First message of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, was published

Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei emphasized in his first message: "We will not withdraw from the blood of martyrs. The Strait of Hormuz must remain closed. We will not withdraw from the crime at the Minab school."

According to ParsToday, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first message. The full text of this message is as follows:

In the beginning of my words, I must offer my condolences to my Lord, Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance, on the occasion of the tragic martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution, the wise and sage Khamenei. I request from him prayers for the well-being of each and every one of the great Iranian nation, and indeed for all Muslims of the world, and all servants of Islam and the Revolution, and the martyrs and the families of the martyrs of the Islamic movement, especially the recent war, and for myself, a humble servant.

My second word is to the great nation of Iran. First, I must briefly state my position regarding the vote of the esteemed Assembly of Experts. This servant of yours, Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, became aware of the vote of the esteemed Assembly of Experts simultaneously with you and through the television of the Islamic Republic. For me, occupying a position that was the seat of two great leaders, the Great Khomeini and the martyred Khamenei, is difficult. This is because this chair has the precedent of being occupied by someone who, after more than 60 years of struggle in the path of God and foregoing all kinds of pleasures and comforts, became a shining jewel and a distinguished figure, not only in the present era but throughout the history of this country's rulers. Both his life and his manner of death were intertwined with glory and honor derived from relying on the truth.

I had the privilege of seeing his body after his martyrdom; what I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, and I heard that his sound fist was clenched. Regarding the various aspects of his personality, those with knowledge should speak for extended periods. In this opportunity, I will suffice with this brief mention, leaving the details for other suitable occasions. This is the reason for the difficulty of occupying the leadership seat after such a person; completing this gap is only possible with the help of the Almighty and the support of you, the people.

Furthermore, I must emphasize a point that has a direct connection to the essence of my speech. That point is that among the skills of the martyred leader and his great predecessor was involving the people in all arenas, continuously informing them with insight and awareness, and in practice, relying on their strength. Thus, they actualized the true meaning of the republic and republicanism, and believed in it with all their heart. The clear effect of this matter was seen in these past few days when the country was without a leader and without a Commander-in-Chief. The insight and intelligence of the great Iranian nation in the recent event, and its steadfastness, courage, and presence, caused admiration in friends and astonishment in enemies. It was you, the people, who led the country and guaranteed its authority. The verse I brought at the beginning of this writing means that no sign of God's signs will have its term extended or be forgotten, except that a sign equal to or greater than it is given in its place by the Almighty.

The occasion for using this noble verse is not that this servant is comparable to the martyred leader, let alone being considered superior to him; rather, the purpose of mentioning the blessed verse is to draw attention to the appropriate and prominent role of you, the dear nation. If that great blessing was taken from us, instead, the presence of the Iranian nation, like Ammar in ancient Islam, was again granted to this system. Know that if your power does not manifest on the scene, neither leadership nor any of the various organs whose true role is to serve the people will have the necessary effectiveness. For this meaning to be better realized, firstly, one must remember God, the Almighty, and trust in Him, and seek refuge in the pure lights of the Infallibles (peace be upon them all), considering them the greatest elixir, which guarantees all kinds of reliefs and decisive victory over the enemy. This is a great advantage that you possess and your enemies lack.

Secondly, the unity among the individuals and classes of the nation, which usually becomes particularly evident in times of hardship, must not be damaged. This can be achieved by setting aside points of disagreement.

Thirdly, effective presence on the scene must be maintained; both in the form you have shown in these days and nights of war, and in the form of various effective roles in different social, political, educational, cultural, and even security arenas. The important thing is that the correct role, without damaging social unity, is well understood and implemented as much as possible. One of the duties of the leadership and some other officials is to remind individuals or classes of society of some of these roles. Therefore, I emphasize the importance of presence in the Quds Day ceremony of this year, where the element of defeating the enemy must be considered by all.

Fourthly, do not refrain from helping and assisting each other. Praise be to God, this has always been a characteristic of most Iranians, and it is expected that in these special days, which naturally are harder for some members of the nation than others, this matter will be more prominent. In this regard, I ask the service organizations not to spare any help and assistance to these dear members of the nation and to the popular relief structures.

If these aspects are observed, the path for you, the dear nation, to reach days of greatness and glory will be smoothed. The nearest instance of this can be, God willing, victory over the enemy in the current war.

The third part of my speech is a sincere thank to our brave combatants who, in a situation where our nation and homeland are being unjustly attacked by the heads of the arrogant front, have blocked the enemy's path with their devastating blows, and have dispelled their illusions of being able to dominate our dear homeland and, incidentally, partition it.

My dear combatant brothers! The will of the masses is continued effective and punitive defense. Also, the potency of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly be used as before. Studies have been conducted regarding opening other fronts where the enemy has little experience and will be extremely vulnerable, and their activation will be carried out if the war situation continues and in accordance with the preservation of interests.

I also offer my sincere thanks to the combatants of the resistance front. We consider the countries of the resistance front our best friends, and the matter of resistance and the resistance front is an inseparable part of the values of the Islamic Revolution. Undoubtedly, the cooperation of the components of this front with each other shortens the path to salvation from the Zionist sedition, just as we saw the brave and faithful Yemen not cease defending the oppressed people of Gaza, and the devoted Hezbollah, despite all obstacles, came to the aid of the Islamic Republic, and the Iraqi resistance has bravely followed the same path.

In the fourth part, my speech is addressed to those who have been harmed in various ways in these past few days. Whether they have experienced the martyrdom of a loved one or loved ones, or have been injured, or have had their homes or places of business damaged. In this part, firstly, I express my deep sympathy to the bereaved families of the exalted martyrs. This is based on a shared experience I have with these honored individuals; apart from my father, whose loss has become a public sorrow, I have entrusted my dear and loyal wife, in whom I had hopes, and my devoted sister, who dedicated herself to serving her parents and finally received her reward, along with her young child, and the husband of my other sister, who was a learned and noble person, to the caravan of martyrs. But what makes patience in calamities possible and even easy is attention to God's certain and firm promise of a great reward for the patient. Therefore, one must be patient and have hope and trust in the grace and assistance of the Almighty.

Secondly, I assure everyone that we will not forgo avenging the blood of your martyrs. The revenge we have in mind is not only for the martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy is itself an independent subject for the revenge case. Of course, a limited amount of this revenge has materialized so far, but as long as it is not fully realized, this file will remain open alongside other files, and we will have greater sensitivity, especially regarding the blood of our infants and children. Therefore, the crime deliberately committed by the enemy at the Shajareh-e Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab and some similar cases has a special significance in this investigation.

Thirdly, the wounded veterans of these attacks must certainly receive appropriate medical services free of charge and benefit from some other privileges.

Fourthly, to the extent that the current situation allows, sufficient measures must be defined and implemented to compensate for the financial damages caused to personal properties and belongings. The last two points are considered mandatory duties for the honorable officials, who must implement them and report to me.

A point I must make is that in any case, we will collect reparations from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take back as much of their property as we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy the same amount of their property.

The fifth part of my speech is addressed to the leaders and effective ranks in some of the countries in the region. We have land or sea borders with 15 countries and have always been and are willing to have warm and constructive relations with all of them. But, the enemy, over many years, has gradually established bases, both military and financial, in some of these countries to secure its control over the region. In the recent invasion, some of the military bases were used, which, naturally, as we had explicitly warned and without attacking those countries, we only targeted those bases. From now on, we will be forced to continue this, although we still believe in the necessity of friendship between ourselves and our neighbors. These countries must clarify their position with the aggressors against our beloved homeland and the murderers of our people. I recommend they close those bases as soon as possible, because they have surely understood by now that America's claim of establishing security and peace has been nothing but a lie.

This will enable our neighbors to establish a stronger bond with their own nations, which are generally dissatisfied with siding with the front of disbelief and its contemptuous behavior, and to increase their wealth and power. I repeat again, the Islamic Republic system, without seeking to establish dominance or colonialism in the region, is fully prepared for unity and warm, sincere mutual relations with all its neighbors.

In the sixth part of my address, my words are for our martyred leader. O Leader! With your departure, you have inflicted a heavy blow upon all hearts. You always yearned for this end, and finally, the Almighty bestowed it upon you while you were reciting the Holy Quran on the morning of the tenth day of holy month of Ramadan. You endured many oppressions powerfully and with forbearance, and did not even frown. Many did not recognize your true worth, and perhaps much time will pass before the various veils and obstacles are removed and aspects of it become clear.

We hope that through the esteemed position you have attained in the proximity of the pure lights of the devoted, martyrs, and saints, you will still pray for the progress of this nation and all the nations of the resistance front, and intercede for it, just as you did during your earthly life. We pledge to you that we will strive heartily for the exaltation of this flag, which is the true flag of the front of truth, and to achieve your sacred objectives.

In the seventh part, I express my gratitude to all the honorable individuals who have supported me, including the Grand Religious Authorities, various cultural, political, and social personalities, and all the people who have gathered in magnificent rallies to express renewed allegiance to the system. I also thank the heads of the three branches of government and the interim leadership council for their sound judgments and actions.

I hope that the special divine favors will encompass all the people of Iran, and indeed all Muslims and the oppressed of the world, during these blessed hours and days.

And finally, I request our Master, may God hasten his reappearance, during the remainder of the blessed nights and days of Qadr and the holy month of Ramadan, to ask from the presence of the Almighty, may He be exalted, for our nation a decisive victory over the enemy, and for the departed, ranks and salvation in the hereafter.

Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.

Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei

21 / Esfand / 1404 (Solar Hijri) corresponding to

22 / Ramadan al-Mubarak / 1447 (Lunar Hijri)