“The First Message of His Holiness Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Husayni Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

“Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?” [Al-Baqarah, 106].

Peace be upon you, O caller to Allah and the divine [interpreter] of His verses! Peace be upon you, O gate of Allah and judge of His religion! Peace be upon you, O successor of Allah and supporter of His truth! Peace be upon you, O proof of Allah and guide of His will! Peace be upon you, O anticipated leader! Peace be upon you with comprehensive peace! Peace be upon you, O my master, Lord of the Age.”

At the outset, I must offer my condolences to my master, may Allah Almighty hasten his relief, on the occasion of the heart-wrenching martyrdom of the great leader of the revolution, dear wise Khamenei. I request from his presence, prayers of goodness for each and every member of the great nation of Iran, and indeed, all Muslims of the world, all servants of Islam and the revolution, the selfless ones and survivors of the martyrs of the Islamic movement, especially the recent war, and for this humble servant.

The second part of my speech is to the great nation of Iran. First, I must briefly state my position regarding the vote of the honorable Assembly of Experts. This servant of yours, Sayyid Mojtaba Husayni Khamenei, learned of the result of the vote of the honorable Assembly of Experts simultaneously with you and through the broadcasting of the Islamic Republic. For me, to lean upon a seat that was the place of sitting of two great leaders—the great Khomeini and the martyred Khamenei—is a difficult task. Indeed, this seat has the precedent of being occupied by someone who, after more than 60 years of waging jihad for the sake of Allah and forgoing all types of pleasures and comforts, became a shining jewel and a distinguished figure not only in the present era but throughout the history of the rulers of this country. Both his life and the manner of his death were infused with glory and dignity arising from reliance upon truth.

I had the privilege of visiting his body after his martyrdom; what I saw was a mountain of firmness, and I heard that his healthy hand was clenched in a fist. Regarding the various aspects of his personality, knowledgeable people should speak for a long time. In this space, I will suffice with this summary and leave the details for other appropriate occasions. This is the reason for the difficulty of leaning upon the seat of leadership after such a person; bridging this gap is only possible with the aid of the Almighty and your assistance, the people.

Further, it is necessary to emphasize a point that is directly related to the substance of my speech. That point is that among the skills of the martyred leader and his great predecessor was bringing people into all arenas and giving them continuous insight and awareness, and in practice, relying on their strength. In this way, they actualized the true meaning of “republic” and republicanism, and they believed in it from the depths of their souls. The clear manifestation of such was seen in these few days when the country was without a leader and without a commander-in-chief of the forces. The insight and intelligence of the great nation of Iran in the recent incident, and its steadfastness, courage, and presence, led friends to admiration and enemies to bewilderment. It was you, the people, who led the country and guaranteed its authority. The verse that I placed at the beginning of this writing means that there is no divine verse that either its time expires or is forgotten except that from the Almighty, the like of it or better than it is given in its place.

The relevance of using the above noble verse is not that this servant is at the level of the martyred leader, much less that I should presume to be superior to him; rather, the purpose of mentioning the blessed verse is to draw attention to the appropriate and prominent role of you, dear nation. If that great blessing was taken from us, in its place, once again, the pillar-like presence of the Iranian nation was granted to this system. Know this: if your power does not appear on the scene, neither the leadership nor any of the various institutions whose true purpose is service to the people will have the necessary effectiveness. In order for this meaning to find a better form of realization, first, one must remember the Blessed and Exalted Lord, trust in His presence and seek refuge in the pure lights of the infallible ones, peace be upon them all, as the greatest elixir and red sulfur, which guarantees all types of openings and definite victory over the enemy. This is a great advantage that you possess and your enemies lack.

Second, no damage should be inflicted upon the unity among the individuals and classes of the nation, which usually manifests itself especially in times of difficulty. This will be achieved by overlooking points of disagreement.

Third, effective presence on the scene must be maintained, both in the manner you showed in these days and nights of war, and in the form of various effective roles in different social, political, educational, cultural, and even security arenas. What is important is that the correct role, without damaging social unity, is well understood and implemented as much as possible. One of the duties of the leadership and some other officials is to remind certain segments or classes of society of some of these roles. Therefore, I remind you of the importance of presence at the Quds Day ceremonies of 1447, in which the element of defeating the enemy should be the focus of everyone’s attention.

Fourth, do not neglect helping and assisting one another. All praise is due to Allah, the perpetual character of most Iranians has been nothing but this, and it is expected that in these special days, which naturally are harder for some members of the nation than others, this matter should have greater manifestation. In this context, I ask the service institutions not to withhold any assistance and aid to those dear members of the nation and to popular relief structures.

 If these aspects are observed, the path for you, dear nation, to reach days of greatness and glory will be paved. The nearest example of this, Allah willing, can be victory over the enemy in the current war.

The third part of my speech is sincere thanks to our brave fighters who, in circumstances where our dear nation and homeland have been unjustly attacked by the heads of the arrogant front, have blocked the enemy’s path with their crushing blows and have disabused them of the illusion of the possibility of dominating the dear homeland and possibly partitioning it.

Dear fighting brothers! The desire of the masses of people is the continuation of effective and regret-inducing defense. Likewise, we must certainly continue to use the lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz. Studies have been conducted regarding the opening of other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and will be severely vulnerable, and their activation will take place in case of continuation of the war situation and based on consideration of interests.

I also have sincere thanks for the fighters of the resistance front. We consider the countries of the resistance front our best friends, and the matter of resistance and the resistance front is an inseparable part of the values of the Islamic Revolution. Undoubtedly, the cooperation of the components of this front with one another shortens the path to deliverance from the Zionist sedition; just as we saw that brave and faithful Yemen did not stop defending the oppressed people of Gaza, and self-sacrificing Hezbollah, despite all obstacles, came to the aid of the Islamic Republic, and the Iraqi Resistance has also courageously pursued this same line.

In the fourth part, I address those who have been harmed in some way in these few days. Whether those who have experienced the loss of a loved one or loved ones to martyrdom; those who have been injured; and those whose homes or places of business have been damaged. In this part, first, I express my deep sympathy with the survivors of the exalted martyrs. This is based on a shared experience that I have with these honorable ones; apart from my father, whose loss has become a public matter, I have delivered to the caravan of martyrs my dear and faithful wife in whom I had hopes, and my devoted sister who dedicated herself to serving her parents and ultimately received her reward, as well as her young child, and the husband of my other sister who was a learned and noble person. But what makes patience with calamities possible and even easy is attention to the certain and definite divine promise of precious reward for those who are patient. Therefore, one must be patient and have hope and trust in the grace and support of the Almighty.

Second, I assure everyone that we will not forgo avenging the blood of your martyrs. The revenge we have in mind is not only related to the martyrdom of the great leader of the revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy is itself an independent subject for a revenge file. Of course, a limited amount of this revenge has taken concrete form so far, but until its complete extent is achieved, this file will remain on top of the other files, and we will have sensitivity especially regarding the blood of our infants and children. Therefore, the crime that the enemy deliberately committed regarding the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab and some similar cases has a special status in this reckoning.

Third, the wounded of these attacks must certainly receive appropriate medical services free of charge and benefit from some other advantages.

Fourth, to the extent that the current situation allows, sufficient measures must be defined and implemented to compensate for the financial damages inflicted on personal premises and property. The last two items are a necessary obligation for the honorable officials, which they must implement and report to me.

The point I must note is that in any case, we will take reparations from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take from their property to the extent we determine, and if that is not possible, we will destroy their property to that same extent.

The fifth part of the speech is addressed to the leaders and the effective ranks in some countries of the region. We have 15 land or maritime neighbors, and we have always been and are willing to have warm and constructive relations with all of them. However, the enemy has gradually established bases, both military and economic, in some of these countries for years to secure its dominance over the region. In the recent assault, some military bases were used, which, of course, as we had given explicit warning, and without committing aggression against those countries, we attacked only those bases. Henceforth, we will again be compelled to continue this action; although we still believe in the necessity of friendship between ourselves and those neighbors. These countries must determine their position with the invaders of our dear homeland and the killers of our dear people. I recommend they close those bases as soon as possible, because surely by now they have understood that America’s claim of establishing security and peace has been nothing but a lie.

This will enable them to have greater connection with their own peoples, who are generally dissatisfied with cooperation with the front of disbelief and its humiliating behavior, and will add to their wealth and power. Again, I repeat: the Islamic Republic system, without wanting to introduce domination and colonialism in the region, is fully prepared for unity and warm and sincere mutual relations with all neighbors.

In the sixth part of the speech, I am addressing our martyred leader. Leader! With your departure, you inflicted a heavy grief upon everyone’s hearts. You were always eager for this end, until finally the Almighty granted it to you while reciting the Noble Quran on the morning of the tenth day of blessed Ramadan. You powerfully and with forbearance endured many injustices and did not bend your brow. Many did not recognize your true worth, and perhaps it will take a long time until various veils and obstacles are removed and aspects of it become apparent.

We hope that from the proximate station that has been prepared for you in the company of the pure lights and the truthful and martyrs and saints, you will still be thinking of the progress of this nation and all nations of the resistance front and intercede for it; just as you were during your worldly life. We pledge to you that we will strive with all our being for the elevation of this flag, which is the main flag of the front of truth, and to achieve your sacred objectives.

In the seventh part, I thank all the honorable ones who have supported me, including the grand religious authorities, various cultural, political, and social figures, and the individual people who have appeared in magnificent gatherings to express renewed allegiance to the system, as well as the officials of the three branches of government and the temporary leadership council for their good measures and actions.

I hope that the special divine graces in these blessed hours and days will encompass all the people of Iran and indeed all Muslims and oppressed people of the world.

In conclusion, I ask our master, may Allah Almighty hasten his noble relief, in this remainder of the nights and days of Qadr and the blessed month of Ramadan, to request from the Almighty for our nation decisive victory over the enemy, as well as dignity, prosperity, and well-being, and for their departed ones, stations and well-being in the Hereafter.

Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Sayyid Mojtaba Husayni Khamenei 

21 / Esfand / 1404

22 / Blessed Ramadan / 1447”