Imam Khamenei: People Discovered Iran’s Huge Capabilities During Sacred Defense Era

By Al-Ahed News

On the eve of the Sacred Defense Week, Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei met with a number of veterans and activists from the Sacred Defense and the Resistance in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah in Tehran on Wednesday morning.

The Sacred Defense Week marks the start of the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war against Iran in 1980.

At the beginning of his speech, Imam Khamenei noted that “during the Sacred Defense era, we were defending the Islamic Revolution, our soil, national unity, and people,” adding that “the Islamic Revolution was linked to our sublime people and was not related to any foreign side; it was capable of cementing an Islamic system.”

There was a major war that strongly targeted our Islamic Revolution, in which the US, the Soviet Union, and Europe took part, Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, explaining that “we defended it with all our might as it is the way to protect the people and geography.”

Slamming the US as the main inciter of Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran, Imam Khamenei added that the US, France, and Germany strongly supported the Iraqi dictator to topple the Islamic Revolution through aerial monitoring and armament with internationally-banned weapons.

“Some Arab countries supported Saddam Hussein with cash and ground corridors, on the other hand we were besieged and couldn’t bring in the sufficient support,” according to Imam Khamenei, who greeted the late founder and leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, as a spiritual man who was able to gain the love of his people and leaders so they fought Saddam’s army until death and were daring to be martyred in this path.

“Our youths who defended the Revolution were armed with their strong belief; there were mothers who sacrificed all their sons, some of which sacrifices 7 or 8 or even 9 martyrs.”

Additionally, His Eminence praised the vast majority of the Iranian people who strongly defended the Islamic Revolution, and credited them for the major achievements that were made after the end of the war.

“During the Sacred Defense era, the image of our people became clear and they discovered their huge self-capabilities from which strategic military leaders emerged,” Imam Khamenei noted, stressing that during the same period, “neither we nor others did know that we are a prominent people who are capable of defending their nation.”

After the Sacred Defense era, our Islamic Revolution reached many areas across the world, including Latin America, His Eminence underlined, explaining that “Our Islamic Revolution exported the culture of resistance to many world countries where it spread hugely and started growing.”

“After the victory of our Revolution, we faced many seditions, yet the culture of resistance which was deep-rooted over the course of three decades, foiled all of the enemies’ conspiracies,” Imam Khamenei underscored.

Praising those who took part in the Sacred Defense as individuals who shouldered huge burdens on all levels, Imam Khamenei also noted that “our Armed Forces today impose security and protect the nation thanks to the sacrifices [of those fighters].”

As he made clear that Islam’s logic has nothing to do with superiority, and no matter how much powers a country gained, it must be more humble, Imam Khamenei concluded that no matter how strong the Islamic countries were, they must be close to Allah and refrain from sowing discord and involving others in chaos.