A graduation ceremony for military cadets was held at Imam Hossein (PBUH) University on Monday in the presence of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the 1981 liberation of Iran’s southwestern city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqi occupation.

Upon arrival on the university premises, Ayatollah Khamenei paid homage to the Tomb of the Unknown Martyrs in commemoration of Iranian combatants who died fighting during eight years of the Iraqi imposed war, known as the Sacred Defense (1980-1988). The Leader prayed to the Almighty God to bestow His mercy upon them. Ayatollah Khamenei, the commander-in-chief of Iranian Armed Forces, then reviewed the military units standing on guard at the arena.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also commended war veterans, including those injured while fighting in Syria to defend the holy shrines there, and praised a number of the families of esteemed martyrs present at the ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Ayatollah Khamenei elucidated the Quranic and Islamic logic of “the Greater Jihad” as “steadfastness and defiance of the [global] Arrogance Front,” and elucidated its various aspects and requirements in the Islamic Republic establishment. Referring to massive efforts and planning by the Arrogant Front for infiltration into and changing the identity of the Islamic establishment, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “The most important task currently assigned to academic and seminary centers, faithful and revolutionary elements and youths, and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is ‘well-calculated and intelligent action for the elucidation and enlightenment of the depth of the slogans of the [1979 Islamic] Revolution’ and ‘refraining from superficial measures’, ‘training [suitable] manpower for the future’ as well as ‘scientific compilation of accumulated and surprising experiences of the Revolution over the past 38 years’.”

Ayatollah Khamenei extended his congratulations on the birthday anniversary of Hadhrat Saheb az-Zaman [Imam Mahdi] (PBUH), the occult Shia Imam whose second coming will usher in a new age of justice in the world, and also commemorated anniversary of the liberation of Iranian city of Khorramshahr on May 23, 1981, describing the latter as an unforgettable day in the history of the Islamic Revolution and the symbol of the divine power, adding: “As for the liberation of Khorramshahr and other operations during the Sacred Defense, there are many details which many people, particularly the younger generation, may not be aware of, and therefore the books related to these operations are strongly recommended to be studied.”

Highlighting an important point with regard to the operation that led to the liberation of Khorramshahr, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the divine power and said: “The honorable Imam [Khomeini], that man of God and the divine sage, said that God liberated Khorramshahr.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: “Within the framework of this logic, when all efforts and endeavors have been made and full power is exercised and finally God is trusted in, the powerful divine hand will come to aid as a strong backing, whose result is the liberation of Khorramshahr in the face of an enemy, which was armed with all facilities [and military] equipment.”

“Based on this logic, it is possible to liberate the entire world which is dominated by the Arrogance, it is possible to liberate Palestine, and it is also possible for no nation to be oppressed [anymore],” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

“Every nation that is endowed with this logic and exhausts all its efforts and endeavors and trusts in God, it will definitely not be intimidated by the military, financial, propaganda and political might of powers,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei then referred to the global Arrogance Front’s unsuccessful effort over the past 38 years for defeating the Islamic Revolution despite resorting to a variety of tools and conspiracies, describing it as a salient example of victory of the logic of struggle and steadfastness based on trust in God, noting: “The Iranian nation is still in the arena and a many young people are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Revolution and that is what would attract God’s power [in support of this nation].”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described this kind of confrontation with the Arrogant Front as the “asymmetric war,” saying: “In this asymmetric war, both parties enjoy capabilities and sources of strength which the opposite party is deprived of, and the source of power of the Islamic establishment is reliance on and trust in God’s power, confidence about victory and trust in the willpower of the faithful humans.”

Noting that the asymmetric war is the “war of wills,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out: “In this battlefield, anyone whose will is weakened will definitely be defeated. Therefore, we must be careful so that the enemy’s propaganda and temptations would not sway our strong will.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added that this war is well beyond an ordinary military war and is a kind of “jihad,” adding: “Today, for our country, the possibility of outbreak of a traditional military war is very weak, but the issue of jihad is still in place, and this jihad which is based on a Quranic and Islamic logic is the ‘Greater Jihad’ which means ‘steadfastness, resistance and refusal to follow suit with infidels and polytheists.”

Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that the Greater Jihad applies to all political, economic, cultural and artistic fields, adding: “In all these fields, instead of following suit with the front of infidels and polytheists, one must follow the agenda set by Islam and the Quran.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said today the sticking point between the Islamic Republic and the Arrogant Front is the issue of “submission,” adding: “They have resorted to all tools, [and] pressures, [as well as] cultural, economic, political and propaganda efforts, and their treacherous agents in an attempt to bring the Islamic establishment to its knees and force it into submission, but what has extremely infuriated the Arrogance with regard to the Iranian nation is that people are not ready to bow to the Arrogance since they are Muslims.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution noted that bringing up such issues as the nuclear energy, Iran's missile power and the situation of human rights in Iran were only pretexts, noting: “The main cause of all these enmities and fabrication of pretexts is [Iran’s] defiance of the Arrogance, because if the Iranian nation was ready to surrender, they (the arrogant powers) would have certainly gotten along with [Iran’s] missile power and nuclear energy and would have never made any mention of human rights either.”

Regarding Iran’s missile program, Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned a point and said: “They have recently started a massive [media] hype campaign, but they must know that such hue and cry will have no effect [on Iran] and they would not be able to do a damn thing.”

Elucidating the main reason for the arrogant powers’ enmity against the Islamic establishment, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “Americans are making huge efforts not to give voice to the main reason of this hostility, but this issue is sometimes disclosed in their remarks, [and] for example, a few days ago, an American official, after repeating regular accusations against Iran, inadvertently referred to the issue of ‘ideology,’ that is, the same Islamic thought that keeps the Iranian nation from bowing to the bullying remarks of the front of infidels and the Arrogance.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution highlighted “steadfastness,” “defiance of the enemy” and “safeguarding the revolutionary and Islamic identity” as the main reasons behind the strength of the Islamic establishment and the Iranian nation, saying: “The Americans and other powers are extremely angry about this issue and they have no choice, and this is why they made huge effort in order to bring the country’s decision-making and decision-taking centers under their control, but they failed and thanks God they will not be able to do so.”

Ayatollah Khamenei stated: “The main task [assigned to] the IRGC is to ‘safeguard the Revolution’. Therefore, the Greater Jihad must top the agenda of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ plans.”

Referring to the barrage of attacks and accusations against the IRGC, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “The main reason for these [instances of] anger is the IRGC’s steadfastness on the path of the Revolution and preservation of [its original] orientations and the revolutionary and Islamic spirit [of the IRGC].”

Addressing the country’s youths and cadets present in the ceremony, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “The future of the Revolution belongs to you and that is you who should safeguard this history with dignity and you must know that Khorramshahr-style events lie ahead; of course not in a military war arena, but in an arena which does not have the devastations of a military war and even on the contrary is followed by development, but it is harder than a military war.”

From this standpoint, Ayatollah Khamenei elucidated different aspects of the “Greater Jihad” in the economic, cultural and social spheres, adding: “Insistence on the implementation of the Economy of Resistance is the economic element of this jihad. Insistence on this issue that faithful, devout and revolutionary youths should forcefully push ahead with their cultural activities in a self-motivated manner and that cultural organs also move in this direction is the cultural part of this jihad, and insistence on using all capacities and potentialities of the country to achieve progress forms the social part of this Greater Jihad.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the baseless accusation leveled by some opponents of this drive and allegations that using domestic capacities would mean cutting ties with the outside world, adding: “I by no means believe in cutting ties with the world and erecting a wall around us, but I Rather say that you can have political communications and economic exchanges [with other countries] without forgetting about your main identity and character and when you want to speak out or sign agreements, you must speak as the representative of Islamic Iran and the representative of Islam when you sit at the table to sign agreements and [must] behave smartly.”

Stressing that the Greater Jihad needs intelligence and devotion, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the enemy’s efforts and hopes for infiltration and said: “Today, the enemy is disappointed about [the possibility of] striking a major blow to the Islamic establishment, but it is determined to infiltrate [into the country] by using different and sophisticated tools so that the identity of Iranian youth would be the identity liked by American and the Arrogance because in this case it would face no problem or cost for the achievement of its goals and [implementation of] its plans.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said imperfect knowledge of the United States and the Arrogant Front about Iranian nation is the source of their miscalculations, adding: “Of course they are not disappointed with infiltration and under such circumstances all those who care for the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment, including the IRGC, shoulder a heavy responsibility.”

Stressing that the IRGC must always maintain its military preparedness in the best and the most innovative form, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: “But the IRGC’s task is not limited to war in the military arena, but under the present circumstances, one of the important tasks assigned to all sympathizers, friends and those loyal to the Revolution, including the IRGC, is elucidation, enlightenment and familiarization of [people’s] minds with the depth and profoundness of realities and slogans of the Revolution.”

Ayatollah Khamenei strongly recommended everybody to get ready for elucidation, enlightenment and profound work, saying: “Elucidation of the slogans of the Revolution and enlightenment about the depth of these slogans are the basic requirements for the materialization of the Greater Jihad because the slogans of the Revolution show the correct path of the Revolution and the right path like a signpost and an indicator.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said feelings and sentiments are necessary but insufficient for pursuing the realities and slogans of the Revolution, noting: “If these issues are elucidated through an in-depth and profound approach, people’s faith and belief in these slogans will certainly not leave them and will be permanently stable.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the main reason behind U-turns by certain individuals during different junctures of the Islamic Revolution was lack of depth and their superficial approach to issues, adding: “In the main issues and the slogans of the Revolution, one must embark on profound thinking and reflection, and benefit from the guidance of competent teachers.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said “training [suitable] manpower for the future” and “scientific compilation of accumulated experiences of 38 years of the Islamic Revolution throughout its stunning ups and downs” as other requirements of the Greater Jihad, adding: “In this regard, all academic centers and seminaries, Imam Hossein (PBUH) University in particular, shoulder a duty and responsibility.”

Elucidating the necessity for taking in-depth measures, Ayatollah Khamenei criticized certain illogical measures, emphasizing: “Sometimes, certain people and youths, who may be pious and faithful, stir hype and ballyhoo because they are opposed to a certain person or a speech session, and disrupt that session, while since a long time ago, I have been, and still am, opposed to such measure which serve no good, and I believe that the [real] benefit lie in elucidation as well as correct and smart work.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called for faithful and revolutionary youths to be vigilant, adding: “Of course sometimes certain people take these incorrect steps out of spite and then they pretend that devout and faithful elements are behind them. Therefore, one must be fully vigilant.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to profound enlightenment as well as correct and intelligent actions as the main tasks of the faithful people, noting: “All these actions will prove effective only if we trust in and resort to the Almighty God.”
 
Concluding his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei said the requisite for having a strong relation with God is “more intimacy with the Quran and reflecting over the divine verses [of the Quran],” “attention to [the meaning of daily] prayers and performing prayers with concentration” and “taking advantage of the opportunities that exist in the [lunar] months of Sha’ban and Ramadan.”

During this meeting, Major General Mohammad-Ali Ja’fari, the chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, said resistance in the face of the United States’ excessive demands was the main factor for the strength of the Islamic establishment, adding: “In order to thwart the enemies’ conspiracies, the IRGC has concentrated on such strategies as ‘generation of power with a view to safeguarding the Revolution’, ‘revising the form and nature of the Islamic Revolution’ and ‘taking the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s instructions into operational levels’.”

The IRGC chief highlighted the United States’ proxy wars through reactionary regimes in the region, saying: “Islamic Awakening and resistance still continue and efforts [undertaken] by the dominant powers cannot block the continuation of the Islamic Revolution and Islamic Awakening.”

“Today young revolutionary guards are ready to courageously defend Islam, Revolution and the dignity of the Islamic establishment in difficult and complicated battlefields of the future,” he said.

Vice-Admiral Morteza Saffari, chancellor of Imam Hossein (PBUH) University, also presented a report on the scientific, cultural and educational activities as well as the measures taken to boost the combat readiness of the university.

During the ceremony, a number of commanders, directors, researchers and inventors, and the representative of the exemplary graduates and students of Imam Hossein (PBUH) University received gifts from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the representative of the students of Imam Hossein (PBUH) University was also awarded with epaulettes.
Among programs that were implemented to show that Imam Hossein (PBUH) University’s students were committed to their promise for safeguarding the Revolution was “Ebadi as-Salehoun” (My Pious Servants) program.
The military units present in the arena paraded in front of the commander in chief of the Armed Forces.