Statements in Meeting with the People of East Azerbaijan on the Anniversary of the 29th of Bahman Uprising

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, virtuous, and infallible family, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters. This annual meeting is one of the sweetest and most memorable gatherings for me; just as my meetings with the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan during my travels have always been among the best, sweetest, and most unforgettable encounters. I am pleased to meet once again with a group of the valiant, faithful, revolutionary, sincere, and courageous people of Azerbaijan and Tabriz; welcome.

We have spoken a lot about the merits of Tabriz and the people of Azerbaijan, and there is still much to discuss. The more one reflects on the historical events of the revolutionary period and before, the more one feels the significance of the people of Tabriz and Azerbaijan and their impact. If we were to make a brief judgment about these people in one sentence, we must say that in Azerbaijan, religious zeal, national pride, and revolutionary fervor are manifested in the behavior and identity of the people; they have defended their religion, their country, their revolution, their nationality, and their religious identity. On the day when hostile motivations and anti-religious deviant thoughts were being promoted in Azerbaijan, the reliance of the saviors of the Constitutional Revolution of that day was on the fatwas of the jurists. No one believed that Sattar Khan and Baqer Khan would receive orders from a religious authority, but that is how it was; they preserved and maintained their religious identity.

An important point that was reiterated in the statements of the esteemed Friday Prayer Leader, which was good, is that in Azerbaijan, in Tabriz, events occur in a timely manner, they do not happen with delay; [meaning] at the moment they are needed. I have often said, in the production line where this product passes in front of you - where you are standing at a point - you must do something with this product; if you delay for five seconds, the product goes and remains incomplete; you must decide and act at that moment; Azerbaijan has acted this way, deciding and acting at the moment. On the 29th of Bahman 56, which today marks the anniversary of that great event, it was like this; they decided and acted in a timely manner, and God blessed it, which I will briefly mention how God blesses such actions.

In facing issues after the revolution, it was the same. We were aware; here in the Revolutionary Council, everyone was constantly attentive to the issues of Tabriz, and the Imam was also aware; some were frightened, but the Imam said no one should be afraid; the people of Tabriz can handle the situation themselves, there is no need for anyone else; and that is how it happened. From all around, the counter-revolutionaries were gathered and brought to Tabriz in the early months of the revolution, hoping to create a disturbance or a riot; the ones who resolved the disturbance were the people of Tabriz themselves; the youth of Tabriz came to the forefront. In the Sacred Defense, it was the same; in the issues after the Sacred Defense, in various disturbances, in 88, and in subsequent matters, Tabriz has always been at the forefront, always moving ahead of others. Although the body of martyr Soleimani was not brought to Tabriz, the massive farewell movement of the people in Tabriz - I was watching it on television - truly brought tears to one's eyes; these things are very important, they are very meaningful; and then the march of the 22nd of Bahman in that cold and snow and that dreadful weather with that massive gathering of people. These are things that the eyes see; the eyes of friends see them and become hopeful, and the eyes of the enemy also see them and assess their situation; the enemy sees these things. The enemy is not asleep, nor is it blind; it sees what is happening in Iran; [therefore, these things] have an impact, which I will now mention.

The impact of timely and momentary presence is one that God Almighty has a special grace for; that is, when you perform the task at the moment of need, the blessings of that task will be greater. For example, on the 29th of Bahman 56; my belief is that if the people of Tabriz had not held the memorial for the martyrs of the 19th of Dey on the 29th of Bahman, it is highly likely that the 19th of Dey would have been forgotten amidst the various waves of propaganda of that day. God Almighty blessed it; the people stood firm, resisted, showed courage, and held the memorial for the martyrs of the 19th of Dey in Qom; because it was timely, because it was correct and appropriate, because it was at the right moment, God Almighty blessed it; what was the blessing? It was that following this movement, a general movement of the Iranian nation occurred. After Tabriz, several other cities - it was no longer just one city - held memorials for the martyrs of Tabriz; they learned what to do. The road was opened by the people of Tabriz; this is how God blesses. And the general movement of the Iranian nation led to an event that has no precedent in the history of our country: the uprooting of the tyrannical regime and the establishment of the Islamic government; this is the divine blessing.

I have great hope for Azerbaijan and Tabriz, and I have great hope for the youth. Most of you who are here are young; you do not remember that day, you have not seen that day, you have not seen the Imam, you have not seen the Sacred Defense era, but your capacity is no less than that of those dear ones who struggled in the Sacred Defense; this is my belief. Today, the Azerbaijani youth stands bravely in the field of defending the revolution, shields their chest - in the realm of soft warfare, in the matter of beliefs, in the matter of various thoughts, in confronting the hostile propaganda of the enemy - and if at any time an incident occurs and presence in the field is required in another form, I still see that these youths are ready. In economic matters, in political matters, in scientific matters, in various issues of the country, Azerbaijan is truly and justly ready to play a role, and God willing, with divine assistance, it will play this decisive role.

Today, I want to speak a little about the elections; the audience of this speech is you dear ones who are here, and those who will later hear our words from other speakers. The issue of elections is very important. I tell you that elections are a public jihad; elections are a source of strengthening the country; elections are a source of the Islamic system's dignity. You see the American propaganda and how they want to create a distance between the Islamic system and the people? They work hard, they are constantly busy, as they say, they form think tanks - they call think tanks - they sit down, think, and plan; a few dozen, a few hundred people in various sectors are responsible for Iran and the public opinion discussions in Iran, and they are active. The goal of this activity is to separate the Iranian youth from the Islamic system; but they do not succeed. You see what happens on the 22nd of Bahman, what happens in honoring our dear martyr Soleimani! In the elections, the same thing must happen; that is, the enemies should see that despite their insistence on separating the people from the system, the people are inclined towards the elections; this inclination is the dignity of the Islamic system.

The eyes of friends and enemies are fixed on this; keep this in mind. The enemies want to know what has happened to the people after all this effort and propaganda and the economic problems that exist in the country and the betrayals that the Westerners and Europeans have committed against us and the pressures that - as they say, maximum pressure - the Americans are exerting; what has been the result among the people? The enemy is watching and wants to see this. Our friends around the world are also watching with concern to see what will happen. Of course, whenever we send a message to a group of our friends, I always say do not worry, do not worry about the Iranian nation; the Iranian nation knows what it is doing, it knows how to act, and it is doing its work.

Elections neutralize many of the evil intentions that the Americans have in mind, the Zionists have in their hearts against the country; elections neutralize these evil intentions. This election is a countermeasure against the enemies' plots; it is a manifestation of the timely presence we mentioned. We said God blesses timely presence; just like the presence on the 29th of Bahman 56 that God blessed; here too, presence at the ballot box, with divine assistance, will be a source of blessing. If we do our job well, it may have a transformative impact; with this action, a transformative impact will be created in the country.

We have repeatedly said that Iran must become strong; if it becomes strong, the enemy will become hopeless, the enemy's plots will be stifled in their infancy and will not succeed; this is the result of becoming strong. One of the manifestations of becoming strong is to have a strong parliament; a parliament that can protect the country against the enemy's plots, with the necessary laws, guiding governments towards the desired direction; this is a strong parliament. Well, the more people participate at the ballot boxes, the stronger the parliament will be. Of course, this is one of its pillars; I will also mention the second pillar. One pillar of a strong parliament is that many people, a larger number, vote for the parliament. That parliament which is formed with the decisive majority of the people will be a strong and credible parliament. The impact of elections is not only in the four-year term of this parliament, but it has long-term effects; because the representatives you send to the parliament may make decisions, pass laws that will have effects for years to come. Therefore, the impact of a parliament - whether a strong and good parliament or a weak one - will be long-lasting. God forbid, if there is a weak parliament, a parliament that is submissive to the enemy, it will also have negative long-term effects.

In my opinion, considering all aspects, today participation in the elections and voting is a religious duty; it is not merely a national and revolutionary duty; it is a religious obligation; at the same time, it is a national celebration, and at the same time, it is a civil right. The people have the right to intervene in the fate of the country; this [is the cause of] the recovery of the rights of the people. Therefore, from a religious perspective, from a national aspect, and from the perspective of asserting civil rights, elections have a special prominence. Well, this is one part of the issue.

The other part of the issue is how to choose: how to choose, whom to choose; this is very important. Of course, in previous talks, I have mentioned a few sentences, and now I emphasize the same few sentences we have said: they should be faithful, courageous, efficient, and individuals who are committed, courageous, motivated, loyal to the people, loyal to the revolution. My dear ones! We once had representatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly - in this very Islamic Consultative Assembly of ours - who today are servants and lackeys of America and the enemies of Iran; [but] once they were representatives here! These must be watched very carefully. They must be loyal to Islam, loyal to the people, loyal to the revolution, loyal to the country, and steadfast against the enemy [and] should not show weakness against the enemy; they should not have greedy eyes and hearts for worldly wealth; their eyes and hearts should be content. Some may enter the field of representation to gain wealth and resources; such a person is not worthy of representing this nation; [that is] those who are looking to become representatives and then influence the administration of some places - remove this, put that - should not be a means for financial matters! This should not be the case.

There must be a suitable composition in the parliament between the youth and experienced individuals; this is necessary. I always emphasize the youth, but this does not mean that one should overlook experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled individuals. The youth are indeed the main actors, the driving force, and the movers forward; their presence is therefore necessary; they are needed in government institutions, in legislative bodies, [and] in various sectors. This youthfulness we have mentioned is an absolute necessity for the country; but it does not mean that experienced, skilled, knowledgeable individuals should be excluded; no, the combination of these two is a desirable combination.

The history of attachment and passivity in the face of the enemy should also be considered a negative point and should be rejected. Those who have this history of being passive in the face of the enemy, who do not have the power to stand against the enemy, who lack self-confidence, are not suitable for representing this nation. This nation has national self-confidence; our nation has national self-confidence, which anyone who looks at our country feels.

You should keep in mind that now in the world - I do not know if this news reaches our dear people or not - many thinkers, political figures, and writers around the world make the same judgment about the Iranian nation; they say this nation is a great and noble nation, a powerful nation, a nation that cannot be frightened or coerced into doing something; everyone says this; [that is] those who think about Iran. Of course, yes, a member of the CIA does not say this, of course; it is clear; an affiliate of a hostile government does not say this, but a free person, [yes;] in foreign publications and media, there are many such statements, and we receive reports of this.

Furthermore, the importance of elections that we mentioned, the parliamentary elections are very important, but the elections of the Assembly of Experts are also very important, which we have alongside this, and in several cities, there are elections for the Assembly of Experts; that should not be sidelined. The work that the Assembly of Experts has is a very important task.

Therefore, there are two pillars regarding elections: one is the principle of elections and the public participation of the people, which we have said that anyone who loves Islam, loves the revolution, loves the system, loves Iran must participate in the elections; [but influenced by] various propaganda, no. Anyone who has these qualities must make a good choice. I had a report - which was likely a real and accurate report - that one of these hostile countries in the region, which I do not want to name, has paid a Western media outlet to say things in its Persian-language program that would distance the people from leaning towards revolutionary individuals; they spend money, they spend oil dollars to seduce the people and lead them in another direction; this is the second pillar. The first pillar is the principle of elections, and the second pillar is the quality of elections and how to conduct elections. This is our statement regarding elections. The elections are just a few days away; it is a divine blessing and a divine test, a field of presence, and we hope that God willing, all the dear people of our country and the dear people of Azerbaijan and the dear people of Tabriz will emerge from this test with honor.

One point about the recent nonsense from the Americans. Recently, these first-rate fools have lined up, and each of them is constantly talking about Iran and the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic and the elections, saying such things. Some of these statements they make are aimed at influencing the elections; they want to affect the elections in any way they can; they want to discourage the people, make them hopeless about the ballot box. Some of it stems from passivity; after the martyrdom of our dear martyr and the crime that the Americans committed at Baghdad airport, they became passive; that is, the President of the United States and his entourage became genuinely passive and realized they had acted recklessly; they were attacked both in the world and severely attacked inside America for what they did, for what a mistake they made, and it had the opposite result. The Americans wanted our dear martyr, who had a very profound impact in the region, to be eliminated so that they could gain control; the situation turned out to be the opposite; this massive march of the people in Iraq in Baghdad, the movement of the people in Syria, the issues related to Aleppo and similar matters, and some other events in the region are exactly the opposite of what the Americans were seeking. The Americans are passive; this recent nonsense they are speaking is partly due to this passivity, which they want to somehow compensate for. This is on that side. Of course, in the martyrdom of martyr Soleimani, a bitter loss occurred for us; [this] martyr was very good, very dear, very useful, and truly commanded admiration; these are preserved; well, he left us; but when we look at this incident, we see that this incident, like all other divine incidents, has God's grace prevailing over wrath.

However, regarding the martyr himself; God Almighty says in the Quran through the Muslims: "We have one of the two best things"; (4) we have one of the two best things. What are those two things that one can have? One is victory, the other is martyrdom. Martyr Soleimani attained both of the best things; he was victorious - for several years in the region, martyr Soleimani has been the victor in the field, and the defeated in the field are America and its agents; this is how it is in the entire region - and he attained martyrdom; that is, God Almighty granted both of the best things to this dear martyr.

However, the Iranian nation demonstrated its greatness, showed its unity, and displayed its motivation and presence; this event that occurred in Tehran and in Tabriz and in Mashhad and in Ahvaz and in Kerman and in Qom was a very significant event. Such an event rarely occurs; for tens of millions of people to mourn a martyr in various cities; this demonstrated the greatness of the Iranian nation, the appreciation of the Iranian nation, and the insight of the Iranian nation; this is also one of the divine blessings. Many nations expressed their sympathy with Iran; nations sympathized with us. In one foreign country - which I do not want to name for a reason, [because] if I named that country, everyone would confirm that this statistic is accurate - a thousand memorials were held in memory of Soleimani; a thousand memorials! Countries expressed their sympathy this way; in some European countries, even in distant countries, in African countries. We have gradually been hearing these things, and we are still hearing them; the news that comes from here and there shows that it compelled nations to sympathize with us, brought their hearts closer to us; this is a very great blessing; this is the strategic depth of the Islamic revolution and the Islamic system. Thus, we won in this matter; in a matter that appears so bitter - that they took our dear martyr from us; this is very bitter - God has placed such a core in it that it is all victory.

When the late Haj Agha Mustafa, the great and distinguished son of the Imam, passed away in Najaf - there were doubts that he had been poisoned and so on - the Imam said in his first statements that the death of Mustafa was one of the hidden divine graces; (5) no one understood what that meant; how could a person lose his eldest son, his virtuous child - [because] the late Haj Agha Mustafa was very distinguished; he was among the hopes of the future, and if he had remained, he would certainly have been a religious authority today - and then say that this was one of the hidden graces? Later, when the people of Iran took action to hold a memorial for him, and this memorial led to the reaction of the court, and then the events of Qom, the events of Tabriz, this chain of events occurred, then the people understood what that hidden grace was. [That is] the hidden divine graces that started from a bitter place led to [the establishment of] the Islamic Republic and the downfall of the tyrannical regime. It is the same here; this incident is also bitter, but in this incident, the front of truth was victorious, the wicked enemy suffered; it thought it had accomplished something, but in reality, it suffered.

I want to say that it is not only in this matter that America has suffered; America has been continuously suffering and being defeated by the Iranian nation in a forty-year battle. The reason for America's defeat by the Iranian nation in these forty years is that all the weapons that the Americans could use against Iran, they have used - political weapons, military weapons, security weapons, economic weapons, cultural weapons, media, propaganda - and they have done everything they could; for what? To overthrow the Islamic Republic over these forty years - from the very first day until today - the Islamic system has not been overthrown; it has become a thousand times stronger; this is the meaning of the enemy's defeat. For forty years, the Iranian people have been defeating America; we have become stronger, and America has become weaker.

Dear brothers, dear sisters, youth! I insist that you pay attention to this point: today America presents itself as standing tall with makeup and adornment; the reality is not like that. Today, America is one of the most indebted governments in the world; it is 22 trillion dollars in debt to various countries. Today, class disparity in America is greater than ever. This statement I am making is not my own; it is the statement of one of the political figures of America today, who is a member of the ruling body of America, that is, he is a member of Congress and apparently a senator; this statement is his - I know his name [but] I do not want to mention names now - who says that in this Trump administration, which has been in power for three years, more than a hundred billion dollars has been added to the wealth of the five richest people; three of these five people have wealth equal to half the population of America! Look at the class disparity. That is, three people have wealth equal to 160 million people. This on one side; then on the other side, the wages of eighty percent of workers do not cover their living expenses, meaning they are poor. Anyone whose income is less than their expenses is poor; eighty percent of American workers are like this. Look at this class disparity; it is terrifying! This person says - these are their own statistics; that is, [the speaker] is not a journalist, but a prominent politician and a specific figure - that of every five Americans, only one can afford to buy their medicine if they visit a doctor; the other four cannot afford to buy their medicine if they visit a doctor. The wealth gap between whites and blacks in America has tripled in the last fifty years. This current President of America claims that he has improved the economic situation; they say yes, the economic situation has improved [but] for billionaires, not for the American people; this is the social situation in America.

One of the former presidents of America says America is an oligarchy - that is, a government of a specific class, without the involvement of the people - with unlimited political corruption; the signs of poverty are abundant in America, and homelessness is very widespread. Of course, I do not want to mention these statistics now; one cannot be very confident about the details of these statistics, but it is clear; tens of millions of poor people who do not have bread for the night; a very large number who are forced to sleep on the streets at night. When the weather gets cold, you hear in the news that this many people died in America; well, why do they die? For example, suppose five degrees below zero is not a reason to die; [but] because they sleep on the street, because they are homeless, they die. When it gets too hot - forty degrees or forty-two degrees - some people die because they are on the street, they are homeless. Now, let the statistics of crimes and moral corruption be aside; there are strange and extraordinary social issues prevalent in that country that one understands that these things are like a cancer eating away at this country and like termites destroying it. [Americans] adorn the surface, give grandeur and glory to the appearance of the matter, to deceive others and to scare some in the world; the appearance of the matter is adorned, it is grandeur and glory. I have noted this: I have written that just as the grandeur and glory of the famous Titanic did not prevent it from sinking, the grandeur and glory of America will not prevent it from sinking, and America will sink.

What we oppose is the dominance of oppression, tyranny, and global arrogance; when we say "America," we mean this; it is not specific to America. Today, of course, the pinnacle of tyranny and arrogance and despotism is America, which is actually under the control of the Zionists - not the Zionist government; it is under the control of the wealthy and the Zionist companies. Any other country that behaves this way is the same. We have no opposition to any nation as a nation; we have no opposition to any race, to any nation; we oppose global arrogance, we oppose oppression, we oppose tyranny against human and divine values. Today, America is the embodiment of these; it is the embodiment of oppression, the embodiment of global arrogance, and that is why it is despised in the world. It flaunts its material power to this and that; now it has dozens of military bases around our country in various countries, but these military bases are of no use to it; they are of no use to itself, nor to those poor souls who pay their money and hope for them; they are of no use to them either; if an issue arises one day, they will not be of use to them. That country - the arrogant - is collapsing spiritually, mentally, and internally.

What is important for us is that we keep ourselves on the straight path of God, on the straight path of God, and do not let our movement slow down; this is important. The movement of the Islamic system and the Islamic community towards the lofty Islamic goals must not fall behind. There is movement now; it is not that there is no deficiency, it is not that there is no mismanagement; yes, these exist; if they did not exist, our movement would be better, more, we would reach further, we would go better, we would open the knots more easily; but despite these weaknesses, there is movement. What gives me hope is your presence, youth. The youth should prepare themselves; prepare themselves scientifically, practically, experientially, and spiritually; tomorrow the country will be in your hands, and God willing, you will be able to elevate this country to its peak, and God willing, you will do this. We hope that God willing, the prayers of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will support you.

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