The following is the full text of the message delivered on January 29, 2017 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in praise of the firefighters who were martyred in the Plasco building incident. When a fire broke out in the aforementioned building, firefighters rushed into the building to extinguish the fire, but the collapse of the building resulted in them being trapped under the debris and being martyred.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Now, after bitter nights and days of worry and searching, it is time to commemorate the glorious and heartrending self-sacrifice of the pious and courageous firefighters of the Iranian people. Everyone should know the men who truly have the right to be described as self-effacing and sincere heroes and everyone should keep in mind the lesson that they taught.
In order to rescue the lives and property of their countrymen, these honorable heroes ventured into the fire and rubble with astonishing courage and they risked, and then sacrificed, their own lives.
Once more, they revived the memories of the sacrifices made during the Sacred Defense Era and they showed that pious Iranians are the embodiment of firm determination and exemplary courage when it comes to risk-taking for the sake of fulfilling one’s responsibility and that they are prepared to sacrifice the commodity of their lives in the way of God – without excuses and hesitation.
The bereaved families and all the people of Iran should be proud of this determination and courage which originate from faith, and experts should consider this phenomenon in their analyses and calculations about Iran and pious Iranians.
In one way this incident is tragic, yet in another way, it is a source of pride and those individuals are the martyrs of the path of difficult services and hazardous responsibilities and they will never be forgotten, God willing.
I share in the bereavement of the families and relatives of those dear ones and other deceased individuals in the Plasco incident and I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow His mercy on those martyrs and to give patience and recompense to their families.
I also thank the organizations and individuals who, with all their power, shouldered a heavy mountain of work, effort, determination and worry in the past ten, bitter days and nights in order to save the lives of the firefighters and the casualties, and who accomplished a great task with cooperation and sincerity and I ask God to bestow rewards on them.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
January 29, 2017
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