Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with Families of War Prisoners and Missing Persons

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

Dear brothers and sisters, welcome. We hope that Almighty God, through His grace and the blessings of the pure souls of the esteemed martyrs of Ashura and the honor and dignity that the prisoners of the Prophet's household hold in the highest heavens, will bring good news to the families and nation of all our prisoners and missing persons, and the dear youth from whom we have no news.

In the course of an honorable life, there are indeed many hardships. The scene of Ashura is truly a scene of various calamities. It is truly remarkable how Almighty God made the arena of Ashura a collection of great tribulations, which great individuals, led by Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), endured with dignity, greatness, patience, and gratitude. Both sides of the matter are unparalleled in human history. Such intense and diverse calamities occurring from morning to afternoon have no parallel in the world; nor does the patience shown in the face of these calamities.

Those martyrdoms, that oppression, that feeling of alienation, that thirst, the pressure of suffering that befalls a person because of his family, that concern for the future, and then the loss of the dearest of the dear ones in the world—namely, Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him)—and his family, children, and companions, and then captivity; not captivity in the hands of honorable people, for captivity in the hands of an honorable person is bearable, but those people were not honorable, they were not human; they were savage. The family of Imam Hussein endured such captivity after all those calamities from morning to afternoon on Ashura. Who is the bearer of this burden? It is Imam Sajjad—the position of Imamate—and Zainab—next to the position of Imamate—and then the women and children who, apparently, do not have high spiritual positions like Guardianship and Imamate; yet they endured. This is the great secret that made the event of Ashura enduring.

Any group of people who endure great hardships for a great, sacred, and lofty goal—not a futile goal—will acquire some of those values. This is why we value the families of martyrs, prisoners, missing persons, and the disabled, and the prisoners themselves in the hands of the enemy. It is not without reason that a nation and a history value a group of people. If there was impatience, these values would not have been created. Of course, the moments of captivity are truly difficult moments; especially captivity in the hands of these enemies, who, when our dear freedmen returned, said how they treated their prisoners; not like how we treated foreign prisoners. They behaved differently. Truly and fairly, they did not act humanely.

Every moment of the lives and days and nights of the prisoners who are still in the hands of the enemy—of whom we do not have exact statistics, but we know there are some—is valuable before Almighty God, just like the martyrs, about whom we have said that in terms of reward, the martyrs are in the first rank, and behind them are their families. I tell you that it is the same for the prisoners; that is, in the first rank of reward and recompense are the prisoners who endure that suffering, and behind them are you, the families of the prisoners, who have a great reward.

I know what a family that has a missing loved one and is unaware of their fate goes through. For mothers, fathers, spouses, children, and families, these are very difficult stages, difficult hours and days and nights; but the reward is equally great. Of course, I also feel compassion for the enemy's prisoners who are with us. I even pray for them that God provides the means for their freedom. But in reality, they are not our prisoners; they are prisoners of the Ba'athist government, because if the Ba'athist government gave a proper response regarding our prisoners and missing persons, we would not have any claim to keep them here. We would release them to return to their homes and lives.

They do not respond regarding our prisoners and missing persons. We have repeatedly—perhaps more than a hundred times—approached them, but no proper response is given. Unfortunately, international organizations like the Red Cross and others, in my opinion, do not fulfill their true responsibility in this matter. We said if you claim that our dear ones have passed away, show us their burial place, so we can at least understand this; but they did not do this either. Under such circumstances, how can we release the Iraqi prisoner who is with us? What answer can we give to the people? If we do not have these here in exchange for those of ours who are in the hands of the enemy, then with what hope can we retrieve our dear ones from them? If we assume that some of them have passed away, how can we return their pure bodies and remains to the country? We are compelled to keep them here, otherwise, from a humanitarian perspective, we have no interest in keeping them here.

Although they are our enemies and in the battlefield, they fired their last bullet and then were captured; but our behavior with them is humane. Islam has instructed us in this way. Our behavior with them is not harsh; it is gentle. We have no interest in them remaining prisoners; we wish for them to be freed and to go. Logically, they are not really our prisoners; they are prisoners of their own government. Several years ago, a group of these prisoners gathered, and I went to speak with them. There, too, I told them that you are actually prisoners of your own leaders. They are the ones who do not respond to the Iranian nation; the result is that you remain here.

In any case, this is a great test for you, and know, my dear ones, that every divine calamity that befalls a person has a great reward and benefit alongside it. The matter is not one-sided. In the face of hardship and suffering, a person receives compensation from Almighty God, and no one is cheated in the divine system. The one whose child has been martyred is not equal before God to the one whose child lives comfortably at home. The one who has lost his health or the health of his loved one in the path of God is not equal to the one who has not suffered this pain. The one whose loved one is far from him and has no news of him is not equal to others. On all the efforts and activities that a person or a society undertakes, there is divine reward; 'and they will not be wronged therein.' In God's system, no one suffers loss or diminution; know this. This is a divine test, and we hope that Almighty God will also help. These gentlemen responsible for the prisoners' affairs are indeed making efforts and working hard. We are witnesses and observers that the government and government officials are also making great efforts. We see what they are doing; but the other side is like this. We hope that, God willing, Almighty God will make the result as sweet as possible due to your perseverance and patience and that of the officials.

From here, I would like to address the fundamental issues that are important for our nation: today, the issue of elections is truly a field of divine testing. See how divine tests are for everyone! Is it possible for a person to go through life without facing a divine test? The main thing is that a person can emerge from the divine test with their head held high. I will present a few points regarding the elections that will be held safely on Friday, for the Iranian nation to pay attention to these points.

The first point is that what is happening across the country in terms of elections is exactly what is necessary, essential, and desirable for the Iranian nation and the fate of this country. The excitement and enthusiasm for the elections have spread everywhere, and everyone feels that they are participating and sharing in this great matter. The nation feels that the future of the country's executive affairs is in their hands; because they send a person to the head of the executive branch. The future of the country's development, administration, relations, culture, economy, social issues, and human issues all begin from here. Another period follows the past periods—which, thanks be to God, have been successful—is ahead. People feel that they are involved in these matters. This is exactly what we wanted from Almighty God, and the enemy did not want and was upset about it and wanted it not to be like this. The enemy wanted the elections in Iran not to be met with public enthusiasm; but today, the opposite of what the enemy wants is evident in the scene. Everyone is waiting for Friday. Everyone is waiting to be able to vote for the one they are interested in and whom they consider the most qualified. This is a very good and outstanding thing.

I ask all the Iranian nation to, with hope in God and reliance on the Lord, maintain this sense of responsibility until they go to the ballot boxes and cast their votes. God willing, a high number of people will participate in this divine test and fulfill their duty to the country and the revolution and play their part in the future of the country. This is what will deeply wound the enemy. In fact, the large turnout of people at the ballot boxes and the gathering of many votes for the candidates will disappoint the enemy. The gathering of many votes in the main election is important. This is, in fact, a vote for the country's independence and a vote for adherence to the system and alignment with the leadership. With this action, people should disappoint the enemy and, in fact, punch him in the mouth.

The second point is to try to advance this beautiful and great popular movement—which is truly a great popular, national, and Islamic test—with the same purity and cleanliness that Islam desires. Of course, the text and the general public of our dear country are like this. Try not to create bitterness. The electoral competition, while being one of the most serious tasks of a nation and by no means a joke or game, is very serious; but it is similar to sports competitions. In sports competitions, everyone tries; but those who are ethical and understanding do not accompany this effort with ugly and inappropriate actions.

Of course, I am speaking about our own people, otherwise, some other nations—like the English—turn even football matches into killing and slaughter! We have nothing to do with them. Our nation is ethical, spiritual, and emotional. Do not let the electoral atmosphere become one of bitterness. Each of the candidates and their supporters should campaign for themselves; but do not hurt or offend their friends, compatriots, and brothers who may support another candidate. Pay attention to this point. This is very important.

Of course, some things are heard here and there that are somewhat contrary to expectations. Everyone should also pay attention that some actions are not related to insiders; they are related to the enemy. Organizing a parade of joy on the afternoon of Ashura is not related to revolutionary and Muslim people. This is the enemy's work. Suppose they even hold up a picture of a candidate; this is their trick. No candidate for the presidency should be accused of being aware of them and that they are their supporters. No; they have no support for those who are religious and spiritual and such things. It is unrelated. Perhaps even those deceived who boarded buses and created those ugly scenes do not know what the matter is. A hand moves them to spoil the atmosphere, to upset the people, to make the elections appear inappropriate to the religious, and to tarnish faces. Of course, officials should search and find that hidden hand. I strongly recommend to the officials and ask them to search and find those hidden hands that commit these ugly acts. They should not be overlooked. The issue is not about them; the issue is about the negligence that may, God forbid, sometimes occur from insiders. Accusing some and insulting others is not right. Of course, logical and reasonable advertising with reasoning is not a problem; but the atmosphere should not be spoiled and embittered.

The third point is that the enemy, as much as he is upset by the gathering of votes on election day, is also trying to make the sweetness of the elections bitter in the mouths of the people if this experience is successfully carried out by the Iranian nation. They have been planning for this issue for some time. They raised the rumor of fraud in the elections and that it is superficial, created jokes and anecdotes, and spread them among the people; some, of course, unknowingly repeat them. I must say, the rumor that there will be fraud in the elections is from the enemy. Foreign radios misinterpreted the sincere words of the honorable President and attributed inappropriate and undeserved things to them. Even some analysts and insiders, out of ignorance, took that issue and interpreted it as if something was going to happen! What are these words?

Is it possible for anyone in the elections of the Islamic Republic to give themselves the right or dare to tamper with the people's votes? First, the honorable Guardian Council is a just and vigilant body overseeing the elections and leaves no room for fraud. Secondly, the honorable Minister of the Interior came to me and said, rest assured that we will not allow a single vote to be misplaced. They are Muslim, revolutionary, religious, and trustworthy and have received a vote of confidence from the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Suppose a small violation occurs somewhere. This will have no effect on the election results. I myself am also vigilant and will not allow anyone to give themselves the right to commit fraud in the elections, which is both a religious and a political and social ethical violation. Such a thing will never happen. Some have imagined that now something will happen. I specifically inquired from the honorable President and said maybe he has some news; but he said no; I always advise the officials and those involved in all elections not to commit violations. There is no specific issue. Some made a fuss, and foreign radios made a big deal out of it. No; the elections, God willing, will be conducted with complete precision. Both the officials who are there are trustworthy, and I myself will not allow the election issue to be, God forbid, slightly tarnished.

The fourth point is that all the Iranian nation and the honorable candidates themselves should pay attention that whichever of these four individuals, by God's will and safely, receives the majority of votes—whether in the first round or the second round—he is the legal president. Of course, the nation must make its effort, must work hard, and seek the most qualified. I have repeatedly stated that the issue is a matter of religion and God and fulfilling a duty. Just as the principle of elections is a divine duty, choosing the most qualified is also a divine duty. We have said before that even a small difference in this matter is significant. You must search, find a reason between yourself and God; that is, you must be able to go in a way that if Almighty God asks why you voted for this individual, you can say for this reason. Between yourself and God, provide a reason and then go and vote with peace of mind. People must do this, and we also ask and pray and hope that Almighty God guides the hearts of the people towards the most qualified candidate—the one who truly has more competence. Of course, the honorable Guardian Council has deemed these four gentlemen qualified. Surely they are not at the same level; some are qualified, some are more qualified. Search and identify the more qualified one and vote for him.

Whoever goes to vote, whether his vote is correct and he has voted for the most qualified or he has made a mistake and voted for the less qualified, as long as he goes to the ballot box out of a sense of duty towards the future and votes, this vote is rewarded and brings reward before Almighty God, and this person is interested in the system and leadership. What is important is this sense of duty. All members of the nation must have this sense of duty.

Thanks be to God—as we said—it is felt that people have fully entered with enthusiasm. Maintain this enthusiasm and even more until the day of voting and the moment of voting. Go, make your efforts and inquiries, find the most qualified, and vote for the one you think is the most qualified and when you have completed your argument between yourself and God, and be assured that you have fulfilled your duty. This is what everyone should pay attention to. Whoever the result of the votes belongs to, Almighty God will help, and we will also help, so that he can fulfill his duties.

The foundations of the Islamic system are clear and defined. In my opinion, in these presidential campaign advertisements, one of the successes of this election period is that these four honorable candidates have explicitly expressed the value foundations of the revolution. This is very good. It was repeated and emphasized, and it became clear what the nation wants and what is of interest to the nation. Of course, whichever of these gentlemen accepts responsibility must be accountable for the words they have said; we will not let go. What they have promised the people, they must fulfill. The people will also demand, and we will demand from them on behalf of the people. God willing, Almighty God will grant success, and they will be able to fulfill their duty.

What lies ahead is a great experience and a test and a sweet scene and arena. Be careful that the enemy does not make this arena bitter in the mouths. Be careful that the enemy's agents cannot, God forbid, cause any disruption, so that, by the grace of the Lord, this good phenomenon in the Islamic Republic system—that is, the phenomenon of people's involvement and participation—will achieve desirable results this time as well as in previous times.

O Lord, by Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, guide this nation to what is in its best interest. Make the sacred heart of the Imam of the Age pleased and satisfied with us.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings