Ayatollah Khamenei the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces met on Monday with a large group of the Air Force personnel. He said at the meeting that the Iranian people will once again leave the arrogant powers stunned on February 11 by showing their unity and unanimity.
Addressing the members of the Air Force, His Eminence said that the existence of divine motives, faith, and sincerity in the structure of the Islamic Revolution is the secret behind its stability and permanence.
This meeting was held on the occasion of the historic event on February 8, 1979 when a group of the Iranian Air Force officers and personnel pledged their allegiance to Imam Khomeini (r.a.). Ayatollah Khamenei described the event as a great political milestone and added: "This event was inspired only by divine motives and sincerity, and it was due to this reason that the event on Bahman 19, 1357 [February 8, 1979] went down in history."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the permanence and significance of the Islamic Revolution are due to the fact that it is based on religious faith and divine principles. He further added: "The Revolution was carried out in order to practice divine teachings and establish justice. Selfless efforts and resistance helped it achieve victory and capture hearts, so the Islamic Revolution went down in history and gained spiritual stability and power."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed that the enemies of the Islamic Revolution, the arrogant powers, and the Zionists cannot understand the reasons behind the spiritual power and stability of the Revolution. He reiterated: "Thousands of media and hundreds of people are constantly broadcasting negative propaganda and hatching plots against the Islamic Republic, but they have not been able to deal it a blow because the stability of this system is due to its religious and divine foundations."
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that the Islamic Republic is unique in the world today in that it is standing firmly in the face of the huge amount of false and destructive propaganda, political and economic pressures, and sanctions.
His Eminence added: "The Islamic Republic will continue resisting these pressures. America, the Zionists, and the arrogant and bullying powers of the world will not be able to shake the foundations of this Revolution through political and economic means, threats, allegations, or provoking their agents."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed that reliance on God and religious faith of the people is the secret behind the permanence of the Islamic Revolution, further reiterating: "It is due to this reason that whenever the people feel that the Revolution is seriously in danger and is exposed to serious hostility, they take to the streets in impressively large numbers. And this was what happened on Dey 9 this year [December 30, 2009]."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the ill-wishers and enemies of the Islamic Revolution are constantly trying to play down the impressive presence of the people. He added that the demonstrations on December 30 last year were so great that the enemies were forced to acknowledge the greatness of the demonstrations.
His Eminence said that the presence of the people on the scene for the Islamic Republic is inspired by religious faith and divine motives. He added that such impressive presence of the people is possible only through God's will and power "because hearts are controlled by God."
"Since the Islamic Republic is a divine movement, God is safeguarding it," he noted.
The Leader said that the enemies are not able to understand this reality and added: "The enemies of the Islamic Republic who cannot understand this reality are constantly threatening us. They think they can create a weak point for the Islamic Republic through such schemes as human rights or democracy. This is while global public opinion treats these schemes with ridicule."
Ayatollah Khamenei said the fact that the people of the world are expressing hatred towards the heads of global arrogance shows that they do not believe their slogans in support of human rights and democracy. "Those who claim to support human rights violate the most basic human rights in prisons and in different parts of the world, even in their own countries, and they blatantly legalize torture. Is this not a source of disgrace for any country?" he noted.
The Leader added: "These so-called supporters of democracy establish bonds of brotherhood with the most autocratic and reactionary governments in the world, including the Middle East and North Africa, and then they claim to support democracy."
He further reiterated that when people across the world compare these slogans with the actions of the so-called supporters of human rights and democracy, they find it impossible to believe their claims.
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "In spite of this record, these people accuse the Islamic Republic of lack of democracy while it is able to attract as much as 85 percent of the eligible voters to ballot boxes. But such attitudes and statements on the part of America and other arrogant powers are ridiculous to the people of the world."
His Eminence referred to the threats, allegations, and sanctions against the Islamic Republic during the past 30 years and stressed the need for national vigilance and gaining national experience. "In this atmosphere of propaganda and pressures, the Islamic Republic has managed to accomplish these impressive achievements in the arenas of defense, science, and technology - most notably in biological, nuclear, and laser research."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that maintaining unity is the most urgent need in the current situation and reiterated that the main goal behind the post-election events was to create discord among the people.
He further added that those who were after achieving this goal failed to do so. "It has now been revealed that those who opposed the massive presence of the Iranian nation in the presidential election are not part of the nation. Rather, they are either anti-revolutionary or ignorant and obstinate individuals who do what anti-revolutionary people do. They are not part of the people."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the people are treading the path of God, Islam, the Islamic Revolution, and practicing Islamic principles. He added that the people will continue treading this path to achieve grandeur and independence.
He further stated: "Of course there were some people who started opposing the Islamic Republic immediately after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. They were after restoring the dominance of the US over the country. These people live both inside and outside the country."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: "All these people are only a small group. But the great Iranian people are united in treading the path of Islam and practicing divine principles despite having different political opinions."
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the efforts of the enemies to undermine the unity of the Iranian nation and stated: "Through its unity, the Iranian nation will by Allah's favor stun the arrogant powers, including the US, Britain, and the Zionist regime on the 22nd of Bahman [February 11]."
He reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran will firmly continue to tread the path of Islam in order to achieve grandeur, security, justice, and democracy. He added that the youth of today as well as the future generations will reach the peaks of success by using the great experience of the Iranian nation in facing the arrogant powers.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the vigilant Iranian nation has achieved faith, innovation, and freedom thanks to Islam and the Islamic Revolution and will continue to make progress.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on all the people to make increasing efforts and touched on the great progress made by the Air Force. He further reiterated that the Air Force personnel should make greater progress by utilizing innovations. "And they should always be the symbol of the resistance and power of the Iranian nation," he noted.