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 his pure, immaculate Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.
I would like to first welcome each and every one of the brothers and sisters who have traveled a long way to come here. You have blessed our Hussainiyah with your warm presence and your kind, loving hearts. Thank you, my dear brothers and sisters.
Seeing you, the dear people of Birjand and South Khorasan and the dear people of Sistan and Baluchestan, brings back memories for me. What I am going to share with you is not because I just want to speak about a part of history. Rather, I would like to discredit the false image that the enemies of this nation present about some regions in the country. I want to clarify the truth for the public about our brothers and sisters who live in different parts of the country.
My first open battle with the taghuti Pahlavi regime took place in Birjand. I had been active before that as well, but there had not yet been open, public confrontations. My first public confrontation took place in Birjand in 1342 AHL [1963], in the month of Muharram. That was 60 years ago, and most of you weren’t born yet. My second confrontation took place in Zahedan. When was that? It was during the month of Ramadan that same year, in 1342. So you see, the memory I have from your regions goes back to that time. It is not a matter of 10 or 20 years. It is from over half a century ago.
In Birjand, they arrested me on the day of Tasua [9th of Muharram]. They detained me in the police station. The people of Birjand wanted to attack the police station on the day of Ashura to get me out of there. That is the decision they had come to.
The late [Ayatollah Sayyid Hasan] Tahami’s acumen did not allow that to happen. He was a top-level, prominent scholar in Birjand. He was a great religious scholar and if he had been in the Qom or the Najaf Seminary, he definitely would have become a marja taqlid [religious authority], but he had come to Birjand and remained there. He stopped the people and told them [that if they were to attack the police station], it would create problems for me. What am I trying to imply here? I want to say that back then, the people and the scholars were with the [revolutionary] movement. We were not alone. I had gone to Birjand alone, but Birjand with all its people and the great scholars that lived there were with me. So that is regarding Birjand.
I went to Zahedan during the month of Ramadan that same year. There were two great scholars in Zahedan. There was a top Shia scholar, the late Ayatollah Muhammad Kafami Khorasani, and a top Sunni scholar, the late Mowlavi Abdulaziz Mullazehi. I was arrested there too. In the middle of the month of Ramadan, they arrested me in Zahedan, brought me to Tehran, and took me to Qezel Qaleh Prison.
The late Kafami openly showed his support for us, and the late Mowlavi Abdulaziz issued a ruling in line with what we had said. I don't remember the exact date of that ruling with regard to the time of my presence in Zahedan. [I don’t remember] how long it was after that or if it was at the same time, but this ruling was in line with what I was doing — the details of that ruling are long, and I won’t get into them now. That is a memory I have of that place. So, the first open move that I made in confronting the taghuti Pahlavi system was made accompanied by these two important centers, which are the capitals of two provinces today, along with their people and their scholars.
Of course, it wasn’t just that. These things took place 15 years before the Revolution, in 1342. Shortly before the Revolution, I had been exiled to Iranshahr [in Sistan and Baluchestan]. After the victory of the Revolution, I was in contact with Sunni scholars throughout Baluchestan as well. Immediately after the Revolution, since I was already familiar with the region, Imam Khomeini (ra) sent me to Sistan and Baluchestan so that I could see the situation of the people there and report back to him in order to take care of the things that were needed there.
I will never forget the help I received from the Sunni scholars of Baluchestan during that trip. What they did back then needed courage. The late Mowlavi Abdulaziz Sadati, a great, elderly religious scholar from Saravan, supported me and the Revolution openly and clearly. These are the identities of the province and the people.
The enemy does not want us to remember these facts. It wants these things to be forgotten, whether it was in Chabahar, in Saravan, in Iranshahr, in Zahedan itself, or in Sistan, which is truly the center of the brave, loyal people of Zabol. This was what I experienced in those places.
There are also distinguished martyrs who have come from these two provinces. In addition to the martyrs of the Imposed War, distinguished martyrs from these two provinces have repeatedly sacrificed themselves for the Revolution while fighting the Monafeqin [MKO terrorist group] and in various events where they were protecting security from that day and continuing up until today. There are martyrs today [from these provinces] as well, and there were martyrs in 1360 AHS [1981]. There was the late Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Hussaini Tabatabaei from Zabol and the late Mowlavi Hussainbor from among the Sunni scholars who were martyred in 1360. And recently there were our distinguished brothers such as the Martyr General Shushtari or Martyr Abdulwahid Rigi, the Mowlavi from the county of Khash, and the like.
So, this region is the region of the Revolution, the region of giving martyrs, the region of moving on the path of God. The enemy cannot stand to see this. It cannot bear it. [In this region,] we have had martyrs for unity, martyrs who fought during the Sacred Defense, and martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect the country’s security. I have already mentioned some of their names.
Let me mention something in passing here, which is in fact a fundamental, important point. Our officials should appreciate these people and serve them. Of course, a lot of work and services have been done in Sistan and Baluchestan. The Baluchestan you see today is not the Baluchestan of the time of the taghuti Pahlavi period. I saw the condition it was in back then. The people had nothing. Work began in this region from the very first days [after the Revolution]. Work was done there, in Zabol, and in other regions of the province. Work is being done there today as well. This work should continue vigorously.
The issue of the railway line is very important. It is very important for the north and the south-east of the country to be connected by a railway. It is important for the province, the provinces in between, and for the country itself. The issue of Zabol’s water is very important. All the work and all the various ways must be pursued in order to provide water, which is one of the people’s rights, and, God willing, this work will be done. Much work has already been done, but there is still much work to be done.
If administrations had acted upon the resolutions that were passed in 2004, when I came to Baluchestan, the province would look different today. Some administrations were lethargic and neglected this matter. Thank God, the administration is busy today, and it is working hard. I am hopeful and, God willing, this hope will come to fruition. So, these were some issues related to this region.
There is a general matter that concerns everyone. I myself, the entire Iranian nation, and our officials should pay attention to this. What is this matter? I would especially like the young people to pay attention to this point. When major transformations take place or begin in the world, the nations and officials of countries have a duty to be much more vigilant. If they have this kind of vigilance, nations will not be deceived, and they will not be forced to act against their own interests. If they do not have this kind of vigilance and if they are neglectful, long-term harm will be inflicted on nations.
Let me give you an example. This example is related to the time of the height of colonialism. For example, British colonialism came to our region and many countries in the 18th century, especially in Central Asia and East Asia, were dominated, because the nations were asleep. Their officials weren’t paying attention.
The British came and gradually took over the vital resources of people in the Indian subcontinent and in the countries on the eastern and western sides of India. Now, I’m using India as an example, but the same thing happened in Africa, Latin America, and also in North America. The British took control of the interests of these nations and colonized them. These countries were set back for decades or more, perhaps 200 years.
These nations went to great trouble in order to free themselves from colonialism. I mentioned the British as an example. France did the same thing. Portugal did the same thing. Belgium did the same thing, and other European countries, more or less, did these things too. When the colonial movement began in Europe due to its own reasons, nations should have been awake. The officials in these countries should have been alert. They should have been paying attention [to what was happening], but they were not. As a result, a large portion of the world was afflicted with two or three centuries of colonization. This is one example.
A more recent example is what took place after World War I. It was mainly after World War I and shortly after World War II in our own region, the West Asian region — the place the Europeans like to call “the Middle East,” which is incorrect and we should say West Asia — that they brought a great calamity upon this region. If the nations in the West Asia and North Africa had been awake, they [the European countries] wouldn’t have been able to bring about these tragedies. England acted in one way, France acted in another way, and Italy acted in its own way. Our region fell behind the caravan of civilization and progress for at least a hundred years.
So you see, when a transformation begins in the world, nations must be vigilant so that this transformation will not be to their detriment. The officials of countries must be vigilant. Of course, the officials cannot do anything without the support of the people.
What I want to say is this: A major transformation is either beginning or has begun in the world today. Today is a day when the nations in the region must not be neglectful as they were during the era of colonialism or after World War I. The nations in the region must be alert. Please pay close attention to what I am saying, especially our dear young people.
We said that the world is on the verge of a transformation, or it’s at the beginning of a transformation. What is this transformation? What is happening in the world that we interpret this to be a transformation? There are several main components. First of all, the world’s Arrogant Powers are becoming weak. This is one of the main components of the transformation that is taking place. The US as an Arrogant Power has become weak and is continuously becoming weaker. I shall elaborate on this. The same thing is happening to some European countries. This is one of the main components of this transformation. Another component of this transformation is the emergence of new regional and global powers. New powers are emerging that are either regional powers or global powers. So, this is transformation.
We said that the US is becoming weak. The Western Arrogant Powers are becoming weak. This is not a slogan. It is a reality. It is something that they are saying themselves. They themselves say that the indicators showing the authority of the US in the world are declining. What indicators? An example is their economy. One of the most important indicators of US power used to be the strong American economy. They say it is declining. Another indicator is the ability to interfere in other governments. The US interfered in various governments. Their ability to do this is on the decline today.
This is happening in European countries in one way and in other countries in another way. You hear about this in the media, in the news on television and radio and in the world news. They admit to this. One of the indicators of the authority of the US was their ability to change governments and countries. Pay attention to this. These are important matters.
There was a time when the US sent an agent to Iran with a suitcase full of money, with dollars. The name of that agent has been recorded as well and everyone knows him: Kim Roosevelt. His name was Kim Roosevelt. These are not secrets. They were secret back then, but they were revealed later on. They sent an agent to Iran with a suitcase full of money and he fomented a coup, the 28th of Mordad coup. With the conspiracy of the US and England working together and at the hand of an American agent who brought money here and distributed it among thugs and mobs and various other people, they fomented the 28th of Mordad coup. They overthrew a government, Mossadeq’s government.
That is how America used to be at one time. Can the US do the same thing today? Definitely not! It cannot do this to Iran or any other country for that matter. Today, the US has no choice but to use hybrid warfare in order to inflict harm on the governments it wishes to harm. Hybrid warfare entails great expense, and it will ultimately bear no fruit for them.
Today, despite the extraordinary development of information and security tools that US possesses more than anywhere else, Despite this, do you know of any country in the last ten years whose government the US has been able to overthrow and replace using hybrid warfare? They conspired in Syria for ten years, but they were unable to do anything. They stayed around in Afghanistan for 20 years. They brought all their military tools. Yet, you saw how they exited Afghanistan in disgrace! This is what we mean when we say that the US has become weak.
The situation is not better when it comes to the decline that is taking place in Europe. Well, you must have heard about the situation in Africa these days. The countries that were under France’s control are rising up one after another against France. The people are overthrowing the puppet governments imposed by France. Of course, their armies are busy, but the people support them. So, the Western powers, which are headed by the US and followed by Europe, do not have the same power they once used to have. They are becoming weaker.
This weakness is increasing every day. New powers are also emerging that I don’t want to mention the names of these powers for now. I don't want to get into that now. This is a great global transformation.
Now, this transformation is currently taking place. As I said, when major global changes occur, nations and countries’ officials must be vigilant. This is the situation we are in now. We need to be vigilant. When we say that the enemy is becoming weaker, this does not mean that they are incapable of plotting, that they cannot show hostile behavior, or that they cannot inflict harm. They can, they are busy plotting. We must not fall asleep. We must not become neglectful. What do I mean when I say “we?” I am talking about our officials and the general public.
As I said, it is impossible for the officials of any country to carry out big, important tasks without the support of the people. The people must be behind them. The people must be alert, and the officials must not be neglectful. They must be awake. Imam Ali said, “He who neglects the enemy will not be neglected by the enemy” (Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter 62). If you fall asleep in your trench, it doesn’t mean that your enemy has also fallen asleep in his trench. No, he may be awake. He may be watching you. He may take advantage of you being asleep. This is the fundamental issue: We must not be neglectful.
We must be vigilant with regard to the enemy’s plots. Does the enemy have plots? Yes, the enemy has plots. It has plans, and not just for us. Today, the US has plans for the region — for Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the countries in the Persian Gulf, which are its old, traditional friends. It has plans for these countries. Now, our focus is not on the plans that it has for them, but what plans does it have for us? We are not uninformed about them. We aren’t uninformed.
Our intelligence sources have informed us that the US government has created an organization in the US called the Crisis Group. What does it do? The mission of this group is to create crises in countries, including our country. The mission of this group is to create crises. They look for points that they think will spark a crisis in a country. They find these points and aggravate them. That is the mission of this Crisis Group in the US.
They have gathered and thought about this. They have studied this and reached the conclusion that there are several crisis points in Iran that should be aggravated and activated. One point is ethnic differences, one is religious differences, and another is related to gender issues and women's issues. They want to aggravate these points in Iran and create crises. In this way and through these crises, they want to harm our dear country. This is the US plan, and [as the Persian proverb goes] “the camel dreams of cotton seeds … .”
They have explicitly stated this. They have explicitly stated this that they want to create a situation in Iran similar to the situation that exists in Syria and Yemen. They have explicitly stated this. Of course, they are dead wrong! They cannot do that. There is no doubt about it. However, this is provided that we are vigilant. We need to be paying attention. If you are sleeping, even a child can hit you, let alone an armed enemy who is ready to take action.
We must not be neglectful. We must not be sleeping. We must be careful not to go astray. We must not take the wrong path. We must not make mistakes. If we are careful, if we know our enemy, if we recognize their tactics, if we are careful not to help the enemy's plot with our words, our logic, and our actions, then the enemy cannot do a damn thing. We must be careful not to go astray, not to make mistakes, and not to mistake truth for falsehood.
The Quran has provided us with a criterion, “Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him.” We are discussing those who are with him. Are we with the Prophet or not? There is a sign: “and those who are with him are fierce against the unbelievers” (48:29). If you see that the path you are taking is a path that makes the unbelievers happy, then know that you are not being “fierce against the unbelievers,” you are not “with the Messenger of Allah,” and you are not moving with the Prophet. But if you see that the path you are taking is upsetting and angering the arrogant, vicious governments who are against religion and Islam, then that is a good sign, that is being “fierce against the unbelievers.” That is the standard and the criterion.
We must pay careful attention [to what is happening] and know what we are doing. We should know what we are saying. The things we say should not help the enemy’s scheme and help complete the enemy’s puzzle. At times, a person may be neglectful. They may do something or say something that helps complete the enemy’s puzzle and scheme. This is dangerous. We must be careful that this doesn’t happen. If we are vigilant, the enemy will not be able to do a damn thing.
During these forty-some years, today’s enemies and the enemies that existed before but have ceased to exist, like the former Soviet Union, treated us badly and did whatever they could [against us] time and time again. The Iranian nation was awake. It was alert. It was following the objectives of Imam Khomeini. Imam’s guidelines are valuable for us today [as well]. See what Imam was saying, what he wanted, and where he was leading us. The nation did this and that is why it has succeeded up until now. The situation is the same today. We must be vigilant today as well.
The enemy has targeted two fundamental points. One is national unity and the other is national security. National unity is important. Do not let them destroy our unity. What is the meaning of unity? It means that with regard to the country’s fundamental issues and in areas where the interests of the nation are at stake, religious differences, political differences, differences between groups and ethnic differences should be put aside. Everyone should be together. Different ethnic groups and different religions should be together. In places where there is a specific orientation, this unity is important.
And with regard to security, those who threaten national security are the enemies of the nation. They work for the enemy, whether they realize this themselves or not. Sometimes they do things without realizing what they are doing. So, these two points are important. The enemy has targeted these two points, unity and security. We must confront it.
Thank God, our nation is awake. I am very optimistic and hopeful about our dear nation being awake because of what we have experienced during these forty-some years, not because of slogans, battle cries, and the like. We have experienced and witnessed things. This [optimism] is based on the things that we see in the youth of this country: their loyalty, their devotion, the sincerity they show, and their good participation in events such as the Arbaeen Walk, which I will briefly talk about in a moment. These are signs for hope. We must move forward with the same strength, with the same motivation, and with the same faith. The enemy is serious in its enmity and its schemes. We too are extremely serious in confronting the enemy!
At the end of my speech, I would like to thank the people of Iraq for their valuable hospitality and service during the Arbaeen. What they did was extraordinary. The Iraqi people gave everything they had for many days in serving and hosting more than 22 million pilgrims walking from Najaf to Karbala or from Kazimein to Karbala. They truly deserve to be thanked. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our Iraqi brothers and sisters. I would like to thank the Iraqi officials, and I would also like to particularly thank Hashd al-Shabi. I thank the Iraqi police force and the Iraqi government for maintaining security [during this time]. What these people have done is remarkable.
I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to our own police force. Our police force truly worked hard around the clock and put their minds to work with regard to people’s transportation and border issues. These are very valuable matters. We must appreciate these dedicated forces and these good young people who work in different sectors. We need to protect one another, we need to respect each other, and we need to have mercy on each other. God too will show us His mercy, God willing.
O Lord! By Muhammad and Muhammad’s progeny, send your blessings and mercy upon the Iranian nation and on the people of these two provinces.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
