Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday in Qazvin that honored families of martyrs and other war veterans have institutionalized martyrdom in the country, adding that all grateful Iranians are proud of these families and their devoted sons.
Ayatollah Khamenei was speaking to thousands of family members of martyrs, disabled war veterans, and former prisoners of war (POWs) on the third day of his trip to Qazvin Province.
The Leader referred to the undeniable magnificence of martyrs, disabled war veterans, POWs, and their long-suffering families, adding that once the banner of Islam raised in Iran was seriously threatened by the attack of the beastly Saddam Hussein and his international allies, which included the United States and the Zionist regime.
"But our epic martyrs and other devoted soldiers defended Iran from the great danger that threatened Islam and the Iranian nation, and thus stood on the summit of defense and jihad in the path of God," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei stated that resisting the combined attack of Saddam and his Western and Eastern allies was a magnificent accomplishment, stressing that any other country would have been defeated by the attack.
"But the Iranian nation and the Islamic system resisted the aggressors' attack for eight years, leaving them disappointed," he said.
The Leader referred to Iranian families' patience, forbearance, and insight as the main factors that helped the faithful Iranian youth fight the imposed war, adding that officials and those who influence public opinion should be grateful for the sacrifices, forbearance, and numerous glorious accomplishments of the martyrs, former POWs, and disabled war veterans, and should make efforts to protect their families.
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that in order to protect the martyrs' magnificent accomplishments, officials and the general public should defend the country's independence, Islamic values, social and moral justice, and spirituality.
"Our honored martyrs sacrificed their lives to keep these goals alive. The grateful nation is indebted to the great martyrs. Thus any person or group not defending the lofty goals of the nation's martyrs has acted against the will of the nation," he added.
The Leader went on to say that the sovereignty and stability of the Iranian nation and the Islamic system is a reward from God for the martyrs' numerous sacrifices, adding that the martyrs' fathers, mothers, and children are treading on the path of their beloved family members and are proud of them.
At the beginning of the meeting, Faseeh Ramandi, the managing director of the Qazvin Province Office of the Foundation for Disabled War Veterans, greeted Ayatollah Khamenei on behalf of more than ten thousand members of martyrs' families as well as a great number of the city's war veterans.
During the meeting, a mother of two martyrs, Mohammad-Reza and Mahmoud Kabiri, and two disabled sons who were injured during the Islamic Revolution, announced that families of martyrs, war veterans, and former POWs are continuing to follow the path of their children with great pride.
Later in the meeting, Mahdi Shahrvash, the managing director of the Qazvin Province Office of the Martyrs' Foundation, delivered a report stating that the religious and revolutionary people of Qazvin offered 3000 martyrs, 5600 disabled war veterans, and 700 POWs to Iran during the war.
Fatima Azarakhsh, the daughter of the great martyr Azarakhsh, also recited a text expressing martyrs' children's affection for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.