The following is the full text of the speech delivered on December 16, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with officials in charge of commemorating 10,000 martyrs of Mazandaran province.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First, I would like to express my sincere and heart-felt gratitude to you dear brothers for making efforts to commemorate the people who are truly considered to be the outstanding personalities of our time. These people are our martyrs and soldiers. The essence of this work is very valuable. Commemorating martyrs, reviving their names, carrying out research about what they did and producing written, audiovisual and other such works about their lives, their actions and their jihad are very valuable tasks.
The list of programs which the honorable commander in charge of holding this congress presented about the programs which are going to be performed in this congress is a good list. These programs are very good, but you should take care to perform them in a deep way. That is to say, this should not be mere formality. These programs should be performed in a deep, patient and careful way and you should spend enough time on them.
You should benefit from art on the one hand and research on the other hand so that your programs can exert a permanent effect. Therefore, this task is a very good and valuable task. Of course, I am aware that the people of Mazandaran have held many congresses about martyrs in different parts of the province and that they have done this in a voluntary way. This is very valuable. What you are doing is a collective, great and significant task. By Allah's favor, you will be successful.
The Sacred Defense Era was a great test for the people of Iran. It was a test for showing talents - of both individuals and of different areas in the country. On the issue of individuals' talents, I believe that there is an important and noteworthy point which does not receive attention. That is to say, it is so clear that it is ignored. It is so obvious that it goes unnoticed. This point is the fact that the Sacred Defense Era became a tool for discovering the hidden talents of individuals in an astonishing way.
For example, a youth from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps entered the arena of war and turned into a military strategist over the course of one, one and a half, two years. This is while he knew nothing about military issues at first. Well, if you look at great martyrs and commanders such as Shahid Hassan Baqeri, you will see that they were undoubtedly war strategists. Anyone who denies this is not well-informed about such issues. If someone has enough information, they will see that this twenty-year-old youth was a war strategist. When did he acquire such expertise? He acquired such expertise in the year 1361. When did he go to war? He went to war in the year 1359.
The path from being a simple soldier to becoming a military strategist is a movement which takes 20, 25 years. But this youth took this path in two years. This is a very important point. Of course, there are many living soldiers who have made great achievements such as our own Morteza [Qorbani], who is present in this meeting, and other such personalities. All of them are the same.
Let us speak about a number of martyrs and their achievements. Take the case of Shahid Bakeri who was a commander during the war. In the beginning of the war, he was a young student who had just graduated. After his graduation, he spent a short time in military camps. Imam (r.a.) commanded that soldiers should exit the camps and join the war and Shahid Bakeri did so. In Mehr of the year 1359, this was the condition of Shahid Bakeri.
Later on during Operation Baytul Muqaddas, Operation Fathul Mubin and Operation Khaybar he turned into a competent military commander who was able to lead an army and - in certain cases - a garrison. Is this not astonishing? Is this not a miracle? These phenomena are the miracles of the Revolution.
This was about cultivation of individuals' talents during the Sacred Defense Era. Of course, there are many things to be said in this regard. As I said, these are issues which have often been ignored because they are very obvious. No one thinks carefully about who and what these people were. An individual who was 27, 28 - and at most - 30 years old when he was martyred was at the peak of his military capabilities. He achieved this while he was very young. Where did he begin from? How did he reach this point? How long did it take him to reach this point? These issues are very important.
The reason for their expertise and greatness is that our military veterans and the brothers who were in the army and who had worked many years in our military forces - these brothers shared their viewpoints and consulted one another about organizing operations such as Fathul Mubin, Baytul Muqaddas, Khaybar and other such operations - used to acknowledge and agree with the ideas and thoughts of these youth. Another reason, which is clearer, is that these youth managed to lay siege to a very well-equipped army - which was supported by superpowers and which had great resources - in a way that it was shocked.
This happened during extraordinary operations. Take the case of Operation Fathul Mubin. At that time, the enemy had occupied that great desert. I myself went and saw that desert. I saw the position of enemy forces and I saw how they had occupied the entire desert, Dasht-e Abbas Rural District and the surrounding areas. But the plans of our young forces made the enemy feel that the opposing forces were attacking him from behind. Is this not important? Is this a minor achievement? Is this not good enough for us to work on, think about and research into? Is it not good enough for us to do artistic work on? Is it easy to accomplish such achievements?
Another example is Operation Baytul Muqaddas during which two, three well-equipped armies of the enemy suddenly felt that they were under siege. They saw that they were being attacked from the north and east of the desert - which is located in Khuzestan. They saw that they were being attacked from different sides.
The significance of the strategies and plans of our youth and our talented personalities can be grasped when we become aware that a well-equipped army was confused in the face of our youth and that it was defeated. This army had all kinds of resources. As they said, it had veteran and experienced generals and officers and it was supported, trained and taught tactics by our enemies at an international level. What does this show? This shows that the martyrs' work enjoyed greatness and significance. So, these talents showed themselves during the Sacred Defense Era. This is about individuals.
The same is true of areas in the country. On the occasion of commemorating the martyrs of Mazandaran, I would like to speak about the role of this province. Mazandaran really emerged victorious out of the test of the war. It has more than 10,000 martyrs. Of course, officials have rounded it down. They say that this province has 10,000 martyrs, but it is more than 10,000. What does this large number of martyrs mean? How long were they in the war? How frequently did they come and go? How long was it necessary to stay there in order to offer more than 10,000 martyrs over the course of eight years? This province has well-known martyrs, but even those martyrs who were not well-known and who, as I said, were talented went with these well-known martyrs and joined the war.
During the war, I saw the Karbala-25 Army. Of course, this was not the only army in this province. There were other armies as well such as the Gorgan-30 Army and other such armies, but the pivot was the Karbala-25 Army. During the war, we heard about and - later on - saw this army and its activities up close. Well, this army accomplished great feats in the war. The people of Mazandaran really made sacrifices. They genuinely sent their youth to the war. These youth went and showed resistance. As the official in charge of this congress pointed out, they managed to accomplish outstanding and great feats during different operations.
The people of Mazandaran have made great achievements in arenas other than the Sacred Defense Era as well. The people of Amol launched an astonishing popular movement. The fact that Imam (may God bestow paradise on him) mentioned the people of Amol in his testament shows the greatness of what people from different social backgrounds - even women - did in this city. A girl [Shahid Sayyida Tahera Hashemi] from Amol went to war when she was just 14, 15 years old and she was martyred there.
Of course, the people of Mazandaran have made great achievements throughout history. I have said this many times: In the past, Tabaristan and the area behind this tall mountain range [Alborz mountain range] was the refuge of members of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. The victorious armies of caliphs could not pass through these mountains. The youth who were under pressure in Madina, Kufa, different Iraqi areas and Hijaz escaped with their wives and children and went to this area. The armed forces of those days could not reach this area. Therefore, since they became Muslims, the people of Mazandaran have been followers of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. That is to say, from the beginning, their Islam was accompanied by following the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household. They accomplished such a great feat.
Even later on, when a group of Zaidi Sayyids and followers of Zaidiyyah wanted to make certain moves in Yemen, a number of people from Mazandaran went to help them. They managed to establish Alavi and Zaidi rule in Yemen during the early centuries after the emergence of Islam.
What I am saying is that the achievements of the people of Mazandaran are not confined to one, two cases. As the official in charge of this congress pointed out, in the era of construction, it was the people of Mazandaran who accepted the responsibility to reconstruct Susangerd and they finished reconstructing this area sooner than everyone else. So, they accomplished a great and outstanding feat in the area of construction.
Until today, the people of Mazandaran have thankfully remained faithful despite the fact that during the time of taghut, the enemies of Islam and the agents of taghut used to work against religion, piety, purity and spirituality in this province. The efforts of these agents included moral, behavioral and religious areas. But the people of this province zealously preserved their faith and they showed it in difficult times. I hope that Allah the Exalted will help all of you carry on this great task and other such great tasks in the best way possible.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings