Leader: US, Israel, Arab reactionary regimes destabilizing Iraq, Lebanon (2)

Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in his address to the graduation ceremony of army cadets at Khatam ul-Anbiya University on Wednesday, October 30, lauded the selfless efforts of the armed forces, and said the US, along with the Zionist entity and Arab reactionary regimes, was trying to destabilize the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Secondly, the army laid down its life in all arenas. In confronting secessionists who were dependent on foreign powers in the beginning of the Revolution, the Army was one of the forces that entered the arena and that worked in certain parts of the country. During the eight-year Holy Defense Era, the Army showed its presence in an eye-catching manner. It had the same performance in defending the borders of the country in the years following our victory in the Sacred Defense Era. The Army has played a part in supporting the Resistance Front. These courses of action have been recorded and they will be clarified, announced, written and published in due time in the future.

“Thirdly, the Army transformed its domestic capabilities. It transformed its organization, its operational tactics, its structure, its thinking and its army culture. The religious and faith-based spirit in the military academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army is a very outstanding and important phenomenon, but it has not been achieved easily. In the course of time, pious and competent commanders managed to establish these traditions in a deep and persistent manner. The anti-religion orientations of the former regime’s army have completely changed. They have turned into religious, cultural and Islamic orientations.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution further said: “The next point is about the future. Well, we have become familiar with the nature of the Islamic Army and we have briefly discussed the current assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. There are certain responsibilities for the future.

“My dear ones, you should see what a free nation means. When they say that freedom is a value, what does the freedom of a nation rely on? Which nation is referred to as a free nation? A free nation is a nation that wills and that acts freely, that identifies its true and national interests and that safeguards those interests with its independence in the area of willpower and action. A free nation needs these things. It is these characteristics and qualities that introduce a free nation to us.

“If a nation manages to make this correct decision and to avoid being influenced by the enemy’s calculation and acts of sabotage, it will achieve good results. One of the primary tasks of the enemy is to change the calculations of the officials and intellectuals of the country, and secondly those of the masses of people. It wants to influence their calculations.

“For example, imagine that you succeed in installing a virus in someone’s personal computer with the result that the computer produces false and wrong data. The enemy sometimes influences the public and general computer of the country’s management, its thinking and its calculations. A free nation is a nation that does not accept this influence; it thinks freely in the true sense of the word; it acts with courage and that pursues its own national interests. Well, what does this require? It requires insight.

“If we do not have insight, if we do not benefit from correct thinking, from open eyes and from vigilance, we will not correctly identify our true interests, we will not successfully find the path to achieving those interests and we will not correctly identify the person who should undertake this heavy load. When there is no insight, we look like a person who has no eyes and who consequently fails to see the path. Insight is this significant for a country, a nation and the masses of people in that country. If these qualities exist in a country and nation, that nation will achieve the desired results.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Of course, this brings about certain requirements for all groups of people including our Armed Forces. We should not think that some people have insight in the country and therefore, the Armed Forces should blindly obey whatever they say. No, insight is a public quality. This is the case in the Islamic government. In the Islamic government, each and every one of you should think, deliberate, identify, decide and act. You should feel responsible and you should take care not to let the enemy influence your mental calculations.

“Now, a number of conclusions are obtained from the last point that I raised: the first conclusion is that the enemy should not be trusted. There should not be any naïve optimism.

“The second conclusion is that we should not take our eyes off the enemy’s moves. We should constantly watch his moves. One of the important divisions in our Armed Forces is intelligence and intelligence-related awareness. We should not take our eyes off the enemy’s moves. We should always be wary of his plans, his plots and his moves.

“The third conclusion is that the enemy should not be viewed as small and weak, as the fames classical poet Sa’di Shirazi says, “…the enemy cannot be considered small and weak.” We should try to know the enemy with his own dimensions and then, we should be prepared to defend ourselves against his transgressions.

“My dear ones another requirement is that one should not become too proud of victories. Victories are valuable and we can be happy about them, but we should not become overconfident with victory. There are many individuals who face certain problems for some reasons after they have initially achieved a victory. The well-known historic example in this regard is the Battle of Ohud which the pagan Arabs imposed upon Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The Holy Prophet himself was present and Muslims won, but one case of negligence almost turned the victory into defeat, making a great commander like Hamza the Master of Masters be martyred as well as many others. Many were wounded as well and the army of Islam suffered setback.”

As noted by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution: “Victory should be preserved. Preserving victory depends on preserving the elements that lead to that victory. These elements include faith, persistent jihad, constant diligence, unity and cooperation. These elements should not be lost.

“My dear ones, we should not become busy with trivial materialistic diversions either. Many of us humans have good motives and lofty determination. However, sometimes small and trivial diversions seem very important to us. Pursuing positions, wealth and lust sometimes keep us busy. When we busy ourselves with these things, we let go of our goal. I said that there should be constant diligence, but with those diversions, diligence and victory will be lost. Therefore, we should pay attention that we should preserve the elements leading to our victory and we should not busy ourselves with diversions.

“What concerns the Armed Forces and the forces which preserve security in this regard is that they should be careful about fitna or sedtion. The Holy Qur’an says in ayah 191 and also in ayah 217 of Surah al-Baqara: “For sedition is graver than slaughter”.

The Arabic word “ashad” means, “harder” and the word “akbar” means “greater.” Slaughter is bad and abhorrent, but “fitna” or sedition is worse than that. If “fitna” is worse than murder, the forces which undertake security should take the necessary deployment against it. They should keep being prepared to confront sedition. This is what organizations should pay attention to.

“And the last point that I want to discuss is about hope for the future. From what I see in your statements and in your moves and in the conduct of the youth of the country in different organizations – whether the youth in the Armed Forces or youth in other organizations – I understand that our youth are thankfully full of hope. Despite the foolish desire of the enemy - who wants to eradicate such hope and such bright spots in the hearts of the people - hope is thankfully abundant in the country. This hope should be preserved and we should be confident that Allah the Exalted will fulfil His promises.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Today, we are witnessing the fulfillment of divine promises in front of our eyes. My dear ones, in 1967, Israeli forces had managed to defeat the national armies of four Arab countries in the course of a mere six days – Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. In the next war in 1973, the Israelis took ten or twelve days to defeat those countries. So, who would have thought that that well-equipped and dominant force that had defeated the national armies of four countries would be forced to retreat and to suffer defeat at the hands of the pious youth of Hezbollah? Israel threw in the towel in the course of just 33 days (in 2006)!

“More importantly, Israel was defeated in the face of the determined Palestinian youth in Gaza – in tiny Gaza – in the course of 22 days, and another time in the course of seven days, and after that it called for ceasefire. Who would have thought this? When there is resistance, patience, reliance on God and belief in divine promises, this is what happens. We witnessed these events up close. From now on too, it will be the same.

“In the present time, we can see that Global Arrogance has been frustrated despite the massive sums of money that it has spent in West Asia – in our region. They themselves are acknowledging this. They say that they have spent seven trillion dollars and they have gained nothing! They are acknowledging these facts themselves. This shows that one can trust in and rely on the power of spiritual faith and that one can be hopeful about the future.

“And I will tell you that the Return Marches being held in Gaza these days will one day lead to the return of the Palestinians to their homeland in the true sense of the word and the true owners of that land will return to it, Insha Allah. I beseech Allah the Exalted to bestow His blessings on each and every one of you and on your family members.”

AS/SS