In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, and upon his Pure Progeny, particularly the vestige of God remaining on earth.
Welcome my dear brothers and sisters, you who are the young, brave members of the Basij. You have illuminated our Hussainiyah with the Basiji spirit that exists within you, praise God. I would like to congratulate you and all the people of Iran on the occasion of Basij Week.
The Basij was one of Imam’s great initiatives. Of course, he had many good initiatives that changed people’s lives and led to great movements in the history of our country, but one of the greatest, most important of these was establishing the Basij.
He announced establishment of an army of 20-million in the country, in his famous speech in late November 1979. The Basij was established in 1979 after Imam’s announcement. The blessings of the Basij and this great initiative were so great that Imam Khomeini delivered that outstanding, eloquent speech in praise of the Basij in November, 1988 – nine years after [its establishment]. What did the Basij accomplish in the country in those nine years that affected our great Imam in such a way that he delivered that eloquent speech using those incredible expressions and that amazing language?
I will quote a few of Imam Khomeini’s distinguished sentences so that you may remember that our dear Imam addressed the Basij in that speech in the same way that a father would express his love for his children. I will read this quote, “The Basij are a school of love and an academy of anonymous martyrs who chanted the call to martyrdom and bravery from its lofty minarets.” This is splendid discourse. What excellent phrases where he said, “[The Basij] are a fruitful tree whose blossoms spread the aroma of the spring’s bond, the freshness of certainty, and the story of love.”
I won’t read all of his words, you should go read it carefully. These words are addressed to you. He then said, “I take pride in being a Basiji myself.” Even though Imam Khomeini possessed a greatness that shook the world and history, he still said, “I take pride in being a Basiji.” He then said, “I would like to kiss the hand of every one of you.” These words are truly unforgettable.
You members of the Basij today are being addressed by this statement. Imam Khomeini did not say the Basij of the 1980s, [he said] the members of the Basij. You and the Basiji after you in future generations are all being addressed when Imam Khomeini said he would like to kiss your hand.
In this statement from November 1988, Imam Khomeini announced the [importance of] establishing a Basij for university and seminary students. There is a special meaning behind this. He told the university students and the students of religious sciences to have Basij groups and to be mobilized. This means that Basij is not just a military organization and that Basij should be present in all fields, including in the sciences and religious studies. Pay attention to this important point. By doing this, the great Imam turned a threat into an opportunity. What was the threat? Imam publicly called for the establishment of the Basij on November 25, 1979, which was about 20 days after the seizure of the Den of Spies [US Embassy].
The Den of Spies was seized on the 13th of Aban [4th of November], while this statement from the Imam was issued on the 25th of November. When the students following Imam Khomeini’s line took over the Den of Spies and found those documents on the 4th of November, the Americans became furious and began making both verbal threats and threats in action. Their threat in action was to gradually bring their naval ships toward the Persian Gulf. This was a threat.
In such situations, the heads of states usually become passive. As soon as the US frowns at them, they become passive, afraid, and fearful. But that was not the case with Imam Khomeini. He involved the nation as a whole in the public Basij movement. So he turned this threat into an opportunity. This meant that the battlefield was not limited to official organizations. The people could become involved. This is turning a threat into an opportunity. This was one of the skills and God-given characteristics of Imam Khomeini. He turned threats into opportunities.
Well, there is an important point here that I mentioned, and that is the fact that the Basij truly shined on the battlefields. Of course, when Imam Khomeini made this statement, the war [Saddam's invasion of Iran] had not yet begun. Later when the war started in 1980, the presence of the Basij on the battlefield was very useful. They solved problems. They literally were a very important support for the regular military organizations including the Army and the IRGC.
So, the Basij’s test on the battlefield was a glorious trial. Nonetheless, the Basij is not merely a military organization. This is an essential point. It is far greater than this. In other words, the status and position of the Basij is higher and more elevated than that of a military organization. What is it? Basij is a culture, it is a discourse. Basij is a way of thinking. What is this way of thinking? What is this culture? This culture means serving society and the country without any pretense or expectations. This is very important.
It means serving without any expectations, without waiting to be praised, and in many cases without receiving any funds or provisions to do something. After all, every movement requires provisions. But they enter various fields without such things, serve selflessly, and accept the risks of their service on the path of God. This is the Basiji culture.
What is the meaning of a Basiji culture? It means going into mud that is up to the knees to remove the mud from houses that have been flooded. It means putting yourself at risk of getting infected with Covid and risking your own life to save the lives of Covid patients.
Basiji culture means never getting tired when helping others. An example of this was in the exhibition as I was viewing [prior to the meeting]. I am completely aware of what the Basij have achieved in their faithful services and jihad camps. This is the Basij and the culture of the Basij. They did not wait for others to praise them and to say ‘well done’ to them. Instead, they did whatever they could and came up with very innovative, interesting methods to spread this faithful service throughout the entire country.
Basij have been successful in the environments of science, research, and in laboratories. These were young people who worked in the fields of science, research, and knowledge, and there were those who had a Basiji spirit or worked in labs, whether it was for Covid or for other various issues.
Our nuclear martyrs are an example of this, they were Basijis. Another example is the late [Dr. Saeid] Kazemi who established the [Royan] Institute for research and science [stem-cell and genetic research]. This is the culture of the Basij. When facing the enemies on the military battlefields, they are fearless, they are not afraid of the enemy, and they do not give the enemy a chance. That is how it [the Basij culture] is.
They used all their strength and became involved in every political, military, and scientific campaign. This is the culture of the Basij. The Basiji culture is one that has been built by self-effacing, hardworking volunteers – as stated by Imam Khomeini. It is a culture of humble, undaunted fighters. It is about serving all the people. It is about serving the country. It means making sacrifices for others and even being oppressed in order to save the oppressed!
You saw how in these recent events the Basij were the ones being oppressed while protecting the Iranian people from the oppression of a group of rioters who were either unaware, misled, or mercenaries. They are oppressed in order to stop the oppression of others. They do not allow themselves to despair. This is one of the important parts of the Basiji culture. Despair has no meaning for someone who is a part of the Basij.
Well, this was a brief description of the Basij and its members. If I were to speak more about this, there are many deep, meaningful phrases I could use to describe the Basij, but I have given a brief description of them. And there is no difference between the generations of the 1980s, 2000s, or 2010s.
Most of you belong to the generations of the 1990s and 2000s. You are young people who did not meet the Imam, see the Revolution, or see the Sacred Defense. But you have the same spirit as the young people who were on the battlefields, regardless of whether or not you belong to the generations of the 1980s, 2010s, or 2000s. This talk about a generation gap and these sorts of things are what some intellectuals say in their meetings, but it is not the truth of the matter. The Basij of today are the same as the Basij of the 1980s.
Another important point is that today, our country is capable of training Basij members and bringing up new Basij members. The Basij is also capable of moving the country forward step by step with long strides. That is, the country is ready to nurture and deliver new Basij members, and so is the Basij itself, the Basij organization and its members. I will explain later that we have organizational members of the Basij and non-organizational members.
The world of the Basij in our country is ready to help the country develop and progress. When I said the country is capable, this capability is not something new. It existed from long ago, but it was suppressed and not used. This spirit of nurturing Basij members with the attributes that I mentioned – such as being present in [various] fields, being fearless, and approaching the enemy face-to-face – existed during the rule of the taghut [Pahlavi] regimes and in the past eras as well. But the country was either dominated by foreigners who suppressed them, or the governments were corrupt themselves.
I have written some examples here. An example during the period of foreign interference – which is a part of our modern history and was not long ago – was Sheikh Mohammad Khiabani in Tabriz, who was a perfect example of a Basiji. He began an uprising, led a movement, and was martyred.
In Mashhad, there was Mohammad Taqi Khan Pesyan who was also like that. Unfortunately, most of you do not know about their lives. You need to read many books, learn about their lives, and understand them.
In Rasht, there was Mirza Kuchak-Khan Jangali and in Isfahan, Aqa Najafi and Nurollah Isfahani. In Shiraz, there was Sayed Abdolhossein Lari and some other great scholars like Sheikh Jafar Mahallati. In Bushehr, there was Rais-Ali Delavari, about whom a movie was made as well.
There were many other people from other places too. I mentioned a few of those whom I remembered. Most of these people were suppressed. In fact, almost all them, besides one or two, were suppressed. They were either suppressed, did not receive any help, or were stopped by the governments [of their time]. This Basiji spirit existed.
But during the period of the Revolution, the numbers increased because the Revolution gave people hope. Claiming victory over a 2,500-year-old regime, as they call it, strengthened the anti-arrogance and anti-authoritarian spirit in the people. The Basij increased in size. Later on, a person like Imam Khomeini who was leading the country gave life and spirit to the Basij. As a result, this capacity was revived and put into effect.
I mentioned that the Basij were actively present in the Sacred Defense. I also saw some small sections of that vast field [from close up] back then, but what is written in these books and biographies is something hundreds or thousands of times more than what we saw with our own eyes. There are fascinating things written in the biographies of the martyrs and the great people of the battlefields.
Some of these great people are not famous or known. They were not commanders. Rather, they were absolute Basiji. They were great and outstanding, truly amazing. That was regarding the battlefields.
The same was true about the scientific fields, the nuclear scientists, and the scientists in Royan [Institute], other science and research centers, and in various other centers.
Praise God, we have millions of official Basiji forces and millions more who are unofficial volunteers. That is, there are the young people in mosques, universities, associations, schools, and other places, who do the same things as the Basij, and are in fact Basijis, but they are not official members of the Basij organization.
Alongside the Basij phenomenon in our country, we have the Basij in the Muslim world. There are millions of Basij in the Islamic world. They are Basij who do not understand our language, nor do we understand theirs, but we share the same heartfelt values and the same orientations, [but] in different countries. These are also of the blessings of the Basij.
This is Imam Khomeini’s legacy, which remains today, and God willing it will continue to be with us tomorrow and the country will see its fruits. Imam Khomeini (ra) introduced the Basij as a manifestation of a “shajarat-u tayibah” [good tree], which has also been mentioned in the Qur’an, “Have you not seen how Allah has drawn a parable? A good principle is like a good tree – its roots are steady and its branches are in the sky. It gives its fruit every season by the leave of its Lord” (Holy Quran 14:24-25). The nature of a good tree is that it produces its sweet fruit and gives results in every season. We already spoke about how the Basij have the potential to move the country forward. I will now talk about some of their achievements.
First of all, the presence of the Basij in any period indicates that the Revolution is alive. It shows that the Revolution is thriving. Much to the dismay of those who are frightened and distressed by the word and name of the “Revolution.” They do not want the Revolution to be mentioned, they express hatred toward the Revolution, and they reject it. But the presence of the Basij shows that the Revolution is alive, blossoming, and developing. So, one of the fruits of the Basiji’s presence is that it shows the regeneration and vitality of the Revolution.
The second thing is the spirit that I mentioned – the spirit of jihadi work, without expecting anything in return, without wanting to reveal your name, and without being pretentious. This will create rapid progress in the country. Work that is done with the intention of impressing others in a pretentious manner has no beneficial results. Doing jihadi work without having any expectations will move the country forward. This is another example of the fruits of the Basij.
Third, the element of spirituality is prominent in all activities that are undertaken by the Basij. This element of spirituality is very important.
One of the distinguished scientists at the Royan Institute performs an act of prostration whenever he achieves a scientific breakthrough. He praises God in his prostration. The late [Dr. Saeid] Kazemi told me this in front of that scientist, and both of them started crying. They both started shedding tears.
A student of one of our distinguished nuclear scientists once described how they were stuck on a certain problem. He said, “We were working on it late into the night in Shahid Beheshti University. He [my professor] told me, ‘Let’s go.’ We got up and left the office. We went to the prayer room. He took me to the prayer room where he started praying. All of a sudden, he said, ‘I understand! ’ He had solved the problem. He got up and returned to his office.” You see, prostration and prayer were taking place in a scientific environment, in a place for working on nuclear sciences for that matter! A Basiji volunteer takes spirituality with him wherever he goes. This is very important. It is very important.
Fourth, Basiji values are combined with a practical approach. This is because the members of the Basij take action. They don’t just talk, they take action. But even though they are practical, they do not confine themselves, they do not forget their values. They move toward their values. Forgetting your values is very dangerous. This is also one of its fruits. If I count the fruits of this “good tree,” you will find that there is much more to talk about. I have only mentioned three or four items. These blessings are in the Basij.
Now I have described the Basij, read a few quotes from Imam Khomeini, and mentioned various examples of the Basij. This is all true provided that you maintain the Basiji spirit and we do not let the name make us arrogant. If we clerics maintain the spirit of a seminary student, we will be blessed by it. If we lose the spirit of a seminary student – Imam Khomeini repeatedly warned the clerics in different sectors to maintain it – we will lose those blessings. The same applies to the Basij.
The Basiji spirit must be maintained. Nevertheless, you should attend to reciting the Quran and performing the recommended actions as much as you can and as much as you feel comfortable and ready to do. Read the biographies of the martyrs as well. Many books have been published about the lives of these members of the Basij who went and were martyred. Read as many of them as you can. Now that was about the Basij.
Another point is about the position of the Basij. I urge the Basij to appreciate the Basij, to realize where it stands, and to know the philosophy behind the presence of the Basij. I will briefly discuss this. What do the Basij do? Who are you up against? Are you up against a few rioters on the streets? Is that all that that the Basij do?
The Basij hold a very prominent position in the political geography of the Islamic world, which I need to briefly explain. Of course, intellectuals, clear-sighted individuals, and you young people should focus on and think about this issue. Not just now, you should follow these issues by reading, discussing, and thinking about them.
Western colonialism has a certain line of approach toward this special region of ours – the West Asian region, the region they call the “Middle East.” Following the two world wars, western colonialism - Europe first and then the US – paid special attention to this region and established a distinct approach to it. Why? Because it is an important region. The movement of the western world’s industrial wheels is mainly dependent on oil. The world’s main center for oil is here [in this region]. The region of West Asia links the east to the west. It is the region that connects Asia, Europe, and Africa. This is the most important issue in terms of its “strategic position”.
Therefore, western colonizers who had now gained wealth also gained new capabilities by looting the colonized countries in this region. They also made progress in science. They had advanced weapons too. They became particularly interested in the West Asian region, and that is why they created the usurping Zionist regime in this area. They established this usurping regime as a base for the west – for Europe first and then for the US – in order to be able to dominate the region, do whatever their hearts desired, destroy countries, create wars, impose, spread out, and plunder other countries. They created the Zionist regime for this very reason. So, they were particularly interested in this region.
There is one place in the West Asia that is the most important, and that is Iran. Iran is more important than all the other countries and places in this region. This is because it has more wealth than all the other countries – resources such as oil, gas, and mines. This country is located in the most sensitive geostrategic location. It is an intersection – an intersection between the east and the west, an intersection between the north and the south. It has always been said that Iran is the important intersection in this region.
They have been more focused on Iran. That is why they spent on Iran. First, the British came and gained as much influence as they could. They came into the country and established organizations here. They created supporters and mercenaries for themselves from different parts of society. Now there is a long story behind this issue of the British creating mercenaries and supporters for themselves in Iran! This subject has so many important details that unfortunately, these things have not been talked about or written down as much. But this existed. We saw it. We felt some of these things from close up. We experienced these, and then the Americans came.
When the Americans first came during the time of Truman’s presidency, they came on the pretext of providing aid to the country according to Truman’s Four Points – that is, providing aid. They first came under this pretext and then gradually strengthened their foothold. They either sidelined or weakened others and dominated Iran themselves. Everything was in their hands.
If you look at the memoirs of political figures from the Pahlavi era, you will find that even Mohammad Reza Pahlavi himself, who was a servant of the Americans and worked for them, complained about them. However, he did not dare voice his opinion [publicly]. He complained [about the Americans] in a private meeting with Asadollah Alam [former Iranian PM during the Pahlavi era] and his relatives. The Americans had transgressed so much, they were being aggressive and taking payoffs from the Iranians so much, that even a person like Mohammad Reza was complaining about them. This is the type of control they had over Iran.
The same happened in other countries of the Middle East, each in a different form. The colonizers and the West weren’t the only ones interfering though. The former Soviet Union also interfered, but it did not dominate Iran. It wanted to infiltrate the country through the Tudeh Party and leftist parties. These are things that you should read about in modern history. The Soviet Union had more influence in a number of other countries, such as Iraq and Syria. But at the same time, the West was dominant. They wanted to infiltrate other countries. But France, for example, had a definite presence in Lebanon and Syria, and the same goes for the other Western powers, the other colonizers. This is what the situation was like in the country and the region before the Revolution. Our country was a focal point.
The Islamic Revolution in Iran suddenly shattered all their dreams. An event took place. The Revolution inflicted a fatal blow to this colonial policy leaving them confused. A few months before the victory of the Revolution, [then] US President [Jimmy Carter] came to Iran and said, “This is an island of stability.” He described Iran as an island of stability. A few months later, a Revolution was born on this stable island! That is how they were taken by surprise.
That is how the Revolution suddenly appeared before them driving them into the corner in isolation, with fear and doubt. The Revolution brought about this kind of situation, and it became a strong barrier driving them out. Some of their operatives escaped on their own, some were expelled, and others were executed. [Therefore, the Revolution] created a barrier against the presence of the US and overall the west’s presence in the region.
So a new identity was formed. The country changed the identity it had, which was dependent on England and America, to an identity that was independent and strong. It was able to stand on its own feet, speak powerfully, and not give in to the demands of others. This was the main point, not giving in to the demands of others. They created a barrier in this way, which naturally did not remain limited to Iran. I spoke about this back then, because they always used to propagate this idea outside the country that “Iran is seeking to export its Revolution.”
In one of my Friday Prayer sermons, I once said that the issue of exporting our Revolution is not the same exportation that has been taking place in other revolutions. Our Revolution is like the scent of a flower. It is like spring weather. No one can stop it from spreading. When you have a garden that is filled with flowers here, your neighbors will benefit from the scent of the flowers. No one can prevent this from happening, and it happened.
In other countries, people woke up. We had no intentions of staging coup d’états in other countries, nor did we intend to change their governments. No, that is not what we were seeking. However, our Revolution naturally changed the hearts of neighboring nations. It changed the hearts of the nations in our region. It affected them. Of course, that is Iran’s nature and it was the same during the [Oil] Nationalization Movement.
During Mosaddeq’s time, he was overthrown when he spoke about nationalizing the country’s oil and things of that sort. At that time, they were saying that the uprising in Egypt by Gamal Abdel Nasser and the uprising of the Iraqis by the Iraqi coup leaders were influenced by the movement in Iran. It had an impact then as well. But the Islamic Revolution was very different from the [Oil] Nationalization Movement.
Therefore, they needed to come up with a solution. What could they do? What could the westerners do? Up until yesterday they had control over Iran and the region, and now they had lost almost everything or were losing everything. They had to overthrow the revolutionary government. They had to destroy it. This was the only way, they had no other option. They looked and saw they could not do it. What I am saying goes back to 40 years ago. I am not talking about today. The Revolution was still a sapling back then. This hardy, strong tree was not as it is today. Regardless of this, they were still afraid of that sapling. They knew they weren’t able to do it [destroy the Revolution], because the Iranian nation and the revolutionary forces were on the scene. They knew they could not do it.
Afterwards, the Imposed War [on Iran] began and lasted eight years. The whole world cooperated with Saddam, but despite this Saddam was defeated. They realized even more so that Iran was not a country that could be confronted. Challenging it proved to be difficult for them. They could see what the Islamic Revolution was heading toward. They could see the strategic influence of the Revolution in other countries in the region. They could see these things. Therefore, they thought that before launching an attack on Iran – a military attack, or any other attack that would destroy the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic – they should go to neighboring countries, to places where Iran had strategic depth.
They decided that whichever of these places was related to the Islamic Republic in some way or another would need to be paralyzed first. They would need to be taken over first. The Americans themselves revealed these plans. What I am saying is not an analysis. It was the plan of the United States. The Americans uncovered this plan themselves during the early years of this century in 2006 and after that. Prominent American figures and well-known, political figures exposed this issue, this plan, this conspiracy.
They said that there are six countries whose governments need to be toppled before [we can overthrow] Iran. We need to dominate them. Once these countries collapse, Iran will become weakened. That is when we can attack Iran. Where are these six countries? And they used a separate pretext for each one. One of them was Iraq, because Saddam was seeking friendship with Iran after the [Iraq-Iran] war when he wanted to attack Kuwait. He freed our prisoners. He wrote a letter to me when I was president at that time. He wrote letters and sent people here. So Saddam was dangerous [to them]. The Saddam that they had supported up until then had become an undesirable element for them. So that was about Iraq.
Syria, since the time of Hafez Assad, Syria has always been with us from the time the war started. Syria closed off Iraq’s oil route to the Mediterranean Sea in a show of support for us during Hafez Assad’s time. They also helped after that whenever and however they could. My first foreign trip during my presidency was to Syria. So that is how close our relations were with Syria. Thus, the Syrian government also needed to be toppled. The third country was Lebanon. Why Lebanon? Because there are strong revolutionary bases there - the Hezbollah and Amal movements – both of which are supporters of Iran.
The fourth country was Libya in North Africa. They knew that Libya had supported us in certain cases. It had given us military support. It had also provided us with verbal support. The fifth country was Sudan. There were also special reasons for Sudan. It was obvious. Its leaders had relations with us during different periods. They formed relations with us after the revolution that took place there. There was also Somalia. They had other reasons for there as well.
These six countries needed to be weakened and destroyed. Their governments had to be overthrown. According to them, Iran’s strategic depth was in these six countries. These countries needed to be controlled by the US and colonialism before they could target Iran. So what did Iran do? What did the Islamic Republic do?
The Islamic Republic never entered the discussion about North Africa. It did not get involved in Libya, Sudan or Somalia for obvious reasons, which I do not want talk about today. We had our reasons. We did not want to get involved, and we did not get involved.
However, Iran’s approach was successful in these three countries – Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. We did not have a military presence there as such, but great work, important work, was being carried out. What was the outcome of this? Iran’s presence led to the failure of US policy in these three countries. They wanted to seize control of Iraq, but they failed. They wanted to overthrow the Syrian government, but they failed. They wanted to destroy the Hezbollah and Amal movements in Lebanon, but they failed. They couldn’t do it.
This was a scheme and a plan that the Americans had designed by spending billions of dollars. Thousands of hours were also spent by hundreds or perhaps thousands of their political thinkers. They were thinking about how they could harm Iran. These plots were thwarted by the enormous, effective strength of the Islamic Republic, the embodiment of which was a person named Haj Qasem Soleimani.
Now we know why Haj Qasem Solimani’s name is admired so much by the Iranian nation, and at the same time, why his name angers Iran’s enemies so much. They become angry when his name is mentioned, it infuriates them. Haj Qasem Soleimani was the epitome of the Islamic Republic’s policy in confronting the enemy’s plans. He foiled the enemy’s comprehensive plan, may God be pleased with him.
Considering what I said, you members of the Basij, you young people, need to show the battle that is being fought between the Islamic Republic and our enemies. Where is this battle taking place? What is it about? It is not about a few anti-revolutionaries inside the country. This is where we can understand why our enemies insist on a second and third JCPOA. What would a second JCPOA mean?
It would mean that Iran should be eliminated from the region. It should terminate its presence in the region. What would a third JCPOA mean? It would mean Iran should commit to not making any important strategic weapons. It should not have any drones or missiles. This means if they attack us, we should defend ourselves against their battle tanks using rifles and shotguns. This is what it means. This is what they insist on, and some people inside our own country repeat their words, apparently of ignorance.
This is the battlefield. You are fighting on this field. The presence of the Basij in the country means standing up firmly to these great conspiracies. You defended the Holy Shrines [in Syria and Iraq]. You stood up to DAESH whom the US created. You fought them, you did this. You helped the courageous fighters in Lebanon in any way you could. You also helped the Palestinians, you will keep doing so and we will continue to help them.
This is what the battlefield is like. It is not a field where you find a handful of rioters on the streets. Of course, this does not mean that we should ignore these rioters. No, all rioters and all terrorists need to be punished. There is no doubt about that. But this is not the only field. It is much broader than that. It is much deeper. You are standing in the middle of this field. I want the Basiji members to appreciate themselves and the Basij. You are fighting in this kind of a field.
Do not limit yourselves to these minor tasks that you are surrounded with. Of course, these must also be dealt with. Confronting the rioters is one of the most important tasks that the Basij must undertake. These rioters are a small sample of those who failed in that great scheme. They failed there, so they want to enter the field in a different manner. They create riots, some chant slogans, others write things or do other things. The Basij should not forget that they are dealing with Global Arrogance. That is where the main conflict is. They confront these [rioters] too, but the main enemy is there. The main conflict is there. These few [rioters] are either oblivious, ignorant, and uninformed, or they have been given a wrong analysis of the situation. A number of them are also mercenaries. The main enemy is there. The main battle is there.
Now, this is where a person truly feels upset. Some people claim they understand politics, but it is really upsetting when you see their analyses in some newspapers or in some sections of the social media. They say that in order to put an end to and silence the riots that have been taking place in the country for the past few weeks, you need to solve your problem with the US first. Now this is said by those who claim to know about politics and world affairs! They clearly state that you need to solve your problems with America. Or they say you should listen to the voice of the people. I have seen these two comments in their writings, “Solve your problems with the US. Listen to the voice of the people.”
So how can the problem with the US be solved? This is a real question. It is a serious question. We do not want to argue with each other. We are asking a question. How can the problem with the US be solved? Will the problem be solved by sitting down, negotiating, and getting a promise from them? If we sit down and negotiate with the US and make them commit to doing this thing and not doing that thing, will the problem be solved?
In the case of the Algiers Accords, where the [American Embassy] hostages were to be released in 1981, you sat down and negotiated with the US. I was a member of the Parliament at that time. I was not present in the Parliament much, I was fighting on the battlefield in Ahvaz. During that time, these gentlemen sat here in Tehran and talked to the Americans without facing them directly, through the mediation of Algeria. Of course, it was ratified by Parliament. What they did was not illegal. Contracts were written and promises were made about the release of our frozen assets and the lifting of sanctions against the country. We demanded that they stop interfering in our internal affairs, and in return we would free the hostages. We freed the hostages, but did the US abide by this agreement?
Did the US lift the sanctions? Did the US give back our frozen assets? No, the US does not abide by its promises. Very well, so this is the result of negotiating with America! In the JCPOA, they stated that Iran should reduce its nuclear activity. They did not dare say that we need to completely stop it. They stated that it should be reduced by a certain amount, and we accepted this. [They said] they would lift the sanctions and do this and that. Did they do those things? They did not. Negotiations are not the solution to our problem with the US!
There is one thing that can fix our problem with the US, and that is to give them a payoff. Not just once, as the US is not satisfied with one payment. If we give in to their demands today, they will be back tomorrow demanding something else. If we give in again, they will be back the next day with another demand. They want us to keep giving in to their demands.
Today, they tell us to stop our nuclear activities. They start by telling us to stop 20-percent [uranium enrichment]. Then they tell us to stop 5-percent [enrichment]. Next they will tell us to completely halt all kinds of nuclear activities. Then they will tell us to change the Constitution and remove the Guardian Council. The US demands payoffs. If you want to fix your problem with the US, you must continuously surrender to all their demands.
This is what the US wants. Imprison yourselves behind your borders, disarm yourselves, and shut down your defense industries. What kind of proud, devoted Iranian is willing to give in to these kinds of demands? I am not necessarily referring to those who are supporters of the Islamic Republic. There may be someone who is Iranian, but he is not a supporter of the Islamic Republic, [but] they have Iranian zeal. That person will also not be prepared to give in to these demands!
The US is not satisfied with anything less than this. Why do they not understand this? Negotiating with the US will not solve the problem. If you are prepared to give in to their demands, not once or not twice, [but] over and over again on all principles, if you cross all your red lines, then yes, the US will leave you alone just like during the Pahlavi era. The people started the Revolution because of this [to get rid of these things]. All those people were martyred because of this. Is this how we should be talking to the young people of our country who are working hard in all fields?
They say listen to the voice of the people. The nation’s thunderous voice was raised on the 13th of Aban [4th of November] this year. Did you hear it? You need to hear the nation’s voice! How much time has passed since Martyr Soleimani’s funeral? That large crowd was the voice of the Iranian nation. That funeral procession that was attended by ten million, or perhaps in a sense even more than ten million people, represented the voice of the Iranian nation! Today, the funerals of the martyrs are the voice of the Iranian nation. Whenever a person is martyred in Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Karaj, or any other place for that matter, a massive crowd gathers and they start chanting slogans against terrorists and rioters. This is the voice of the people. Why can’t you hear the people’s voice?
So, this is what I wanted to say about the Basij. We are running out of time, so I would just like to give some words of advice to our Basiji brothers [and sisters] who have gathered here or who are listening from any other place in the country. My first recommendation is that you should remain a member of the Basij. Ask God to help you with this. Preserve the spirit and faith of the Basij.
Second, appreciate yourselves. This is not to say that you should brag about yourselves. No, one of the features of being a part of the Basij is that you should not brag. You need to know that Almighty God has given you the opportunity to choose an important position and you have chosen it. Appreciate this.
Third, know your enemies and begin by knowing who the enemy is. Do not make a mistake about the enemy. Once you know who the enemy is, find their weaknesses. Know what the enemy’s weaknesses are. The enemy always tries to appear mighty and strong in front of you. Try to understand the situation of the enemy. Discover their weaknesses, their flaws, and where they are incapable. Know the enemy, know what their plans are. Many people are taken aback by the enemy’s plans. [Be careful] not to be taken by surprise.
My next recommendation is about your own spiritual growth. Measure your spiritual growth. Be mindful of whether you are moving forward or backward. This is important. Consider what good things you did in the previous month. What righteous deeds did you do? How did you help others? Or God forbid, what bad things did you do? Were your charitable efforts more this month or less? Or for example, have the things that you have been doing wrong increased or decreased this month? Measure these things and try to move forward. Make progress.
So I have mentioned that you should understand the enemy’s methods. Today, the spreading of lies and false information is the enemy’s most important tactic. The enemy’s most important strategy today is spreading lies. They present fake news and analyses in the satellite channels and social media that belong to them. For example, they present fake news about the deaths of certain individuals. Some people are falsely made to look bad, while others are made to look good. These are lies, but some people believe them. We all need to be aware that what the enemy is currently doing is based on lies. Once we are aware of this, we naturally have a duty to engage in the jihad of clarification. This is one of the areas where the jihad of clarification needs to be carried out.
I also mentioned that we need to know about the enemy’s weaknesses. One of the enemy’s weaknesses is your insight. If you have insight, the enemy will suffer. Try to increase your insight. The enemy is seeking to dominate people’s minds. Dominating people’s minds is far more valuable to the enemy than dominating territory. If they succeed in bringing the minds of a nation under their control, that nation will then hand over its country to the enemy. [People’s] minds need to be protected from them controlling their minds. Some people have not lied themselves, but unfortunately, they endorsed the enemy’s lies. Do not allow yourselves or your people to be faced with these dangers. Help your people.
Make sure you are always prepared for action. Do not allow yourself to be caught by surprise. Surprise tactics are used very much in the world of politics, and they are used in different ways. Let me tell you one of the methods. This is one of the things that the enemy does. They start something in one place and create a lot of commotion over it in order to draw attention to that one point. They then carry on with their main intended task [somewhere else]. Attention has been diverted to that other place now instead of this place.
We all need to be careful, especially the country’s officials. Iranian officials need to be mindful about events taking place around, inside, and outside of the country. They need to pay attention to all around. Events happening in the surrounding areas of the country are important to us. The west Asian region, the Caucasian region, and the eastern regions are all important to us too. We need to pay attention to all these so that we can understand what the enemy is up to. Everyone needs to work in these fields.
Now this is another point, especially at a time when the World Cup is underway. I have been given a list of all the things that happened due to neglect during the previous World Cup tournaments. This is because during the World Cup, all eyes are on the tournament and it goes on for a few weeks. Many take advantage of this global oblivion and do certain things. Now speaking of the World Cup, the Iranian National Team players made the Iranian nation happy. May God make them happy. They made the people happy yesterday. So this was another recommendation.
Before I give you my last word of advice, I would like to remind you to be careful of the enemy infiltrating the Basij organization. Take note of this. Sometimes a corrupt individual, an unscrupulous person might wear the wrong clothes in order to fit into an organization. [For example], he might wear a cleric’s clothing and pretend to be a cleric. A corrupt, unscrupulous person can appear in the guise of a spiritual person. He can appear in the guise of a Basiji member. Be mindful of this. This is also another recommendation.
My last recommendation to you comes from this verse of the Holy Qur’an, “Do not become weakened or grieve: you shall have the upper hand, should you be believers” (Holy Quran 3:139).
May God’s greetings, mercy and blessings be upon you.
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