The following is the full text of the speech delivered on May 27, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting at Imam Hussein (a.s.) University. The meeting was held on the occasion of the graduation ceremony of a number of cadets.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to congratulate you dear youth for entering the glorious arena of protecting the Revolution, whether the dear graduates who attained their ranks today or those of you who received their epaulettes and will start their training. Today, as always, our meeting with you dear young officers in this arena was a sweet and good meeting. There were a number of innovations in the way this arena was managed and in the way these programs were launched, which is very good and praiseworthy.
There is a major difference between this university and all the other universities. Acquiring knowledge, achieving intellectual growth and developing one's personality are the major goals of all of our universities and educational centers. But in this university, there is also the matter of protecting the Revolution. Well, in a sense, all the people of Iran consider themselves responsible towards protecting the Revolution, whether officials or people at different levels. But the characteristic of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is that this mission is particular to it.
Despite youthful enthusiasm and blossoming, you dear youth are preparing yourselves to protect the Islamic Revolution during your service and, without any doubts, throughout your life, as the group of people before you - your predecessors in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - did this in very difficult arenas. Today, one of the good scenes was that the previous generation of soldiers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - who witnessed the Sacred Defense Era, who witnessed the early Revolutionary era and who entered the arena of danger with their bodies, their hearts and their lives - stood in front of our today's youth, who are entering the arena of protecting the Revolution. They gave each other the flag.
In today's symbolic meeting, the pure souls of martyrs who attained the high rank of martyrdom during the Sacred Defense Era and before and after the Sacred Defense Era stood in front of you. The disabled war veterans who sacrificed their health, their youth and their bodies in the way of God and who were put to the difficult but very successful test of disability stood in front of you. Today, the men who, like you, were young in those days stood in front of you with a white beard and with decades of experience in the service. This is a very important and instructive scene for you dear youth who want to protect your Revolution.
Our Revolution changed the history of this country. Oppressive rulers and transgressors of history had imposed a deviant movement on our nation for many centuries. As well as being despotic and totalitarian, they had destroyed the dignity of the country in the face of the enemies during the few decades before the Revolution. This Revolution came and saved our country and our nation from getting caught in this destructive whirlwind. We managed to tread the right path. The right path can help us reach our goal. But when? How long does it take? What kind of efforts should we make? This depends on how diligent and serious you and I are and how appropriately we move. This depends on our determination. But the Revolution has given this great historical but oppressed nation the opportunity to tread this path.
You want to protect this Revolution. First, you should know the Revolution in the right way. One of the important tasks of you dear youth is to gain a deep understanding of the theoretical principles of the Revolution. We saw a number of people who entered the arena with their emotions and without a firm theoretical basis. As a result, they were destroyed by a whirlwind because they changed their path. Those who have a deep understanding of the theoretical principles of the Revolution can stand firm in this movement and in this path.
The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said, "The believer is like a firm mountain which is not moved by winds" [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 11]. No whirlwind and no storm can change the path of these people, who have a number of characteristics. One of these characteristics and the most important one is following the right belief and being thoroughly familiar with the theoretical principles of the Revolution. This is one of the tasks which are necessary for you to know.
After this, you should know the historical background - that is to say, the actualization of the theoretical principles of the Revolution - of the Revolution over these years. You should know the history of the Revolution. This Revolution is not just a slogan like many other slogans which are popular in the world. It encompasses a broad scope of experience and action. This Revolution has been tested. These slogans have been proved in the arena of action. When our dear Imam (r.a.) taught us to trust and rely on God, be optimistic and make efforts and when he told us that we will be victorious if we do that, we should know that this has happened, as it happened during the early Islamic era. The Commander of the Faithful (peace and greetings be upon him) said in Nahjul Balaghah, "When Allah saw our sincerity, He destroyed our enemy and made us victorious. [Nahjul Balaghah, Sermon 56]. Our people have shown their sincerity. They entered the arena of action and, as a result, these theoretical principles, ideas and thoughts were put into practice. You should take a look at this in the history of the Revolution.
Why do foreign media try to magnify our trivial weak points for us - let alone for others - 10 times bigger than they already are? It is because they want to make us forget this historical background. They are trying to do this so that we forget the fact that our theoretical principles have been put into practice and they have been proved in the arena of action. You can achieve this with knowledge of the history of the Revolution. This is the reason why I recommend that you read the memoirs of our soldiers during the war and the Sacred Defense Era such as their memoirs about Operation Beitol Moqaddas and the liberation of Khoramshahr. You should see who these people were, what they did and how they did it. This is necessary. At that time, Allah the Exalted destroyed our enemy and made us victorious.
After this, we should build ourselves so that we become righteous people. Everybody should build themselves. I should build myself and you should also build yourselves. Of course, this is easier for you than for me. You are young, prepared and enlightened. Your hearts are pure. You can easily fit the mold which is recommended by Islam and the Holy Quran. This is one of your responsibilities. Of course, this responsibility also falls on the shoulders of teachers, managers and officials of this university, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the managers of each organization in which our dear youth are engaged. These things are necessary. If these things are done - which, by Allah's permission and favor, will be definitely done - then the future will be such that we have always said. It will be a reassuring and definite future.
Since the first day until today, each step of the Revolution signaled another step. This is very important. We never reached a dead end. We never became desperate and hopeless. We always had a solution. Sometimes, we ourselves did not make enough efforts. We showed laziness and we did not advance. This has happened. However, our path was never blocked and there was never a dead end. Each of our steps signaled another step. Today, it is the same.
And I would tell you my dear ones that the step that the Iranian nation is going to make in a few days - that is to say, elections - is one of the steps which signal future steps. We do not know who will be the president and we do not know towards which person Allah the Exalted will lead the hearts of the people. But we know that the participation of the people through the ballot box - which represents the strong presence of the Iranian nation in the arena of movement towards ideals - will definitely result in more achievements. It will give our country immunity, dignity and international honor. It will make your friends happy and it will make your enemies frustrated and unhappy.
We are two, three weeks away from the elections. Since a long time ago, they have been trying to discourage the people on the issue of the elections. Now, their efforts have increased. Why? It is because of the fact that if the people are enthusiastic, if they enter the arena and if they show their enthusiastic movement - as they have always done and, by Allah's favor, they will show it this time too - this will prove costly for them.
They express their opinions about our elections. Which kind of people are saying this? Those people whose Guantanamo prison is a source of disgrace for them, whose drones are a stain on their reputation because they fly over the underprivileged villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan, those who wage wars in this sensitive region and whose occupation of two Muslim countries is the sources of disgrace and whose unconditional support for the criminal Zionist regime is a source of shame and embarrassment for them. But they do not understand these things. It is these people who criticize the dignified and honorable Islamic Republic. These criticisms are not worth answering. They do not at all deserve the attention of the Iranian nation and the glorious officials of this nation. But their statements are a lesson for all the people because they show how sensitive the elections are for them.
These statements are not particular to these elections. It is more than 30 years that whenever we have an election, the same situation exists. They always cause uproar. They always make efforts and they always receive a slap across the face. Who has done this to them? Our great nation has done this. By Allah's favor, this time too, they will receive a slap across the face.
Well, we should organize what we want to do. The people should take a look at the statements of the honorable candidates who have entered the arena. We will also do this. We should decide and see who can make more and better efforts for the Revolution, the country, the future, the national dignity. We should see who can make more efforts for solving the problems, putting up a strong and dignified resistance against the camp of the hostile enemies and making the Islamic Republic a role model in the eyes of the underprivileged people throughout the world. It is possible that the decision of an individual will be different from the decision of another individual. There is nothing wrong with this. I should tell all the people that you may get interested in one of the candidates and your friends may get interested in another candidate. But this should not make you confront one another.
There are certain appropriate and legal measures for the elections and for choosing the person who will hold the highest executive position in the country - which is a very sensitive and important position. It is not at all wrong for you to get interested in one of the candidates and vote for him and it is not wrong for me to get interested in another candidate and vote for that candidate. After all, there is the issue of majority and minority. There are certain rules and regulations and we will act according to that. All the people should not make one another irritated, just because they are interested in different candidates. The honorable candidates themselves should observe this. They should move things forward with valor, enthusiasm and commitment, but they should avoid causing turmoil and creating a sense of hatred. The delicacy of elections depends on an environment in which there is not any stagnation, silence and inaction and in which there is enthusiasm, dynamism and heated discussions. But there should not be any kind of mudslinging in it. This is possible. This is a point which is good for the honorable candidates to observe.
Another point is that if candidates waste resources in their election campaigns and if they overdo campaigning, this can makes us and all the people vigilant about what is going to happen later on. The candidate who uses public funds or other people's money - which may be haram - will not be able to win the trust of the people. These things should receive careful attention.
In election campaigns and election slogans, what is important is that candidates move forward according to the dignified, appropriate and wise positions of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. We should take care not to give an encouraging sign to the enemies outside the country or to some people inside the country. Well, the enemy is doing his job. He is engaging in mudslinging against a certain individual or individuals and - more than that- against the Revolution, the Islamic Republic and the elections.
Of course, there are impious voices inside the country. Unfortunately, inside the country there are some impious tongues, pens and voices who repeat what the enemies say in order to discourage the people and make them depressed. The people should not pay any attention to these people. The future of our nation is a bright future. The future of our Revolution is a dignified future. By Allah's favor, the future of our country and nation will be a model for everybody.
I ask Allah the Exalted to help you dear youth who have entered this arena, all our youth who protect the Revolution, all our young basijis, all the youth who are active in our armed forces and all the youth who are pursuing their education in educational environments, to become the leaders and the engines of this enlightened path. I hope that the pure souls of our martyrs and the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam will be satisfied with us and I hope that all of us will benefit from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake).
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings