Supreme Leader of Islamic Ummah: Holy defense helped Iran discover its greatness 

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the “the holy defense” of the Iranian nation during eight years of the Iraqi war under former dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran is a prominent moment in the history of the country.

“The Iranian nation discovered the greatness of its capacities in the holy defense. The Iranian nation recognized itself in the holy defense,” the Leader told a number of war veterans and activists of resistance in Tehran Wednesday.

“We should discern this important event correctly and introduce it to the next generations,” the Leader said. 

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution when all the prominent powers of the world, including the US, European countries and the East joined in the war against Iran.

“The achievements of the holy defense are not one or two. This will be a book with dozens of volumes. The whole world fought behind Saddam to break this border and they tried for eight years, but not an inch of this country’s soil was conceded,” the Leader said.

“If our successive generations know the important and meaningful aspects of the holy defense and know how the Iranian nation was able to reach the victory platform and stand there with strength, there will be great lessons for them in this discernment,” he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said securing the country is one of the achievements of the holy defense, which kept the country from possible future aggression to a great extent. 

“It showed that if the enemy initiates an offensive, it will not be the one to end it.” 

The holy defense, Ayatollah Khamenei said, expanded Iran’s borders. “I don’t mean geographical borders and we are not after that. It expanded other borders, including the border of resistance,” he added. 

Today, the element of resistance is rooted in the region, the Leader said, adding the holy defense introduced, promoted and commonized the term of resistance in the world.

“It may be hard for us to believe, but the acts of the Iranian nation have had an impact in distant countries. We know about this. Both in East Asia, Africa and Latin America, the acts of the Iranian nation have became a model.”

The Leader touched on Iran’s influence in the region, which has made the US uneasy.

“The issue of Iran’s moral presence in the region has raised the exasperation of America and some countries, while we do not have a base in the regional countries except a moral presence.”

The Leader described armed forces among the honors of the society, saying their presence is one of the main elements, without which a society cannot remain stable.

“We should appreciate the armed forces. The dignity and honor of the armed forces should be considered essential and we should consider it obligatory to honor them. The armed forces are security makers and the security of a country is everything.”

The enemy, the Leader said, counts on damaging the value, the honor and dignity of the armed forces, which must be taken care of.