Statements at the Meeting with Pioneers and Activists in Various Fields of Sacred Defense

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 the earth.

I am very grateful to the Almighty God for granting me the opportunity to attend this magnificent, comprehensive, and meaningful session, and I thank those who arranged this meeting. I also express my gratitude to the brothers and sisters who performed during the first hour of the program; the recitation of the Quran was good, the anthems were excellent—both the lyrics and the melody—and the eulogies were very well done; the speakers presented very good points. Almost everything that is in our hearts and minds regarding the issues of the Sacred Defense and its connection with the people was expressed in the statements of these ladies and gentlemen; however, it requires contemplation, reflection, and the discovery of solutions, God willing.

What I want to convey is that the event of the Sacred Defense is a prominent and important period in the history of our country. We must recognize this period and this important event correctly and introduce it to the minds of future generations. My firm belief is that if our successive generations understand the significant and meaningful aspects of the Sacred Defense and know how the Iranian nation was able to reach the platform of victory in this important event and stand there with power and dignity, there will be great lessons for them in this understanding; and great works will progress; this is my firm belief. The greatness of this event must be recognized. A lot has been done; books have been written, films have been made, and memories have been shared, but in my opinion, there is still much room for work. Until now, we have not been able to recognize and introduce the details of this magnificent and intricate tableau; we see it from afar, but if we get closer, in every piece of it, there is so much beauty, so much delicacy, and so many profound and meaningful works that one is astonished; every piece is like this, and these must be introduced.

Of course, it is obvious that I do not intend to implement this goal in this session; it is not possible; it is a large and comprehensive task, but I want to present some aspects. We want the greatness of this incident to be known; the greatness of this incident can be observed from several angles, from several perspectives: one angle is what was being defended; since the discussion is about the Sacred Defense; [that is] what we were defending; this is one. [If] we look at it from this angle, a significant part of the greatness of this event will become clear. One of these angles is against whom this defense was carried out; who had attacked that required defense; this is another angle that I believe is important. The third perspective is who carried out this defense; who the defenders were; this is also a novel and important matter that I will later say a few sentences about each. The fourth angle is what the effects and achievements of this defense were. Now I have mentioned these four aspects, but there are other perspectives as well. So, one is to discuss, that is, to think, to study what was being defended; second, against whom the defense was carried out; third, by whom the defense was carried out; and fourth, what the result of this defense was. Each of these, in my opinion, is very important; [we should] think and study about each one, it is very important.

But regarding "what was being defended." In the Sacred Defense, we defended the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic, which was the product of the defense of the Islamic Revolution, and the territorial integrity of the country; these three were important titles that the defense was carried out for. The opposing side had attacked these three things. Of course, the main and essential goal of the enemy, which I will explain later in that second section, was not the issue of territorial integrity—this was Saddam's goal—their goal was the revolution; they wanted to suppress this unparalleled, great, and important revolution that had occurred thanks to the sacrifices of the people in Iran. Why do we say unparalleled? Because it was a phenomenon that had not occurred before in great revolutions; it was popular, religious, authentic, and independent, related to a nation, and public; it was not like coups or party revolutions and the like. This revolution was able to remove the corrupt and dependent regime ruling the country, to overthrow it, and to establish a new system, a new discourse in this country; [that is] the Islamic Republic; republic means popular governance, Islamic means religion: religious popular governance; it was a new discourse in the world. In history, we have had religious governments, but there was no discussion of popular governance in them; we have had popular governments—either real or nominal—but there was no discussion of religion in them. A government and system in which religion and the world, the world and the hereafter, the people and God are involved and are its builders, such a thing was unprecedented; this event had occurred, and they wanted to crush it, subdue it, and eliminate the Islamic Republic; that was their goal. Until now, the goal remains the same; until now, [under] various pretexts, it arises, but those who oppose the Islamic Republic, are against it, and act hostile, their issue is the "Islamic Republic"; secondary and peripheral issues are of lesser importance; the main issue is this; it was the same that day.

Of course, in this context, a wicked, greedy person far from all human and moral authenticity like Saddam had another goal, which was to not only destroy the Islamic Republic but also to attack and plunder the territorial integrity of the country and seize the oil-rich and wealthy parts of the country and to disintegrate the country; this was also the case, but the other aspects of the issue were not given much importance; their main issue was that. Well, it makes a big difference whether a war occurs for the relocation of a part of the border between two countries or a war occurs to destroy that which constitutes the identity of a nation. Wars occur in the world, which are border wars, for the occupation of territory, but that war which aims to target the identity of a nation, the existence of a country, the achievement of the sacrifices of a nation—which is the Islamic Revolution—differs from those wars; this incident is different from those events. Therefore, what was being defended were these essential and important points; the issue was not just that a part of the border is retreating or advancing and geographical borders are changing; of course, if that were the case, it would be important, but the importance of this is not comparable to that. This is from the angle of what was being defended; the subject of defense.

But the second angle; that is, "who the attackers were"; if we look at the issue from this perspective, the greatness and importance of the Sacred Defense will become clear. Sometimes a country attacks another country—two or three countries, two governments, two powers attack a place—sometimes the whole world attacks one country; this was the case. What I am saying is not an exaggeration; when we say "the whole world," we do not mean, for example, some remote country that has no influence on global affairs; all the prominent powers of that day formed a front and participated in this attack against us, the attack against the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution.

The United States in one way, various European countries in different ways, the Eastern bloc of that day led by the Soviet Union in another way. It was said that the main encourager of the attack on Iran was the Americans—although documents have been published in this regard, [but] I have not researched or seen in this area, but it was said, it was common knowledge that the main encourager of Saddam's attack on Iran was the Americans—then, throughout the war, the most important assistance, which was intelligence assistance, was provided by the Americans. That day was not like today; there were not so many facilities; aerial maps were easily available to the Americans; they continuously mapped our forces' positions and arrangements and provided them to Saddam; it is certain that the Americans provided such assistance; and they provided tactical methods and—according to the common expression of friends who recently use the term "tactical maneuver" instead of tactics—tactical methods to Saddam. Or the Europeans; the French provided the most advanced aerial equipment to Iraq; Mirage fighters, Super Étendard aircraft, Exocet missiles; these were the most advanced equipment of that day that were provided to Saddam.

The Germans provided the means for the production of chemical weapons that caused so many tragedies in Iran and even in Iraq itself, in Halabja and similar places. Now, those who today claim to be the whole world committed such atrocities. The Eastern bloc, the former Soviet Union and the countries in Eastern Europe provided him with all the ground and aerial capabilities he needed; they gave him whatever he needed. [Since] missiles were expensive, they concluded that they would provide him with artillery that could reach Tehran and they did; that is, they equipped his artillery so that it could strike Tehran with minimal cost and create disruption. They did everything they could for him. The Arab countries in our region, the Arab states, provided him with unlimited funds. All the things that he imported and purchased from [European] countries were financed by our Arab friends who provided him with money; they provided both funds and the routes for transportation. This southern border area of the Persian Gulf was constantly a place for the movement of trucks and heavy vehicles that brought in tools and entered Iraq; that is, everyone helped; everyone. These were the attackers; what about us? We had no helpers; even the facilities and armaments that we were willing to pay for were rarely available; a few very minor cases occurred where, with much more than the usual price and with great difficulty, we managed to buy and import something that had no impact on the inequality of the war, which did not reduce this inequality at all; it was not like that.

Well, in such a battle, in such a confrontation, the Iranian nation was able to stand on the platform of victory and show its glory to the world; this is the greatness.

In the third direction, that is, "who the defenders were"; this is also among the exceptional things. Well, there was the army, there was the IRGC, there were the popular mobilization forces in the form of IRGC units; these are somewhat similar to what exists in the world, meaning they are armed units that are present; however, the issue was not just this; the issue was not just this. Yes, the appearance of the defenders, the appearance of the army and the appearance of the IRGC, or in the form of these conventional formations of the world, but the essence was something else; its essence had no resemblance to the military campaigns of the world.

First of all, the commander of this collection—Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)—was a divine man; a unique divine element; who, alongside knowledge, thought, experience, and maturity from various aspects—alongside all of these—had that pure spirit and spiritual clarity; thus, his breath had an impact. [For example, when he said] "Paveh must be saved," I heard from the late Chamran that he said, "As soon as the Imam's message was broadcast on the radio at two o'clock in the afternoon—these people were besieged in Paveh; they were surrounded—suddenly, and as soon as this message was broadcast, [while] no forces had yet arrived, perhaps they had not even moved, we saw that the surroundings opened up."; the breath of this message, the influence of these words [had an effect]; I heard this from Chamran himself; that dear martyr. [Or when he said] "The siege of Abadan must be broken," there is no turning back, it was broken. In various matters, [for example] in the case of Susangerd, and that struggle that existed regarding whether to go and defend or not, the problems that existed, when the Imam's message—through intermediaries—arrived, the issue was resolved. A commander like him [with that] influential word, using spirituality and clarity, with a warm breath.

Then, the religious aspect of the Sacred Defense; the religious aspect. When there is a religious aspect, the result is that this youth moves with the eagerness for martyrdom—read these biographies, these accounts that have been written—with the eagerness for martyrdom and the hope of martyrdom, they set out; they cried to go to the front, hoping to become martyrs; the result of the religious aspect is this. Families, fathers, mothers, spouses were willing for this youth to go to the front, for God. I have repeatedly visited the mothers of martyrs who, for example, had one or two of their children martyred, saying that if we had ten children, we would be willing for them to become martyrs; they were speaking the truth, they were really saying it. Now, in this exhibition here, they showed us cases where [a woman] was the mother of nine martyrs; is this a joke? A mother of nine martyrs, a mother of eight martyrs; is this even conceivable? But this happened. I myself saw a family in Kurdistan where seven members of a family—what comes to my mind now is seven—were martyred. The first time I saw them, both their mother and father were alive; of course, the father has since passed away. Seven martyrs from one family; what else could be the cause of this but the religious factor? The factor of "religion." These were the defenders.

The front lines of our battle were the prayer niches. The fact that at midnight a young man, a commander—or non-commander—of a battalion or a brigade would sit and shed tears, cry, worship, this is not just a few cases; this existed in all parts of this front; at all levels. Where in the world, in which war, in which military conflict did you have such a situation? The eagerness for martyrdom, seeking intercession, attention to the Almighty God, the desire for martyrdom, and the like. Then there was the public presence of the nation; that is, the front line of the war was not just the battlefield, the rear was also the front line. [For example] the place of providing forces; well, in the world, barracks are the places of providing forces; here, there were barracks, mosques, religious gatherings, universities, seminaries, schools, and high schools; the teacher would go to the front, and the children would follow him and go to the front. How many student martyrs do we have, how many student martyrs do we have, how many seminarian martyrs do we have! Our mosques, our pulpits, our speakers, all were at the service of this great movement; that is, a large number of them were at the service of this great movement. These were the defenders.

In various support sectors, families, housewives, and others were also present; in the support of the combatants, washing the bloodied clothes of the combatants—"The Pool of Blood" which was written(4) and I once mentioned(5)—and so on, the entire nation was involved. I do not say that all segments of the nation were involved, but at the level of the general public and various social layers, this movement was present; it was not limited to a group that would leave the barracks to go fight and return. The greatness of an incident can be well understood from this aspect; and so on. In my opinion, in this section, especially in this third section, dozens of explanatory and artistic works can be done; it is not just [about writing] books. Now, of course, I was told here that apparently based on this book "The Pool of Blood," they are making a film; hundreds of attractive artistic works can and should be done, God willing; some work has been done until now, it should be added to.

And as for the achievements; the achievements are not just one or two; now, if one wants to enter this topic of what the achievements of the Sacred Defense were, it would become a multi-volume book. I will only mention two or three points in this regard. First, the territorial integrity of the country was preserved, which is a significant achievement; that is, the whole world gathered behind Saddam to break this border, they tried for eight years, and in the end, not a single inch of this country was lost; this is not an easy thing, it is not a small matter; it is very important. Well, this is now one achievement, but other achievements are even more important.

One achievement was that the Iranian nation discovered the greatness of its capabilities. You can now observe that these ladies and gentlemen who came here to speak constantly say that we should apply and utilize the methods of the imposed war and the Sacred Defense in the management of the country, in the economy, and so on; what does this mean? It means that during the Sacred Defense, the capabilities of the Iranian nation in that area became so apparent that everyone wants to follow and adhere to those programs in all areas of the management of a country and the advancement of a country; that is, the Sacred Defense presented an image to the Iranian nation that the Iranian nation recognized itself. What we had been told throughout history and what had been done to us was contrary to this; during the Qajar era, during the Pahlavi era, we were always indoctrinated that we cannot, we are nobody, we are not capable, and the global powers can erase us from the face of the earth with a gesture; we had been taught this way. We had always been told that we must learn from them, we must follow them, we must ask them. The Sacred Defense showed that no, those very people whose lifeline and hope some are connected to, they all conspire together, come against a nation, and cannot do anything; this was shown to the Iranian nation. That is, we discovered our capacity. We realized that a young man like martyr Hassan Baqeri, for example—now I do not want to mention the living; among the living, we have many like this—rises, comes to the battlefield, and in a short time becomes a strategist; in the common expression, a strategist of defense and war. Is this talent a joke? Where was this talent? Martyr Hassan Baqeri was a young man, a reporter for a newspaper; he wrote articles in the [newspaper] Jomhouri Islami. This talent emerged. We have thousands of such talents; [for example] the talent for construction. Bridging over the wild, raging Shatt al-Arab, and moving several divisions under enemy bombardment across it, is this a small task? Was this a feasible task? The enemy could not believe that such a thing would happen, but it did. This was a capacity, this was a talent; it was hidden, it became apparent. This is one of the important achievements. Now, relying on the works that our youth did during the Sacred Defense, we can confidently say that today our youth can solve all the problems of this country. That which has been said: "In the upheavals, the gems of men are recognized"(6)—in great transformations, the essence of humans is recognized—this [is not] only specific to individuals; the same goes for society; a society can be recognized in hard and heavy events. We did not know ourselves, others did not know us, the world did not know us; in the Sacred Defense, we recognized ourselves, and others recognized us; those who claimed to be the owners of the world understood.

Another achievement of the Sacred Defense is the security of the country; the security of the country. That is, the Sacred Defense made the country relatively safe from potential military aggressions. They kept saying that military action is also on the table, but it did not move from the table; because they knew that if they entered this field, the beginning would be with them, but the end would not be with them; this was shown by the Sacred Defense. This is also one of the achievements. Deep and sincere faiths, strong and resolute determination, the intelligence of Iranian youth, the power of innovation and creativity from military and non-military elements, the capacity to overcome global bullies, these were things that became apparent and visible from our nation and our combatants during this Sacred Defense. Well, the nation also recognized these, and naturally, when we recognized and understood that we have these capabilities, our hope will increase, our enthusiasm will increase, and we will be more inclined to utilize these capabilities. We can also use these in other fields. This is one of the important achievements of the Sacred Defense.

Another achievement in the Sacred Defense was this: the Sacred Defense expanded our borders. I do not mean geographical borders; we were not seeking to expand geographical borders; neither then nor today are we seeking to expand geographical borders; it expanded our other borders. For example, it expanded the border of "resistance"; this is one example. Today, the concept of resistance and the element of resistance is an established element; in Palestine, there is resistance, in the region of West Asia, in various countries, there is resistance, in Iraq, there is resistance, in Iran and in various places, there is resistance; this title of resistance was introduced and promoted by the Sacred Defense and established in many places around the world. Perhaps we ourselves may not easily believe that the actions of the Iranian nation have influenced distant countries; however, it has influenced, we are aware. I do not want to name countries; both in the eastern region [that is] the Asian region, and in Africa, and in Latin America, many of the actions of the Iranian nation became a model for many of them; this is the expansion of borders. Our intellectual and cognitive borders expanded. This is the most important success of a nation that can spread its culture, its knowledge, and its desires in the world; this event largely occurred through the Sacred Defense; this eight years of Sacred Defense performed miracles in this regard.

It expanded the culture of self-reliance. Well, we want to see resistance, which we say, [that is] resistance against whom. Our region, this region of West Asia, for various reasons, is among the areas that the eyes of the power-seekers of the world are fixed on; because of its resources, because of its geographical position, because of being the center of Islam, for various reasons, it has been the focus of the attention of the great powers of the world, and they wanted to intervene; you see now, powers wherever they can, they dig their claws in and intervene; resistance against them. The culture of resistance against the arrogant presence of powers that have no right to be in this region has expanded. The fact that you see the issue of Iran's presence in the region raises the outcry of the United States and some other countries means this: Iran's presence, Iran's intervention; while we have no intervention. Yes, we are present, [but] our presence is spiritual. Others have official bases in many of these countries; we do not have, but we have a spiritual presence. Our spiritual presence is greater than theirs; their outcry is louder; this was given to us by the Sacred Defense.

One of the effects of the Sacred Defense is the growth and strengthening of the thought of resistance within the country itself. My dear ones! More than thirty years have passed since the war; we have had many aggressions, many instigations; in various sectors. Many of them went unnoticed by various segments of the people, but they existed; some of them were also in front of everyone's eyes, which you observed in various years. All these instigations failed against the Iranian nation; why? Because the Iranian nation has institutionalized the culture of resistance within itself. This thirty-some years of institutionalization of the culture of resistance in the country is due to the eight-year resistance of the Sacred Defense. The Sacred Defense has a right to life over our country. Some cast doubt, some raise questions, some distort, some tell outright lies about various issues of the Sacred Defense; against these, those who can clarify must clarify. We must express the greatness of the sacred jihad and the Sacred Defense more and more every day, we must say, we must clarify; this is among our duties.

The ongoing works that are being done—some reports of which have been given—are good, [but] these must be multiplied by a hundred; we have the capacity, we have the people, we have the talent. We can do artistic work, we can make good films, we can write good books, we can create novels reflecting events; we can do it; [but] in these artistic works, we must not forget the goal, we must not lose sight of the goal. Sometimes artistic work is done, and the intention is to help this path, but what happens is not this; this is because during the course, confusion and mental anxiety arise, and the goal is forgotten, lost; you must be careful about this. Many artistic works must be done; everyone in whatever way they can.

This is my statement today regarding the discussion of the Sacred Defense.

However, I want to say a word about the armed forces, which is also relevant to today. Our armed forces worked very hard during the war, they made great efforts, and truly great sacrifices were made in various sectors. I will say a few words about the armed forces.

First of all, the armed forces are among the essential elements of any society; their presence, their existence is among those main elements without which a society cannot stand. That someone like Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) says: "The soldiers are the fortresses of the subjects,"(7) this is said by Amir al-Mu'minin; it is not a joke—"The soldiers are the fortresses of the subjects," meaning the armed forces are security providers. The value of the armed forces must be recognized. The dignity and honor of the armed forces must be considered among the necessary and essential issues. We must regard the respect for the armed forces as a duty upon ourselves. The armed forces are like this: they are security providers. Security is everything. If there is no security, there is no science, there is no economy, there is no family peace of mind, there is no comfort. Security is everything for a country. The armed forces are security providers. The armed forces must be taken care of from various aspects, their presence must be valued, their efforts must be appreciated; whether those who create this security at the borders, or those who create it inside. Some have maintained the borders so that insecurity does not come from outside; some have maintained those who create insecurity inside; these are also valuable. These must be taken into consideration. Well, the enemy relies on this point as well. One of the things that our enemies rely on is to undermine the values of the armed forces, or to undermine the honor and dignity of the armed forces; with various methods they work in these areas; we must be vigilant.

I have a point to address to the armed forces themselves, which I believe is very important; and that is that the logic of power in Islam is not the logic of "superiority." In material systems, yes, power means superiority. Superiority means being above others, considering oneself superior to others, imposing oneself on others, placing oneself on the shoulders of others, humiliating others; [in material systems] this is power; whoever gains power, gains superiority. One of the negative concepts in the Holy Quran is this issue of superiority: "Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land";(8) this is superiority. The logic of power in Islam is not superiority; that is, the more your power increases, the more your abilities—whether your inherent abilities or your legal abilities—rise, the more your humility should increase, your flexibility should increase, your attention to God should increase.

You may have heard the story of Malik al-Ashtar; Malik al-Ashtar, brave, powerful, noble, the commander of the army of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), the powerful hand of Amir al-Mu'minin—Malik al-Ashtar is such a person—was going in Kufa—this incident apparently took place in Kufa—when a young boy or teenager did not recognize him and started mocking him. Now, for example, he must have had a shirt, a turban, in a way that became the subject of ridicule for that boy. He mocked him a little, laughed; he said nothing and went. After he passed and left, someone told that boy, "Did you understand who you mocked?" He said no; he said: "He is Malik al-Ashtar." The boy got scared, he said, "Now that this Malik al-Ashtar I treated like this, what will he do to me or my family?" He said, "What should I do?" He said, "Go apologize to him." The boy followed him to apologize; he saw Malik al-Ashtar went into the mosque and began to pray; this [boy] waited, and when he finished his prayer, he went forward and said, "Sir, forgive me, I did not recognize you, I disrespected you, and please forgive me." Malik al-Ashtar said, "I came to the mosque, I prayed these two rak'ahs to pray for you. After all, someone or a young man who does such a disrespectful act needs prayer, he must be prayed for." [He said:] "I came to pray for you." This is Malik al-Ashtar [is]; see.

The higher your military position and power, the more you should humble yourself, the more you should show mercy. Power does not contradict being kind; power does not contradict kind behavior. You heard this gentleman(9) say that a young boy participates in a sedition, then goes to prison, then is pardoned, then [after prison] comes out. The "Wayfarers of Light" set out, he comes to be among the Wayfarers of Light, not to see the front, but for a tour, and he says, "We are going to take a round, then there the narrator says four words, he sheds tears, he cries, he comes and says this was dishonorable;" meaning he speaks of his own actions. Power does not contradict soft speech; with soft speech, sometimes many successes can be achieved better and more. Of course, in some places, it is necessary for a person to act differently; every place has its own requirements. The armed forces should value their work, appreciate it, give importance to it, and take pride in what they do; the people should also appreciate them.

And all of us should know that as long as we work in the way of God and for God, we move, we speak, God will help us; this is the divine promise: "If you help God, He will help you";(10) "And certainly, God will help those who help Him."(11) If your intention is to support God, undoubtedly the Almighty God will help you; sometimes we understand the way of help, we discern it, sometimes we do not understand, we see that we have been helped, we see that the work has progressed, the work has advanced; this is divine assistance. Let us make our intentions divine. A divine intention does not mean that whenever we want to do an action, we should say, for example, I do this for the pleasure of God; no, the very fact that you show mercy to the people, this is a divine intention; the very fact that you want to serve the country, this is a divine intention; the very fact that you want to create an artistic work that guides four people, this is a divine intention. If we enter with a divine intention, the Almighty God will help us.

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