TEHRAN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said the Iranian nation should make efforts to compensate for underdevelopment left from the long years of despotism and foreign interference.

Ayatollah Khamenei also reiterated that the nation should never forget the glory of the Sacred Defense, a reference to the Saddam regime’s war against Iran in the 1980s.
“The Iranian nation should never forget the critical, historical and glorious phase of the Sacred Defense because that is an invaluable experience,” the Leader said on Wednesday as he visited Iran’s border with Iraq, where Iranian forces resisted Saddam’s invading army.
The Supreme Leader praised the courage and bravery of the Iranian youth during the Sacred Defense, adding that the only way toward prosperity lies in following the path of the martyrs.
He also expressed his gratitude to the people of Khuzestan Province for their great sacrifices and perseverance during the 1980-88 war.
The Saddam army, supported by enemies of the Islamic Republic, launched an extensive military invasion of Iran in order to contempt the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.
He said the former Soviet Union, the United States, and a number of European countries, who chant slogans of human rights, aided the Iraqi army to defeat Iran, however, the perseverance and determination of the nation foiled the plots of the hegemonistic powers and humiliated the enemy.
The Leader went on to say that currently many plots are underway to undermine Iran but the nation’s courage will frustrate the enemies.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khemenei said that political war is much more difficult than military war and that the Iranian nation has shown that it is equally powerful in both fronts. -