TEHRAN - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei says the enemy has relied on soft war to undermine the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Today, the enemy of the Iranian nation, of Islam, of the country and of the Islamic Republic is relying on a soft war,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

He made the remarks in a speech delivered on June 12, 2022 in a meeting with the officials in charge of the Nomadic Martyrs Commemoration Congress.

The Leader praised the nomadic people and described them as the most loyal groups of Iran. 

“The nomadic people of Iran are one of the most loyal groups of Iranian people. When I say ‘one of the most loyal,’ this is not based on my personal viewpoint or on conjecture. I am saying this based on the events that have taken place in the country, which I am aware of. In our contemporary history and in the history of the past two or three centuries, there are many stories about the efforts made by foreigners, in particular by the English, to infiltrate the nomadic people of the country. They have done strange things in this regard. If we had enough time, it wouldn’t have been bad to recount the things they have done, but you must read about these things in books,” he said according to khamenei.ir.

The Leader added, “Foreigners tried to infiltrate the nomadic people in order to somehow entice them into betraying their country in different ways – for instance by dividing the country, by waging civil wars and by doing all sorts of things. But they failed to draw them toward the direction they wanted. When I say the nomadic people are ‘the most loyal’ and ‘one of the most loyal,’ this is why.”

Citing the sacrifices of the nomads during Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in the 1980s, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “In recent history – during the Revolution, the Sacred Defense and after that – nomadic people emerged victorious in different tests. The fact that more than 11,000 nomadic people were martyred is very important in itself. It was not the case that all of our nomadic people resided in border areas and that they were threatened. Some lived in border areas, and thus they were being threatened directly during the Sacred Defense. But some lived in the center of the country without any direct threat. However, they rushed to the Sacred Defense battlefields and defended, made serious effort and worked for the country.”

He stated, “What factor caused the nomadic people of our country to stand together to serve Islam and the country despite their differences in tribes and languages? What was holding them together? It was religion and piety. Religion is an important factor in unity, progress, sacrifice and altruism. The element of religion is what encouraged nomadic people to stand together in various arenas. It prevented tribal and other differences from dividing them and from creating discord among them. Religion has such an effect.”

Ayatollah Khamenei continued, “Our late Imam too was able to carry out this great Revolution and help it achieve victory by benefitting from this factor. After the victory of the Revolution too, he was able to preserve the country with the help of this factor. Had it not been for religion, the Revolution would not have achieved victory. You can be sure about this. No other factor would have been able to bring the youth, who would come to the streets empty-handed and would stand up to bullets and guns, into that difficult arena. No other factor could have done this. It was religious faith that brought them into the arena. Imam benefitted from this factor to achieve the victory of this Revolution. Subsequently, he depended on the people’s faith to immunize the country.”

The Leader said religion played a major role in preventing the disintegration of Iran. 

“After the Revolution, the country faced the avarice of the enemies. It was not the case that all of a sudden, the idea flashed through Saddam’s brain to attack Iran. No, they provoked and enticed him, gave him promises and fulfilled his promises. They gave him money, weapons and war strategies for attacking Iran. Their goal was not for him to come and divide a part of the country. Their goal was to destroy the Islamic Revolution by means of dividing the country and by other means. That was their goal.”

Pointing to the effect of religious faith in nullifying plots to disintegrate the country and divide the nation, the Leader said, “The U.S., England, France, reactionary regimes and everyone who followed them stood behind him (Saddam) and wanted to tear the country into pieces. They wanted to reinstate U.S. domination of the country. They wanted to take the Iranian nation captive, but Imam did not let them. With what? With religion. Such is the role of religion and religious faith.”

Addressing the nomadic people, the Leader said, “Your martyrs are a beautiful, magnificent manifestation of religious faith. The 11,000 martyrs that you offered are in fact showing the effects of religious faith. Those young people could have stayed home, lived their lives in their own environment beside their parents, their spouses and their children and enjoyed the comforts of life as much as was possible, but they did not do that. They abandoned all of that, they left their dear children, dear spouses and loving parents and they departed. Why? What was their motive? Their motive was religion. They were soldiers who returned, became disabled or were martyred. As for their parents, it was also because of religion that they were able to endure this loss and hardship and to calm the burning flames of their hearts.”

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to say that the enemy’s soft war is aimed at undermining religion and the people’s religious motive. He said, “In the analyses that some people make, they say that those young people went to protect the borders of their country and to ensure security. Yes, this is evident. The security and protection of the country comes from these sacrifices, martyrdoms, their disabilities and the fighting. There is no doubt that such actions ensure the security of the country, but their main motive was religion and God. Their motive should not be considered to be anything less than religion. They indeed moved and worked for God, and this is what brings the dignity of martyrs. There are some individuals who are not religious. They cannot deny these martyrdoms. Therefore, they try to tamper with the motive of martyrs. One of the most important aspects of the enemy’s soft war is to eliminate and weaken the people’s religious motive, which is the most important, highest motive.”

He added, “Today, there is a political motive behind every action that is carried out against religious traditions and beliefs. The people taking such actions may not realize this themselves, but this is the case, and they have been pulled onto this path. Undermining religion, weakening religious traditions, slogans and principles, questioning these things and portraying them as unreasonable are weapons that the enemy uses. The individuals who take these actions may not realize it. Some people do an action out of ignorance.”

He noted, “Today, the enemy is trying to undermine religious faith, hope and optimism about the future and the management of the country. These are things that they are planning for. They think about finding ways to make the people believe that they have no future, that the future is a dead end, and that they are stuck in an impasse. They are making plans for this. In the internet and sometimes in our own official media, they promote these ideas so as to cause the people to come to the conclusion that all paths lead to a dead end, that all paths are wrong and that the officials and managers in the country do not know how to run the country.”
He stated, “Anyone who undermines the people’s faith is working to the advantage of the enemy, whether they do this knowingly or unknowingly. Anyone who causes the people to lose their belief in the actions, efforts and plans of the officials of the country and causes them to become pessimistic is working to the advantage of the enemy, whether they do this knowingly or unknowingly.”