Leader: Today’s Iranian youth more prepared to push back enemy

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Sunday granted audience to a large number of university and high school students who as part of convoys known as Rahiyan-e Noor, visit former war zones in the south and southwest of the country where Iran’s Muslim combatants sacrificed their lives and limbs to safeguard the dignity of the nation and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic during the war the US had imposed in the 1980s through Saddam of the repressive Ba’th minority regime of Baghdad.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei lauded the exuberance of Iranian youth for defence of the country and their readiness, more than ever, to deter any would-be enemy from aggression against the Islamic Republic.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution recalled the Holy Defence era from 1980-to-1988 when the young and the old from all strata of the society, marched to the warfronts of the 8-year imposed war, as a glorious and gilded chapter in the history of Iran and the Islamic Revolution.

He stressed that Rahiyan-e Noor, which Travellers towards Light, are one of the manifestations of the commemoration of that era, recalling: “Global Arrogance had imposed the eight-year war on the Iranian nation in a bid eliminate the Islamic Revolution; however, the greatness, sacrifice, faith, prudence, courage and insight of the youth saw the war end in the favour of the nation and caused the Islamic Revolution to grow more deep-rooted and stronger than before.” 

He said the country and people owe their glory, might, security, independence and freedom and health to the eight years of Holy Defence and added, “The Holy Defence era is a reservoir which must, contrary to the will of the enemies who seek to consign it to oblivion, always be preserved and commemorated for the country’s progress, national growth and readiness of the people and youth in various arenas.” 

Ayatollah Khamenei described the Rahiyan-e Noor convoys as a major popular campaign for keeping alive that great era and pointed to the various and untold dimensions of the Holy Defence, adding, “One of these dimensions is the analysis of the ‘why’ of the beginning of the Imposed War and its reason must be sought in the greatness and grandeur of the Islamic Revolution and intimidation and trepidation of the powers dominating the world at the time.”      

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 shook the thrones of the powerful in the West and East,

He said: “With the spread of the culture of the Islamic Revolution in the region and among Muslim peoples in those early years, domineering powers grew extremely concerned and sought to destroy the Revolution at whatever cost; therefore, they goaded Saddam, who was an arrogant and brutal character, into launching the war and attacking Iran.” 

The Leader pointed to the extensive financial, arms and intelligence support by the US and European powers, particularly the UK, France and Germany, as well as the Soviet Union for Saddam’s repressive Ba’th minority regime, saying, “In the mid-stages of the war, France provided its most advanced planes and helicopters to Saddam while Germany officially and openly gave him chemical substances and still 30 years after the end of the war, many survivors are grappling with their consequences and a great many were martyred because of those same toxic substances.”    

He recalled: “In the face of this global support for the tyrannical Ba’thist regime, the only things that the Islamic Republic of Iran had at its disposal were a faithful people and a powerful leader, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini, as a result of which all stratagems of the satanic world powers hit the roadblock and the Iranian nation prevailed over all of the powers during the eight years of the Holy Defence.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution cited the quality and type of the Iranian people’s defence as another untold aspect of the Holy Defence, saying: “The defence of the Iranian youth in the eight-year war had exceptional features and characteristics, namely, ‘strong resolve and will,’ ‘ solid faith,’ ‘bravery and sacrifice,’ ‘ innovation and initiative’ and ‘supplication and spiritual invocation’.”    

He described the Holy Defence era as a human-building experience and added, “The likes of [martyrs] Hemmat, Kharrazi, Bakeri, Borounesi, Cheetsazian and thousands of other youths were ordinary human beings and the war turned them into great legends, undying figures and shining stars.”  

Outlining the prominent features of the youths of the Holy Defence era, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Worship, wisdom and prudence, courage and valor, resistance and sacrifice and insight were the outstanding features of these youths that had turned them into lions by day and worshippers by night, and it was based on these facts that the Late Imam Khomeini, with his deep vision, described the raising of such youth as the greatest of triumphs.” 

Addressing the youth, he told the audience: “The future of the country belongs to you. If you cultivate such characteristics in yourself, the country will certainly reach the peak of excellence and perfection in all fields in the near future.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said: “The enemies and ill-wishers of this nation did not even want the name of Islam and Revolution to survive. They wanted the US to dominate the country’s affairs and continued their soft and hard attacks with this motive. However, today we are facing a generation whose faith, talent, prosperity and might is greater than those of the first [post-Revolution] generation and this generation is more prepared than other generations to drive back the enemies.”  

He stressed: “In the face of such youths and movements like Rahiyan-e Noor, the enemy, similar to its failures of the past 40 years, cannot do a damn thing against the Iranian nation.”

He added: “Of course, there will be harassment and disturbance such as economic sanctions and malicious propaganda; however, these persecutions will not stop the great movement of the Iranian nation.”  

At the end of his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution offered some advice to the Rahiyan-e Noor caravans.

He said: “All apparatuses should help this movement; the cultural and social aspects of Rahiyan-e Noor should be deepened, exaggeration must be avoided and faithfulness [to reality] must be observed in the narration of incidents and issues, the prominent events of the Holy Defence era must be included in textbooks and the safety of the travelers in the Rahiyan-e Noor caravans must definitely be ensured.” 

Prior to the remarks of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Brigadier General Bahman Kargar, the head of the foundation for the preservation of the works and promotion of the values of the Holy Defence, described the Rahiyan-e Noor as an asset for increasing the country’s defensive might and deterrent power, saying, “In the current Iranian calendar year – which ends on March 20 – around six million people, most of whom youths, visited 57 Holy Defence sites in seven provinces of the country.” 

AS/ME