The statements made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution during a meeting with members of the Organising Committee of the National Congress of Martyred Relief Workers on Monday, May 12, 2024 (22 Ordibehesht 1404) were published this afternoon at the conference venue.

In this meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei described rescuers as the embodiment of "human and humanitarian values". He emphasised the necessity of sustaining the spirit of self-sacrifice and compassion within the Iranian nation through cultural efforts, saying, "The polar opposite of this spirit is the atrocities and savagery of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the Western support behind it. Resisting such bloodshed and the front of falsehood is a universal duty.

Referring to the Congress Committee's report on initiatives such as producing books, films, and video games related to martyred relief workers, he said, "Just producing these admirable and inspiring works is not enough. You must ensure these productions reach at least 20 million people."

The Leader of the Revolution indicated that the entry of motivated and innovative youth into various sectors, such as industry, politics, construction, literature, and the arts, has been the driving force behind the country's current progress. He added, "With determined and highly motivated young people, there will be no task in the country that is impossible."

Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Under a hail of bullets, relief workers thought only of saving others, not themselves. Their extraordinary spirit of sacrifice was such that they even tended to wounded enemy prisoners, a stark contrast to a world that is estranged from humanity."

He described the selfless efforts of doctors and nurses in field hospitals near the frontlines during the Sacred Defence as something that cannot be adequately conveyed except through the language of art, and he criticised the negligence in introducing the great deeds of the children of the Iranian nation to the world. He said, "While some nations devoid of history and heroes promote their fictional champions with extensive advertising, we must introduce our real heroes and embed them into public culture so that it becomes clear that relief and assistance are Islamic and human duties, which will endure across all generations."

The Leader of the Revolution stated that the antithesis of the spirit of sacrifice and relief is the savage nature and conduct of the Zionist criminals seen in their attacks on ambulances, the bombing of hospitals, and the massacre of defenceless patients and children. He said, "Today, the world is being run by these beasts in human form and the Islamic Republic sees it as its duty to resist their savagery and bloodthirstiness."

Ayatollah Khamenei emphasised that protesting crimes against civilians is a universal duty. He said, "This sense of duty keeps the flame of hope alive in hearts and compels enemies like the West to oppose the Islamic Republic, because if we were to stop condemning their savagery, they would harbour no more enmity toward us."

He stated that the main problem Western bullies have with the Islamic Republic is its rejection of their false civilisation. He said, "Falsehood is doomed to perish. However, achieving this requires action and steadfastness. One must avoid inaction, retreat, flattery, or praising falsehood, as these only advance its cause."