In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his Pure Progeny, particularly the Vestige of God remaining on earth.
You are all very welcome here. As Major General [Mohammad] Bagheri said, I too am happy about this meeting, which is being held after a long break. I hope that, God willing, the Almighty God will grant you success in that which pleases Him and in that which is necessary for your great, important acts of service. I would also like to congratulate you on the Iranian New Year. Although almost a month has passed now since Nowruz, Eid Nowruz can continue for two to three months, so it doesn’t matter. You can still congratulate people.
Mr. Bagheri’s statements were very good too. In other words, I have the same expectations of the Armed Forces as he spoke of. In addition, you planned and made decisions in certain places, which is very good, but making decisions is just half the work. The other half is to take action, follow things up, and matters of that sort. Don’t let your decisions get old. Don’t allow them to remain untouched, become stale, and gradually forgotten. And don’t be alarmed about me giving this advice because this frequently happens. It happens both within and outside the Armed Forces. Decisions are made, and those who make the decisions at the top of the organizational hierarchy are determined and serious people. They truly believe in their decisions and they want them to be carried out, but when these decisions reach the tips of the organization, where there are different officials and human resources working at different levels, [the decisions] become fainter and sometimes they aren’t carried out at all! Don’t let this happen. This is one point.
The second point is that you must follow up on the things you have started. Now suppose, for example, that you start building a certain number of houses. Very well, [but] one of the problems with the plans for construction in our country is that it often takes longer than the required, assigned time. Let’s say, for example, that a housing complex is to be finished in three years. You should not allow it to take seven or ten years. This is also one of my recommendations.
I have written down a few things to share with you, my dear brothers. One is about your position. When [Imam Ali (pbuh) writes a letter to Malik al-Ashtar] saying, “The army is, by the will of God, the fortress of the subjects” (Nahjul Balagha, letter 53), [this means] that you are a fortress. You are a fence for the nation and for society. That is a great honor. What honor is greater than that? Imam Ali (pbuh) describes the Armed Forces as being a strong fence around the country and nation. What else is greater or more important than this? Consider how valuable your action is when you take care of one person and are a place of refuge for him/her. Now compare this to an entire nation. You accept to protect a nation. So this is a very high position. It is a big position, and accordingly it brings with it great responsibilities. Just like everything that is valuable, the responsibility that it brings is in proportion to the value. So appreciate your value, the value of this work, the value of this job, the value of this responsibility, and truly accept the responsibilities. In other words, shoulder the burden of this responsibility and take action in this regard.
Another point is that, fortunately, our Armed Forces are making progress. All the looked-for indices show this. This is not to say that we don’t have any flaws. Yes, there is no doubt that we have certain flaws and weaknesses, but what’s important is that we are moving forward. That is definite. There is no stopping. There is progress. This is a very important point. Don’t miss this point. Stopping is like moving backwards. There’s no difference. Do not be satisfied with the status quo. Strive to move forward. Now, I have already spoken about the meaning of “change.” Change is the upper point of this movement. What’s required is movement. [We need to] move forward and make progress. Look and see what you can do in this regard in the department that you are working in.
Another important point is preparedness. Now, he made a reference to war games. They are important. That is, [conducting] war games in the fields that the enemy’s Armed Forces are engaged in — in all fields, [including] the air, ground, maritime, infiltration, and security sectors — you need to be prepared in all the fields that fall within the scope of the tasks of the Armed Forces. When there is a threat, preparations must be made. Threats are always there, because you can never assume that [there will not be a threat]. It may be possible to imagine a time when there will be peace and no war, but to assume that there will be a time when threats won’t exist, in my opinion, such a thing is impossible and will not come about. Therefore, we must always be prepared.
This is [the verse in the Quran], “Prepare against them whatever you can” (Quran 8:60). In other words, be prepared. How much should one prepare? “Whatever you can.” Whatever you can, whatever you are capable of “… of [military] power and war-horses.” This preparedness, the preparation itself is a deterrent. Being prepared [is a deterrent]. Therefore, in this same verse, [God] states, “You instill awe in them,” because of your numbers, because of your preparation. “… Awing thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy” (Quran 8:60). In other words, when you are prepared and the enemy senses this, this in itself is a deterrent. It is a deterrent in the Air Force, it is a deterrent in the defense sector, it is a deterrent in maritime exercises, and it is a deterrent in the military exercises and drills that you conduct at sea and on land. It is the same in all the various sectors. Therefore, maintain your preparedness so that the enemy can see it.
This threat that I spoke about, where is it coming from? This is also an important point. We must not make a mistake about this. This threat that I mentioned, where is it coming from? This is also an important point. We must not make any mistakes. Sometimes we see that, for example, a small, insignificant power says or does something and draws one’s attention to it. Let’s not become preoccupied with these minor enmities. We need to see who is behind the scenes and who the main designer of these schemes is. That is what’s important. Major powers are behind all the warmongering that is taking place in our region and in other parts of the world.
Now, for example, in Europe today, Ukraine is involved in a war. Who started that war? Who plans and designs these [wars]? It is the same in Syria, Libya, Sudan, and in other places. These things that are taking place, the wars that exist, there are schemes behind all of them. One cannot say these are minor things. Who are the designers of these schemes? They are the international villainous forces that we refer to as “the Arrogant Powers.” “The Arrogant Powers” refers to those villainous, aggressive, international forces that always want more and are never satisfied with what they have. They observe, make plans, and see that they need to create a conflict in one place in order to profit in some other place. They start a conflict here, for example, so they can profit there! We need to pay attention to these things and consider what is happening behind the scenes.
The enemy’s plans, in my opinion, are long-term plans. We should not just consider [what they have in mind] for us, for the next five or ten years, for example. We need to consider what their long-term plans are. Often, their plans are long-term. One can see this. They have long-term, medium-term, and all sorts of plans. They don’t take action without a plan. When I look back, I see that about 22 years ago, for example, two operations were carried out in the east and west of Iran within a short timeframe. Well, this could not have been a coincidence. We have a border that’s over 1,300 kilometers long with one [of these countries] and a border that’s over 800 kilometers long with the other one. Suddenly, a fire arises in both the east and west of the country. We are not the ones who interfere, we are standing aside. But the Arrogant Powers come and start a war, a serious war.
What happened in Iraq, the arrival of the Americans there, was not a joke. It was a real, very serious, comprehensive war in which all the ground forces and all the air forces of the United States were used in Iraq. It was almost the same in Afghanistan. They started [the war] there a bit earlier than in Iraq. Well, were these coincidental? Was it a coincidence that these things happened in the east and the west of Iran in a short timespan? It definitely could not have been a coincidence. There was a plan behind these. Now, they may have had certain interests in Iraq or some faint interests in Afghanistan, but those interests did not necessitate such wars. This war is aimed at Islamic Iran. When one looks [at what happened], there is no doubt that the goal of these two wars was Islamic Iran. Now one can understand this in different ways and according to different analyses that are not difficult to make. They bring up false excuses. For example, they use one excuse in this place and another excuse in that place. They come and start a war. We need to pay attention to who our enemy is.
Now, fortunately, the foundation of the Revolution is a strong foundation. The reason I keep repeating this is because I want you to think about this. The foundation of the Revolution is very strong. The foundations of the Revolution are very strong. That is why the other side failed in both cases. They very obviously failed, and their failure was accompanied by the rapid development of the Islamic Republic. This was something that they did not want and had not thought about. May God have mercy on Martyr [Qasem] Soleimani, for his role in this was truly unparalleled. I know this because I was closely informed on the events that were taking place. May God elevate his status.
So, the enemy failed despite its plans. Now, let’s draw a conclusion from this. The conclusion we can draw from this is that the enemy’s seemingly comprehensive, convincing, solid calculations can definitely be defeated. Let’s not forget this. Let’s make this a part of all our current calculations. It’s true the enemy has a strong intelligence system, a strong system for calculating matters, good Armed Forces, and much money. All of these things are true, but it is also definitely possible for one to defeat their calculations. They can be defeated. If we act rationally without giving up, if we keep track of all the efforts that the enemy is making, they can be defeated.
Now, an example of this is unfolding in front of everyone’s eyes with regard to the Zionist regime. The entire world is seeing it. During the month of Ramadan last year, operations were carried out against the Palestinians. The operations were quite significant, and the Palestinians suffered a great amount of damage in neighborhoods such as Sheikh Jarrah. They truly oppressed them. [However], there was no outcry in the world. I had made a note of this and when I referred to it, it was truly worthy of complaint that there was no outcry toward this oppression in the world, neither from human rights organization nor from anyone else. Quds Day was only remembered seriously here, and a little in some other places too.
[But] see what is happening in the world in the face of Israel’s actions this year. There have been demonstrations in the US and England, and the car of the Zionist regime’s president was attacked by the European people. Now, in these cases, the stances adopted by the world have been good and in favor of the Palestinians while being against [the Israelis]. Well, these are an indication of certain truths that should not be overlooked. One should understand the defeatability of the enemy from this and the fact that the enemy's calculations can be defeated.
Of course, we should not ignore the enemy’s guile. In other words, we should not rest assured and assume that it is all over at any stage of our progress and success. No, that vigilance, the numbers and preparedness that I initially spoke about [must exist]. Of course, in my opinion, the think tanks within the Armed Forces have a great responsibility. They need to think. I once told you that you are our strategists, you are our military strategists. You need to sit down and draw up plans. You need to make innovative plans in how to deal with [the enemy]. You should constantly think of new plans, new ways — important, rational ways of course — which should be carried out in accordance with the region and the country’s capacity.
Anyway, the path [you have taken] is a good path. The work you are doing is good. The job you have is something to be proud of. God willing, God will always support you. Please send my regards and extend my congratulations to your families, your spouses, and your children, and thank them for their patience. Truly thank your wives for their patience when you are busy with your work, with the continuous meetings, [along with] the dangers [of your jobs], and at the same time, they are busy attending to their own jobs at home.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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