In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and upon his Pure Progeny, particularly the vestige of God remaining on earth.
This meeting is one of the best, most necessary, and God willing, one of the most beneficial meetings that has been held in this Hussainiyah, which bears the name of our magnanimous Imam [Khomeini]. Honoring our veterans is everyone’s duty.
Forerunners in any field are respected and honored for those interested in that field. The Sacred Defense – that exciting, eventful, meaningful, beneficial era – is one of the events that has had an effect on our past, present, and will continue to affect the future. Therefore, the veterans who participated in this event, in this important event, should definitely be given our attention and respect.
I would like to express my respect to the dear veterans who served in the Sacred Defense, whether they are present here today or listening to me from other cities, and also the tens of thousands of other veterans who are not present in today’s meeting.
In fact, veterans are examples of “the foremost are the foremost” (Quran 56:10). They are examples of, “And the foremost are the first” (Quran 9:100). This means that those who recognized and understood what was needed before anyone else rushed to fulfill that need. And they did this in difficult fields for that matter, such as on the battlefields, the field of struggle on the path of God, and in the field of sacrifice. They are the ones [who are the foremost]. Therefore, we all have a duty to honor and respect them.
Well, over 30 years have passed since the Sacred Defense. Actually, it is possible to summarize what happened from afar. We’re not able to see the dimensions of an event properly when we’re in the middle of it. So, when you were busy working hard in the middle of the Sacred Defense, you definitely could not see the dimensions of this event in the same way that you can see them today. You weren’t able to observe its characteristics, its width and length, its depth, or its effects. But you can see these today.
Today, you can see the Sacred Defense as it happened. I believe that as time passes, if the things that Major General Baqeri mentioned here are carried out and attention is given to outcomes, this knowledge and awareness will be increased even further, and more people will come to know about the Sacred Defense.
Naturally, in our history, this period will be recognized as a bright, influential period. This work is necessary and must be carried out. In the past, I’ve talked in detail about the work that needs to be done in the field of the Sacred Defense – about the narration of this important event. I will say a few words about this today as well as at the end of my talk. But it should be noted that this issue is a fundamental issue.
You know a lot about the Sacred Defense, but the young generation does not. The new generation doesn’t know about many of the issues related to the Sacred Defense. What I want to say is this that we need to do something so that today’s generation can get to know, observe, and understand that event in the same way that you knew the events while you were in the midst of it. This is the expectation that I have of myself and of others in this field.
Well, I would like to now share some facts about the Sacred Defense, and my goal is for our young people to hear these words. I want our teenagers to hear about this. I am in contact with the youth to some extent. Sometimes they ask a question or say something, and I notice that they’re not aware of many things. They really don’t have much information about these things. I want these facts, the facts about the Sacred Defense, to reach them. Since the duration of this meeting is limited, I will only say a few words here.
Most of what needs to be done is up to the trustees in this matter, some of whom are present in this meeting. The facts that we pay attention to regarding the war and the Sacred Defense, which we have mentioned many times, are no longer just claims. For example, there was a time when we asserted that all the world powers were fighting us.
Our war was an international war, that’s what we used to say, with the east, the west, NATO, others. Well, that was what we used to assert. Some people used to say these are just some claims you are making. But now today they are saying these things themselves. They’re publishing the documents themselves, and people can see the evidence and their confessions. [Therefore], that which we used to say and assert is being proven. The facts that we are presenting are of this sort.
Yes, Saddam launched the attack. He was obsessed with power. But there was global arrogance behind Saddam, mainly the west. And on the other side, there was the Soviet regime and the eastern countries that were under the influence of the former Soviet Union. They were [also] backing Saddam. They encouraged him to do it, although he himself was seeking power. He was ready for this kind of thing, they also encouraged him and showed him the green light, as they say. They promised to support him, and they did support him. That is, they fulfilled the promise they had given to Saddam. So Saddam and the Iraqi Ba’ath [regime] weren’t the only side we were facing in the war. We were also facing global arrogance and imperialism.
One fact that I would like to emphasize is that the military attack on the country following the Revolution was not unexpected. Their attack on the revolutionary system was something natural. Why? Because they were enraged that the Revolution had taken place. This was their reaction to this great Revolution. This Revolution did things and perhaps even we weren’t aware of its dimensions.
Back then, they understood the impact this Revolution had on the world more than we did. The issue wasn’t just that Iran’s Islamic Revolution would be a temporary political defeat for the US, for the arrogant powers, and for global imperialism. It wasn’t just that. This Revolution was a threat to the system of global imperialism.
Now, considering the age of most of you, you probably did not witness the events that took place in those days in the documents and media of that time, but this was the truth of the matter. Back then, governments and nations in the world were either dependent on this faction or that faction. Of course, there were different kinds of affiliations, but it was dependence in general. In other words, if someone was relying on the western system, they could utter a few words against the eastern system based on their reliance on the western system and vice-versa.
Seeing a nation standing up independently in facing this system of imperialism, speaking its own words, and delivering a new message, this was something they definitely could not tolerate. They couldn’t bear the sight of a nation that didn’t fear the US and the military, political and economic power that was ruling the world at the time. A political system had been established in Iran. This was a place that had been the point of hope, reliance, and greed of one of the two powers, the US.
I don’t know whether you have seen or have the time to read these books and writings. The view that the west and the US, especially the western powers – the US and some European countries – had about Iran then, was a view that was completely accompanied by assurance and confidence of their domination. They thought they could use the abundant resources available here without any fear or worry.
In such a place, suddenly a revolution takes place. A personality like the magnanimous Imam [Khomeini] rises up, moves the nation, lines up the people, and a nation of over 30 million people stands up with all its might. This was unbearable for them. Therefore, they had to seek revenge, they had to take revenge, they had to strike back, and they did strike but to no avail.
They launched a coup d’état, an airstrike on Tabas, and they kept provoking the Iranian people. They did many of these things, [but] they didn’t get anywhere. [So] a military war had to be imposed. And naturally, a military war needed to be launched by a neighboring country. A full-scale military war had to be carried out by a neighbor.
They found this neighbor quite easily, a lunatic with whom they had a history. They pushed him, they provoked him, and he took action. So this military move was not something that was unexpected. It wasn’t surprising they did this, it had to happen given the usual rules [of the game].
When we would sit down and talk with our military officials - I was in the Defense Ministry then, I was there a lot - they of course had some guesses, but the revolutionaries really didn’t believe they would conduct such a serious attack. Yes, there were clashes on the border, but we really couldn’t believe there would be an all-out attack like that.
However, those who were more experienced than us, we who were inexperienced at that time, those who had more experience than us, they knew something like that would happen. Ahmed Sekou Toure, the former president of Guinea, was one of the prominent political personalities in Africa. He was an independent person, and he visited Iran several times. It was during the beginning of my presidency that he came with a delegation to ask us to agree to a ceasefire with Iraq. It had only been a year or so since the war had started. They had come to negotiate a truce.
He told me privately, that we should know that this war – this is a summary of his words – this war was bound to happen to you. Because if they can’t topple a revolution, if they can’t bring a revolutionary nation to its knees, ultimately there will be such a war. A war like this will definitely be imposed and he referred to some other examples.
And this is what the arrogant powers do. He was an older man, an older man was telling me this at that time. He said that “imperialism” – he called it “imperialism”, we call it “arrogance” – wouldn’t give up. It would keep on and impose such a war.
Well, this is a fact. Now some people started a propaganda campaign saying, “Why did you go to war with Iraq?” They act as though we were the ones who marched toward Iraq to conquer it! It wasn’t anything like that. Or they ask, “Why did you continue the war after Khorramshahr was liberated? You should have stopped fighting.”
Well, fortunately – fortunately in a sense – a bitter event took place in the final attack of the war after we accepted after Imam [Khomeini] accepted the U.N. Resolution. As the President of the time, I announced this to the United Nations.
After that, Iraq attacked us. After we accepted Resolution 598, Iraq that had retreated to almost behind the borders - it had left Khuzestan and all the occupied areas – came inside the country again and advanced to one of the most important, sensitive areas that were known as the Hamid Garrison. Our forces went there from all over the country, attacked the invaders, and drove them out of the country. It was after this that Operation Mersad started in the west of the country.
They think that after the event in Khorramshahr, everything would have been over if we had just sat around and done nothing. It wouldn’t have finished. It would have been just the beginning.
The day that Khorramshahr was taken back in Operation Beit al-Moqaddas, an important part of our territories was still under the feet of the enemy’s army. So talking illogically and irresponsibly is one of the problems that really exists. We didn’t want to start a war. We didn’t want to attack. We didn’t want the war to [continue]. No, it was a matter of the enemy’s strategic policy and global imperialism. It was about imperialism. That’s what it was all about. They wanted to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. That’s what they were pursuing. They wanted to destroy the system of the Islamic Republic – the system that had stood up to them. That’s what they wanted. That’s what they were trying to do. One of the most important facts of the Sacred Defense is to know who we were dealing with at that time, what their motive was, and why they attacked. This is one of the important issues that I have mentioned. So, this is the first fact.
The second fact, which is also a very important truth, is that these three elements of the Revolution’s power allowed this threat to turn into an opportunity. These elements included the immense moral authority of the Revolution, the enthusiastic power of the Revolution, and the leadership of Imam [Khomeini]. The leadership of the Imam was a very important, effective element, and it was the outstanding characteristic of the Iranian nation. I may speak briefly about this further on, time permitting.
War is a bitter event. It is a definite threat. But the eruption of the Revolution, the power of the Revolution, the leadership of the Imam, and the characteristics of the Iranian nation were able to transform this great threat into a great opportunity. This is one of the exciting chapters of the Sacred Defense. Much work needs to be done in this field. A lot of work.
The opportunities that arose for the country as a result of the Sacred Defense are unknown to most people. Some things happened and I will make a brief reference to some of these, but what I’m telling you is not the whole story. It’s much more than this.
Well, let’s see what the goals of the war were. Why were we attacked? Why did Saddam attack us? His goal in the first stage was to divide the country and separate an important part of the country, Khuzestan. The goal was to separate this region first, but the people of Khuzestan and the Arabs of Khuzestan displayed one of the best defenses, in spite of the enemy.
Yes, many people rushed to Khuzestan from all over the country, but in Khuzestan itself, there were people who were struggling on the path of God and fought like Martyr Ali Hashemi who was from Ahvaz. He was an Ahvazi Arab. He was one of the top, prominent figures in the defense. So that’s how the people of Khuzestan took action in confronting the enemy. This was the goal in the initial stage.
But the next stage, as I have already mentioned, was to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. They wanted to overthrow the Islamic Republic. They wanted to change the fate of Iran. That was their goal. They wanted to change the fate that was being established by the Revolution. They wanted to change the fate of Iran. That was their goal. They wanted to stifle the voice of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation had a new message. It offered new ideas to the world. The Islamic Republic is something new. Religious democracy is something new. It is a new arrangement for living. It’s a new way of life for nations. They didn’t want this message to reach the people. It’s a message of resistance. It’s a message to stand firmly. The message is to not submit to aggression. The message is to fight oppression and to fight international discrimination. They wanted to stifle this message. This was the goal.
Well, this nation was able to put an end to a regime that was corrupt and dependent on others. Furthermore, it was able to humiliate a great power like the US. They wanted to do this so that other nations would learn from this and understand what would happen if someone revolted against the US or did something. They would be suppressed in the same manner that the Iranian nation was suppressed. They wanted other nations to know this. They wanted to put an end to resistance. That was their goal. That was their ultimate, fundamental goal.
So, what was the Iranian nation’s response? The Iranian nation thwarted all these goals and pulled itself up. The exact opposite of what they had wanted to happen, occurred. That’s why I said it was a very exciting chapter. The nation accomplished the exact opposite of what the [the enemy] was seeking, wishing for, and had spent so much money on.
First, as I mentioned, in the areas that they were aiming to separate from the country, the people of these areas stood against them with full determination. They didn’t give in to the tempting words about them being Arab and sharing the same language. They stood firmly. I myself met an Arab family in a village around Ahvaz. When the Ba’athists left the area and we entered it, it was as though they were celebrating. That’s how happy they were.
They were an Arab family who didn’t even speak Farsi. I saw this with my own eyes. They didn’t join the enemy, nor did they follow them. They stood up against them and fought, and some were martyred. The temptations of those who were continuously luring and tempting these people failed to weaken them. They also had people working for them inside Iran. But none of them were able to achieve the goal they were pursuing.
Second, the Sacred Defense became a field for manifesting the religious beliefs and moral virtues of the people of Iran. Every nation has some virtues that come from its historical, cultural, or geographical background. Whatever nation it is, nations have virtues that sometimes are not manifested. They don’t have the opportunity to be manifested.
The Sacred Defense became a field for the manifestation of the Iranian nation’s greatest virtues - these sacrifices, these endeavors, these beliefs. Who could have believed such a thing? Who could have imagined? Families from all across the country willingly sent their children to the battlefields of the Sacred Defense. They knew they might die, but those devoted parents and selfless spouses sent them off willingly. The entire country became the frontline of the defense.
The frontlines were at the southern and western borders of the country, but the entire country became the frontline of the defense. There were those who fought in the war, those who supported the troops, those who helped with their ideas, those who encouraged, those who helped them with their words, and those who clarified the religious basis of the war. All of these people supported the troops.
These are prominent virtues of the Iranian nation. They appeared and showed themselves. The support and gifts from the people, from cities and villages, mosques and universities, all came together to help the war, to help the defense, and to help the Revolution. This is how the nation’s virtues were shown.
Another accomplishment was the unity of the nation. Those of you who remember, know that there were disagreements at the highest political levels of the country. This was one of the problems we faced at the beginning of the war. The disagreements between the President and the Prime Minister because of the President’s wrong behavior had separated people into two opposing groups. This had even caused splits, divisions, and conflicts inside families.
Factions also created divisions amongst the people for their own benefit. They would divide the people into opposing groups. The Sacred Defense caused people to come together as one. The Sacred Defense united people. The entire country stood in unity in the Sacred Defense. Of course, there are always exceptions, but the people as a whole were united and turned to help and support the Sacred Defense.
Another accomplishment, and another example of turning threats into opportunities, was the country’s military power and authority. When the war started, we weren’t in a good position militarily. The army had been hurt. It had been hurt before the Revolution, it was hurt during the Revolution, and it was hurt after it. The Revolutionary Guards hadn’t yet gained enough stability and strength.
On the one hand, the Sacred Defense was able to test the loyalty of the Islamic Republic’s Army to the sacred Islamic system, which in turn brought out its capabilities. And outstanding personalities in it did great things.
On the other hand, the Revolutionary Guards arose as a shining reality. If it wasn’t for the Sacred Defense, it is possible that the body of the Revolutionary Guards wouldn’t have even remained, like the fate of the Komitehs [police force established during the Revolution]]. It was the Sacred Defense that helped the Revolutionary Guards to grow with such order, with such discipline, and with such insightfulness.
The popularity of the Armed Forces increased. When the people of a country like their Armed Forces and respect them, people feel safe in that country. When people trust the Army and the Revolutionary Guards, it creates a sense of safety amongst the people. This sense of safety is very important, and it came about. The Sacred Defense gave the people a sense of safety.
Of course, now that the officials from the Army and the IRGC are here, I should mention that this respect and admiration lasts as long as the Armed Forces maintain their progress with the same momentum that they have until now. They must not fall behind the enemy. We’ve progressed very well so far. Our forces in different sectors and in different organizations have made very good progress. What I’m saying is that the way I see it, we have made good progress in this field, but we should always remember the risk of stopping. Stopping is dangerous and can happen at any time.
Stopping means moving backward. It doesn’t mean staying in one spot. When you stop for one moment, you’ve moved backward, because the enemy is moving forward. Both the military officials and the country’s officials should pay attention to this. The administration and the parliament should know that supporting the Armed Forces is mandatory.
Fortunately, our country has reached the stage of deterrence today. This means our military capacity and the security that it brings has reached a point where the country is deterring foreign threats and it is not worried. It feels powerful and others know this, the opposition and the enemies know this. This is something to consider.
I will point out one more thing regarding the Armed Forces. Although most of you were there and know this well, but this is for the younger generation who didn’t see the war themselves. Sometimes we hear things like people saying it was the human wave attacks of the youth who helped us advance in the war. But it wasn’t like that. Throughout the entire eight years of military activities, reason and wisdom were quite noticeable.
In General Baqeri’s report, it was stated that some of these methods, strategies, and tactics that were used in the Sacred Defense were innovative and they are going to be included in textbooks as well. The fact is that when we look at the strategies used in Operation Fath al-Mubin, for example, we can see that this is something that can be taught, and it can be shown to the world. Designing such a strategy was not a small accomplishment, let alone carrying it out. The design alone was significant.
Or consider Operation Beit al-Muqaddas where the enemy was to the west of us and they had occupied the southern areas of Ahvaz, that great desert and the region there. One would expect us to go from the north to the south to face them. That’s what would typically happen in such a case. But the strategists in the main operational headquarters and in the main camps came up with a new way:
Instead of going from the north to face them, they went from the east toward the west, cut off the Karun River, and surrounded the enemy. When the enemy felt they were under such an attack, a large number of them left the area due to their fear of being surrounded. This is using reason and wisdom. These aren’t things that can be easily ignored. These are very important matters - reason and wisdom.
We can see such things in many of the areas where we carried out operations. This happened in our western borders and many times in our southern borders. It also happened in Operation Valfajr 8 and crossing the Arvand River, in Operation Karbala 5, in the very important Operation Khaybar, and in other such operations. The events that took place in these operations and the strategies designed for these operations were one of a kind. Wise thinking was involved. This is another point.
Another example of turning threats into opportunities is the way that the Sacred Defense proved a principle to the Iranian nation. That principle is that protecting the country and safeguarding it from the enemy’s invasions is achieved through resistance, not through surrender. This is a principle.
Even back in those days, there were people who believed we should surrender, but in different forms. Sometimes they wouldn’t directly call it surrender, but the truth and meaning of it was surrender. Imam [Khomeini] stood firmly against it in different stages and sectors. During the entire Sacred Defense, the Iranian nation realized that victory, progress, the retreat of the enemy, and safeguarding the country comes through resistance, not through surrender. We’ve understood this. The Iranian nation has achieved this. This is a principle for us.
We have used and continue to use this principle in many different political, economic, and cultural issues. The country’s stance on many of these issues and topics is resistance, action, and progress. It is not surrendering and retreating.
This feeling that we need to resist led to the emergence of trust and self-confidence within our country. That is, within our country’s politicians, our activists, and our cultural activists it created a feeling of confidence in them in various events and issues that can happen for a country. It also taught the enemy to take Iran’s internal power into account in their calculations. Fortunately, we were able to overcome a number of the enemy’s important plans with this spirit.
Our political forces and our military forces have been able to defeat the enemy in many places. The enemy imposed maximum pressure, but they failed. The enemy brought the “New Middle East Plan” to the scene, but they failed. The enemy started attacking our borders from the air and the sea, but they failed. [Our forces] shot down their aircraft and seized their transgressing sea vessels. This is what national self-confidence means. This arises from the principle that was learned in the Sacred Defense that resistance is the way to safeguarding the country.
Now there is a lot to discuss in these fields, [but] there is not enough time, nor is it necessary to speak further about this at the time being. However, one of the important points that I insist on repeating in this context is a correct narration of the war, which I have emphasized many times. The activities that have been done so far have been good. That is, good activities have been carried out.
I told the friends outside [of the Hussainiyah] when I was viewing the exhibition that everything that has happened so far is the infrastructure. It’s an infrastructure that can be used for cultural activities, intellectual activities, political activities, and historical activities. But these activities are necessary, and the outcome of these activities should be observed. You should feel satisfied only when the high school teenagers and young college students look at the Sacred Defense in the same way that you see it and when they have the same perception as you have of the Sacred Defense and the events that took place after it.
If this happens, success in the future in various fields is certain. We have already seen this and the effects they have had in various cases when there have been correct narrations. Those young men who went to defend the holy sanctuaries [in Iraq and Syria] and were martyred were people who were born years after the end of the war.
We should understand the important events regarding the prominent martyrs of this defense. For example, there was a young man like Martyr [Mohsen] Hojaji, a young man from Dorcheh [Martyr Abolfazl Alijani], and others who went there, fought, and strived with such bravery and courage until they were martyred, similar to the Sacred Defense.
Of course, the enemy attempts to narrate these events opposite to the way they really happened. The enemy denies the highs and peaks. If there is a low point somewhere, they enlarge that. Without a doubt, this is what the enemy does.
They are working in the areas of culture, propaganda, and media very seriously and extensively. They are trying to make arrogance seem appealing and magnificent in the eyes of the young people through the use of the media and propaganda. They show their fake grandeur and hide the bitterness and their darkness. And on the other hand, they hide the greatness, importance, and blessing of the Sacred Defense and the issues related to it. They want people to fear them.
When the fake grandeur of the enemy appeals to the people of other countries, like our country [in the past], and when the enemy’s false glory and magnificence appeals to them in the field of politics, it results in fearing the enemy. In cultural issues, it results in submissiveness and humiliation before the enemy. That’s why [correct] narration is very important.
False, distorted narrations and lies about the Sacred Defense should be responded to, and the same goes for the false narrations about the Revolution. They’re busy working on this now. I’ve seen some of the books written by the Zionists, the Americans, and the Europeans. They use lies to make movies and write books to show a dark spot in the Revolution, the movement of the Iranian nation, and the pillars of the Revolution. Work should be done to confront these. Those who are working, are thinking, and are in the arts should work in this area.
In any case, there is still much to talk about in this field. I hope God will give you success in accomplishing what each of us is responsible for doing. And once again, I express my respect and devotion to the veterans, the commanders, and those who were truly of the foremost, the first.
And I hope that the Almighty God will raise the position of the late Imam [Khomeini] (ra) who paved this way for all of us and also the pure souls of the martyrs. And I pray that God will make them pleased with us.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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