Sacred Defense

Sacred Defense
20/02/2008

The full-scale military aggression against the Islamic Republic - which was planned and launched by the enemy taking advantage of the arrogance and excessive ambitiousness of the Iraqi officials - was one of the most savage and fiendish machinations of the enemy which were based upon an evil plot to destroy the foundations of Islam. This aggression which was started with ethnocentric slogans aimed to balkanize Iran. They intended to conquer Tehran and overthrow the Islamic Republic within three days. Their assault resulted in massive destruction in both countries [Iran and Iraq] and in the region the examples of which were rare in the history of the region, and it entered such violent crimes into the annals of history that have remained unprecedented so far.

The brave Iranian nation stood up to the invasion and landed a strong blow on the enemy's face by putting up a sacred defense to protect the foundations of Islam and the Islamic homeland. Using their arms and wisdom and under the leadership of Allah's friend [Imam Khomeini], they created an epic of resistance and of tremendous courage in the face of oppression which went down in history and will remain there as an object lesson for all soldiers and freedom fighters providing the outlines that will serve as a beacon of guidance for them. By supporting the oppressed and His troops, Allah revealed His grace to all people and thus, this stage of the enemy's plot was foiled. They started to change their plot when they found out that they were defeated and regretful and that they were carrying a record brimful of crimes.

It is not possible to describe the epic, courage, power, solidarity, self-sacrifice, spiritual power, reliance on Allah and self-confidence that Islam's fighters and our great nation displayed during those years. It is not possible to easily depict the hearts and minds of our free men, courageous women, valorous soldiers and basiji volunteers whose iron will was not drained by the superpowers and their modern weapons. This description may not be possible unless all the people who have a gift for writing, composing, depicting and imagination come together and use their talents to collectively present a description.

I hereby ask all those who have the ability to write about the events of the Sacred Defense not to neglect their duty to record the details of those times and preserve these treasures for future generations. This era was a motive force behind history and an inspiration for nations.

The signs of the promised people "soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him - humble with the believers, mighty against the kafirin, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault." [The Holy Quran 5/54] could be seen in the faces of those who spend their nights worshiping and their days working, who fought on a battlefield that was not level, who revealed Allah's power in the their Fajr, Zafar, Karbala and Kheibar victories, whose steps were the manifestation of the Quranic verses of Fath (victory), and who clearly manifested Allah's will through their efforts and strong determination.

The outcome of this era was nothing but loss and defeat for the enemy and honor and glory for the Islamic Iran. The UN resolution 598 in 1986, which was put forward by the proponents of the aggressive Iraqi regime through the UN Security Council, was an inevitable response to the failures of the regime. This UN resolution - which was proposed after the soldiers of Islam exerted unbearable pressure on the enemy - is a document in which our sacred defense slogans are secured. Full compliance with this resolution was certain to result in the enemy's defeat and therefore, the Islamic Republic never rejected it. Its insistence that the aggressor be punished sufficiently on the battlefield and its lack of trust in the world powers and their adherence to the international treaties was the important thing for Islamic Iran and caused it not to promptly accept the resolution.

(Message issued by Ayatollah Khamenei on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the Iraqi-imposed war)

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