TEHRAN – Commemorative ceremonies were held in Baghdad and Damascus to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. 

The Iranian embassy in Baghdad marked Friday the forty-third anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution with a massive public celebration, in the presence of political and cultural figures, including the Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, according to U News. 

The ceremony began with a recitation of the Holy Qur’an, followed by the national anthems of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq, and then a video clip of a choral group, and then an Iraqi poet recited a poem inspired by the occasion.

Masjedi delivered a speech during the ceremony, in which he said, “By God's grace, the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran was established according to Islamic and religious principles in the hands of a distinguished Islamic figure, and this sacred system continued in the hands of [Ayatollah] Seyed Ali Khamenei, who represents the religious authority.”

Masjedi pointed out that the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran was established according to two principles, the first is the republican based on the people and the second is the Islamic one based on religion and the people are the main pillar of the revolution, the system and religion.  And Islam is the content of this system.

He added: “The title of our system is to rely on the people and also adopt religious principles. The Islamic Republic extends the hand of friendship and cooperation to all countries with all sincerity and seriousness.”

Masjedi noted, “The Islamic Republic wants its relations to be based on the principle of mutual respect with all countries of the world.”
In Damascus, there were also some celebrations to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. According to U News, a mass celebration was held in the prayer hall of Sayyida Zainab (PBUH) at the invitation of the office of Ayatollah Khamenei to commemorate the victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution.

The speeches delivered on the occasion praised the greatness of the Islamic revolution that was launched and led by Imam Khomeini and its firm approach in supporting the weak and the oppressed in the face of arrogance.

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mehdi Sobhani also delivered a speech at the ceremony. The ambassador stated that the Islamic revolution in Iran was one of the most important events in the last years of the twentieth century and was a comprehensive revolution in all aspects of life.

Sobhani pointed out that the forces of global arrogance have been conspiring against the Islamic Republic from the moment it was launched until today due to its resistance approach, firm support for the oppressed, and its firm position in support of the Palestinian cause.

In an interview with U News, the head of the Jaafari Islamic Council in Syria, Muhammad Ali Al-Miski, congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei, the state and the Iranian people on the victory of the revolution.

He highlighted the scientific status that the Islamic Republic witnessed under the revolution.

He described Iran as a country that exports technology. He also noted that the Islamic revolution transformed the Islamic peoples from defeated peoples into dignified peoples of resistance.

The embassy of Sanaa in Damascus also held an intellectual and political symposium on the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, at the invitation of the Yemeni ambassador in Damascus.

The symposium was attended by intellectual, academic and media personalities and representatives of the Palestinian factions, at the embassy in Damascus, U News reported. 

During the symposium, the Cultural Counselor of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamid Reza Esmati, said that the revolution, whose foundations were laid by Imam Khomeini, had taken root and became stronger with Imam Khamenei. And the revolution of the weak remained in the face of the forces of arrogance.

Esmati stressed that the Islamic Revolution is a revolution of pride and dignity in the face of tyranny, pointing out that it stands by the oppressed peoples to achieve their just rights.

The Yemeni ambassador in Damascus, Abdullah Ali Sabri, said in an interview with U News, “We celebrate with the brothers in Iran the revolution because we see that it is a global Islamic revolution, and it is a revolution for the oppressed in all the world and it has supported the Palestinian cause as it established a strong state and an Islamic republic that we cherish and this republic has supported Yemen.”

He pointed out that Iran stood by the oppressed people of Yemen in the face of the Saudi-American aggression. He stressed that the victory of the Iranian revolution is a victory for the revolution in Yemen.

Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi congratulated the people of Iran and the free people of the world on the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Speaking on Friday in his speech before the Friday prayer sermon, the president described "independence-seeking", "freedom-seeking", "justice-seeking" as elements of the revolution and noted, "This revolution is justice-seeking within itself. The element of justice can never be separated from the Islamic Revolution, because within the Islamic Revolution, justice-seeking, anti-oppression and anti-corruption are institutionalized."

Regarding the characteristics of the despotic regime of the Shah, Raisi said, "That oppressive regime was the full manifestation of tyranny, dictatorship, submission to the dominating powers and arrogance against the will of the people."

Ayatollah Raisi stated, "The Islamic Revolution came to overthrow this corrupt regime, which was supported by the dominant powers, and to establish a system based on religion and what the people have repeatedly shouted "independence, freedom, the Islamic Republic".

The president added, "The glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution marked a civilization that was a new civilization in the name of Islam and the Republic, as opposed to the civilizations that formed the polarization of the world."

Raisi continued, "What is clear is that the slogans of the Islamic Revolution are innate and universal slogans and are related to the nature of all human beings."

He said, "What the Islamic Revolution is shouting is independence, national dignity, brotherhood, denial of domination and oppression."

Ayatollah Raisi added, "We neither seek to dominate anywhere in the world, nor we give up our independence, and we are not willing to oppress anyone in the world; these are among the principles of the Islamic Revolution that are still stable."

Raisi added, "These values are the ones that people have always emphasized, so you see Iranians everywhere in the world are proud of this revolution. Today, not only the Muslim people of the world, but also the non-Muslim people, but the freedom-loving and justice-loving people of the world, the deprived and the oppressed in all parts of the world, love this revolution".

He said, "The slogans of the Islamic Revolution are rational slogans, and today not only the great nation of Iran, but also the nations of the world have high hopes for this revolution."

The president stated, "The revolutionary spirit, vision and action and adherence to these principles are still emphasized by people all over the world."

The president continued, "The late Imam Khomeini and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution presented a political school in contrast to the political schools of the world, which has some characteristics. The first indicator of this political school is ‘sincerity’."

Ayatollah Raisi said, "The second point in the political school is ‘attention to the republic and the people’. The late Imam and the Supreme Leader do not consider people as a political and ceremonial thing."

The president added, "Today, we are proud that in the popular administration, we have put the republic and the people and justice in the sense that the important goal of the Islamic Revolution is the main axis in the government."