In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his pure household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth
First of all, you are very welcome, dear youth, dear children [of mine] and dear brothers and sisters. With your spirit, you revived the memory of the important events taking place on the 13th of Aban which are influential and determining events in our history. I am very pleased and happy to meet with you dear youth.
Secondly, there is a point in our country which is noteworthy. That point is the fact that youth are considered as a pioneering force in all countries and among all nations. They lead the great movement of their society like the engine of an automobile. This is the case in all countries provided that they do not become decadent, corrupt, addicted and entangled with various maladies.
Youth are characterized by dynamism, pioneering work and advancing. However, in our country, this spirit is not confined to "youth" in its ordinary sense. "Youth" means for example, eighteen, twenty-year-old boys and girls. This is the meaning of youth. However, in our country, the age of youthful dynamism and enthusiasm is lower. A thirteen, fourteen, fifteen-year-old teenager does the same things, sees the same things, pursues the same goals and shows the same spirit and energy that are expected of twenty, twenty-two, twenty-five-year-old youth in other countries. In our country, the level of movement, enthusiasm and pioneering work has reached teenagers as well. This is the characteristic of our country.
Which evidence proves this claim? These are things that we have been witnessing before and during the important events of the Revolution, during the Sacred Defense Era and in the present era. Before the Revolution, I was in Mashhad. I used to witness the events in Mashhad and I also used to witness the events in Tehran whenever I went there. In many cities, the youthful attempt to receive the fundamental concepts of the Revolution were not particular to young students and to youth in its general sense. Once, I myself held a meeting for a limited number of high school students – sixteen, seventeen, eighteen-year-old individuals – in that difficult era of suppression. Later on, all or most of them entered the arenas of fighting.
Today, some of them – the same individuals, the same youth - are among our well-known martyrs and some of them passed through important and sensitive events during the time of revolutionary activities. The same was true of Mashhad. High school teenagers and those who had not yet experienced and entered into youth – in its general sense – were in the middle of the arena of fighting. This was about the pre-revolutionary era.
In the beginning of the events that took place after the Revolution, well, our young students did something to claim the 13th of Aban as their day. The 13th of Aban is students' day. It is the day of students' endeavor and their massacre. Three important events took place in the 13th of Aban. One is related to the massacre of students. Well, if they had not been in the middle of the arena, if they had not engaged in fighting, and if their existence had not been of any influence, they would not have faced savagery and bestially by the agents of the taghuti regime and they would not have been martyred.
And students' endeavor is much more prominent during the time of the imposed war. Fourteen, fifteen-year-old teenagers entered the arena of war and fought like skilled and brave youth. Some of them were martyred. An example is Hussein Fahmideh. And some of them were held captive. An example is the teenagers whose stories, books and memoirs have been published. When we read about the feelings of those teenagers, we feel that they were moving forward in a world beyond this material world. During the time of captivity, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen-year-old boys stood up like a mountain against vicious and harsh Ba'athist agents. Where in the world do such things exist? Which young generation in the world enjoys such individuals?
And this has been the case after the war until the present time as well. I will tell you that I have ample information about the various affairs of the country. I am well-informed about many events in the country. I know that our school students and our teenagers have a good performance and understanding in various areas. They understand subtle issues. Today, high school teenagers aged 16, 17 have a better understanding and analysis than the likes of this humble person when we were 25, 26 and even older than that. This is the characteristic of our country.
My dear ones, dear youth, dear teenagers, my dear children, you should appreciate the value of this status and this opportunity. You and your generation are the generation that will help this country reach the peak, God willing. We have many dreams. We have great ideals. The enmity of enemies has not had any impact until today. They have not managed to do a damn thing. This does not mean that they did not show any enmity and that they were not active. They showed enmity and did as many things as you can imagine. They have done the same things to our country that they did to other countries in order to make their young generations deviate. This ranges from distributing addictive drugs to promoting decadence, misleading computer games and the like. They have done all these things.
And they have succeeded in some areas. They might have been able to make a number of youth deviate from their path, but the same generation of broad-minded youth and teenagers which existed in the beginning of the Revolution exist today as well. And the reason for this is what you witness in the present time. The youth of the 1380s – who did not see the war, Imam and the Revolution – are pursuing revolutionary concepts with the same broad-mindedness and vigor that an intelligent youth was pursuing in those days. You can succeed. You can overcome the enemy's tricks. You can overcome various difficulties and obstacles and help this country reach the desirable point that Islamic ideals and the Islamic Revolution require. And by Allah's favor, this will happen despite the malicious wishes of the enemy.
Of course, there are certain conditions for this. One of these conditions is that you should know the enemy. You should not be deceived by him. Our people have certain enemies, small and big. However, the one that I would like to stress – because it is an enemy and shows enmity and viciousness in the real sense of the word – is the US. This is not out of prejudice, and a pessimistic outlook, rather this is out of experience, out of a correct and real understanding and out of watching the field. We are watching the field. It is not the case that they are only showing enmity to this humble person or the Islamic Republic, rather they are showing enmity to the essence of the people who have stood firm and who do not get tired of confronting the enemy.
They are on bad terms with this. They are showing enmity to this. Just recently, the American president said that the Iranian nation is a terrorist nation. Notice how foolish this outlook is. They describe a people as terrorists. He does not say that the Leader is a terrorist, that the government is a terrorist government, rather he says that the people of Iran are terrorists! Is this not enmity? A few years ago too, another US politician said that they should destroy and uproot the people of Iran. Idiot [audience laugh]- can a people with such historical background and with such a strong tree of culture be uprooted? Notice that this is enmity.
When he is an enemy, his eyes are closed and an individual who does not see cannot have a correct calculation and evaluation. And his incapability to calculate things has caused him to be defeated. Because they cannot calculate things correctly, because they do not know the scene properly, they will be defeated. And they have been defeated. Now, forty years have passed since the victory of the Revolution. Since the first day when the Revolution was a thin sapling, they have attacked and fought against it. However, today it has become a strong tree which bears many fruits, despite their malicious wishes. So, this shows that they have not and will not be capable of defeating us, but they do show enmity and this is not something which is particular to the present time.
There are some people who say that we should compromise with the US somehow and a little bit because this way, their enmities might decrease. This is not the case. They have not even shown mercy on those who trusted, pinned their hopes on and referred to the US for assistance. Who for example? Dr. Mosaddeq. In order to fight and stand up against the English – this is what he wished to do – he turned to the Americans. He met with and negotiated with them and asked for their help. He trusted them. The coup d'état of the 28th of Mordad was not launched by the English, rather it was launched by the US against Mosaddeq.
This means that they are not even pleased with the likes of Mosaddeq. They want servants, and docile and subservient agents. Who for example? For example, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. They want such individuals so that they rule over this rich, blessed, wealthy and sensitive country – in terms of its geographical position and various capabilities. They are looking for someone whose hands are tied and who submits to them. This is what the Americans want. If such agents do not act like this, they turn into enemies. On the issue of Tabas, they showed enmity and they received a blow on their head. On the issue of destroying our passenger plane, they showed enmity. On the issue of sanctions, they have showed enmity since the first day. Today, they are showing enmity as well. They are acting in the most vicious way in the area of ruining the nuclear negotiations and their results –the agreement known as the Bar-Jaam [the JCPOA]. So, they are enemies.
Dear children, dear youth, you should not forget that on this very important and promising path that you are taking towards ideals – and you have the power to take this path – your main enemy is the US. You should not forget this [Audience chants, "Death to America"]. So, you will not forget what I just said. Some people think that we should compromise with the US. That is while the more compromise we make, the bolder they become. The way to proceed is to confront, to challenge and to resist. The way to proceed is to continue the movement that the Revolution has begun. So, the main condition is this.
I would like to mention another condition for you youth. You should study and work well. Knowledge and acquiring knowledge is one of the most basic tools and instruments for gaining the power to confront enmities, storms, difficult waves and the like. Our good youth should study well and acquire knowledge. Those who are outstanding should work for their country and they should not serve the enemy. Studying should become a lofty value. The talents of our youth are thankfully good talents. If they study and work well, the level of knowledge in the country will undoubtedly go up. If the level of knowledge goes up, this will strengthen the domestic structure of the country. If this happens, it becomes strong. With knowledge, one can achieve big dreams. By Allah's favor, you should pay attention to this as well.
And my dear ones, you should also strengthen your relationship with Allah the Exalted. Your hearts are pure. Your souls are unblemished and clean. Obtaining divine kindness, blessings and light is much easier for you than the likes of this humble person. You can easily do so. You can achieve this by supplicating, by saying prayers, by performing daily prayers in a satisfactory and attentive manner, by reading the Quran, by helping God's servants – one of the most important tasks and acts of worship is helping God's servants – and by avoiding sins. I am sure and I have no doubts that the current generation, comprised of you dear youth, will be able to achieve all the dreams that existed in the Revolution.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will smooth the path which lies ahead of you. I hope that your path will be an easy one and that your achievements will increase on a daily basis.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings
