In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
One can easily smell the scent of martyrdom - which is in fact a heavenly scent in our material life - in this friendly meeting that is full of love and spirituality. First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of the dear brothers and sisters as well as the families of martyrs who have gathered in this meeting today. You gave me the opportunity to be among the honorable families of martyrs and benefit from the spiritual atmosphere you created. In particular, I would like to thank the martyrs' children who read out the beautiful poetry and prose they had composed and the dear adolescents who sang that song.
On all my trips, I have had the honor of meeting the families of our martyrs. I always feel the spiritual atmosphere in all provinces and cities in which such gatherings are formed. However, I would like to point out that the martyrs of Kurdistan and their families enjoy some qualities that are rarely observed in other provinces. One such quality is that the martyrs of this province were oppressed more and their families exercised more endurance. Why? That was because the agents of the enemies of the Revolution and Iran made conditions very bad for the families of martyrs. They made life very difficult for the fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of our martyrs, and that was at times more difficult than being martyred.
The counter-revolutionary individuals who wanted to give rise to a civil war and fratricide in Kurdistan did not limit themselves to the violent massacre of the best youth of this province. They used to exert pressure on their families for a relatively long time as well. In other provinces, the families of martyrs were only bereaved by the loss of their dear ones. Therefore, they could hold up their heads and be proud of their martyred family members in the warm and enthusiastic atmosphere that was prevalent in those provinces. However, I was informed that in Kurdistan, the enemies of this province and this country used to exert pressure on the families of the martyrs. They used to cause physical, psychological, and security problems for these families. Of course their measures proved ineffective and made them more disgraced in the eyes of the people of Kurdistan. Although the people of Kurdistan are rightfully famous for their compassion, hospitality, and kindness, they are famous for their bravery and audacity as well. As a result, the enemies of this nation could not overwhelm the families of our martyrs here.
On my previous trip to Sanandaj, I met the father of a family who had lost six of his children in the imposed war. I have rarely seen such cases in other parts of the country. He had suffered the loss of 6 children. Three of them had been martyred on the battlefields, and the rest had been martyred when the Iraqi regime bombed our towns. Six of his dear children had been martyred, but the man was so steadfast and strong that I felt small before his greatness. I was witness to that in Kurdistan. Today I met two of that great man's children here. I asked about their father, but they said he had passed away.
Some families suffered the loss of two or three members. Some women lost their husband as well as their children. But they did not give in to the enemies' political and psychological pressure. They did not give up when they were under pressure. That is really impressive. I was witness to that in Kurdistan.
Your dear youth fought counter-revolutionary individuals as well as Saddam's Ba'ath Party. Those youth resisted and fought on both fronts against the two enemies - of course both enemies shared the same roots. During Operation Fav, Kurdish youth and the youth of Marivan, Saghez, Baneh, Ghorveh, and Bijar resisted, fought, and were martyred together with their compatriots and their brothers. They fought counter-revolutionary individuals and the Ba'ath Party in this region as well. I will never forget the brave efforts that I saw in Marivan and Dezli. I saw how the youth resisted the enemies' attacks.
My dear ones, these selfless efforts are the factors that can strengthen a nation from within. Lack of determination will get us nowhere. In the race among other nations, we will not achieve a good position if we give in to bullying. That is the reason why Imam Ali (a.s.) said: "Jihad is one of the doors of paradise, and Allah the Exalted has opened it for His special servants only." That is to say, your youth, your martyrs, and your dear ones, who managed to walk through this door, were among the special servants of God. Why is it that Allah the Exalted considers these people among His special servants? That is because in the absence of selfless efforts, a nation would always remain backward, weak, and oppressed and it would be humiliated forever. Our nation, the great Iranian nation, demonstrated the signs of this grandeur. The families of our martyrs went through a great test. You emerged victorious out of this great test.
There are two points that neither I nor you should ever forget. In particular, the dear youth and adolescents must never forget these two points. First, we must preserve the sense of honor that we feel when we remember our martyrs. Just as we feel proud of the bravery of the early Muslims, we should also be proud of the bravery of these great men who lived in our own time. That is not what the enemy wants. The enemy wants the memory of our martyrs to sink into oblivion. The enemy wants to erase the memory of their selfless efforts and their heroic actions from the mind of our nation. Everybody must move in the opposite direction. You must make the memory of our martyrs prominent. You must revive and preserve their memory.
Second, our nation, our youth, and our men and women must not think that the age of selfless efforts has come to an end and that there are no threats now. The enemies may not be able to pose any military threats today. In fact, we do not face any military threats now. Today the Iranian nation has become so powerful that the enemies would be very vulnerable if they engaged in a military conflict. The enemies do not have the courage to get involved in a military invasion of our country. They know that they will be defeated. They know that our nation will put up strong resistance. Therefore, a military threat is highly unlikely, but military invasion is not the only type of invasion. The enemies will focus on the pillars of our nation's resistance. The enemy will target our national unity and our strong religious faith. The enemy will target our men and women's spirit of resistance. This type of invasion is more dangerous than military invasion.
In a military invasion, you know who you are fighting: you can see your enemy. But in a spiritual and cultural incursion, you cannot see your enemy. There is need for vigilance. I hereby ask the Iranian nation, especially the youth and the families of martyrs, and all of you who have gathered here to protect our intellectual and spiritual borders with full vigilance. Do not let the enemies undermine the intellectual and ideological foundations of our nation. That is very important. We are all responsible for protecting our religious and spiritual borders.
Unfortunately, the enemies of the Iranian nation have managed to get very close to our border. In the past and during the early stages of the Revolution, it was the enemies - the arrogant powers and the Zionists - who used to hatch plots against us. But today due to the regional developments, the same enemies have established bases and centers along your geographical borders and are using them for hostile subtle activities. Everybody must be vigilant.
In particular, I would like to tell our dear youth that their homeland is in need of vigilance. Closely observe the activities of those who discourage unity and sincerity. As I told the people who had gathered at the main square of the town today, there are some individuals who are using all means and pretexts to foment discord among our people. Whenever you see someone doing these things, you have to consider his intentions judiciously because he is the enemy's agent, whether he realizes it or not. He may not know, but that does not mean he is not the enemy's agent. Such a person works for the enemy, and the end result is the same. In terms of the end result, those who harm you unintentionally are not different from the individuals who harm you by design. You must be watchful. You must be vigilant.
Fortunately, our nation is vigilant. Our nation has gained great experience after what it has gone through during the past years. Our people had to identify and deal with various kinds of machinations. Today the same thing is going to happen. We must strengthen ourselves from within. We must strengthen ourselves scientifically, economically, and technologically. Most importantly, we must strengthen our faith. I would like to tell you that it is not a long time before our youth step in and take responsibility for the management of the country. When that happens, our nation will undoubtedly achieve such a high position that no enemy will ever think of invading our country. Then the enemies will not think of any military, economic, or political invasion. Our current achievements are the outcome of the sacrifices of our esteemed martyrs and many consecutive years of selfless efforts on the part of our dear youth. By Allah's favor, we will be able to preserve these achievements and increase them as much as we can.
Dear God, associate the immaculate souls of our esteemed martyrs with the holy soul of the Prophet (s.w.a.). O God, make us genuine followers of our martyrs.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings