TEHRAN – Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said on Saturday that the hegemonic powers have targeted the country’s religious principles to give a “foreign flavor” to Iranian youths’ beliefs.

Brigadier General Dehghan made the remarks while addressing the students at Towhid High School, as Iran’s new school year began, ISNA reported.

The minister accused the United States of orchestrating plots to reshape the Iranian people’s religious beliefs by fostering a culture of its own within the Islamic Republic.

“But our youths will respond with a ‘big no’, and we will see that faith, endeavor, and sacrifice will be growing in our country,” Dehghan remarked.

The defense chief also pointed to the 36th anniversary of Iran-Iraq war, a war that claimed the lives of more than 36,000 students.

Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, launched a large-scale war against Iran on September 22, 1980 that lasted until 1988. Saddam was supported financially and militarily by most Arab countries and certain Western countries during the war.

Dehghan said, “Spirituality and religiosity were prevalent in the battlefields. The whole world attempted to stand in the way of Iran’s goals.”

He went on to say, “But our people, with their resistance and tolerance, paid the price for their goals and did not abandon them.”

“Our enemies are still malicious towards us and we should strengthen our power foundations against them,” the minister added.

MH/PA