Statements in Meeting with Thousands of People from East Azerbaijan

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 chosen progeny, especially the remainder of God on earth.

We beseech the Almighty God for the preservation and continuity of the outstanding and distinguished spirits we observe in this gathering. I extend my greetings to all the esteemed attendees, especially the honorable families of martyrs and the respected officials. The esteemed President is also present in this gathering, in accordance with his people's nature.

Before saying anything else, I must mention our martyred and late Friday prayer leader, the late Mr. Al-Hashem, who delivered profound and eloquent remarks in this very session last year. May God elevate his ranks, and blessed are the servants whose work concludes in such a manner, in accordance with divine will. I also remember the young, revolutionary, and beloved governor of Azerbaijan, who is among the martyrs of that incident, as well as the other dear martyrs who were taken from the Iranian nation in that bitter event.

The events of the twenty-ninth of Bahman in 1978 were a significant incident. Today, I wish to speak a few words, looking at the people who created that incident; the honors of Azerbaijan are numerous and varied, and I have repeatedly spoken about these matters with you, dear people of Azerbaijan. Today, our young man from Tabriz, who observes and recognizes the situation in the region, distinguishes between enemies and friends, feels no fear in the face of the threats from one side and the howls from the other; rather, he feels empowered.

The young Azerbaijani, the young Tabrizi, stands like a mountain against the events that shake seasoned politicians; this young man must know to whom this spirit belongs, and to what incident it is related. If our youth—who did not experience the revolution and remember nothing of the twenty-ninth of Bahman except a name and an incident—do not understand the past of this group and the people who brought about this great event, who they were, what they did, and with what spirit they presented themselves in the field, the false narratives constructed by the enemy will prevail in their minds; today, I want to elaborate on this point and emphasize it.

Azerbaijan and Tabriz have, in fact, been the stronghold of Iran at various times against foreign aggression and invasion. In some instances, due to the incompetence of the central and capital dwellers, the agents of the Tsarist or Ottoman governments took control of parts of Azerbaijan, even Tabriz itself, but it was the people of Tabriz who, through their steadfastness and patience, managed to conduct themselves in a manner that forced the enemy to flee. The Tsarist agents insisted that Sattar Khan raise a white flag over his house to remain safe from the Russian forces present there; Sattar Khan said: "I will not go under the banner—by his expression, 'Bideq'—of anyone else."

In various periods, there were efforts by individuals—who cannot rightly be considered foreign agents but were nonetheless misguided and had a hand in the government apparatus of the tyrannical era—to impose a non-Islamic identity on Azerbaijan, relying on ethnic characteristics and an anti-religious, secular perspective. What occurred in opposition to this movement is a lesson for discerning eyes. During the same period when these efforts were underway, Tabriz produced brilliant gems such as Allameh Tabatabai, Allameh Amini, and prominent literary and artistic figures like Master Mohammad-Hossein Shahriyar, elevating the name and reputation of Iran. This is how it is in various institutions.

One of the outstanding characteristics of Azerbaijan that brought about significant events like the important incident of the twenty-ninth of Bahman was the Islamic faith and religious zeal of the people of Azerbaijan. The people of Tabriz and all those from other counties in the province who were present in Tabriz that day and participated in that movement created this incident. The greatness of the incident is not merely that the tyrannical regime was compelled to bring tanks into the streets in front of the people; the greatness of the incident lies in the fact that this movement became a model for all of Iran, and the people of Iran in various cities repeated this movement, leading to the great revolutionary movement of 1979; the significance of the incident is here.

One of the important characteristics of the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan is their pioneering spirit in various matters. We have seen and observed Azerbaijan's pioneering role in various events; we know that in different issues—whether scientific and cultural, political, or those that may arise in defense of the country—these people have been at the forefront, initiating movements. This is the characteristic of these people; today's youth must be aware of this. This legacy of steadfastness, feeling empowered, and not being passive in the face of events—which our young Azerbaijani and Tabrizi feel today—is a remnant of that era.

Another characteristic of Azerbaijan and Tabriz is modeling; this very incident was a model. The personalities who played roles in Azerbaijan, in Tabriz, each became a model; outstanding models that will not be forgotten in the history of Iran and the Iranian nation. Thiqah al-Islam, a religious scholar, or Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani, a religious scholar, lost their lives in the face of foreign intervention. Personalities like Sattar Khan and Baqir Khan were pioneers in the Constitutional Revolution and became models for the heroes of the great Constitutional movement in Iran. In the Sacred Defense, the distinguished youth of Azerbaijan—one example being the martyrs Bakri—became models. In literature, culture, and science, we have many examples in Azerbaijan. At one point, the number of great scholars that the seminary of Tabriz was able to present to society was greater and higher than from anywhere else in the country except Isfahan. The cities of Tabriz and Isfahan are exemplary and distinguished in terms of producing great and prominent scholars among all the seminaries and major cities of the country. This is the characteristic of the people who created this incident and these events. Therefore, today's youth of Azerbaijan, men and women of Tabriz today, must regard the characteristics of "faith and religious zeal," "pioneering spirit," and "modeling" as their enduring moral and social legacy and utilize them for the advancement of the country—what I will now discuss regarding our current needs.

Dear brothers and sisters! Thanks to the efforts of our youth, our scholars, and our skilled technologists, today we have no concerns or problems regarding hard defense or the hard threats of the enemy. Today, thanks be to God, we know ourselves, our friends know, and our enemies know that Islamic Iran is at a high level in terms of capabilities to confront hard threats, and the people feel secure in this regard. Therefore, our current issue is not the hard threats of the enemy.

However, there exists another significant threat that we must prepare for, and that is the soft threat. Today, our enemies admit that they have come to the conclusion that if they want to overcome the Iranian nation, if they want to push the Islamic Republic back from its powerful positions, the way to do this is to create problems within the country, to subject the people to soft threats.

What is the soft threat? The soft threat means manipulating public opinion, creating discord, creating doubt in the fundamentals of the Islamic Revolution; this is the soft threat. The soft threat means creating doubt in steadfastness against the enemy; this is what they are doing. By God's grace, they have not succeeded until today; until today, the enemy's temptations have not been able to shake the hearts of our people or deter our youth from their resolve and movement. An example of this is the massive rally on the twenty-second of Bahman; where in the world does such a thing exist? After more than forty years since the victory of the revolution, the day of the victory of the revolution is commemorated by the masses of the people—not the armed forces, not the officials, but the masses of the people, the body of the nation—who enter the field in such large numbers; and for 46 years, despite all the existing problems—people have problems, they have legitimate expectations—these do not prevent them from defending their revolution. What does this mean? It means that the soft threat of the enemy has not been effective in this country and among this nation until today. My message is that do not allow this enemy's deception, which continues, to have an effect in the future.

Those in charge of propaganda apparatuses, those who express themselves, those who wield the pen, artists, scholars, those responsible in the official education, media, and arts sectors, all our youth who are connected to the virtual space, must direct their efforts to see where the enemy is focusing and where it is trying to penetrate the minds and public opinion of the people, and close that path; they must produce content; thinkers must produce thought and ideas and stand against the enemy with this work; today, this is more important than hard defense. If a deficiency occurs in hard defense, it can be compensated for with soft movement, that weakness can be addressed—which has been done many times—but if we have a problem in soft defense, hard tools will not resolve the issue; this must be taken into account.

Our youth must familiarize themselves with the concepts of the revolution, with the statements of the Imam, with what has been said over these many years about the revolution and its characteristics. Our revolution was, in the true sense of the word, a struggle of light against darkness, a struggle of truth against falsehood. The revolution sought to elevate Iran, elevate the Iranian nation, and showcase the identity of the Iranian nation; today, it remains the same. Thanks be to God, we have succeeded until today, we have been able to advance on this path. Yes, we have not fully achieved the goals that the revolution has outlined for us. Today, we are lagging in terms of justice, we are lagging in terms of social gaps, we are lagging in some various fundamental issues that we must strive harder to advance, but the revolution has managed to maintain itself as an independent identity, as a great and hopeful base for the nations of the region and even for some extra-regional nations. The anger of the arrogant powers of the world and the colonizers and the vile elements that commit crimes under good names is due to the fact that the Islamic Republic has been able to endure, has been able to stand firm, and has been able to show its strong fist to them.

Some, in their incomplete analyses, like to portray it this way: that the Iranian nation creates its own enemy; this is not the case. If you see that the tyrannical American policymaking apparatus is constantly working against the Iranian nation, it is not because you say 'Death to America'; it is because Iran, through the efforts of its people, through the sacrifices of its people, has managed to free itself from the yoke of the colonial power; enmity with the Iranian nation is due to this. They are angry with the Iranian nation because it does not submit to their impositions. They have become accustomed to imposing; you hear them say: 'Give us this place, name this place after us!' This is their rhetoric; their actions are much harsher, much uglier, much worse. The plundering of the wealth of nations, the domination over the will of nations is among the great crimes of the arrogant, at the head of which is America and the intricate network of Zionism. They cannot bear to see a nation like the Iranian nation stand on its own feet and protest against their oppression, against their interference, against their aggression, establish a system, and manage to maintain that system for more than forty years and strengthen it day by day; they cannot bear to see this.

Today, my audience, first and foremost, is you, the youth of Azerbaijan and the youth of Tabriz, but this message is addressed to all the youth of the country: today, your responsibility is to preserve this spirit, strengthen this movement, and advance towards the goals that the revolution has defined. We are hopeful for the youth, and God willing, this great popular movement will progress in all areas. May God protect you, and may God, God willing, bestow His blessings upon you, dear people, upon the people of Tabriz and the people of Azerbaijan.

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