Statements at the Joint Graduation Ceremony of Armed Forces University Students

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, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I am very pleased and grateful to God that after a relatively long hiatus, I have the opportunity to meet with you dear youth, graduates, and cadets once again this year. The entry of several thousand young people into the armed forces is a good tidings, a promise that is repeated every year. Whether they are graduates of universities who receive their officer ranks and enter service, or those who enter universities and receive their cadet ranks and begin their studies, each brings a new spirit to the armed forces. This influx of youth carries a message of renewal and strength; wherever young people enter, in any organization or institution, they indeed bring the message of strength and renewal to that center. The presence of Iranian youth in all fields is hopeful; in various scientific, economic, political, organizational, military, and other sectors, wherever youth enter, they bring with them tidings of hope, renewal, and innovation.

Today, there exists a misleading propaganda campaign that seeks to promote the opposite; the aim of this propaganda is to suggest that the Iranian youth are disconnected from values, hopeless about the future, and feel no responsibility; this is a narrative that is being pursued vigorously. This is the opposite of reality; it is the exact opposite of the truth in our country. Our young generation has been vibrant in all arenas and fields until today, and God willing, it will continue to be so in the future: whether in defending the homeland, in ensuring security, in supporting the resistance front across the region — in this great and sacred movement of defending the shrine — whether in social services, or in scientific advancements — which you can see, scientific progress in every place is indeed on the shoulders of the youth, and they are the driving force of this movement — whether in all religious ceremonies, such as the Arbaeen pilgrimage — whether millions of Iranian youth who traveled the route from Najaf to Karbala, or millions of youth within the country, in cities, who participated in the Arbaeen pilgrimage as those far from the abode of promise and spirituality — whether in the field of production and innovation, which you see news of every day on television, where our youth are presenting new movements in various sectors of production and industry, whether in combating the pandemic, or in the movement of charitable assistance, or in cultural jihad, or in aid during natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, and the like; wherever you look, you see the vibrant presence of youth. This youth cannot be hopeless; this youth cannot be disconnected from values; this youth is an inexhaustible force in the midst of the front, and of course, revolutionary and faithful youth have been at the forefront in all these matters. This is the state of our youth.

Well, with this perspective, if we observe your presence — you who have gathered in this university of Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba and those in other universities who are listening to this speech — your presence and entry into the armed forces is a great asset; your presence is a great wealth, of course alongside the experience of veterans and the knowledge of commanders.

Strengthening the armed forces is strengthening the country. One of the solid pillars in strengthening the country is the armed forces. Of course, strengthening the country is not solely dependent on the armed forces; there are other solid pillars as well: scientific advancement is the foundation of the country's progress; the public faith of the people and the deep-rooted faith in their hearts is the foundation of national strength; a government that arises from the people and relies on the people is the source of a nation's dignity; all of these exist, but the presence of the armed forces and military power is also an important means of strengthening the country's foundation. These various factors can protect and safeguard the country from harm and enmity. Of course, this applies to all countries, it is not specific to our country; all countries need these tools of strength, but in a country like ours, which faces arrogant and bullying enemies like the United States and others, this is of greater importance; therefore, defensive power must be strengthened.

I have always said this, and I will repeat it again: defensive power must be strengthened. Part of this is from outside the armed forces, and part from within the armed forces; I will address the latter. The officials of the armed forces must adopt new and updated strategies to strengthen the armed forces, among which is the smartening of training and military tools, which, thanks be to God, has begun in our armed forces, but the field of work is still very open. Today, the smartening of all movements of the armed forces, including military tools, weapons, and even munitions, is one of the important issues. Or the advancements in research and science within the armed forces, which strengthen the armed forces. Or the design of complex hybrid warfare games. Today, the wars of the world are hybrid wars. You know; hard warfare, soft warfare, intellectual warfare, cultural warfare, warfare with various weapons, cognitive warfare, and the like together constitute an assault on a nation or a country. War games must be able to address all these layers with new methods, with updated methods, God willing.

Well, what is the main responsibility of the armed forces? Safeguarding national security; this is what you youth, who have just entered this path, should take pride in, should be honored, and should stand tall. The responsibility of the armed forces is the responsibility of the public security of the country. What does "security" mean? Security is the foundation of all aspects of life in a society, it is a public infrastructure; from personal matters to social issues, to public matters, to foreign matters; security is the foundation of all these. In personal matters, the meaning of security is that you can sleep soundly in your home at night, you can send your child to school in the morning without worry, you can go to your workplace without concern, you can go to Friday prayers without anxiety. Look at those countries that do not have this peace of mind at any of these stages; they cannot sleep soundly at night, nor can they go to work during the day, nor can they go to watch sports games, nor can they go to Friday prayers, nor can they travel. It is not specific to small countries; in large countries, the worst is the United States, where there is no security in restaurants, no security in universities, no security in children's schools, no security in stores. "Security" in personal matters means this; it means you can live with a sense of security for yourself, your children, and your family; your work, your business, your travel, your leisure should be accompanied by security.

In broader matters, in universities or scientific centers or research institutes or think tanks; you should be able to sit, think, work, research, study; without security, this is not possible. If there is no security, these advancements would not have been achieved; wherever progress has been made, it has been due to the existence of security; without security, work becomes difficult, hard. As for economic investment; if you want to invest for the economic advancement of the country, it cannot be done without security; transit cannot be done without security, production cannot be done without security; security is the foundation of all these things.

Well, the armed organizations are the providers of this ever-present and ubiquitous need for the country and for the general public; this is no small honor. The army is one way, the IRGC is another, the police organization is another, the Basij is another, each in its own way provides security. Those who attack police stations are attacking the security of the country; those who attack Basij bases are attacking the security of the country; those who criticize the army or the IRGC in statements, speeches, or discussions are insulting the security of the country. Weakening the armed organizations weakens the security of the country. Weakening the police means strengthening criminals. The police are obliged to stand against criminals, to ensure the security of all people. Those who attack the police are, in fact, leaving the people defenseless against criminals, against thugs, against thieves, against extortionists. The great privilege of our country is that the security we have is endogenous security. It makes a difference whether a country, a nation, creates security for itself from within, with its own forces, with its own power, with its own thought, or whether someone from outside comes and says, "I will create security for you, I will protect you"; like someone who guards his own milking cow; there is a big difference. Our security is endogenous. We do not rely on anyone for our security. With God's given strength, by God's grace, with the support of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him), with the support of the nation, and with the steadfastness of the armed forces' officials, we have been able to create and maintain this security. Those who rely on foreign forces will find that the same foreign force will abandon them in times of need; it cannot and does not want to protect and safeguard them. Well, these are some statements regarding the issues of the armed forces; remember these; take pride in them, pursue this movement, consider your work as work in accordance with God's pleasure, and pursue this work for God.

Now, a few words about recent events. The first thing I want to say is that in these recent events, the most injustice was done to the police organization of the country, to the Basij, and to the Iranian nation; they were wronged. Of course, the nation in this incident, like in other incidents, appeared very strong; as always, as in the past; in the future, it will be the same. In the future, wherever the enemies want to create disruption, the one who stands up the most and has the greatest impact is the brave and faithful Iranian nation; they enter the field; and they have entered the field. Yes, the Iranian nation is oppressed but strong; like Amir al-Mu'minin, like the Master of the Pious, their own master Ali (peace be upon him) who was the strongest and the most oppressed.

In this incident that occurred, a young girl passed away; well, it was a bitter incident, our hearts also ached, but the reaction to this incident without any investigation, without any solid matter, was not for a group to come and make the streets unsafe, to create insecurity for the people, to disrupt security, to burn the Quran, to pull the hijab off the heads of veiled women, to set mosques and husseiniyahs on fire, to burn banks, to set people's cars on fire. The reaction to a matter that is now regrettable does not justify such actions; these actions were not ordinary, they were not natural. This unrest was planned; this unrest was premeditated. If the incident of this young girl had not occurred, they would have created another pretext to create insecurity in the country at the beginning of Mehr for the reasons I will mention. Who planned this? I say explicitly that this planning is the work of America, the work of the usurping and fake Zionist regime and their followers; they have sat down and planned.

Their agents and mercenaries, some treacherous Iranians who are outside the country, also helped them.

Some people, whenever we say, "This incident was created by foreign enemies," seem to have a sensitivity to the term "foreign enemy"; as soon as we say, "This work was done by foreigners, by foreign enemies," they immediately stand up to defend the CIA or the Zionists! They bring forth various analyses, various fallacious rhetoric to prove that no, there was no foreign hand in this matter. Many disturbances occur in the world; well, look at Europe, in France, every so often a major disturbance breaks out in the streets of Paris; I ask, does it have a precedent for the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress to support the rioters? Is there a precedent for them to send a message saying, "We are with you"? Is there a precedent for media outlets affiliated with U.S. capitalism and the U.S. government and their mercenaries, unfortunately, some regional governments, including the Saudi government, to rise up to support the rioters? Is there such a thing in any part of the world, in any country? But this happened here; not once, not twice, but many times. Well, how can you not see the foreign hand? How can an intelligent person not feel that behind the scenes of these events, other hands are at work, other policies are at play?

Of course, they falsely express sorrow because someone has passed away; but they lie and are not at all saddened; they are happy, they are joyful because they have found a pretext to create incidents; they lie. Here, the officials of the three branches expressed sorrow, they sympathized with them; well, then specific elements, which I will refer to, kill others without crime, without guilt. The judiciary has promised to pursue the matter to the end; very well, investigation means just that; it means to pursue the matter, to see, to find out whether there is a culprit or not, and who the culprit is. How can you accuse a large, serving organization, insult it for the possibility that one or two individuals may have made a mistake, which is not even certain and has not been investigated? There is no logic behind this statement; this has no other factor than the work of espionage agencies, the work of wicked foreign politicians.

Well, now what is the motivation of foreign governments? What I feel is that their motivation is that they sense the country is progressing towards comprehensive power and they cannot tolerate this; they feel it, they see it. They see that, thanks be to God, some old knots are being untied. Of course, the country has many problems, some of these problems have persisted for years, but there is a serious movement to resolve these problems, to untie these knots. They see the movement towards progress that has gained momentum in the country; this is a reality. In all sectors, one can observe a rapid movement, one can feel it; they also feel it. They do not want this to happen. They see that semi-closed factories are coming back to work, they see that knowledge-based companies are becoming active, they see that advanced productions in some sectors are increasingly showing themselves, they see that work is being done that can neutralize the enemy's only weapon at present, which is sanctions; they observe this. To stop this movement, they have sat down and planned; they have planned for universities, they have planned for the streets; they have planned; the enemy has planned for universities to be closed, for the youth to be distracted, for new issues to arise for the officials of the country; to create issues in the northwest of the country, in the southeast of the country; all of these are distractions; these are actions that are being created and provoked to stop the country's progressive movement. Of course, they are mistaken; both in the northwest and in the southeast, they are mistaken. I have lived among the Baluch people; they are among the deeply loyal ethnic groups to the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic. The Kurdish people are one of the most advanced Iranian ethnic groups; they are fond of their homeland, fond of their Islam, fond of their Islamic system. Their plans will not succeed, but they will spill their venom, they will do their work.

These actions reveal the true nature of our enemies. The enemy that in diplomatic statements says, "We do not intend to attack Iran, we do not intend to change the Islamic Republic, we do not have enmity with you and we agree with the Iranian nation," their true nature is what you observe; their true nature is conspiracy, their true nature is creating unrest, their true nature is destroying the security of the country, their true nature is provoking the emotions of those who may be stirred by excitement and come to the streets; this is their true nature.

They are not only opposed to the Islamic Republic, they are opposed to Iran; America is opposed to a strong Iran, to an independent Iran. All their discussions, all their disputes are not solely about the Islamic Republic; of course, they are deeply and intensely hostile to the Islamic Republic, there is no doubt about that, but even without the Islamic Republic, they are opposed to a strong Iran, to an independent Iran. They liked Iran during the Pahlavi era: a milking cow obedient to their orders, where the king of the country had to consult the British or American ambassador for any decision! How can the Iranian nation tolerate this disgrace? This is what they want; they are opposed to Iran.

Well; we have stated that these bullies are the ones in command. Therefore, the dispute is not about hijab or non-hijab; the dispute is not about the death of a young girl; these are not the issues. Many of those who do not have complete hijab are serious supporters of the Islamic Republic; you see them participating in religious and revolutionary ceremonies; the discussion is not about them. The discussion is about the very essence of independence, steadfastness, and strengthening and empowering Islamic Iran; this is the discussion.

Let me mention one or two points and conclude my remarks. One point is that those who commit corruption and destruction in the streets do not all have the same ruling. Some of them are young people and adolescents who are driven to the streets by the excitement of, say, some internet program; they are emotional, they become emotional and come out. Of course, all of these, in total, are a very small number compared to the Iranian nation and the faithful and proud youth of Islamic Iran; however, among those who are there, some are driven by emotions and excitement to the streets; their problem can be solved with a warning; that is, they can be guided and made to understand that they are making a mistake; but some of them are not like that; some of them are remnants of the beaten elements of the past forty years: the Mojahedin, separatists, remnants of the despised Pahlavi regime, families of the hated SAVAK agents, which the recent statement of the Ministry of Intelligence clarified many of these matters; of course, there are more details. The judiciary must prosecute these individuals according to their participation in the destruction and harm to the security of the streets and determine their punishment.

Another point is that at the very beginning, some of the elites, perhaps out of concern — their hearts ached — issued statements, issued declarations, spoke, made remarks — of course, without investigation — some accused the police organization of the country, some accused the police, some accused the system as a whole; everyone acted in some way. Well, now this account is separate, but after they saw what the matter was, after they understood what happened as a result of their words combined with the enemy's planning, what occurred in the streets and in the public path of the people, they should have compensated for their actions; they should have taken a stand, they should have explicitly declared that they oppose what has happened, they should have made it clear that they oppose the plans of foreign enemies. The essence of the matter has become clear. When you see that a U.S. political figure compares these events to the Berlin Wall, you should understand what the intention is; you should understand that the issue is not concern for a young girl; you should have understood this; if you did not understand, understand it now; if you understood, you should declare your position. This is another point.

Some sports and artistic figures also made statements; in my opinion, this is of no importance; sensitivity should not be placed on this. Our sports community is a healthy community, and our artistic community is also a healthy community. There are many faithful, interested, and honorable elements in this sports and artistic community; now four people may say something; their words have no value. Whether their statements can be classified as criminal or not is up to the judiciary, but from a public perspective, they have no importance or value, and our artistic and sports communities will not be tainted by such actions and enemy-pleasing behaviors.

My final remark is abundant greetings to the martyrs of the police, to the martyrs of the armed forces, to the martyrs of security, to the recent martyrs, and to all the martyrs on the path of truth.

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