TEHRAN – Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has lauded the anniversary rallies earlier this week as a “historic” event that showed popular support of the political establishment.

Ayatollah Khamenei met with thousands of people from Tabriz on Wednesday. In this meeting, he greatly admired the Iranian nation for their “historic” turnout in this year’s mass rallies to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. “This real, passionate and meaningful epic is the result of the nation’s persistence and not getting deviated from the path of the Revolution,” he said, according to a readout by khamenei.ir. 

“This path of progress and power will continue with national unity and with a revolutionary perspective toward problems, that is, relying on the efforts that brought about the achievements of the Revolution,” Ayatollah Khamenei remarked.

The Leader further hailed the people’s “invaluable” presence during the rallies on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) despite the enemies’ massive propaganda campaign, the problems faced by the people, the cold weather and other discouraging factors.

“People with faith and insight ignored all these and came together from east to west and from north to south of beloved Iran and raised their voice so that everyone could hear,” he said, adding that only God is able to really appreciate this great national movement.

He referred to “the nation’s historic Saturday” as an example of the continuation of national persistence and once again drew comparisons between the Islamic Revolution of Iran and other revolutions which gradually deviated from their ideals, saying, “In the Islamic Revolution, too, some people turned away from the direct path of the Revolution due to various reasons, and they eventually acted against the principles and ideals of the Revolution.”

“Contrary to these elements, the nation continued the straight path without feeling fatigued and despair and without fearing the enemy’s blows, threats and screams, while preserving its identity, character and greatness,” he said. “In this path, [the nation] came to the streets across the entire country on the 22nd of Bahman of this year and, with different motivations, showed its meaningful perseverance and stubbornness against the enemy.”

The Leader of the Revolution pointed out that the enemy and some elements inside the country are making efforts to weaken the determination of the Iranian nation in an attempt to make the people forget the path of the Revolution. “One of the important goals of the autumn riots was to make the people forget the 22nd of Bahman. Inside the country, some were following the same line in the newspapers and on social media with weak arguments and incorrect statements. The people, however, disappointed them,” he added.

The people’s attendance and analysis were some of the characteristics of the magnificent 22nd of Bahman rally that the Leader applauded. “It was clear from people’s interviews that they attended the march with an analytical mind. And because they understood that the US is fearful of their attendance, they demonstrated their actual orientation, which is to fully support the Islamic Revolution and the system of the Islamic Republic with passion, exuberance, motivation and meaningful slogans,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that the American and Zionist media empires are attempting to prevent this loud voice from reaching the ears of other nations. However, those who need to hear it, that is, the policy makers in the US and England and the enemy’s spy agencies have definitely heard this voice.

The Leader of the Revolution also pointed out the propaganda uproar that took place on social media and the enemy’s media outlets on the eve of the 22nd of Bahman. “There were opposing voices that these media outlets tried to magnify, but the voice and call of the nation prevailed over all other voices,” he stated.

Ayatollah Khamenei also spoke about “clarifying the falseness and weakness of the enemies’ claims about the Islamic Republic.”

“Sometimes they blatantly lie and say that the government is regressing, while the country, despite its problems, has completely changed from the way it was two or three decades ago. It has made great progress. Sometimes they say that the Islamic Republic has reached a dead end. When someone reaches an impasse, they will fall to the ground on their own. So, if this claim is correct, then why are you spending so much to knock them down?”

The Leader of the Revolution underlined that insisting on progress does not equate to denying the weaknesses. He pointed out that all nations have certain weaknesses, referring to the important weaknesses that exist in some of the world’s largest and most advanced countries. The Leader added that, “the solution to remove the weaknesses is not to destroy the principle and roots, but the correct approach is to remove the weaknesses based on the Revolutionary view.”

Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that economic growth and curbing inflation are the most important tasks that need to be attended to. He underlined that everyone, especially the country’s officials have a duty to engage in jihadi activities and they need to consistently work round the clock. In this regard, the Leader stated, “Economic affairs need to be prioritized today because the country cannot advance forward without economic growth. Economic growth itself requires stability, control of inflation and price stability.”