In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you dear youth who have achieved these accomplishments at a young age. I would like to extend my congratulations both to the graduates of this prestigious university and to the youth who received their epaulettes today and will start their training officially. I pray to Allah the Exalted to bestow success on you.
Today's ceremony was beautiful, impressive and significant. Of course this is what is expected of the dear cadets and those who have been put to the test in the battlefields of jihad in the way of God. I hope God will increase your accomplishments on a daily basis.
The Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps was established in the most sensitive and complex conditions in the history of this country, and it was not easy to establish it. This holy organization has been entrusted with difficult responsibilities since its establishment. During the early days, the assets of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps were nothing but faith, motivation and revolutionary enthusiasm. Of course the young members had different qualifications. They were from universities and military centers, and they had qualifications. But they completely lacked experience and were not at all equipped for that difficult arena. Their valuable assets were their faith, their revolutionary enthusiasm, their preparedness for selfless efforts and their willingness to lay down their lives for their goals. And they were successful. Shortly after it had been established, the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps had to engage in serious confrontations. The faithful and young members were faced with real battlefields in different parts of the country and in Tehran. The first war games of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps were real battles. They really had to lay down their lives and enter the battlefields, and this was what they did.
Thanks to the revolutionary enthusiasm, all the other requirements were achieved later on. They gained experience. The spirit of innovation started to develop. They learnt whatever they needed. There was enthusiasm for knowledge. They learnt whatever they needed to learn. They used their innovation to develop whatever they needed for their spiritual and material battle, and they had a brilliant performance in the battlefields. They were successful both in the battle against the aggressive enemy and in revolutionary jihad in the highly confusing context of our society at that time.
Dear youth, the sincere and devoted men who created the foundations of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps were like this. Thanks to the presence of such men, the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps managed to establish and consolidate its roots as an active and innovative organization capable of training the workforce required by other organizations. During the past 32 years, thanks to the firm foundations that had been built by faithful men, the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps was present in different arenas. It had a brilliant performance and played a significant role in the revolutionary and progressive movement of our society. Of course certain members of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps were martyred, and many others stayed alive and continued playing their role. However, our national issues and our need for innovative, enthusiastic and insightful manpower are increasing on a daily basis. The foundation of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps, which is being renovated on a daily basis, should be formed in such academies and such training centers in interaction with different events. Today you are the foundation of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps. You are the future of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps. You are the auspicious foundation that will support this firm structure in the future after facing different trials. Prepare yourselves for this important and difficult mission.
If the foundations of an organization are not firm and healthy, the structure which will be built on those foundations will not be reliable. The reliable structure of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps was formed during these years thanks to the faith and selfless efforts of the men who built the foundation of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps. Allah the Exalted helped them in this process, and battlefields of the Sacred Defense Era put them to the test. The presence of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) and his blessed words were the beacon of guidance. Therefore, they managed to accomplish this mission in an appropriate way. And today you should prepare yourselves to build that future.
I would like to tell you that with the progress of our society, with the advancement of science and technology in the world and with the natural evolution of man the duty that you should carry out today has grown far more important and complex and much more subtle than the duty that your predecessors had to carry out 30 years ago, and you need to be more careful, more capable and more innovative in order to carry out your duty. Just as our Revolution and the government that was born of it are far more advanced compared to 30 years ago, so the men in charge of this government and the selfless and innovative people who work for this government should be equally sophisticated. They should be far more knowledgeable, far more pure-hearted, far more courageous and far more insightful than our glorious past. And this is how they are.
I would like to tell you that today our faithful and insightful youth are more sophisticated than the youth of the early revolutionary era because of the experience that our nation has gained during its historic movement. During the early years of the Revolution, those who laid down their lives for the Revolution used to rely on their faith in a bright future, but today's youth have already achieved the future that the youth of the early years of the Revolution were striving towards.
Allah the Exalted kept His promise to our nation. Allah the Exalted has promised to help us if we make efforts in a faithful way. "If Allah assists you, then there is none that can overcome you." [The Holy Quran, 3: 160] When God helps you, no power will be capable of overcoming you. This is a divine promise. Today our nation and our youth can clearly see that this promise has been fulfilled.
The dominant military, financial, propaganda and political empire - namely, the Great Satan, America - made use of all its facilities against the Islamic Republic and the Revolution, and it was sure that it would manage to bring the Revolution to its knees. Take a look at the world and see what has happened today after the passage of 30 years. It is the Americans who have been brought to their knees. The extremely sensitive and important Middle East policy of America has failed completely. Everybody can see this, and everybody acknowledges this fact. They were defeated in Palestine. They lost their mercenaries and close allies. One day they had only lost the satanic and corrupt Pahlavi regime, but today they have lost or are losing other regimes. Therefore, their situation is precarious. Today America has been isolated in the western part of Asia - in North Africa and in the Middle East. Today Islam is alive in these areas. Today the youth enter the arena with Islamic slogans. Thirty or forty years ago, if somebody wanted to speak about nationalistic and revolutionary sentiments in North African countries, he had to resort to leftist slogans. Today such things have been thrown away. Such slogans have been thrown into the trash can. Today Islam and the Quran are very common and play a determining role. Is this a small achievement? The same thing happened when the Islamic Revolution achieved victory and the Islamic Republic raised the flag of Islam and the Quran in the region: they started to shake with fear. They thought a similar event would take place, so they tried to prevent it. But this has happened today despite their will. Today our youth can see this for themselves.
When the mother of Moses cast him into the river, Allah the Exalted made two promises to her. God said, "Suckle him and when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve." [The Holy Quran, 28: 7] God promised to return Moses to his mother and to appoint him a prophet. After a short period of time, the child was returned to his mother. God says, "So We gave him back to his mother so that her eye might be refreshed and that she might not grieve and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true." [The Holy Quran, 28: 13] God had made two promises: one was to return Moses to his mother. So God told the mother of Moses, "Know that the promise of Allah is true." God told her that Moses was the prophet who would come and overthrow the Pharaoh. Allah the Exalted fulfilled His first promise to the mother of Moses in a short time so that she would have faith in the fulfillment of the second promise.
The promise that Allah the Exalted has fulfilled in the case of the Iranian nation is far more important than the promise He fulfilled in the case of the mother of Moses. Who would have thought the Palestinian youth would be courageous enough to unite, shout slogans and attack the brutal and oppressive Zionist forces in the name of Islam? This has already happened. Two weeks ago on Nakba Day, the Palestinian youth broke through the borders of Israel for the first time in sixty years. These are examples of "the promise of Allah is true." This shows the truth of the divine promise: "That He might cause it to prevail over all religions." [The Holy Quran, 9: 33] Allah the Exalted will cause this prophetic mission to prevail over all intellectual and religious products of the world. Allah the Exalted is fulfilling this promise. The only condition is that as pioneering soldiers of this movement in the contemporary era, you and I must remain steadfast and take care not to be distracted.
The great and unpardonable sin of those who looked back or catered to their passions and their thirst for power during the great revolutionary movement of the Iranian nation, the great sin of those who forgot why the nation had carried out a Revolution and those who forgot the meaning of the movement is that they failed to remain steadfast. Of course our nation did not follow them and it never will. But all of us must be cautious. Nobody should give up in the course of this great, accelerated and progressive movement during which Allah the Exalted has shown us the signs of victory one after the other.
Dear youth, you are among the prominent people who are involved in this pioneering movement. You should prepare yourselves. You need knowledge, so try to acquire it. You need self-purification, so try to purify your soul. If we fail to purify our soul, alluring manifestations of the material world will keep us busy. When those who are treading a path forget the goals, when rest stops prevent travelers from moving towards their destination, a great danger would threaten them. Be careful. Knowledge, self-purification, experience and discipline in military environments are very important. The effect of discipline that is rooted in spiritual motives would definitely be more than imposed and superficial kinds of discipline. Fortunately different organizations affiliated to our Armed Forces - the Army, the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps, the Police Force, the Basij - enjoy this spiritual asset today. Today young members of our Armed Forces think about the significance of things, and this is a great opportunity that promises a bright future.
Dear God, make these honorable youth genuine soldiers of Islam and the Holy Quran. Dear God, make them successful in continuing this path and make them benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (a.s.).
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings