Supreme Leader's Speech in Meeting with Commanders and Personnel of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his immaculate household.

Welcome my dear ones, dear brothers, dear sisters and honorable families. Determined, decisive and religious faces - of these religious people and of the motivations and their firm hearts - are great sources of national wealth. There is no source of wealth in any country that is more important than the great wealth that comes from competent and efficient manpower.

These days are important days: the anniversary of the astonishing event of Mubahala, the sending down of Sura "Hal Ata" [al-Insan], the imminence of Muharram and the sensitive events that are taking place in the region. These are important days. This is an important time.

As for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy, what is important is the presence of the children of the Revolution and revolutionary forces at sea. This is an important and fundamental point. Security is an infrastructure for all the achievements of a nation. Without security, there will be no economy, no culture and no individual and public happiness. The security of the seas is more important, because of certain reasons, for countries that have sea coasts. This is because seas are a means of transportation at a public and international level.

The presence of powers and nations at sea is not considered an event, rather it is common practice. If a country that is in close proximity to the sea and that has coasts cannot ensure the security of its waters, it has in fact failed to build the foundations of its domestic security. Therefore, the security of the seas is very important. Well, our youth in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have thankfully worked on these areas and they have accomplished outstanding and valuable feats. These achievements should not be ignored in the sensitive post-revolutionary history.

In the present time, the presence of the honorable families in the south is a great and jihadi task. I deem it necessary to point this out in the presence of you honorable families. The fact that the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy has established its headquarters in Bandar Abbas, in difficult coastal regions and in difficult areas and that families have gone there and endured difficulties is a very valuable thing. This is not something that we easily forget.

The southern region, Bushehr province, Bandar Abbas and the areas that are close to the sea have emerged victorious out of different tests in the course of many years after the Revolution. In the beginning, the presence of the Revolution in the sea was not very tangible, but later on the Revolution's children, students and youth set foot in this arena and things changed. When the ground was prepared, the people and youth of the region and the bubbling motives that existed in the region began to move in the correct line.

As a result of this, an outstanding and great martyr, namely Shahid Nader Mahdavi, emerged in Bushehr. From the perspective of those individuals who are deeply interested in issues related to martyrdom, jihad and the like, the memory of such figures - the likes of Nader Mahdavi and those people who accompanied him- the individuals who accomplished those great feats, who made the enemy fear them, who dignified the people of Iran and who showed off the power of the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic to the enemy - should live on forever. The names and memory of such individuals should be highlighted in written and oral history. The same is true of the enmities of the enemies.

In the Persian Gulf region, all those people who used to support and defend that damned and sinister creature, namely Saddam, focused their efforts on making the Persian Gulf insecure for the Islamic Republic. These are the same people who claim to advocate human rights. These are the same people who later on stood against Saddam despite the fact that they used to help him fight against the Islamic Republic for many years. This shows how important the security of the Persian Gulf region is. This shows that the security of the Persian Gulf region is so important that they focused their enmity on making this region insecure for Iran that has the most extensive coasts in this aquatic region - the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

The presence of revolutionary youth and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the formation of the Navy and its entrance to the arena made the sea become insecure for themselves. Their ships, their helicopters and their oil tankers were damaged and they found out that the Islamic Republic is not an entity with whose fate they can play in whatever ways they want. This is the spiritual power of the Islamic Republic. The Holy Quran says, "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies" [The Holy Quran, 8: 60].

Your presence, your condition and your moves should intimidate the enemy. The enemy is a transgressor by nature. It is in the nature of world-devouring powers to transgress, to advance, to occupy and to dig-in their claws. This is in their nature. If your earthworks are penetrable, he will penetrate. You should move forward in a way that he feels unable to penetrate. The formation of the revolutionary front in the southern part of the country and the presence of revolutionary forces, in the form of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy, and individuals in coastal provinces - these courageous youth who are not interested in worldly affairs - helped achieve this Quranic goal: "To strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies." This should always continue. We have said many times that we will not begin any war. We have our own reasons for that. We will not begin any war, but we should take away the enemy's courage to begin a war. We should know the enemy. We should know his nature.

Today, the apparatuses of arrogance in the region have defined dangerous goals for themselves. These are goals that are related to the fate of nations. And the instruments that they use are very dangerous, inhuman and savage. They have no scruples whatsoever about using methods that lead to the murder of innocent people. Notice what they are doing in regions to the west - Iraq and Syria - and east, Afghanistan and Pakistan, of our country. They have no scruples at all. The lives of individuals are not important to them in any way. When they claim to advocate human and civil rights and other such hollow and meaningless claims, all of these are lies. And the evidence for this is what you see in the present time. They attack hospitals and murder tens of patients by bombarding them. Later on, they say, "Excuse us. This was a mistake." And sometimes, they do not even apologize.

In Gaza, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and other countries, certain crimes are committed that make us wonder at the cruelty and cold-heartedness of the people who commit them. How can they do such things? They put a person into a cage and they burn them alive! And human rights organizations sit and watch! This is while they use all their means to rescue a dog or a cat that has fallen into a well. This way, they want to say that they are advocates of all living creatures.

The great danger for the world is this pretention, this lying, this hypocrisy. The enemy is this.

Their purpose is to pursue their goals in the region. Of course, by Allah's favor and grace, not only has the Islamic Republic managed to prevent the enemy from penetrating the country, but it has also prevented him from pursuing his goals in the region to a great extent. This is because of God's favor and divine power and it originates from the determination of you youth. Many of their plots have been frustrated and foiled because of the power of the Islamic Republic and its presence in those arenas where it should be present. This is why their main focus for enmity is on the Islamic Republic. They will do whatever they can. The reason why they speak about negotiating with our country is that they want to penetrate.

Some people adopt a naïve and simple-minded outlook towards the issue of negotiations. They have not understood the issue correctly. Now, there are some people who are indifferent- society's indifferent class- whatever happens, they do not care. They do not care if the interests of the country - our national interests - are destroyed. We have nothing to do with them.

But some people are not indifferent, rather they are simple-minded and they do not understand the depth of issues. When there is talk of negotiations, they say, "Why are you opposed to negotiating with America? Well, the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) and Imam Hussein (a.s.) negotiated with such and such individuals." Such outlooks are a sign of simple-mindedness. They show that such people have not understood the depth of the matter. We cannot analyze the issues of the country like this. We cannot ensure the interests of the country with such plebeian and simple-minded outlooks.

First of all, when the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) speaks to Zubayr and when Imam Hussein (a.s.) speaks to Ibn Sa'ad, they offer them words of advice. The issue was not about negotiation in its modern sense. Negotiation, in its modern sense, means a deal. It means giving something and receiving something else in return. Did the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) have a give-and-take deal with Zubayr? Did Imam Hussein (a.s.) have a give-and-take deal with Ibn Sa'ad? Was the issue about this? Do you understand history like this? Do you analyze the lives of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household (a.s.) like this? Imam Hussein (a.s.) criticized and advised Ibn Sa'ad. He said to him that he should be afraid of God. The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) offered words of advice to Zubayr. He reminded him of a memory during the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) life and he said to him that he should be afraid of God. This piece of advice was completely effective as Zubayr departed from the war.

Today, negotiation does not have such a meaning. In order to make us negotiate with America- which is the Great Satan- some people naively and simple-mindedly cite quotations from the Imams (a.s.) in their newspapers, websites and speeches without understanding the realities of the present time. They say, "Why do you not negotiate with America while the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) negotiated with Zubayr? They have misunderstood the matter to such an extent! This is while negotiation did not have such a meaning at that time.

Second, we are not against negotiation in its modern sense. Currently, we are negotiating with the whole world. We negotiate with certain governments. We negotiate with European governments, with Latin American governments. All these things are negotiations. We have no problems with negotiation. When we say that we will not negotiate with America, this does not mean that we are opposed to the essence of negotiation. This is not the case. We are opposed to negotiating with America- and there are certain reasons for this.

Intelligent individuals should understand why. And when we negotiate with others, it is not as if they are our close friends. Some of them are our enemies and some of them are neutral. We negotiate with them and we have no problems with that, but for America negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran means penetration. This is their definition of negotiation and they want to open the way for imposition.

Today, the great monster of international propaganda is in America's hands. Today, the Zionist orientation, which is the arch enemy of humanity and of morality, wears the same clothes as America does. They collaborate with one another and they work together. Negotiating with them means opening the way for their penetration in economic, cultural, political and security areas.

During the negotiations on the nuclear energy issue, they exerted influence and carried out a harmful move against our national interests whenever they found an opportunity and whenever they were allowed to enter the arena. Of course, the Iranian side was thankfully careful, but they found certain opportunities anyway.

What is forbidden is this. Negotiation with America is forbidden, because of its countless detriments and because of alleged advantages of which it has none whatsoever. This is different from negotiating with such and such a government that neither has such resources nor such motivations. These two are different from each other, but they do not understand this.

The current problem of the country is unfortunately the existence of individuals who are to some extent indifferent and simple-minded. Of course, such individuals are few in number and they form the minority of the country. They are few compared to the enormous number of revolutionary, wise and insightful individuals who exist in the country, but they are active. They write, deliver speeches, repeat and repeat again. And the enemy helps them do so.

Today, an important chapter of the activities of the enemies of the Islamic Republic is focused on changing the calculations of officials, tampering with the thoughts of the people and instilling their own ideas in the minds of our youth. They want to change both revolutionary and religious thoughts and the ideas that are related to the interests of the country. Of course, we are aware of their activities and we know exactly what they are doing. And youth are the main target. Under such circumstances, youth should be completely awake. Of course, they are awake thankfully. Our universities and our Armed Forces are awake and our military organizations - the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Basij and the Police Force - are thankfully prepared. I have no concerns about this.

What I want to say to you revolutionary youth who are thankfully active in an important area of the country - the security of the seas - is that you should be aware of the significance of your work in the present time. As the whole of faith stood up against kufr in the event of Mubahala, today the whole of faith in the Islamic Republic is standing up against kufr. As the spirituality, purity and spiritual power of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.) managed to throw the enemy out of the arena, the people of Iran will - by Allah's favor and grace and with their power and spirituality - throw the enemy out of the arena as well.

The role of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps at sea is very important. The role of the activities of the youth from the southern part of the country - from Bushehr and other coastal provinces - is an outstanding role. The youth from the south have really emerged victorious out of their tests and they have shown that they can defend the dignity of their country, their Revolution and their system in the real sense of the word. The role of the honorable and dear families who have agreed to be present and to live in that region is a very important role as well. If family members do not join and cooperate with the men of family, then things will not move forward. Fortunately today, the women and ladies of our country have very clear, sincere and wise motives. And this was the case in the entire era of war. I have the opportunity to speak with the families of martyrs. In many cases, the mothers of martyrs are not less - if not more - motivated and enthusiastic than the fathers of martyrs. In many cases, they are more motivated and insightful. These are the women of our country! This is a great value for the country.

What I want to say is that you should increase your preparedness, both scientific preparedness - preparedness in the area of science and research - and warfare preparedness which means preparedness in the area of military weapons and tools. As Sardar Commander pointed out, in the face of the tried and tested tools of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the enemies thought of changing their war tactics. In other words, the innovative presence of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in the sea forced them into changing their tactics. Therefore, your innovations, your inventions and your novelty on the issue of military equipment should increase in line with the enemy's moves in the area of scientific work, military equipment and military presence. And it is possible to do so.

Human creativity is infinite. As one day the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps reached the conclusion that it should have access to speedboats, it can also think of and pursue new phenomena beyond and better than these things. You should constantly think and have the upper hand. The main criterion is "to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies." If the enemy does not fear, he will attack. If he does not fear, he will dare to transgress. This is the second piece of advice.

The third piece of advice is cooperation. Thankfully today, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy has dramatically changed compared to what it was in the first years of the Revolution. I had detailed knowledge about the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy of those days. Similarly, I know today's Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. They are religious and prepared individuals. You should cooperate, have harmony, help one another and use one another's experiences. This spirit of cooperation will help. It will increase national wealth. This is what we wanted to say to you.

You should know that Allah the Exalted is your supporter. You should have no doubts that "If you help the cause of Allah, He will help you" [The Holy Quran, 47: 7]. We should try to act on the ayah "If you help the cause of Allah..." and we should help God. If our intention, actions and moves are compatible with "If you help the cause of Allah..." then this will surely be followed by "He will help you." Divine promises are inviolable. You should pursue this move, this task and this seriousness.

The future belongs to you. The enemies of Islam and Muslims will be defeated in both West Asia and in other regions. They will be defeated in both security and military areas, and - by Allah's favor - in economic and cultural areas provided that we work. If we are ready to put our feet in the stirrups, if we show our presence correctly and in the true sense of the word and if we attend to our duty, the enemy will certainly be defeated. There is no doubt about this.

I ask Allah the Exalted to help you succeed. I ask Allah the Exalted to increase the wellbeing of you dear youth and the progress and transcendence of the people of Iran, and to raise the position of the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam (r.a.), the dear martyrs of the Revolution and all the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings