurp an inch of any nation's land, we did not seize the interests of any nation; from us, there has always been help. It can almost be said that all or most of the weak nations, during these few years, with all the difficulties we had, in some way benefited from the help and kindness of the Iranian nation.

Look, if a nation in Europe was under pressure and weakened and oppressed, the Iranian nation rushed to its aid. If such a situation occurred in Africa, the Iranian nation went to its aid. If it was in Asia, if it was in our neighborhood, if it was even a government that was oppressed and weak and in need of help. The Iranian nation has always helped nations.

We did not take anyone's right, we did not threaten anyone. Despite the malice and temptations of the enemies in the Persian Gulf towards the neighbors, we have never been a threat to any neighbor. The neighbors have created threats against us; but the Iranian nation and the sacred Islamic Republic system have not been a threat against any government, nation, or country. We have always helped. The nation and the Islamic Republic system are like this: a nation in the position of truth, supporter of truth, enemy of falsehood, enemy of oppression and tyranny; a nation and government that is not oppressive and aggressive and only fights and confronts aggressors who want to violate and attack its rights and stands firm and does not submit to the world's bullies. This is the only crime of the Iranian nation.

Wherever a nation with these characteristics exists, it is supported by the Lord and supported by historical laws and traditions. Anyone who confronts it will be defeated and will suffer and be oppressed. This is one of the blessings of the faith and love and steadfastness and wise movement of this nation and this system towards its sublime and luminous goals.

We hope that Almighty God will grant success to you dear ones and all the Iranian nation and the country's officials and keep you steadfast on your path and that divine assistance will always be with this nation and that He will subdue and defeat the enemies of this nation and satisfy the sacred heart of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) with all of you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings