On the anniversary of the Popular Uprising of the People of Tabriz, which took place on February 18, 1978, thousands of people from the East Azerbaijan Province met with Ayatollah Khamenei— the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution— on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.

On the anniversary of the February 18, 1978 uprising of the people of Tabriz, thousands of people from the East Azerbaijan province met with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution - Ayatollah Khamenei – on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.
In this meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei addressed the nation regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections and asserted, “I would like to tell you that voting is a public Jihad (struggle in the way of God). Voting strengthens the country and increases the dignity of the Islamic system.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the massive propaganda efforts against the Islamic Republic, which have intensified before the elections, and said, “You can see the U.S. propaganda is seeking to create a division between the people and the Islamic system. They form think tanks to plan for this. Hundreds of people in various sectors are working on Iran and the public opinion in Iran. The aim is to separate the Iranian youth from the Islamic system but to no avail.”
He stressed that the turnout for the February 11th (22nd of Bahman) rallies and the massive funeral procession held for Marty Soleimani must be replicated in the parliamentary elections and maintained, “You saw what happened in the Bahman 22 rallies and what happened in commemoration of our dear Martyr Soleimani! In the elections, the same thing must happen, so that the enemies may see that despite their insistence on separating the people from the system, the people vote in the elections. This is an honor for the Islamic system.”
The Supreme Leader reminded his audience, “The eyes of friends and enemies are fixed on Iran. Pay attention to this too. The enemies want to see the result of their struggles, propaganda, the economic problems that exist in the country, the fact that the Westerners and Europeans didn’t abide by their promises, and the pressure that - as they say, maximum pressure - the Americans are exerting on the people? Our friends around the world watch worriedly too. Of course, whenever we send a message to a group of our friends, I always say, ‘Don't worry. Don't worry about the Iranian nation, because the Iranian nation knows what to do.’”
Ayatollah Khamenei described the election turnout as an effective means of nullifying the vicious plots of the enemies and asserted, “The elections can thwart many of the vicious plots that the Americans have in their minds and that the Zionists have in their hearts against Iran. These elections repel the deceiving schemes and conspiracies of the enemies of Iran. This is an example of the timely presence (of the people) that I mentioned earlier. As noted, God makes their timely presence bear fruit, like the presence of the people on February 18, 1978, which was so effective by God’s grace. Here again, by God’s grace, the people’s participation in the elections will bear fruit. If we do our duties well, it can have a transformative effect.”
The Supreme Leader called for a strong Parliament (Islamic Consultative Assembly), which may be achieved through a large participation of the people in the elections and added, “We have repeatedly stressed that Iran must become strong. If it becomes strong, the enemy will become despairing, the enemy’s plots will be suffocated at their inception, and they will fail. One of the means of becoming stronger is to have a strong Parliament, a strong parliament that can make the country immune to the enemy’s plots by passing the necessary laws. This is how a strong parliament should be. Well, the more people appear at the ballot box, the stronger the Parliament is. Of course, this is only one of the pillars (for becoming strong).”
He referred to the nonsensical rhetoric of the U.S. officials, “A point about the recent US gibberish, because these fools have lined up again and each one of them is constantly talking about Iran, the Iranian nation, about the system of the Islamic Republic and about the elections. Part of what they say is because they seek to have an impact on the election. They want to make people disappointed and to make them lose hope in the ballot box.”
Ayatollah Khamenei went on to add, “Part of this is due to their passivity. After the assassination of our beloved Martyr and the crime that the U.S. committed at the Baghdad Airport, they became passive. The U.S. president and his cohorts became truly passive and realized they had acted rashly.”
The Supreme Leader added, “They were criticized both by other countries, and within the U.S. They were heavily attacked for the mistake they made, and it brought about the opposite results for them. The Americans wanted to kill our beloved Martyr, who had a profound effect on the region, to be able to dominate the region. But it gave the opposite result. The huge march of the Iraqi people in Baghdad last Friday, the movement of people in Syria, issues related to Aleppo and the like, and some other events in the region are exactly the opposite of what the Americans were pursuing. These recent nonsensical remarks show they are trying to somehow compensate for their passivity.”
“Of course, the martyrdom of Martyr Soleimani was a bitter loss for us. (This) martyr was very good, very dear, very beneficial, and greatly admired. This loss is undeniable, and he has gone. However, when we look at this incident, we see Almighty God, similar to all the other divine events in which mercy prevails over (His) anger, and the same is true in this event.”
“But about the Martyr himself, the Almighty God states in the Qur'an, in the words of the Muslims, that they will have one of two excellent things, the best things. What are these two that a believer will have one of them? One is victory, the other is martyrdom. Martyr Soleimani achieved both of the best. He was victorious; for several years Martyr Soleimani has been victorious in the battlefield in the region. The loser has been the US and its agents throughout this region. And, he was martyred. Thus, the Almighty God has bestowed both of these two excellent things on this dear Martyr.”
“But the Iranian people showed their greatness, unity, motivation and participation. The events that took place in Tehran, in Tabriz, in Mashhad, in Ahwaz, in Kerman, and in Qom, were very big events. It is rare for tens of millions of people in different cities to commemorate a martyr. This shows the greatness of the Iranian people, the appreciation of the Iranian people, and the insight of the Iranian people, and this was one of God's blessings.”
“As a result of this event, many nations sympathized and sided with Iran. In one of these foreign countries – for certain reasons, I prefer not to name it, but if I named that country, everybody would admit that this information is correct - thousands of ceremonies were organized in commemoration of Martyr Soleimani. Even in some European countries, in distant countries, and in African countries, sympathy was aroused. We've been gradually hearing about these up until now and are still hearing about them. The news coming from here and there reveals that the event convinced the nations to sympathize with us and made their hearts close to us. This is a great blessing. This is the strategic depth of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic system. Therefore, we have won in this case. This is a case that is so bitter in appearances - our dear martyr being taken away from us is very bitter - but God has put an interior that is all victory.”
 “(The Americans) have decorated a facade, giving glory and splendor to this matter in appearances, in order to deceive some and frighten others. The façade is only a show of glory and splendor. I have made this note that, “In the same way that the Titanic's glory and splendor could not save it from sinking, America's glory and splendor will not stop it from sinking. And, America will sink.”
“What we are against is the rule of oppression, lawlessness and arrogance. When we say "America," this is what we mean. This is not limited to America. Of course today, the peak of rebellion, lawlessness, and Arrogance is America, which is in fact controlled by the Zionists - not the Zionist regime, but rich Zionist individuals and corporations. Any other country acting in the same manner is in fact following the same pattern. We do not have any quarrel with any nation or race. We are against Arrogance, against oppression, and opposed to rebelling against human and divine values. Today, America is the manifestation of these. It is the manifestation of oppression and Arrogance. That is why it is hated so much in the world. It shows off its materialistic power to everyone. There are tens of American military bases in different countries surrounding us. However, these military bases will have no use for them. These bases are useless for America and useless for those miserable people who pay for them and have hope in them (for protection). They are useless even for them. If something happens, they will not be of any use.”