Calling the liberation of Khorramshahr an everlasting epic in the history of the Iranian people and an epoch-making event, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that several factors were instrumental in achieving this great victory.
"The Bait-ul-Moqaddas operation, which was a carefully planned military operation, culminated in the liberation of Khorramshahr mostly because of two major factors. The first factor was the notable knowledge, expertise and competence of our military commanders," he stressed.
The Leader went on to say:
"During those days, some wrongly thought that -- and others knowingly tried to downplay the significance of this important factor by claiming that -- our military forces had succeeded in liberating Khorramshahr because of their large number! However, those who are expert on military affairs know very well that it is not possible to achieve victory over the enemy without proper strategy, tactics and logistics, no matter how large the number of the military forces is."
Recalling a memory related to the liberation of Khorramshahr, Ayatollah Khamenei noted:
"On the day that Khorramshahr was liberated, our beloved martyr, Sayyad-Shirazi, who was one of the top commanders leading this operation, called me from the front line at noon to give me the glad tidings of this victory. He also told me that the Iraqi soldiers were queuing up to surrender themselves to our military forces!
"Following the liberation of Khorramshahr, thousands of Iraqi soldiers laid down their arms and surrendered with their hands up. This clearly showed how carefully planned and how successful the Bait-ul-Moqaddas operation was. Besides, through this great operation, our military commanders displayed their praiseworthy knowledge, expertise and competence to the world."
As regards the second factor that was instrumental in the success of the Bait-ul-Moqaddas operation, the Leader stated:
"The second factor, which was even more significant than the first one, was the great faith and the resultant bravery and perseverance of our military forces.
"The fact is that our military forces, motivated by their firm belief in Almighty Allah and by their strong adherence to the Islamic values and divine ideals, sacrificed their lives in the way of Allah quite eagerly and wholeheartedly in order to defend our country and Islamic system and so as to safeguard the honor and dignity of our Muslim nation."
Concerning the eagerness of pious and devout individuals for martyrdom in the way of Allah, Ayatollah Khamenei noted:
"Indeed, whoever is martyred in the way of Allah is thankful to the Almighty for bestowing on him this great blessing."
In conclusion, the Leader of the Islamic Republic stated:
"In general, any faithful nation that adheres to divine values and ideals is invincible, and no power is capable of overcoming this nation. The reason is that the arrogant powers usually dominate nations by bullying them and by threatening their lives, but they cannot dominate the nations who have strong faith in Almighty Allah and who are ready to sacrifice their lives to safeguard their religious values and defend their national sovereignty and independence.
"Thus, threats and intimidation are of no avail with regard to these nations, and no power will be able to dominate or defeat them."