Leader hails armed forces as fortress of the people

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on the occasion of Army Day, April 17, granted audience to the Commander of the Iranian Army and several senior commanders of the Ground Forces, and during his address hailed the armed forces as “Fortress of the People”.

The Leader after expressing gratitude to God Almighty for His Infinite Favours, saluted the Chief of all Divine Messengers, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). He then greeted the Lord of the Age, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance for establishment of the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice.

He next said: “You are very welcome dear brothers, diligent and hard working in the true sense of the word ‘commanders’. I deem it necessary to congratulate all you - including the honourable Commander, the commanders of different forces, high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and each and every member of this dedicated army - on Army Day and on the different achievements of the army which has thankfully brought us many glories in various areas.

“Of course, this congratulation is not particular to you. It is expressed to your families as well because they too strive beside you, particularly your spouses. Had it not been for their cooperation, harmony and assistance in this difficult task that has been entrusted to you, you would not have been able to make these achievements or at least, you would have faced difficulties in part of your job and part of your duties. The higher the responsibilities, the more trouble families go through.

“Well, the statements of Brigadier Haydari were indeed very good remarks. He correctly explained the issues. He correctly explained the meaning of ayah 29 of Surah Fath where God Almighty says the true believers and compassionate amongst themselves while being stern against the unbelievers. That was a good interpretation of the realities of today’s army. Without a doubt, the Armed Forces are one of the main manifestations and elements of national power. Of course, this is not the case in all countries. In many countries, the armed forces are not an element of a nation’s power, rather they are an element of the power that belongs to tyrants, dictators and the like. They suppress their own people as well.

“This is the case even in those countries which claim to be supporters of freedom and democracy in the world. You should look at the Saturdays of Paris – where protests regularly rock the French capital. However, in our country, this is not the case thanks to Islam and to Islamic teachings. It is Islam that has taught this to us: The army is, by the will of Allah, the fortress of the people – as could be gauged through contents of Letter number 53 in the book Nahj ul-Balaghah, which is the famous epistle of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) , to his governor of Egypt, Malik Ashtar.”

Ayatollah Khamenei elaborated: “You are the nation’s fortress. You are the fortress of the masses. This fortress is not particular to wartime. Well, during wartime, you stand in the frontline and risk your lives in the face of the enemy. You employ different methods on the basis of your knowledge and expertise in order to defeat and suppress the enemy and force the aggressor into retreat. This is related to wartime. In that area, you are truly the people’s fortress and bulwark.

“The same is true of peacetime. Of course, this does not include natural calamities which I will explain later. Even if there are not natural incidents and even if the Armed Forces stay in their bases and military headquarters, they are still a source of assurance for the masses of the people. When the people feel there is an efficient ground force, air force, naval force and a competent defense force which is ready in the country, they rest assured and feel comfortable. The enemies of the Iranian nation are opposed to this though. Notice that they sometimes say certain things about the Army, about the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and about their relations towards one another in order to mislead the people by portraying the Armed Forces as nervous and without confidence. Therefore, in peacetime too, the readiness of the Armed Forces in their bases, in their offices and in their headquarters are a source of tranquility for the people.

“Now, we need to speak about natural incidents. After the Kermanshah earthquake, the presence of the army and other divisions of the Armed Forces was of vital necessity. In other words, if they had not shown their presence at the quake-stricken areas and if they had not rushed to the peoples help, our casualties apart from various damages would certainly have multiplied. Regarding the recent floods too, I instructed the Armed Forces to participate, but I know for sure that even before my formal instructions, an important part of the Armed Forces  the army, the IRGC and others  were present in the arena.

“The Army showed its presence in (flood-stricken) Golestan Province before the Crisis Management Headquarters did so. Before the Crisis Management Headquarters could set foot there, the army was there: This is the meaning of the term “fortress of thhe people”. And this presence was not confined to providing machinery, tools and the like, rather their bodies and physical capabilities were at the service of the people.

“A colonel from the army bends down to allow an old man to step on his back so he can climb onto a truck! Notice that these are things that will be remembered forever. The whole Iranian nation saw this. When the army says that it will sacrifice its life for the nation, we know that this is a genuine claim. The army is working. These are the values that exist.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “Another point is that thanks to the Islamic Republic system, the Iranian Army is not merely a provider of machinery, experience, assistance and the like, but it gives an exhibition of Islamic values. Many divisions of the army are a showcase of Islamic values. In army academies, military bases and office centers, there is emphasis on religious obligations and duties for rendering proper services. These are issues that have shown themselves in the army. I do not want to pass a general judgement. Not everyone in the army is like this. The important point is to have role models who can be held up and shown to others. One can show the likes of (the martyrs) Abbas Babai, Sayyad Shirazi and others to the people. We can show such people to the Islamic Ummah saying that they are like this. Their commitment, their sacrifice, their humility and their indifference to fame and position were exemplary.

“At a certain point in time (during the US imposed war of the 1980s), we wanted to appoint the commander-in-chief of the Air Force. Three names had been suggested: Mansour Sattari, Abbas Babai and another person whose name I do not remember. This dates back to my presidency. I left it to them saying that I do not want to choose. I said to them that they should sit down and choose one from among themselves. So, they did this. At that time, it was customary for the commander-in-chief of the air force to be a pilot. Mansour Sattari was not a pilot, rather he was in the technical department. However, they appointed him citing certain reasons. There was no objection from the others.

“After all, Abbas Babai was a pilot, and at that time pilots had the most resources in the Air Force. They had the best chance to be appointed as the commander-in-chief, but they did not signal anything. These are very important points. Narrow-minds and foolish tongues often fail to either see these things or mention them in any way. However, these phenomena exist. I have seen these things up close and they exist in the army. This army is very valuable. “Ideological army” means this. You who are commanders should strengthen this phenomenon.

“In the present time, the army is in the hands of pious and revolutionary youth at the army. The gentlemen who are commanders in the present time were mostly revolutionary youth who entered the army after the Revolution. Of course, a few of them used to be in the army a little before the Revolution, but most of them enlisted after the Revolution. Today, the management of this large and valuable organization is in your hands. You should strengthen the army in this direction as much as you can. Today, our army is more pious and efficient than ever. There is really no doubt about this.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “Those who have gotten used to humiliating the nation by praising the traitors, keep repeating that it was Reza Khan who established the modern army. Well, how strong was the resistant of that supposedly modern army against the invasion by foreigners? How many individuals in that modern army could stand by the cause and lay down their lives? “They can do the counting to enlighten us. They could not resist even for 24 hours, but this, the Islamic Republic Army resisted and fought a full-scale war for eight years! We were witness to their endeavours and moves. We were witness to the trouble that they went through. This is how things are. This army has more expertise, experience and morale. It has better capabilities and it is more pious, Godly and trustworthy. This has been achieved thanks to the Islamic Republic. It is the Islamic Republic that has trained such an army which is thankfully a source of honour.

“The army and the armed forces do not merely attend to national interests. They ensure national interests, but our Armed Forces today are beneficent to many other countries as well. Notice what would have happened to the region had the Armed Forces, the Army and the IRGC not participated in the fight against DAESH. Of course, other countries did what they were supposed to do, but who can deny the role of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Notice if they had not gotten involved, how peoples in our neighboring countries would have fared and what kind of people would have seized power? The Armed Forces are distributing their blessings. They are distributing God-given blessings among themselves and among others. Everyone benefits from their blessings. I hope that this will continue so much so that the whole world will benefit from your blessings, God willing.

“Another important task which can already be seen in the army, but which should be strengthened God willing Brigadier Haydari also pointed it out  is unity among the Armed Forces. You and the IRGC should not get disunited. What the gentlemen did following the indecent move against the IRGC made by the Americans was a beautiful move. They extended the hand of brotherhood to the IRGC. Whatever that you do which makes the enemy angry is good and whatever is done which is to the advantage of the enemy is bad, no matter if it is done by someone who wears a seminarian cloak like me or by someone who wears a military uniform. It does not make a difference. The enemy should not be emboldened. His morale should not be boosted.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Today, one of the most important war tactics in the world, is the war of morale. Of course, this has always been the case but it is even more so today. In war, they try to weaken the other side’s morale. That little man [US president] has trillions of dollars of debts with different calamities and difficulties in his own country. They are faced with floods and storms like the one that broke out a few years ago and they could not help for many years. They have these difficulties, but they engage in lecturing the Islamic Republic, the people of Iran and the officials of the country. They talk a load of nonsense and label the people of Iran with things that befit their own status. The enemy is like this. He wants to weaken the other side’s morale.

“They know what the truth is and they are aware of their own problems and miseries. They also see the great and fast movement of the Iranian nation. What is being done in the present time in several provinces regarding the recent floods is extraordinary. Ones tongue is really incapable of describing this correctly. The Army, the IRGC, the Basij, the masses of the people and the clergy and seminarians have all contributed in different ways. Several thousand clergy and students rushed to the peoples help with empty hands while many of them did not have the necessary capability and resources to do so. The financial resources that the people provided are astonishing. They are either unprecedented in the world or have very few precedents.

“These are incidents which show the great movement of the Iranian nation. The enemy sees these things, but he does not deem it appropriate to express it. That is why they engage in raving and ranting in order to weaken our morale. On the other hand, you should take care not to boost the other side’s morale and to weaken our own morale. No one should behave like this. You should apply this in your promotions, in your statements and in your performances.

The army is thankfully an excellent army. I hope that you will carry out tasks in a better way, benefit from your expertise, improve your performance and employ your experience in an extensive manner on a daily basis. The reports that are delivered to your superiors should be exact and real reports. All organizations should pay attention that they should deliver true reports because reports lead to decision-building. Decision-makers should have access to correct reports so that they can make correct decisions. I thank all of you. I hope that you will be successful, Insha Allah.”

AS/SS