Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a message to mark the blessed Eid of Ghadir. It was also to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Imam Khomeini's passing (ra) and the beginning of the leadership of the martyred Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (ra). In extending his congratulations on the Great Eid of Allah, Ghadir, to Muslims worldwide, he said that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (as), was the next highest exemplar and an all-embracing model after the Prophet (s) for all Muslims. He said that following such a noble figure was a badge of honour for these two leaders of the Islamic Revolution.
The Leader of the Revolution cited that, in the eras of the great Khomeini and the great martyred Khamenei, from Khordad 1342 (June 1963) to the fresh national awakening of the past three months, rising up for God (Qiyamun lilLah) has been a foundation of the Imam Khomeini school that has led to the awakening of the Iranian nation. The Leader of the Revolution pointed out that the wicked enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with our brave sons in the armed forces. He said the defeat has been particularly crushing because they had been profoundly humiliated by the decisive blows dealt by both the military front and the streets. He said that this humiliation has also caused other countries to openly distance themselves from it. So now, it is focusing its hybrid war schemes on two points: first, the resilience of the people, and second, creating errors in the calculation apparatus of the country's officials.
Referring to the slogan, "Rising for God" (Qiyamun lilLah), the Leader of the Revolution said that it was the foundation of Imam Khomeini's (ra) school of thought and led to the awakening of the Iranian nation during the era of the Great Khomeini and the Great Martyr Khamenei, from Khordad 1342 (June 1963) until the new renaissance of the past three months. He said that now the vile enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with the brave sons of Iran in the armed forces, and especially due to the decisive blow they suffered both in military battle and on the streets, they have experienced a profound and meaningful humiliation that has caused open distances between countries and concentrating its plots on the hybrid war, on two points: first, the people's resilience; second, creating errors in the calculation apparatus of the country's officials.
The text of the message of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, which was read this morning by Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Haj Ali Akbari at the sacred shrine of Imam Khomeini (ra), is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise belongs to Allah, who made the perfection of His religion and the completion of His blessings through the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)
I would like to extend my warmest felicitations on the blessed Eid of Ghadir to all Muslims and to all those who love the Father of the Islamic Ummah, the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (as), in Iran and throughout the world. And I send greetings and salutations to the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (ra).
This year marks the 37th anniversary of the 14th Khordad, when the great Khomeini passed away. It is also the first anniversary of the 14th Khordad in which the compassionate father of the Ummah, the loyal disciple and distinguished companion of that noble one, the great martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah al-Uzma Seyed Ali Khamenei (ra), became the guest at the divine banquet. No longer will we hear the resonance of his firm voice and his wise and penetrating words at this sacred mausoleum of the Imam; however, the collected speeches and writings over ten years of the Founder of the Islamic Republic and the thirty-six years of the great martyred Leader are a precious and unparalleled treasury for all of us and a lamp lighting the future path.
Firstly, today is Eid Ghadir, the Great Eid of Allah. It is the day a solemn covenant and a binding pledge were made. On this day, God established the responsibility of governing Islamic society and the Islamic system. Through the continuous and comprehensive Guardianship and Imamate of the Infallible Ones (as), He has perfected the religion and completed the blessing.
Ghadir calls to mind that person whose every moment of his noble life, from his birth inside the Kaaba to his triumph in martyrdom, was for God and on the path of God. It indeed follows that, coming after the noble presence of the Messenger of Allah (s), that upright figure would be the next best exemplar and all-embracing model for all periods of life and for all Muslims and believers. It is fitting and proper that everyone, from the young to the elderly, from ordinary members of society to the elites and leaders, should follow the path of that noble personality. Indeed, practising this emulation had been a point of pride for the two Imams of the Revolution.
Secondly, today is the anniversary of the passing of the Imam of the Ummah (ra). It is a valuable opportunity for reflection and dialogue about this famous yet little-known person. He was an immensely charismatic personality who, if his path and luminous goal are deeply understood, would be a guiding light for the future of Islamic Iran. There are many members of the nation now in their youth who did not have the blessing of knowing him directly, and even many people who lived during his lifetime did not fully grasp the depth of his personality and his political line.
Allah Almighty has said, "Say, 'I only exhort you to one [thing]: that you rise up for Allah, in pairs or singly.'" (Saba, 46) In this noble verse, God Blessed and Exalted addresses the Greatest Messenger (s), to tell the Ummah to rise up for God, two by two or each on your own. This noble verse opens the first message (in the treasury of collected speeches and works). One of the oldest documents invites the Iranian nation to rise up for God. This is how the unparalleled personality of the Righteous Servant and the Great Spirit of our era, the Great Leader of the Revolution and Founder of the Islamic Republic, commences his call.
Yes, rising up for God is the foundation of the Imam’s school, and many of the most important results and blessings from his presence were from his guidance, training, and profound influence on society. All of these were based on this very principle. It is this divine movement that becomes the source of the descent of divine blessings and Lordly attention, and opens the flow of the Sunnah of God (Haḍrat al Haqq) in guiding society toward the path of truth: “As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them to Our ways (Al-Ankabut, 69).” And is it not the case that the most important widespread movements and the awakening of the Iranian nation occurred during the era of the Great Khomeini and the Great Martyr Khamenei, under their direct or indirect guidance?
What great force could awaken a nation that had been in a stupor and was mesmerised by global arrogance and colonialism, a nation under conditions of suffocating repression and total dependence on the West on the 15th Khordad 1342 (June 5th, 1963)? What power of attraction could draw millions into the streets on the 12th Bahman 1357 (February 1st, 1979) to welcome him, and on the 14th Khordad 1368 (June 4, 1989) to bid farewell to the Imam of the Ummah?
And in the last astonishing example, what solid force and steel-like will was it? Since the dawn of the 10th Esfand 1404 (March 1st, 2026), it has awakened and summoned the Iranian nation to the arena, to the extent that, highly motivated, the nation still stands ready in the field after more than three months. It stands to avenge its martyred Leader and the other blood-soaked martyrs, to defend the sanctuary of the Islamic system and its beloved homeland, and it has strengthened the ranks of tens of millions of self-sacrificing people for the fulfilment of the martyred Leader’s ideals, the establishment of truth, and rising up for God.
Yes, it was the great Khomeini (ra) and the great martyr Khamenei (ra) who discovered and revived this aptitude and readiness in the dear Iranian nation and always placed special value on it. The great Imam, who undoubtedly, with his exemplary piety, carefully guarded whatever flowed from his pen, made a tremendous claim in his will, writing as follows: “I boldly claim that the Iranian nation and its millions-strong masses in the present age are better than the people of the Hijaz in the era of the Messenger of Allah (s), and better than the people of Kufa and Iraq in the era of the Commander of the Faithful and Husayn ibn Ali (as).”
Today, the entire beloved nation takes pride in the fact that, through its fresh awakening, along with the Resistance Front, it has become a source of honour before the watchful eyes of the world and the free peoples of the earth, and has once again manifested the truth of this passage from Imam Khomeini's will. In the words of the martyred Leader (ra), the powerful hand that could stir the great ocean of the nation was the Imam’s steel-like personality, confident heart, and the Dhulfiqar-like tongue by which he could bring millions of people into the arena, keep them there, and show them the direction to move.
Of course, another example of this kind of influence belongs to dear Khamenei himself. He trod the path of his righteous predecessor. Over nearly four decades of leading the Revolution and the Islamic system, he trusted the youth and deepened and elevated people’s insight and outlook. In this way, he brought society to such a level of readiness that, after the great event of his martyrdom, a new milestone of awakening was achieved in the Iranian nation.
Yes, the school of dear Khamenei is the same school as that of the great Khomeini, continuing the line of pure Muhammadan Islam (s). Its motto is Rising up for God, and the students of this school are lined up, ready, rank upon rank, to establish truth, eradicate falsehood, and strive along this luminous path.
The Imam (ra) brought about a great and historic transformation on the level of Iran, the Islamic Ummah, and the world. The martyred Leader (ra) deepened, expanded, and sustained it, and for its completion and realisation, he engaged in system-building and societal cultivation in conformity with it. In this regard, in addition to keeping the Imam's school alive in the spoken word, writing, and deed, and in his various meetings, he turned the 14th Khordad into an annual opportunity for the nation to renew its pledge to Imam Khomeini. He explained and expounded on a whole constellation of principles, policies, and lines of the Imam's school. Among the teachings he repeatedly stressed were: that the Iranian nation is believing, intelligent, and courageous; that the people are the true owners of the country and the source of its power; and that whatever proper transformation the people seek, they can bring it about and make the slogan, “We can”, a reality in various fields. Among other teachings is the necessity of supporting the oppressed as an Islamic, human, and Iranian duty, and that the system of domination led by America has a problem with this nation, its distinguished identity, and its refusal to submit.
Yes, the system of domination, which built a garrison called Israel some eighty years ago, does not accept the existence of a strong and independent Iran; an Iran that possesses all kinds of advantages on the eastern border of the hollow and false geography of "Greater Israel", an Iran that is east of the Euphrates, and it would stop at nothing to prevent its progress.
At this very opportunity, I would like to say to the dear nation: Now that the wicked enemy has been defeated in confronting your brave sons in the armed forces, and especially because they have received a decisive blow in military encounters and on the streets, the enemy has been profoundly and meaningfully humiliated. This has caused a number of countries to openly distance themselves from it. It has thus concentrated its plots in the hybrid war on two points: first, the people's resilience; second, causing errors in the calculation apparatus of the country's officials. Its principal tool in both of these is planting the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust, and division.
Therefore, in confronting these malicious designs, everyone must neutralise their sinister plots through steadfastness, clarity of vision, the preservation of unity and cohesion, the maintenance of mutual trust, and the refusal to echo the enemy. In this regard, the role of officials in supporting these matters is very important. Any action that causes pessimism or discouragement among the people counts as a form of assisting the enemy of this country and its people.
Now, a fresh opportunity has been provided for the practical introduction throughout the world and the realisation of the school of the Great Khomeini and the dear Martyr Khamenei as the oppressed yet powerful and, of course, victorious leaders of the Islamic Revolution. This important role rests on the shoulders of all members of the nation, especially the youth, the elites, and the people of thought, reflection, and art, so that they may build a bright future for dear Iran based on this very school. All the while, they should trust in God's promises, be under the attention of our Master (aj), and be on the path of pure Islam, that is, the luminous line drawn during the two-hundred-and-fifty-year presence of the Possessors of Infallibility and Supreme wilayah (guardianship).
I ask Allah the Almighty to grant this awakened nation final victory and the majestic summits of progress and greatness; to gather the heavenly souls of the two Leaders of the Revolution and the pure souls of the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, especially the martyrs of the Second and Third Sacred Defences, with their Master, the Commander of the Faithful Ali (as); and to make the sacred and luminous heart of our Master, the Lord of the Age, pleased with the Iranian nation, and to grant this dear nation and its servants the benefit of his special prayers and intercession, by His grace and generosity.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei
14th Khordad 1405 (4th June 2026)