Statements of the Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief in Meeting with Commanders and Officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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

I extend my greetings to all brothers and sisters—those dear ones who, in the most sensitive times in the history of this country, took on one of the most important duties and completed it with valor and pride.

Dear brothers! Consider the responsibility within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a divine blessing. It is a great success when a person, at a time when God's religion and its adherents are in need and in a sensitive position, uses their capabilities and talents in the best way. Consider this success as coming from God; thank Him and preserve it for yourselves. Wherever you are, consider that place as a position to earn God's satisfaction, which is what the righteous servants of God have always sought.

Regarding the Sacred Defense Week—which we are on the threshold of—I find it necessary to raise a point, and that is that Islam habituates its followers to take lessons. The Quran repeatedly reminds us of this point: 'Indeed, in that is a lesson' (Quranic verse), 'So take heed, O people of insight' (Quranic verse), and so on. This is a life lesson, and it does not merely mean that a person can use this lesson to improve and organize their livelihood and temporary life. A life lesson means that a person can use this lesson to build both the life of this world and—more importantly—the life of the hereafter, because the essence is there. Before you know it, everything is over. The important thing is that realm, which a person experiences from the moment of death and departure from this world until the Day of Resurrection, and observes a life filled with happiness or misery, joy or distress. How much effort does a person make for a moment of happiness in this world? One must strive greatly for eternal happiness. All of this can be achieved through 'lessons,' and that is why the Quran emphasizes so much to take lessons.

This sentence from Nahj al-Balagha is very important: 'Indeed, whoever can see the lessons from the calamities before them' (Nahj al-Balagha), whoever can see the pains, calamities, events, and hardships as lessons: 'Piety will prevent them from plunging into doubts' (Nahj al-Balagha); they will turn away from evil and ugliness and things that bring misfortune and disorder to such an extent that they will even avoid the doubts of it, let alone the thing itself.

This eight-year war, with its preliminaries and aftermath, which continues to this day, is one of those scenes of lessons. Let us look at this scene of lessons. Before the revolution, the life of the Iranian people was itself a scene of lessons, which still exists in some parts of the world today: corrupt governments, people in distress, a world and hereafter destroyed, a hand extended from enemies and ill-wishers and international vultures in the life of a nation, and closed and dark horizons for people living there, having neither this world nor the hereafter! Before the revolution, our situation was like this, and today some countries in the world are like this. The Iranian nation made good use of that lesson. One of these uses was the steadfastness in the eight-year war.

Our great Imam—may the divine light and mercy be upon his pure soul forever—repeatedly said during these years: 'The enemy wants to return Iran to backwardness and take it to the same place where our nation began its movement and keep it in the same past confinement, to open its hands to the resources, mines, blessings, and human forces of the country, to gather money, pleasure, and wealth for itself and its servants, and to leave the Iranian nation in the dungeon of misery it lived in.' The people believed in the valuable words of the Imam, and the youth understood the truth; hence, the epic of those eight years emerged. Today, you and all the people of Iran—and indeed other nations—must learn from that epic.

In these eight years, many things were done that have not yet been documented as a tenth of the efforts of our youth, our nation, and the mothers and fathers and well-wishers of this nation, and many are still unaware of those great efforts. I strongly recommend to today's youth—especially teenagers—to value and read the books that describe and report on parts of the eight-year war; because many truths are revealed in those books. These very memories that the youth write and the reports they give from those days are worth reading and learning from.

What has not yet been stated is far more than what has been stated so far. Many things were done; however, there is a summary that is in front of everyone and is a lesson. One of these summaries—which has been said many times but the more it is repeated, the better—is that at a certain time, almost all the standing powers of the world united against Islamic Iran. Although apparently, it was only an Iraqi army fighting us, experts, spies, satellites, American and European weapons, the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union of that day and Eastern European countries), and also the money of the governments around the Persian Gulf and non-Arab expert forces—some have said Israelis were among them, but since I am not certain, I do not want to say—had united and supported Iraq. Besides these, you know that being on the front line does not only mean engaging with the enemy; if the ground for easier battle is prepared for the opponent, it greatly helps them. For example, when two people wrestle, if a group encourages one wrestler, provides him with facilities, teaches him techniques, smooths the ground under his feet, arranges his clothes, and if he falls, supports him; all of them are in the wrestling. The war with Iraq was similar to such a scene.

Those who were standing took the side of the Iraqi army; to see if they could separate a part of Iran or bring their forces to the center of our country—they explicitly said they would do this!—or seize Iran's oil resources in the south of the country and the Persian Gulf or apply economic pressure so much that our nation would lose its endurance. In short, they wanted to do something in ten ways and from ten directions to overthrow the government of Islam and the Quran. This was their goal. This did not happen in one day or two; it lasted eight years, and with the same intensity and unity of various factions, they worked against the Islamic system.

The result of all their unity was that they could not separate even an inch of Iranian soil, nor could they weaken the revolutionary system, nor could they seize any part of Iran's resources, nor could they cause intellectual and ideological turmoil in Islamic Iran; rather, on the contrary, Iran became more solid, the government more stable, the people more interested, and thoughts more developed, and everything went one hundred percent in the opposite direction of the enemy's will and intention. This is a lesson and experience. What reason do you have that if at another time the same America and Europe and NATO and the same reactionaries unite again, a different result will not be achieved? Why do some people constantly try to magnify the enemy and belittle the great, boiling forces of the revolution?

As long as you preserve faith, piety, and righteous deeds for yourselves; all of God's power, all the laws of nature, and all the capabilities of a chosen group are at your disposal. In the field of construction, in the field of propaganda conspiracy, in the field of struggle and cultural invasion, in the field of people's morals, in the open field of a military movement—which, of course, is very unlikely—and in any other field, if the enemy enters with all its volume and power and diversity and propaganda tools and with the same military equipment—which, of course, today the enemy no longer has that past equipment; that day the Eastern Bloc existed with its length and breadth, which no longer exists today; in addition, many political and geographical changes have occurred in the world that are all in favor of Islam and Muslims—in front of the nation and these faithful youth and families full of emotion and faith, they will not be able to do anything.

All the words we said, the Almighty God has said a hundred times more in one word of the Quranic verse: 'And do not weaken' (Quranic verse); do not become weak. 'And do not grieve' (Quranic verse); do not become sad. 'And you will be superior if you are believers' (Quranic verse). In another place, He says: 'So do not weaken and call for peace' (Quranic verse); do not become weak and call for peace or accept the call for peace from an irreconcilable enemy. Reconciliation with good people, even reconciliation with those who have nothing to do with you, is not a problem. 'Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you in religion and do not expel you from your homes to be kind to them and act justly towards them' (Quranic verse); reconcile with all those who have nothing to do with you and are people of peace and health and brotherhood: but with someone who is opposed to your existential philosophy and foundation and faith and with the essence of the Islamic government and divine guardianship; 'Do not call for peace' (Quranic verse); do not reconcile. Be aware. What scene of lessons and teaching can speak to a person better and more than this? The Sacred Defense Week means paying attention to this point.

This nation and all other nations are not composed only of youth. The youth are the spearhead. Look at that mother who equipped her son and sent him to the front! Look at that family that only had two young sons and offered them to Islam and said: 'When our two children went and were martyred, we were alone again as before!' Are these scenes a joke? Look at all the faith and sincerity that was spent on the battlefields! Look at all the innovation and creativity that was used to make the armed forces self-sufficient so that we would not have to extend our hands to others! In the year fifty-nine, we even had to buy RPG bullets, but they would not sell them to us! Five thousand RPGs entered Ahvaz; it was as if they had given the world to those who were there!

Today, the same nation, the same youth, the same talents, the same guards, and the same army have stepped into fields that if the enemy hears, they will not even believe. The enemy propagates that they are making atomic bombs! They themselves know they are lying, and everyone knows this claim is false. The enemy does not want to believe our progress. One of the blessings of our eight-year defense is these scientific and technological advancements and the precise construction of tools that we achieved with empty hands and without any precedent and have become part of the Iranian nation's assets. This valuable collection must be preserved for Islam and Muslims; that is, its fighting youth who hold the front line and maintain the first trench, as well as the emotions and faith of the father and mother and the love and enthusiasm of that child and young boy and girl who were considered the depth of the revolution and the battlefield, must be preserved. During the war, when a Basiji returned home, he saw it as another scene that would send him back with hope. The people, the Muslim market, the offices, the various university Basij, and all together are national assets. These must be preserved.

Of course, you dear brothers of the Revolutionary Guard have duties in this regard; other institutions and individuals of the nation also have duties. Those who unknowingly try to take away this spirit of faith and adherence to Islam from the Iranian nation do not understand what they are doing. They are weakening the foundations of this nation's independence. Could Iran have resisted such a massive invasion without Islam and the Islamic Revolution?! You know that in addition to that invasion, how much they conspired inside the country, and it was these great assets that kept the country. Try to maintain the unity of the nation and the bond between the government and the people. We thank God for keeping these for us. The foundation of all these is the spirit of attention and supplication to the Lord. This is the special point that connects you to the Muslims of the early Islam.

My dear ones! Create a scene of connection with the Almighty God within yourselves. This is something that will be useful to you in personal life, in political life, in running the country, at the time of death, in the presence of the Lord, on the Day of Witness, in the meeting with the friends of God, and God willing, in the highest paradise of the Lord. Strengthen your relationship with the Almighty God; talk to Him and ask Him. Make a sincere and honest covenant with Him and remain committed to that covenant. You are young. It is a pity that these pure and luminous hearts and ready spirits are tainted with anything other than the remembrance of God and the love of the Lord. Consider the world only as a tool. The wealth of the world and its facilities and home and life are tools and not worthy of attachment. Only the sacred essence of the Lord and those who are in the realm of His love are worthy of attachment: 'I ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You and the love of every deed that brings me closer to You' (Supplication). Do not abandon this gem. This is something that only you have. If Muslim youth anywhere in the world have this gem, the path to success is open for them. This is what preserved a man like our great Imam on the straight path of God from his youth to the age of ninety, and with all the changes that occur in the surrounding world, his path did not change.

Look at the life of the Imam from the time of Reza Khan's oppression to the later period and to the various social and political transformations and the victory of the revolution and reaching one of the highest political and worldly positions—where the whole world had its eyes on him and his name was spread everywhere! This person did not deviate from his straight path at all. This is due to that same relationship: 'The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor' (Quranic verse). This blessing is obtained through the connection with God. The front gave you this blessing. It is upon you to preserve it. Do not say it is not possible. With attention, supplication, supererogatory prayers, midnight conversations with God, and resorting to the Master of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him—who is our master and leader—preserve this blessing. Everything returns to him. This luminous assembly and the luminous group of youth in this country, in whatever attire and position they are, and those who have taken on the guardianship of values and have taken on the heavy burden and intend to fight against the ugliness, evil, lies, and great injustices of today's world; they must preserve their relationship with God.

We hope the Almighty God grants you success and helps you. God willing, He guides all of us to the right path and makes your pure and luminous hearts the place of manifestation of His lights and illuminates it with His knowledge.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings