The Office of the Supreme Leader

Supreme Leader Meets with Families of Martyrs of the 7th of Tir

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, met Saturday morning with families of martyrs of the 7th of Tir, families of martyrs of Tehran and disabled war veterans. Speaking at the meeting, His Eminence stressed the need of society and the country to understand and follow up the message of the martyrs.

Referring to the events in Iraq, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: "What is happening in Iraq is the war between terrorism and lovers of the west, and the opponents of terrorism and supporters of the independence of nations."

Ayatollah Khamenei described the 7th of Tir as the arena of complete disgrace for those who claim to support human rights, adding: "Since then, the perpetrators of that crime and the agents of murdering thousands of Iranians have been enjoying the support of westerners and in the present time, they are being welcomed in the U.S. Congress and other governmental organizations of that country."

His Eminence reiterated: "While those who claim to support human rights receive with open arms the agents of bloody terror against the people of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran - which is a victim of terrorism and the violation of human rights - is accused of such crimes and this is a good standard for evaluating western claims."

Pointing to the bombardment of the Iranian city of Sardasht with chemical weapons- on the seventh of Tir of 1366 by Saddam's Ba'athist regime- he stated: "Despite using chemical weapons against the people of Sardasht and before that the people of Halabja [in Iraq], America and Europe supported the Ba'athist regime for many years. As long as they could use Saddam, they did not oppose him. This is another standard for clarifying the truth of western claims."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed that the enemies' failures during the past three decades have reinforced their grudge against the people of Iran, saying: "Global arrogant powers - who hate Imam (r.a.), the Revolution and the people of Iran - do not stop hatching plots. For this reason, the people and officials should be completely vigilant and careful."

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to regional events and said: "Today, the enemies of Islam have invested in waging domestic wars within nations so that they can pit people against one another with tribal and denominational excuses."

His Eminence added: "They falsely refer to the events in Iraq as the war between Shia and Sunni, but this war is the war of terrorism against the opponents of terrorism. It is the war of the lovers of America's goals against the supporters of independence of nations. It is the war of human values against brutality and savagery."

Pointing to the efforts of the enemies of Islam for repeating the events of Iraq in other countries, he reiterated: "Nations should vigilantly keep the enemy's activities under surveillance and they should know that the enemy is not afraid of doing anything for the sake of destroying the independence and dignity of Muslims."

He stressed: "By Allah's favor, the dear and brave people of Iran have frustrated the enemy until today with unity, vigilance and foresight. Without a doubt, from now on too, they will frustrate all the attacks and plots of arrogance and the camp of imperialists will finally be defeated in their battle against Islamic Awakening."
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