TEHRAN - The air in early June 1989 was hot, but not as hot as the hearts of a nation that had lost its father—left orphaned and grieving. 

Imam Ruhollah had departed us with a serene soul and a tranquil heart, yet we wept over his passing as if mourning a lifeless body over the loss of its own spirit. We were deeply terrified of a world without Khomeini, because he was not only the spirit of God, but also our very soul. 

With the grace of God, what helped us endure this great loss was a man who - though the most grief-stricken of the nation - possessed such depth of devotion to the Imam and such determination to keep his legacy alive that his very leadership became not merely a soothing balm but a life-giving remedy for the host of mourners. It was he who, in those very first days after the departure of the spirit of God, promised: "Our path is the path of Imam Khomeini."

37 years have passed since those scorching days and feverish, dark nights, and once again we have reached early June. Every year, you would come to the Imam's shrine, gather us around his noble grave, and speak to us of him—lest we ever forget that our path is his path. The Imam was an ocean whose depths seemed unfathomable, and each year on this day, you would bring us new pearls from the depths of that ocean. The 4th of June was not for you a mere annual custom, nor simply a day to commemorate a departed leader. It was the day of presenting the gems harvested from the boundless sea of the Imam. And each year we waited on the shore to see what the captain had brought us. This day was the day of renewing our covenant with the Imam and the Revolution—just as you had declared: "Whoever pledges allegiance to Imam Khomeini today has pledged allegiance to the Prophet."

We are proud that after the Imam, the helm of this ship was taken by a man like you. Though we have weathered many storms, we were never afraid—because you were our captain, and your compass, aligned with Khomeini's roadmap, never deviated a single degree to left or right.

We are proud that after Jamaran, our eyes were opened to Keshavardoust—with that same simplicity and steadfastness. We were the devotees of your house and that Husseiniyya that bore the name of the old man of Jamaran—and was never empty of his memory.

We are proud that we were the nation of a leader for whom the Imam was neither a mere name on the tongue nor a picture on the wall. When you said, "The Imam showed us the way, showed us the criteria and standards, defined the goals for us," you proved your commitment to those criteria and standards in every arena, and never forgot those goals.

We are proud that on the front of resistance we had a commander like you—who, in every field, said to us "Come," not "Go!" You were at the forefront of every battle, and your presence gave us strength of heart and the courage to brave the storm.

We are proud that we proved worthy of your trust, and that you considered us the main element at every critical juncture. The Imam had bestowed this medal of honor upon us all, and during your leadership this great honor continued.

We are proud to testify that you completely fulfilled the heavy will of Imam Ruhollah concerning leadership as he said that the future leader should "devote himself entirely to serving Islam, the Islamic Republic, the deprived, and the downtrodden."

We are proud that under your leadership we were able to realize many of the Imam's dreams, and we swear that we will also realize your noble dreams.

We are proud that we had an Imam who did not fear death in the path of God and said, "Kill us, for we will only become more awake." And after him, the banner passed to one who considered himself "the dust beneath the feet of the martyrs and one who yearns for their station." He would share such secrets of the heart with the families of martyrs: "I tell you, and I speak it aloud: whenever I think that this war, this martyrdom, these fields of honor and blood might end, and we remain and then die later by chance—as so many do—by fever, God is my witness, such pressure descends upon my heart at the thought… I wish—and this is a prayer that rises from our hearts—I wish that our own death would be like the death of your children."

We are proud that after that never-setting sun, we had a leader who continued the path of the Imam—which is the path of Imam Hussein (AS)—to such an extent that he did not withhold even his own life or that of his family, and fulfilled his covenant with the spirit of God by never bowing to the Yazids of the age and by offering his blood to reach the ultimate destination.

We are mournful, and this grief will not be consoled except by avenging the assassins of the Imam. But we are proud that now the helm of this divine ship is in the hands of one whose compass is the clenched fist of Iran's great, self-sacrificing leader. We, the children of the great Khomeini and the disciples of the school of the martyred leader, standing beside and speaking with one voice with the young Leader of the Revolution, make this pledge to you: "We pledge to strive with all our being to elevate this banner—the banner of the front of truth—and to achieve your sacred objectives."