TEHRAN – In an intimate meeting with the commanders and Basiji forces of the Kermanshah resistance bases on Tuesday, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami said the Basij is a powerful and endless force.

“If we look at history, we see that we have never been defeated by the enemies, and if there was a weakness, it was due to the weakness of our faith, not the power of the enemy,” the top military official said in the western province of Kermanshah.

The power of the enemies is just in appearance and according to the Quranic teachings if all the infidels and enemies gather, they will not be able to make even one mosquito and they will not have the slightest value before God, he said.

However, he said, the Basiji forces and sincere forces of the Islamic world are dear to God, as they are sublime.

Emphasizing that Basij will put an end to the problems and dangers that are being created for the Iranian nation, the IRGC commander-in-chief stated, "The job of Basij is to rescue. We have a powerful force that we use to solve problems wherever the country faces problems, and Basij is in the realm of reality and in the field of solving the problems of society.”

Recalling the history of the Basij since the victory of the Islamic Revolution until now, which has been accompanied by continuous brilliance, General Salami said during the Sacred Defense the Basij was the focal point of ending the war in favor of the Iranian nation.

Iran refers to resistance against the invading Saddam army in the 1980s as Sacred Defense.

"After the era of Sacred Defense, Basij continues to work vigorously and in the service of the people in all difficult crises, including natural disasters or pressures imposed on the Iranian nation by the enemies."

Salami pointed out that the activity that what Basiji forces are doing today is in line with the activities they have done in the past and their activity is moving in a long and endless path, which is to serve the people.

"The enemies are waiting for opportunities at the same time and have come to the scene with all the means to paralyze our economy and separate our people from the system," he said. 

Salami noted that the enemies want to block the path of jihad for the Iranians. 

“They cut off our external connection with the Islamic world to finally surrender us, but all these dreams failed,” he highlighted. 

The commander mentioned the Basij as a place for training the righteous and devotees. "Certainly, people who grow up in such a spiritual atmosphere can be prepared to serve the country and the Islamic Revolution."

Salami stated that the enemies of Islam tried hard, but the more they try, the more they sink into the swamp.

He added, "By relying on God Almighty, sanctions are becoming ineffective one by one, and with the efforts of the faithful and talented youth of this region, we are making significant progress day by day in all areas."

The commander pointed out that the Islamic Republic’s plan is not to fail. 

“We plan to win and conquer larger arenas, and our jihad is to win against the extravagance of the enemies,” he added. 

He described Basij as “a school of love and a center for education, training, and character building of young people” who are known as a model of society.

The general said that the Basij is trying to win the hearts and minds of the people. "We in the Basij must act as a refuge for the people to solve their problems."

"Despite all the conspiracies and tricks, today the enemies of the Iranian nation have realized that the military threat against us is ineffective." Salami said, adding, "Our enemies are not idle and are using every means to strike at the Revolution and the holy system of the Islamic Republic. They are not accountable, and if they take military action against Islamic Iran, it will backfire and they regret it.”

“Any military act will backfire on perpetrators”

The commander also warned the enemies that any military action against Iran will backfire on the perpetrators. 

He stressed that all the conspiracies against the country are doomed to failure.

“Despite all of their plots and contrivances, the enemies of the Iranian nation have found out today that [issuing] military threats against us is useless,” Press TV quoted Salami as saying.

Such an option “does not bring them [their expected] outcome,” he said. “If they resorted to military action against Iran, they would get the opposite result and end up regretting [it].”

“However,” the top general said, “military warfare does no longer rank among the enemy’s choices.”

The adversaries even stopped short of conquering the battlefield through their proxies, including Takfiri terrorists, he remarked.

He said now that the enemies have lost hope of military action against Iran, they have taken aim at the Islamic Republic’s economy. 

In remarks on Monday, he added though economic sanctions put pressure on the nation, they will lead to the victory of Islamic Iran. 

In his Tuesday remarks, he said the enemies have also started targeting the people’s affinity with the country’s establishment and the nation’s sense of hope.

However, all of the enemies’ provocative schemes are doomed to fail, he noted.

The general added the Iranian youths are nullifying all of the enemies’ sanctions and realizing remarkable instances of advancement every day.

“We have blocked the enemies’ path and their calculations aimed at sowing sedition [among the nation] will get nowhere,” he said.

“They have been defeated in all of these dreams,” said the commander, adding the more they try, the more frustration they would experience in their efforts to target the Islamic Republic.

The senior general went on to say that the Islamic Republic’s goal no longer rested only in avoiding defeat, asserting the country was now in pursuit of victory and conquest of greater arenas.

“We stand until the end, and the end of this steadfastness equals complete decline of an enemy, whom as we see is experiencing its twilight [era],” he stated.

Earlier on Sunday, General Salami also hailed the Iranian nation’s vigilance against the hostile plans for inciting insecurity and creating problems in the country. 

He was indirectly referring to a series of protests in the southwestern province of Khuzestan over water shortages which have been misused by the opponents of the Islamic Republic and Persian language media outlets based in the West.

In his Sunday remarks, the commander also said the enemies are trying to create insecurity in Iran’s border areas.

“Afflicting insecurity on Islamic countries’ borders, including those of Iran, has invariably formed one of the enemies and foreigners’ strategies,” he stated. 

“However, they will take this dream to their graves,” he added.

“Our borders are safe and strong, and the Islamic Iran’s youths are standing strong and preserving the security,” he noted while visiting the western border province of Kordestan’s Sanandaj County.

The commander made the remarks during a ceremony entitled to commemorating those who have been martyred in the service of defending the country.

He acknowledged the province’s decades-old sacrifices in the face of the “vehement invasions” that the global arrogant powers have been waging against the country on various fronts, Press TV reported.

General Salami also paid tribute to the province’s ongoing endeavors towards ensuring the country’s security.

Earlier this week, General Salami paid a visit to Khuzestan, where he said that the IRGC will stay with the people of Khuzestan until problems in the province are resolved.

Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to Khuzestan on Saturday, Salami said the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters has laid hundreds of kilometers of water pipes in different areas and stationed tankers in villages to alleviate the water shortage problem.

Regarding the sewage system in Ahwaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan, the Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters has signed a contract and provided equipment for the project, he added, according to Press TV. 

“The important point I want to make is that we are committed and loyal to these people. We will not leave them alone and we will stand with them during hardships, as was the case in the 2019 flood,” Salami asserted.

"We will work with these people until the work is done and we will never leave them alone."

Referring to Khuzestan’s resistance during the eight years of war imposed on Iran by Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein, the IRGC chief said the province “is not only important but also sacred to us."

SA/PA