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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

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I welcome you, all my dear brethren and sisters,

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[and] everybody that is present here, especially the families of our dear martyrs,

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and I hope that, God willing, the great and valuable achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army

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during long years,

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have been always a cause of pride for this faithful and patient and hard-working organ.

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I also congratulate the Army Day

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to all esteemed attendants and to all members of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army

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and to their respectable families.

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And I commend and thank [you] for your gathering here today.

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I also thank you for this good ballad, which was different both in terms of poem and performance,

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and was very good.

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Without a doubt, announcement of the “Army Day” was one of the most prominent and most useful measures and innovations of the Great Imam [Khomeini].

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If we looked at the motivations that existed at that time across the country,

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and toward all aspects of the country, in the minds of the enemies of Iran and revolution,

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we would understand that announcement of a day as the Army Day was a great step;

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was a useful step; [and] a necessary and imperative step.

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Some of you young people don’t remember those days, [and] some of you were not even born at that time.

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There was a very powerful and dangerous motivation,

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even within the Army itself, to destroy the Iranian Army.

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They made efforts [to this end]; and offered logic and philosophy for this purpose.

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There were elements within the Army itself, who under the pretext of [replacing it with] a religious army and monotheistic army,

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wanted to destroy and to annihilate the army. Such motivations existed.

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Imam stood up against these motivations.

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Imam recognized that the Army should remain with power and force, and play a role,

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and [he maintained that] those issues, which had been able in the era of the tyrant [former Shah of Iran] to detach the Army from people, should be done away with; and [he] did away with them.

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The army, stayed in all arenas as a revolutionary entity, and not only revolutionary in words and claims,

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but also revolutionary in deeds; [it] stayed in the middle of the arena and played its role.

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There were also incidents [related to this issue] before the eight-year defense [against Iraq] that was imposed on us.

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However, during the eight-year defense, the entire truth was unveiled.

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In various fields to which I have frequently referred in this meeting and in other meetings,

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to memories of those days and what [happened] in the arenas of war and the battlefield,

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especially at the beginning of war in September 1980, and then in later years when I was the president

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and did not attend the battlefront, and on the basis of reports and [what was presented] in decision-making sessions, we witnessed what the army was doing –

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This day should be commemorated; this memory should be preserved

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and the meaning of 29th of [the Iranian calendar month of] Farvardin [April 18, the Army Day] should be correctly understood.

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The 29th of Farvardin signifies that the army belongs to Iran, to revolution, to people,

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and is at the service of people’s goals and at the service of the revolution’s goals.

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Just like what these dear youth of us sang in their ballad, the army stood by the revolution.

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This is the meaning of the 29th of Farvardin.

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This was among big steps and had lasting effects. [It] will continue to have more effects after this.

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And God willing, you young people are growing in this atmosphere, in this environment and with this orientation and,

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God willing, will be cause of pride for your country.

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One of the characteristics of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army is revolutionary and religious insight.

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[Another characteristic] is abiding by religion and religious commitment. This is a very important issue.

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The meaning of religious commitment is that

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the Army is committed to all the norms that Islam has specified for the armed forces and for military activities.

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When armies of the world feel victorious in an arena, they enter that arena without bridle,

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do things that are shameful and examples of those things we have seen in various places.

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This is the time when they feel victorious – that they do not show mercy to anybody.

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When they feel threatened, they do other things and take other measures,

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which are considered a crime by the divine Sharia [law] of Islam and are even crime from the viewpoint of international law.

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Of course, those with power neither show respect for international law, nor for human laws.

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They take advantage of prohibited weapons and target civilians

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[and] examples of such crimes have been frequently observed in those wars in which America has been directly or indirectly involved.

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This is the situation of the world armies.

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The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the armed forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic abide by Islamic obligations.

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[They] neither get out of control in time of victory, nor take prohibited measures and use prohibited tools when they are in danger.

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For a long time, our cities – both border cities and later on, even Tehran and Isfahan and many other cities –

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were subject to brutal and blind aggression of Saddam’s missiles.

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Various neighborhoods of this city of Tehran, were hit by Saddam’s missiles;

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missiles that had been equipped and sold [to Saddam Hussein] by European countries

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[and] were guided by the Americans. The targets were shown to them.

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[Coordinates of] the targets were given to the enemy through aerial photos.

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These missiles came [and] hit our cities

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and routed defenseless people, civilian people; [and] ruined [their] houses.

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After a while, we were able to respond in kind.

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We were able to obtain missiles; [and] we were able to respond in kind.

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We could hit those cities that were in range of our missiles – including Baghdad itself.

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Imam [Khomeini] told us if we wanted to hit a nonmilitary spot– apart from garrisons and similar places –

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we should announce on radio beforehand that we wanted to hit a specific place, so that, people could leave.

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You see, such a commitment is not usual in the world.

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The armed forces of many countries – or as far as we know, almost all countries – do not have such commitments.

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You are observing an instance of this today in Yemen.

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A while ago, you saw it in Palestine, in Gaza, in Lebanon.  [You have also] observed this in other places.

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They don’t care about such concerns. However, armed forces that are committed to Islamic laws, observe these concerns.

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If we said – and we have frequently said – that we do not use nuclear weapons,

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it is for the sake of these concerns. [It is] for the sake of this commitment to Islamic obedience and Islamic regulations and Islamic laws.

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This is one of the most prominent characteristics of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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Today, our enemies accuse the Islamic Republic of interference in this and that [country], which is not true.

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There is no such thing. We interfere in nowhere.

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Of course, if we are exposed to aggression, we will defend ourselves, [and] defend with all our might. But we don’t interfere.

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We abhor those people and agents that attack defenseless people,

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[attack] the civilians, kill children, kill women,

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[and] ruin houses. We declare our abhorrence [toward them] and declare our hatred.

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They have understood nothing about Islam, about human conscience.

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The characteristic of our armed forces is that they adhere to the fundaments of Islam and divine laws because the divine law applies to all circumstances

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even in war or in peace.

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This is one of the characteristics of our armed forces.

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This is the reason why today, our army, our Revolutionary Guards, [and] our armed forces are so popular among people.

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People see that these [armed forces] think like them, act like them,

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have convictions similar to their own,

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[and] care about the same things that people care for.

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This [situation] strengthens the liaison between people and the armed forces. This is one characteristic [of the armed forces].

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Another characteristic to which our armed forces should pay attention,

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and have fortunately paid attention and this is quite evident, is the issue of acting upon the holy [Quranic] verse [which says]:

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“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.”

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This verse means you should not be taken by surprise.

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It means that if an enemy attacks you,

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you should not suffer losses as a result of shortage of equipment, shortage of arms and ammunition, [and] insufficient preparedness,

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because your loss is the nation’s loss, your loss is Islam’s loss.

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Therefore, as I said before, the progress that our armed forces have made in this field up to the present day, has been exemplary.

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That is, not only on country level, our country fortunately stands on an acceptable and prominent level

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in the world in terms of scientific and technological advances,

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but our army is also among progressive armies in terms of weaponry advances and military advances.

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The degree to which we have been able during past years to advance the country’s equipment and potentials,

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in this time interval, at this juncture, despite these pressures, these sanctions,

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[and in view of] this shortage of resources, has been an extraordinary achievement; really extraordinary.

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Fortunately, the armed forces have been able to take great steps in various sections, by themselves or in cooperation [with one another],

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or through planning, and by taking advantage of scientific and technological organs,

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and this process should continue.

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What I emphasize is that the country’s breakthroughs in the fields of weaponry

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and in the fields of combat readiness must continue in a progressive manner; [though] our enemies don’t want this.

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Today, this issue is one of the tools they use to mount propaganda pressure on the Islamic Republic.

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– the issue of missiles, the issue of drones, the issue of military equipment

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and these things that have come into being through the skill of our youth inside the country and without asking for this one’s or that one’s help –

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They don’t want this to exist, they want to stop this.

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[However,] sound rational logic, which is backed by the [aforesaid] verse of Quran, tells us that we must continue on this path.

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The opposite side threatens us with complete shamelessness;

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[and] is outrageously posing military threat to us. They were silent for a while,

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yet again, a few days ago, one of them opened his mouth and talked about the options on the table and the military option.

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Well, they brag about this, they utter this nonsense

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[and] then they say the Islamic Republic must strip itself of defense capability.

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Isn’t what they say quite foolish?

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Even if they did not threaten us so explicitly, we had to think about it according to [the Quranic] order of

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“Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war.”

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Even if they did not threaten us, we must have been careful about this,

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must have increased this preparations. At present, they are openly threatening [us].

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On the one hand, they threaten [us], on the other hand, they say ‘you must not build missiles,

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must not do this, you must not do that’.

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They incessantly issue orders, which lack [logical] basis and are foolish, through their propaganda outlets or in international meetings.

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No, the Islamic Republic, firstly has proven that, and has shown

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that it will act quite powerfully and with its maximum strength in defending itself.

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The entire nation will come together like a strong fist and stand against the aggressor,

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against aggression, [and] against [any] irrational invader.

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In defense, our nation is totally consolidated and nothing else affects it. This is the first [point].

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And the Islamic Republic keeps itself ready and maintains its readiness. This is the second point.

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All organs in the Islamic Republic – from Defense Ministry to various organs of the Army and Revolutionary Guards and various other organs –

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should consider this as a directive and boost their preparedness day by day;

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both in terms of weapons and organization,

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and in terms of that factor which has the greatest influence on the armed forces, that is, spiritual readiness and morale.

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Fortunately in our country, our forces, our youth, [and] our valiant men, have no shortage in such things;  [they] have no shortage.

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From the viewpoint of morale, fortunately, we feel no shortage.

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The same thing that was the goal of the revolution, the same thing that was the goal of the 29th of Farvardin,

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the same thing that was the goal of the Revolutionary Guards – all of which were created by the Great Imam [Khomeini] –

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has been realized: high morale and high preparedness.

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Even now, many young people, who have neither seen the revolution, nor the Imam, nor were there in the time of war,

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nor have any memory of those days and are currently young,

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from within the army, [they] send me messages through various means [saying] that they are ready for sacrifice.

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The pilot of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force sends his own message, the pilot of the Army’s air division, sends his own message,

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[and] a person, who is affiliated with the Navy or the Army sends his own message; all of them are ready.

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Any army and any armed organization, which has this high morale

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will certainly move ahead in confrontations, in [all kinds of] tests, [and] in hardships.

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You should move ahead with this morale.

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Therefore, maintaining your insight, maintaining correct direction, necessary preparedness,

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[and] good morale [in addition to] daily boost in equipment and potentials and combat readiness

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must be one of the basic tasks of the armed forces.

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The Islamic Republic of Iran is not a threat to any country.

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We have never been a threat to our neighbors let alone more remote places.

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Our contemporary history clearly shows this.

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Even at the time that some of our neighbors were at odds with us,

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[in a way] which was not becoming of neighborhood, we showed self-restraint.

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The Islamic Republic has never invaded any country and will never do [this in future].

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Now, the Americans, and following them, the Europeans and some of their proxies have come up with the fake tale of [Iran's] nuclear issue and nuclear weapons

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to say that the Islamic Republic is a source of threat.

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No, the source of threat is America itself.

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Today, the American regime is the greatest source of threat in the world,

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which without any bridle, [and] without any conscience-based or religious commitment, embarks on groundless interventions in any part [of the world] that it deems necessary,

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and embarks on interventions that sow insecurity [in other countries].

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The United States has made the world insecure.

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In our region, the Zionist regime [of Israel], which is chained dog of America, is source of insecurity.

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These are [the main parties] that have made the world insecure.The Islamic Republic of Iran does not make the world insecure,

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nor does it make the region insecure. [It] does not even make the environment of its neighbors insecure.

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Even in many instances, it has graciously put up with misconduct of some of its neighbors.

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Insecurity is stoked by unbridled powers that conquer all places.

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Today, these pitiful incidents are going on in Yemen and the Americans support the oppressor.

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Westerners support tyranny; they are the source of insecurity.

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It is them that make countries insecure,

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it is them that make the living environment insecure for humans; insecurity emanates from them.

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The Islamic Republic considers security as the greatest divine bounty both for itself and others,

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and stands firm to protect its security and to defend itself.

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The officials of the armed forces must bear this [point] in mind at all times.

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Protecting the country’s security, protecting security of borders, protecting general security of people’s life;

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[these] are things [whose protection] is the responsibility of officials that are active in this field.

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I ask Almighty God to increase the achievements of the armed forces day by day

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and, God willing, help you young people

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play your role.

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The role is not just fighting. Getting prepared, facilitating progress,

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building one’s own personality as well as building organization and things like that

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are also among great deeds. Of course, if some day a conflict breaks out,

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being present at the warfront is also a form of preparation and a form of test and so forth.

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I hope, God willing, the Almighty will make you successful in all fields.

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Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings.