In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; peace and greetings are our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his immaculate and infallible household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
You are quite welcome, dear brothers and diligent, active, and reputable personnel of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic. And this occasion is the main reason for the reputability, in the real sense of the word, of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic. I thank the chorus for their excellent performance and for the meaningful and content-rich song.
Well, it is many years now that we have been holding meetings, discussing and speaking about the very important event of the 19th of Bahman of 1357. However, this is an infinite topic in the true sense of the word. Many things have been said in this regard, but there are still more things to say. As a poet said, “One can speak for a lifetime about the beauty of the beloved’s hair.” [from a poem by Saeb Tabrizi]
The event of the 19th of Bahman in 1357 was a determining event. During the time of Taghut [tyrannical rule of the Pahlavis], the air force was, in fact, the closest division of the army to the ruling apparatus and to the political system that was dependent on the U.S. At that time, none of the other divisions of the army were trusted by the dictatorship as much as the air force.
However, the regime was dealt a hard blow from that same division. And when I say a "hard blow" this was surely the case. Despite the discipline and atmosphere that they had created for the army, all of a sudden, a division of the same army – the sensitive division of the air force which was trusted by the regime to a great extent – pledged their allegiance to Imam Khomeini, the Leader of the Revolution (r.a.). And they did not do so secretly, rather they did it in broad daylight while holding up their identification cards! I was present at that event, and I recall seeing them on Iran Street.
They were going to the school where Imam (r.a.) was staying. They were moving in groups behind one another just like a military maneuver, chanting slogans and holding up their identification cards. It was an astonishing event!
It was the exact embodiment of the following ayah: “But the wrath of God came to them from quarters from which they little expected” [The Holy Quran, 59: 2]. The tyrannical Pahlavi regime received a blow from a place that they did not expect at all. They had thought of all possibilities in their calculations except for this one. And it was this event, the remotest possibility, which took place. Imagine that the air force of the army suddenly pledges its allegiance to the Imam, the Leader of the Revolution, alongside the people despite the existence of a dependent commander and various other dependences – numerous dependences in the area of ammunition, equipment, training, and so on. Now, that was an astonishing blow, one that they did not expect at all.
We did not expect it either. Revolutionaries and believers on the other side did not expect it either. That was, in fact, an unimaginable provision: “And for those who fear God, He ever prepares a way out and He provides for him from sources he never could imagine.” [The Holy Quran, 65: 2-3] Sometimes, we receive help, assistance, or a blood donation from places we could never imagine and from areas that did not exist in our calculations at all. For the revolutionary front, too, that assistance from the air force was like an “unimaginable provision.” We did not count on it; in fact, the thought that some people inside the army might enter the arena did not cross the minds of us people of Iran, fighters, revolutionaries, and our magnanimous Imam (r.a.).
Of course, before that in Mashhad, I had close relations with some individuals in the army, and I knew that they shared our beliefs. In Tehran, too, there were some people in the army who had close relations with some of my friends. Such connections existed, but the idea that such a large group would spark an uprising with that great and noticeable movement was truly an “unimaginable provision.” It was not, in any way, calculable.
Let us learn a lesson here: you should always imagine the “unimaginable provisions” in your calculations, even if it is brief. There is no doubt that logical and material calculations are influential and necessary. There is no part of Islamic teachings that says to us that we should not take logical, reasonable, and material calculations into account -- we should take those calculations into account -- but you should also create a space for calculations beyond material ones and beyond what crosses our minds.--This is “unimaginable provision”: this is what has not been calculated before and what will reach us.
Unimaginable provisions should be in all of our calculations. It should be observed, thought of, and expected in all the affairs that the believing side conducts. We read in a prayer: “Oh God, You Who open a gate in times of calamity in a way that it does not cross the minds of any human.” [Qisas ul-Anbiya, page 363] When things become difficult and when there is apparently a dead end, Allah the Exalted sometimes opens a space from the corner of that dead end “in a way that it does not cross the minds of any human.” Such events exist. One example is the imposed war.
The imposed war began while there was a huge gap between us and that aggressor – the Ba'athist Saddam – in terms of resources, number, and organization. He was prepared, he was fully equipped, he had a solid organization, and he had clear-cut troops; both his air and ground forces were prepared; his defense, his logistics, his engineering, his various divisions: everything that he had was prepared. That was while we had problems in those areas: we had problems with equipment, manpower, engineering capabilities, logistics, and resources.
Once, during a 19th of Bahman meeting [delivered on February 8, 1992], I asked that the commander of our Air Force, in those days, present a list of suitable planes. He said, “At most, in the course of 17, 18 days, all our planes will be unable to fly, and their flight will be cut off because they need parts and components.” The last available plane was C-130. During the first, second, and third days, F-5, F-4, F-14 and other such planes should have been decommissioned. The only plane that would be able to operate for 15, 20 days was the C-130, which was a transport aircraft. In those days, we were thinking of such matters, but God opened up a gate. Our Air Force continued to be active and worked hard until the end of the war.
The sentence: “Oh God, You, Who opens a gate in times of calamity, in a way that it does not cross the minds of any human” gives meaning to this: this is an “Unimaginable provision." You should consider this in your calculations. If we are pious and if we use reason in the shade of reliance on and belief in God, then that gate will open up for us. --This does not mean that we should abandon reason and forsake material calculations. This is not what I am saying. All these things are necessary, and we have always placed great emphasis on them; but, as well as reason, you should open a space for divine assistance if you are individuals who rely on God and believe in Him.
During the 37, 38 years that have passed since the Revolution, this has always been the case for all issues, and we have always witnessed divine assistance. I will say a few things about the Air Force of the Islamic Republic's Army, and, after that, I will return to this topic again.
The Air Force has passed several tests even after that event. When I look back, I see that the first person who helped foil the coup d’état that they had launched, before the beginning of the imposed war – a coup d’état launched by elements from the Air Force, the Ground Force, civilians and others – was an Air Force officer, a pilot. He came to me and reported what he had seen. --This was how the Air Force was informed of the plot, and they prepared themselves for it. So, it was an Air Force member who foiled a grave move which was supposed to be made in Shahid Nojeh Air Base in Hamedan, and which was going to extend to Tehran and other cities. --I have not forgotten this. The Islamic Republic will not forget this kindness, this assistance, and this great service [offered by the Air Force].
The first division of the army to embark upon the jihad of component manufacturing – as an endeavor to start manufacturing aircraft components – was the Air Force. Before that, there was no manufacture in the Air Force. They would not allow our technical staff to even learn about complicated parts and components. The jihad of component manufacturing began with the Air Force, and they really referred to it as jihad: they carried out a jihadi move. So, the first place was the Air Force. Of course, other divisions of the army began this as well, but the Air Force was the forerunner and the pioneer.
Since day one, of the imposed war, it was the Air Force’s flights that boosted the morale of the people. At that time, I was a member of the Majlis [parliament]. When I went to the Majlis and reported the number of sorties that they had carried out, everyone’s mouth dropped wide open. They carried out so many flights with that magnitude! And the news spread throughout the country, and the people felt it. Such was the performance of the Air Force over the course of time. The Air Force played a determining role in the various operations that the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps conducted – in particular, important operations such as Val Fajr-8, Karbala-5, and other such operations during which important and great tasks were accomplished.
God’s mercy is upon Shahid Sattari, who was an aerial defense officer at the time. He fulfilled the duty of defense during Operation Val Fajr-8 at such a fast rate and with such a serious approach that everyone was impressed. The enemy was impressed as well, because they managed to strike so many planes! The Air Force is a reputable force. And from then on, too, you have continued to work. And you should continue to work dear young individuals.
You should work, think, act, carry out your duties, fill the voids, strengthen management, and increase construction within the Air Force as much as you can. I am aware of your limitations. Your limitations are the limitations of the country. You should make up for these limitations and voids with your firm human determination, knowledge, piety, and reliance on divine kindness. And these limitations can be made up for, as many of them have been made up for till this day.
It is the role of reliance on Allah the Exalted that brings us this “unimaginable provision." How can this be achieved? This can be achieved when we employ reason in the shade of reliance on Allah the Exalted. However, if the opposite happens and if we employ reason in the shade of trust in shaitans, things will turn up otherwise. A Quranic ayah in holy Sura Noor states: “Their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which [the man parched with thirst] mistakes for water.” Like a mirage, a thirsty individual has mistaken a piece of dry land for water. Later on, when he gets closer, he sees that there is nothing: “Until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: But he finds God ever with him.” [The Holy Quran, 24: 39] He sees that there is nothing: pinning one’s hope on Satan is like this. Pinning one’s hope on materialistic and satanic powers is like this.
Employing reason and adopting a reasonable approach on different matters – matters related to diplomacy, management of domestic affairs in the country, resource provision, knowledge, industry and other such areas – is a necessary task but trusting shaitans and trusting those individuals who are opposed to the essence of your existence is a grave mistake.
A power that cannot endure and accept the essence of the Islamic Republic’s existence and the essence of Islamic power cannot be trusted and relied on: “Like a mirage in sandy deserts, which [the man parched with thirst] mistakes for water.” --This is a statement that each and every one of us should keep in mind forever. Each and every person among the people of Iran should keep this in mind. You should try and work harder; you should show innovation; you should bring your real and God-given power to the arena; you should move forward with reliance on God, on His assistance and then God will help. However, if you sit and wait for Shaitan – the Great Shaitan – to come and help, then the ayah “Like a mirage in sandy deserts, which [the man parched with thirst] mistakes for water” will come about, because no good comes from Shaitan.
Now, the gentleman that has recently taken office in the White House says that we should be grateful to America and to Obama administration. Why should we be grateful? We are not grateful at all. He was part of the same system that imposed those heavy sanctions on the people of Iran with the purpose of paralyzing the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation. They hoped to paralyze us. Their hopes were not fulfilled and will never be fulfilled; because no enemy can paralyze Iran. He says that we should be grateful, we are not grateful at all. Why should we be grateful? Because of sanctions? Because they created DAESH? Because they set fire to the region? They set Syria on fire. They set Iraq on fire. Why should we be grateful? Should we be grateful because of their support of the sedition that they created during the elections of the year 2009?
On the one hand, he wrote a letter, to me, expressing his respect, kindness, and cooperation; and on the other hand, he supported the seditionists openly, saying to them that they [the U.S.] had stood behind them; thus, revealing their intention to provoke sedition in the country. --This is the true face of hypocrisy. He was wearing that velvet glove to cover his iron fist. I have spoken about it many times.
We do not thank them at all: we know what they have done: we know what they were doing. He says that we should thank Obama and that we should be afraid of him [Donald Trump]! We are not afraid of you either! On the 22nd of Bahman [February 11, the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979], the people will respond to these threats and statements, out on the streets. They will show what position the people of Iran adopt in the face of threats. We are not afraid of anyone’s threats!
Yes, we thank that man who has taken office recently. We thank him because he saved us the trouble of revealing the true nature of the United States of America. What we have been saying, repeatedly, over the past 30 plus years – about political corruption, economic corruption, moral corruption, and social corruption of the ruling apparatus of America – was fully displayed and manifested by that man [Trump] as he revealed the naked truth about America during and after the elections. In the present time, too, he is showing the truth about the United States with his actions. He is showing us what American human rights mean; they detain innocent children: this is their human rights!
The people of Iran have found their path. The people of Iran are pushing their movement forward and taking this path with logic, reason, and reliance on God, and they are doing so at a great speed and in a self-confident manner. Today, the people of Iran trust themselves. Our youth are working with self-confidence. Our academic organizations and institutes are filled with new thoughts in the area of science. The same is true of the area of infrastructure and various other areas. Today, rationality is the first important issue in the country. However, it is accompanied by reliance on and trust in Allah the Exalted. We know that the people of Iran will surely achieve victory on this path and that they will attain their ideal results and desires.
May God’s mercy be upon our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), who clarified the truths about these matters, for the people of Iran during the 10 years of his blessed life at the beginning of the Revolution. You should look into Imam’s (r.a.) speeches: he identified friends and enemies. He knew who the people of Iran were, and he identified goals. The reason why Imam (r.a.) said, over and over again, that we should not trust Shaitan and the enemy and the reason why he said that we should beware of trusting the enemy was that he knew the enemy. Of course, we used to make these statements, but today they are on the big screen and everyone is watching. The behavior of that gentleman reveals the true nature of America and of the comments that they make about human rights, philanthropy, and other such matters. --This is what we can obtain from this situation and from deliberating on Imam’s (r.a.) statements.
I hope that the Lord of the worlds bestows success on you. I hope that by Allah’s favor, you the youth will be prepared so that you can carry out the great task that befalls you. Your generation should carry out great tasks. The generation before you accomplished great tasks, but there are other important tasks that you should accomplish. I hope that you will prepare yourselves with reliance on Allah the Exalted and that you will deliver this duty -- which you have held in trust -- to future generations.
Greetings are upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings,
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