Statements in Meeting with a Group of Air Force and Air Defense Commanders

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 and immaculate family, especially the remainder of God on the earth.

Welcome, dear brothers from the Air Force and Air Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today, once again, we commemorate the blessed and glorious memory of the nineteenth of Bahman in 1979. The significance of the nineteenth of Bahman lies in the fact that on this day, a flag was raised, a foundation was laid that determined the course of the new army. The Islamic Republic Army actually followed the path that those young people took on that day at Alavi School, creating that brave epic. In fact, the nineteenth of Bahman should be recognized as the birthday of the new army of Iran. It can be said that the factor that brought many prominent figures from within the army to the field of revolution was this movement of the youth on the nineteenth of Bahman. There were personalities within the army at various ranks—from airmen and non-commissioned officers to higher ranks and senior officers—who had their hearts with the people, their hearts with the revolution, but within the army, they did not have the ability, opportunity, or environment to emerge; the factor that could bring them forth and place them at this high level was this brave movement. Individuals like Martyr Namjoo, Martyr Sayyad, Martyr Babaei, Martyr Sattari, Martyr Kolahdooz, Martyr Fallahi, and others—great martyrs, some of whom are considered among the renowned martyrs of the Islamic Republic over time—emerged from the heart of the army, came into the public eye, and played the role of heroes. It is highly likely that the factor that enabled them to enter the field in this manner was the movement of the youth three days before the victory of the revolution; these youths, the air force youths, carried out this movement three days before the victory of the revolution amidst danger.

There are several characteristics that I always emphasize in my talks; although these characteristics existed in this movement. One was the 'bravery' of this movement; bravery is very important. It is very significant for a person to have the heart and courage to enter a difficult arena; this movement was a brave movement. No one knew that three days later, the regime would fall, the Pahlavi regime would be overthrown; no one knew this. They could have all been sentenced to execution; they showed bravery.

Another characteristic of this movement was its 'timeliness'; some movements are very good, they are brave, but they are not carried out at the right time. The movement of the Tawabeen (the repentants) a few years after the martyrdom of Sayyid al-Shuhada (peace be upon him) in Kufa was a good movement, but it was not timely; on the day they should have come to support Imam Hussein, they did not come; later they regretted, came, acted, and all were killed; the battlefield was a difficult one, but what good did it do? One must enter at the right time; the movement must be timely and executed in the moment. The movement of these youths was timely, it was in the moment. What I am saying is not merely to praise a group; it is because we still need the same today.

Another valuable characteristic that existed in this movement was its 'calculated and rational' nature; it was calculated, they sat down, thought, and worked. The type of movement indicated that this was not an instantaneous decision-making movement; it had been thought out, worked on, and studied. It was evident; we who witnessed the event understood that they had previously sat down and calculated this action. Revolutionary movement requires this; some think that revolutionary movements are without calculation, which is the opposite of rationality; this is a mistaken notion. Revolutionary movement requires more calculation and rationality than any other movement. This is another characteristic.

Another characteristic was that they 'took advantage of the enemy's negligence'; that is, if the counter-intelligence apparatus of that day and the high-ranking commanders of the royal army had wanted to guess that a movement from within the army might take place in favor of the revolution, the last place they would have thought of was the air force; because they did not think about the air force. So God struck them from where they did not expect; they were hit from an unexpected place. Our brothers, those youths of that day, took advantage of the enemy's negligence and carried out this movement.

Well, this movement, in my firm belief, gave identity to the Iranian army. During that regime, the overall plan was for the Iranian army to be defined under the military apparatus of America; there was no independence. The organization was American; the weapons were American; access to weapons was limited to the permission of America; that is, they had given F-14s, but the use of F-14s had to be permitted by America; for example, where advanced aircraft should be repaired, where parts should be replaced, this was not in the hands of the Iranian technical force, it was in the hands of Americans. I have repeatedly said in this session that they would take the broken part, put it in the aircraft, take it to America, change it with a good part, and return it to Iran; they would not allow the part to be repaired here. In other words, the army had to be defined under the American army and the American military organization. Important appointments were American; weapons were American; training was American; the place where this army would be used was American. They did not even seek permission from the country's officials. I read somewhere that Mohammad Reza said the Americans came and took the army and used it, and did not even inform me; they did not seek permission, nor did they inform the Shah that we took this part of the army and used it. This was the status of the army.

One of Imam Khomeini's (may his soul be sanctified) objections in a speech he made in 1964 in protest against capitulation was precisely this; that the army was insulted. In fact, capitulation was just like this. The meaning of capitulation is: when a government signs a capitulation agreement with another country, it means that a military person or a figure of that government, if they commit a crime in this country, should not be tried here; this was imposed by the Americans on the monarchy of that day! These weak elements, from the Shah to members of the Senate, to members of the National Consultative Assembly of that day, to prominent government figures like Alam and Hoveyda and others, all signed that an American person—whoever it may be—should not be tried in Iran if they committed a crime; this meant that if an American sergeant slapped an Iranian senior officer, for example, slapped a colonel, that colonel had no right to retaliate—let alone that—but this officer should not be tried here; they should be taken to America where a court would determine whether they did something bad or good! Is there any humiliation greater than this? Imam protested against this.

In that speech, Imam protested against the humiliating dominance of America over the Iranian army and over the Iranian government and over the Iranian country. The revolution came and gave identity to the army; the army also demonstrated its worthiness and became a proud and independent army. Incidentally, the experience of the Sacred Defense arose, and the army participated in the front lines of the Sacred Defense; it sacrificed martyrs, fought, and acted, of which I have repeatedly recounted many memories in my talks. Today, thousands of shining stars, such as Sayyad, Babaei, Sattari, and others, shine in the history of our country; these are prominent figures.

What should the army do today? I pose this question: what is the most important duty of the army today? The answer is that the most important duty of the army today is to strengthen itself; strengthening itself is the most important duty of the army. The army must strengthen itself in terms of human resources, in terms of weapons, in terms of training, in terms of combat readiness, and defensive preparedness. On days when there is no conflict, the most important duty of military organizations is this: to look for weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and susceptibilities that may exist within the organization, to work on these, and to strengthen themselves; the army must strengthen itself day by day. This innovative movement, the innovative construction that has started for several years—whether in the Ministry of Defense, in the army, or in the IRGC—must continue. Fortunately, our military organizations and also our military industry have proven their worth, showing that they can accomplish great tasks. From the great tasks you have done so far, you can accomplish even greater ones; defending the country must be at the forefront of your demands, and this cannot be achieved except by strengthening military organizations. With the same spirit, with the same valor, with the same bravery, with the same initiative and correct calculation that the movement of the nineteenth of Bahman taught us, you must, God willing, advance in the field of strengthening the Islamic Republic army and pursue your tasks.

And now regarding negotiations; for some time now, you have been hearing in newspapers, in cyberspace, in the words of this and that, discussions about government negotiations. Well, what is being discussed by these discussants—both inside and outside—is negotiations with America. They mention the name of negotiation as if 'Sir! Negotiation is a good thing,' as if anyone is against the goodness of negotiation! Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the busiest foreign ministries. Its job is precisely this; it negotiates with countries around the world—Eastern, Western, all kinds—they negotiate, visit, talk, and sign contracts; the exception is America. Of course, I do not mention the Zionist regime, because it is not a government; the Zionist regime is a criminal gang that has come and occupied a territory, committing crimes; it is not a subject of discussion. The exception is America.

Why is it an exception? What is the reason? Firstly, negotiations with America have no effect on resolving the country's problems; we must understand this correctly. They should not make us believe that if we sit at the negotiating table with that government, such and such problem will be solved; no, no problem is solved by negotiating with America. The reason: experience. In the 1990s, we sat for about two years negotiating with America—of course, America was not alone; several other countries were involved, but America was the main focus, primarily America—our government at that time sat, negotiated, came and went, sat down, stood up, negotiated, talked, laughed, shook hands, befriended, did everything, and a treaty was formed; in this treaty, the Iranian side was very generous, gave many concessions to the other side, but the Americans did not implement the same treaty; the same person who is now in power tore up that treaty; he said he would tear it up and did; they did not implement it. Before he came, those who had made this treaty also did not adhere to it; the treaty was supposed to lift the sanctions of America, but the sanctions of America were not lifted. Regarding the United Nations, they also left a bone in the wound that would always be a threat over Iran. This treaty is the product of negotiations that I think lasted two years—or more or less. Well, this is experience; let us learn from this experience. We negotiated, gave concessions, compromised, but we did not achieve the result we aimed for; even this treaty, with all its shortcomings, the other side still ruined it, violated it, tore it up. One should not negotiate with such a government; negotiating is not wise, it is not intelligent, it is not honorable.

Of course, we have problems internally; no one denies the existence of problems. There are many problems in the people's livelihood, and almost all segments of the people have afflictions, they have problems; however, what resolves these problems is the internal factor. The internal factor consists of the commitment of responsible officials and the cooperation of a united nation; that is, the same thing you will observe in the upcoming rally, God willing: the unity of the people. The rally of the twenty-second of Bahman, every year, is a manifestation of national unity in our country. A vigilant nation and tireless officials; this is what will resolve our problems. The officials are busy, thanks be to God, they are doing things, and I am very hopeful that this respected government can at least alleviate the livelihood problems of the people and remove the hardships.

The Americans are sitting and changing the map of the world on paper! Of course, it is only on paper; in reality, it has no reality whatsoever. They also comment on us, speak, express opinions, and threaten; if they threaten us, we will threaten them; if they carry out this threat, we will also carry out the threat; if they attack the security of our nation, we will also attack their security, without a doubt. This is the behavior learned from the Quran and the teachings of Islam, and it is a duty that is upon us. We hope that God Almighty grants us success in fulfilling our duties.

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