Statements in a 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 Muhammad and his pure family.

Welcome! This meeting on the nineteenth of Bahman (February 8) is one of our sweetest meetings every year; it is sweet for you as it reminds us of that important historical event, and it is even sweeter for me as I have witnessed that event up close and have followed the movement of the Air Force and the Army until today. God willing, may you be successful and supported.

The reports that were given are very valuable. Each of them has its own worth; both operational value and reputational value. Such actions enhance the dignity of the Army and the dignity of the entire Islamic Republic system; these things did not exist; these were initiated by our youth, you in the forces and in the Army. I also thank you for the anthem that was arranged; it had very good lyrics, a very good melody, and a very good performance.

Today, I will say a few words about the nineteenth of Bahman and about the Army; I will also briefly present a perspective on the overall issues of the Revolution to you dear ones who are present here.

We have spoken a lot about the nineteenth of Bahman; every year I have presented an analysis and interpretation of this important and great event to the esteemed audience. What I want to convey this year is that this event was an effective prelude to the victory of the movement, for the actual and real emergence of the Revolution. This event was not merely a gathering of young people from the Air Force coming to greet the leader of the Revolution of that day; no, this was a movement that impacted the victory of the Revolution; why? Because this movement created a wave. The reason for its wave-making was its rapid reflection; within approximately three to four hours after this event occurred, the afternoon newspaper of that day in Tehran published the image of the event, and suddenly the situation changed significantly; I am not saying it changed 180 degrees, but the situation changed a lot. On one hand, the people gained morale; they felt that the Army was not against them, because the only tool of the wretched and oppressive Pahlavi regime was to suppress the people through the Army. The people saw that the Army was with them, in the direction of the people and the Revolution, and they gained morale. On the other hand, the morale of the opposing forces was lost. The commanders of the Army, the leaders of the armed forces, their supporters, people like the American General Hauser and others, when they saw this event, which struck them from a place they did not expect, lost their morale.

This gaining of morale by the revolutionaries and the feeling of spiritual and moral defeat by the counter-revolution had a very important impact. Thus, that night and the following night, when the strange clashes occurred in this street between the Air Force and the Guard, the people unhesitatingly went to this event and supported the Air Force; that is, fear and such things were set aside; this is a very important issue, this is something very strange.

Now, it is interesting that the nineteenth of Bahman over the past years, in these few decades until today, has always been like this; that is, the nineteenth of Bahman has always been the vanguard of the twenty-second of Bahman (February 11); that is, just as you gather today and the news is broadcast, this reminds people of that day and gives them excitement. The twenty-second of Bahman is the day of the greatness of the Iranian nation, the day of showing the dignity of the Iranian nation. In these forty-plus years, every year the twenty-second of Bahman has shown the greatness of the people. The day of the nineteenth of Bahman has also been like this over the years, that is, it has again been the vanguard and impactful prelude for the day of the twenty-second of Bahman; that is, this glorious day of that year is remembered by the people and increases excitement.

Well, events usually carry certain truths; various events should be viewed in this way; both natural events and human events. Every event that occurs has a message, reveals a truth to us; this event is no different; this event of the nineteenth of Bahman also revealed truths; the most important of these truths was that it showed the shape, composition, and reality of the new Army that was to be formed in the new system. The nineteenth of Bahman showed all observers what the future Army, the Army of the Revolution, the Army of the new system would be like, what its essence would be, what its composition would be; this was shown that day.

It showed that the new Army is, first and foremost, a popular Army. It was popular; they went to the place where thousands of people went every day to pledge allegiance to the Imam; they also went there to pledge allegiance to the Imam. It showed that it is popular, revolutionary; because it stood in front of the leader of the Revolution, greeted him, and expressed obedience. It showed that it is faithful; the signs of faith in spirituality and faith in Islam were clearly visible in that gathering. This showed that the future Army would be a faithful Army.

It showed that it is an Army committed to order — you can see, in that image, complete order is established — and risk-taking; at that time, it was still unclear where the fate of the Revolution would lead; nothing was known. This military order for this military presence and so on was from those days; they were always present. At that time, martial law was in effect, meaning nothing was clear about what the outcome would be; it was possible that the situation could last for another month or two; in that case, they would have faced severe consequences. They did not know what would happen, so they took risks, showed courage, and came. This showed that the future Army is risk-taking, and honestly, over these many years, the Army has taken risks. They showed that the Army is a clenched fist against the aggressor; of course, at that time, the aggressors were the American agents and the agents of the Pahlavi regime, and later other aggressors appeared, but the Army stood against all of them.

Now, imagine that image of that day — which you all have seen, I have seen it too — precisely in your minds; that image that was published in the newspapers and has been seen by everyone over these many years. The Imam was sitting there, a symbol of power, a symbol of dignity, a symbol of unwavering faith; it is completely clear; like a mountain, like the peak of Damavand; this is the Imam there. This great, dignified, and powerful man looks at these young people belonging to the Army of the Pahlavi era with a kind and paternal gaze. That day, these individuals were still part of the Pahlavi Army, but the Imam's gaze towards these young men was a paternal gaze, filled with complete affection and complete trust. That day, no one even imagined that there could be someone in this gathering with ill intentions; no, with complete trust and assurance, the Imam looked at them, regarded them in a certain way, and spoke with them. Well, this became a model for the new Army; it became clear that the new Army would be formed in this way.

In the minds of all observers, this meaning was reflected that the future situation would be like this; with determination, decision, risk-taking, faith, and attachment to this center of power and dignity, the Army would be formed, and that is exactly what happened; the Army was to stand beside the people, and it did, and it remained revolutionary.

One of the important things that I always emphasize is "remaining revolutionary"; some are revolutionary, but do not remain revolutionary; they become revolutionary but do not remain so; the Army remained revolutionary. I tell you: I have been in the Army since the very first day of the Revolution; almost from the very first days of the Revolution, I was in the Army, I moved around various sections of the Army, I had connections with everyone. Today, our Army — the Army of the Islamic Republic — is much more revolutionary than it was in those early days, it is more fervent in faith, more committed, and more prepared; as time has passed, the Army has become purer. Those young men who came to the Alavi School to greet the Imam put their lives in their hands; after that, the Army also put its life in its hands. In the matter of the conspiracy to disintegrate the country — you know; the conspiracy of disintegration in the west of the country, in the east of the country, in the north of the country — the Army was present, endured a lot of hardships, sacrificed a lot, but stood firm.

In the matter of the Sacred Defense (Iran-Iraq War), it was the same. I have accounts from the Army during the Sacred Defense; I have mentioned them; at that time, I would come to the Friday prayers and tell the people some of the things I had seen up close. The Army stood firm, stood beside the people, stood with chivalry, stood with self-sacrifice. And whenever necessary, the Army has played a role; even after the Sacred Defense, it has been the same. Whenever necessary, wherever necessary, the Army has played a role.

Now I want to add this here: [Considering] the transformation that has occurred in the Army, comparing today's Army, the Army of the Islamic Republic, with the Army of the Pahlavi era, is one of the indicators of the truth and identity of our Revolution. You should compare this Army with that Army; the criteria for comparison are completely available, in front of everyone, and there is nothing hidden; this comparison shows what the Revolution is capable of, what the Revolution can do, what an immense elixir the Revolution is that can move identities towards high positions in this way.

Well, the Army before the Revolution, the Army of the Pahlavi era, was ostentatious. Now, some of you may not remember, but most of you did not see those days when the Army was a grand, extravagant, and pretentious entity, but this ostentatious Army could not resist for more than a few hours when the country was attacked in September 1941; the Army disintegrated despite all its ostentation. This is while before this, someone was at the head of the Army who was himself a military man — well, Reza Khan was a military man, that is, he was a soldier — and he did everything he could to work on the Army, to strengthen it, to exert power. This Army that was under Reza Khan could not resist for more than a few hours in September 1941; the resistance was made by those who sacrificed themselves. We have accounts that in those few hours, there were resistances made in the western parts of the country and Kermanshah; there, the commander was a good commander, self-sacrificing; they gave their lives, they managed to stand for two or three hours, but they were martyred. We had a few such cases, but we did not have more. The Army completely disintegrated. That ostentatious, boastful Army could not resist.

Then, during Mohammad Reza's era, they again attempted to build the Army to strengthen it; they created an Army that, on August 19, 1953, rose against the people alongside American and British spies and suppressed the people. The Army of that day was like this; a soulless Army, an Army defeated by foreign domination. A brigadier of that Army did not dare to speak to a low-ranking American officer! These brothers who were early revolution officers at the level of captain and colonel during the Pahlavi era — like the late Zahir Nejad and the late Salimi and others who were pious individuals and became friends with us — narrated the incidents of how the Americans treated senior officers and generals of Iran, how they treated the Iranian brigadiers with contempt. This was the situation.

They bought fighter jets with a huge amount of money from America, and the technical officers of the Air Force or the Air Force personnel of that day who were specifically for technical work were not allowed to open and inspect many parts of the aircraft; they were not allowed; so that they would not understand what was going on here. They paid money to buy it, it was their property, it was the people's money, but this officer was not allowed to look at it. I have said this many times that they had to take the part inside the aircraft, take it to America, do whatever they wanted, and bring back a part in exchange, and they received a huge and unaccounted amount for it; their control was like this. That day, the Army was like this: subservient, defeated, under the yoke of foreigners.

Now, let’s turn to today’s Army; today, the Army is a symbol of independence and strength. Today, the Army is "dear"; it is dear to both the people and the officials. It is trusted; it is trusted by both the people and the officials; it was not like this before. At that time, even the officials who had elevated them looked at them with suspicion. That day, the Army had nothing to do with the people; today, the Army is with the people and alongside the people, it is part of the people. In all events where the people are present, one sees the Army present there.

Today, instead of not being allowed to touch and look at the parts of the fighter aircraft purchased with exorbitant money from the Americans, it builds that aircraft itself and knows how to build it. Today, the Army is engaged in part manufacturing, in creating great works, in creating astonishing works, [like] the one that was shown on television yesterday, and Major General Mousavi and others were present there, it is a source of joy and pride for the people; this is how it is. Today, the Army is constructive, innovative, and has initiative; in the atmosphere of sanctions, which is very important, and they do not allow money to go, nor do they allow goods to come, it accomplishes such great works. Both the Army and the IRGC, [and generally] our armed forces are all doing great works. Today, the Army is a manifestation of these things. The work that our youth are doing today is astonishing for the viewers; today, the youth of the Army are sitting and designing great works; whether in terms of equipment or organization.

Well, these also have a spiritual result that is greater than all of these; that is, when you work, strive, stand firm, and persevere, each of these is a value, but when these values accumulate, it becomes: Indeed, God loves those who fight in His way in ranks as if they were a solid wall; (6) you become beloved by God. Becoming beloved by God is greater than all these things I have mentioned; you have been able, that is, the Army has been able to accomplish such great movements.

Well, both the nation appreciates the Army, and the officials know it; you yourselves should appreciate your organization. The members of the Army should appreciate the organization of the Army. You have good strengths; increase these strengths. There are also weaknesses, there are weaknesses; recognize the weaknesses, reduce them, and increase the strengths; appreciation of the organization of the Army is this. Feel proud; be proud that you are part of the Army of the Islamic Republic; it is truly a source of pride. May God have mercy on the martyr Gharny, who had a connection with us from before the Revolution; in the last days, when the Revolution occurred and he took on responsibility — I was also a member of the Revolutionary Council and we saw each other — I told him that I am ready to come into the Army — at that time we were young — I said I am ready to become a soldier; I do not want a rank; just one star, no more! He said, you come, I will give you the rank of colonel, which at that time was actually the highest rank. That is, one feels proud to be part of such an Army, to be part of such a military organization. Well, these were my remarks regarding the Army and the nineteenth of Bahman.

Regarding the Revolution, I will only say a short word. Well, the twenty-second of Bahman is coming; in two or three days, it will be the twenty-second of Bahman. The twenty-second of Bahman is the peak of the movement and pride of the Iranian nation. This year’s twenty-second of Bahman is like the twenty-second of Bahman of other years, reminding us of the most glorious day in the known history of the Iranian nation. I mean, in our long history — as far as we know and understand — there has been no day more glorious for the Iranian nation than the twenty-second of Bahman. Of course, we have had glorious days, [but] none of them are of the same nature as the twenty-second of Bahman and of the greatness of the twenty-second of Bahman, where the Iranian nation can achieve its dignity, with its power, with its ability, with its firm determination. These twenty-second of Bahman days in the coming years will all remind us of that day.

And the twenty-second of Bahman has been kept alive; it must remain alive. The Revolution is alive when it can keep its adornments, its decorations alive. A living Revolution is one that can recognize its needs in every era, recognize the dangers it faces, find ways to meet those needs, and find ways to neutralize those dangers; this Revolution remains alive. The reason you see that great revolutions in history did not survive, revolutions like the Great French Revolution, the October Revolution in Soviet Russia, did not survive, they disappeared, turning into bitter and harsh dictatorships or reverting to previous eras — for example, in France, after the Revolution and all those events and all those killings and all those troubles, Napoleon came to power, who was a king, an emperor; now he brought some honors for France, but after him, the same dynasty that had been destroyed by the Revolution returned to power; the same people who had been expelled by the revolutionaries returned, went back to the throne, and ruled over the people for decades — what was the reason? The reason was that they did not understand the needs of the Revolution, the dangers of the Revolution, the necessities of the Revolution; they became preoccupied with their personal disputes and issues. From the day the French Revolution succeeded until the day Napoleon returned to power, it took about ten or eleven years; three times this presidency changed, and each time they came to power, they killed the previous ones, completely exterminated them; for personal issues, for trivial tastes; this was the situation.

A living Revolution is one that can protect itself from these afflictions; the Islamic Republic Revolution has protected itself. Yes, we have had problems; after all, the efforts over these forty-plus years have not been uniform; some governments have had better and more efforts, some less; some have had more accurate assessments, some less; the circumstances have varied, but the movement has been a continuous movement towards the peak, a movement towards progress; both material progress and spiritual progress. You saw how many ridiculous jokes were made about the youth of the 80s; reports have come that in this year’s I'tikaf, the youth of the 80s made up about 70 percent of the participants; this is how it is. The nation has progressed both spiritually and materially; now I pointed to the Army, there have been several times more advancements in other various sectors. Innovation, progress, creativity, strong logic, are widespread everywhere; this is the progress of the Revolution. This is what a living Revolution is. The necessity of being alive is that it can meet and realize these needs.

Well, I mentioned that this necessity has been largely met over these decades — more and better from the people, and to some extent from the officials — of course, all of us officials, wherever we are, must pay more attention to this. Well, today there is also this need; today there are many needs, and I want to draw your attention to one of them and emphasize one need, which is "national unity." One of the important needs of our present time is national unity. National unity is a dam; it is a solid wall against the enemy. National unity is what played a very significant role in the victory of the Revolution, and later in the progress of the Revolution; national unity. Today, we need to increase this unity as much as possible; the enemy has acted against this movement. The enemy's plan for us is clear; we have no ambiguity in the enemy's plan about what they want to do. We must know the enemy's plan, analyze it, and devise strategies against it. [Now] we know the enemy's plan.

Some of it has been revealed by the enemy itself, some has been revealed by its irrational agents here, and some has been provided by the reports of the agencies that prepare these reports; the enemy's plan is clear.

Well; there is a goal, there is a strategy, and there are tactics. The enemy's goal is to bring the Revolution and the Islamic Republic to its knees. Of course, they say the opposite. The President of the United States wrote to me fifteen years ago, explicitly in his letter said that we do not intend to change your system; at that time, we had reports that in their private centers, their discussions were about how to overthrow and eliminate the Islamic Republic! They lie. The goal is this. Why do they want to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees and destroy it? Well, there are various reasons. After all, the Islamic Republic has taken this important, strategic, profitable, and rich region with its natural and human resources from their hands; that is one reason, but another reason is that this Islamic Republic has raised the banner of independence and not paying tribute. Pay close attention! Those who want to be independent from America and global arrogance are not just us; there are other countries that want to be independent, they do not want to be under their command; the difference is that for them it is a policy, here it is a faith and religious belief; this is important; what is important for the enemy is this.

Yes, the policy of countries is to not be under the yoke of America, but through trade, through dialogue, by sitting at the negotiating table, sometimes through backdoor deals with some influential people, this policy changes. Don’t you see it in the world? Today they announce something, tomorrow they announce the opposite! Yes, there is a policy of independence, there is a policy of not paying tribute, but the policy is changeable. It is not like this here; here, independence and not paying tribute is a faith, arising from religion. And do not lean towards those who have wronged, lest the fire [of hell] should touch you; (9) do not trust, do not rely; you show affection towards them; (10) indeed, God forbids you from being friends with those who have fought you in religion and have expelled you from your homes; (11) these are verses of the Quran. The Quran says you should not trust this arrogant, this oppressor, this tyrannical government. This faith cannot be bought or sold. Anyone who is willing to abandon this faith loses their eligibility to work in this system; that is the difference. Therefore, they focus on the Islamic Republic more than anywhere else, they have more enmity towards us than anywhere else; they want to extend their power to others, but they have several times more such intentions towards this place; that is why. I mentioned that in addition to the advantages that your country has, natural advantages, human advantages, geographical advantages, climatic advantages, everything, in addition to these, it has this important advantage that it wants to be an independent government, not to be under pressure, not to pay tribute, not to yield to force, and that is also rooted in faith; that is why this is the goal. Therefore, the goal is to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees; this is the goal.

What is the strategy? Creating discord, creating distrust; distrust among political factions towards each other, distrust among popular groups towards each other, distrust of the people towards the government, distrust of the government towards the people, distrust of this towards that, this organization towards that organization, so that they are distrustful of each other. When distrust arises, hope for the future will also disappear. Well, naturally, there are some differences; these differences should not be turned into a fault line. Sometimes they raise the issue of "women," sometimes they raise the issue of "Shia and Sunni," sometimes they raise "generational differences," sometimes various other issues, to create discord; the enemy's strategy is to create discord. Of course, the tactics are different; each time with a different tactic; the main tactic is lying and rumor-mongering; they do these things to create discord. So when we see that the enemy has targeted unity with its attacks, what is our duty? Our duty is to preserve this unity, this solidarity, and not allow the enemy to succeed in its wicked desire. These are examples of what exists.

This year’s twenty-second of Bahman, God willing, with divine grace, will be a manifestation of the presence of the people, a manifestation of the dignity of the people, a manifestation of the trust of the people in each other; it will be a manifestation of national unity. My recommendation to all our dear people is to try to make this march, this great day, this magnificent movement, a symbol of national unity and solidarity, and to convey this message clearly to the enemy that its efforts to destroy national unity are thwarted and that they cannot separate the people from each other, they cannot separate the people from the system, they cannot make the system distrustful of the people, they cannot incite different groups of people to fight each other; political differences, differences of opinion, natural differences in society are not problematic, but they should not lead to violence, slander, defamation, and such things. This is the strategy we must adopt against the enemy's strategy. If we strive, if we intend, God Almighty will help us, God willing.

My remarks are concluded; we express our condolences to our bereaved brothers in the two countries of Syria and Turkey and ask God Almighty for mercy for their deceased and patience for their mourners. We ourselves have also been afflicted and know how heavy and bitter it is when an earthquake occurs, when loved ones from families are lost; we feel their pain and ask God Almighty for patience and peace of mind for them. Well, the officials have also, thanks be to God, provided assistance and will continue to do so.

May God Almighty bless the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who brought us to this path and guided us, and may He elevate the ranks of the deceased and martyrs, God willing.

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