According to Mehr News Agency, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a message marking the anniversary of Operation Zolfaqari and the popular mobilization that drove the Iraqi Ba’athist aggressors out of Abadan Island, outlined the factors behind the Iranian nation’s victories during the Sacred Defense. He identified the people’s vigilance, faith and divine motivation, the sacrifice and selflessness of popular forces, and their courageous resistance alongside the valor of the Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the keys to defeating the armed aggressor.
The full text of the message issued by His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
November 1 (the 9th of Aban) marks the anniversary of the popular uprising and the heroic operation carried out by the fighters of Islam against the Ba’athist aggressors, driving them out of Abadan Island just forty days after the beginning of the First Imposed War in 1980.
This significant feat, which is regarded as the first victory of the Iranian nation during the eight-year Sacred Defense and about which relatively little has been said, was named Operation Zolfaqari. It offers many lessons for confronting the enemies and aggressors who threaten our Islamic homeland at any time.
In those days, a tyrannical ruler governed Iraq who had no genuine affinity with the beliefs and traditions of its people. Contrary to the character of the noble Iraqi nation, whose people rightfully share a fraternal bond with the Iranian people, he imagined that by advancing certain hollow slogans and baseless claims, he could sever the deep ties between the two nations—ties rooted in their shared religious heritage and their affection for the Household of Infallibility and Purity, peace and blessings be upon them all.
In those days, just as the enemy does today, the Ba’athist aggressor resorted to the familiar methods of aggression, occupation, and siege. The effective way to confront and defeat his sinister designs was through the vigilance of the people, the steadfastness of those willing to sacrifice their lives, and their courageous resistance alongside the valorous defenders of the Army and the IRGC.
On that day, a humble and courageous Iranian worker, through his sacrifice and selflessness, alerted the people to the enemy’s sinister plot. A group of local volunteers and mosque-goers, motivated by faith and divine purpose and equipped with only the most basic resources, took to the field of battle under the guidance of the late Ayatollah Jami, the courageous, devoted, and steadfast Friday prayer leader of Abadan—may Allah have mercy on him.
This popular movement forced the armed aggressor, equipped with advanced weaponry, to reconsider his actions. Before long, people from all walks of life and from every corner of Iran, from north to south and from east to west, united in defense of the borders of Islamic Iran. Less than a year later, through divine grace and by the command of the Imam of the Ummah, may his noble soul be sanctified, the siege of Abadan was broken.
Today, too, it is that same vigilance and faith, that same motivation and determination, that same sacrifice and readiness to give one’s life, and that same spirit of honor and steadfastness that—under the grace of Almighty God and through the blessings of our Master, may Allah hasten his reappearance—will aid the oppressed yet powerful Iranian nation in confronting the domination, crimes, and aggression of the Great Satan, and in achieving victory in the Third Imposed War.
Arabic verse:
وَما النَّصرُ إِلّا مِن عِندِ الله العَزیزِ الحَکیمِ
English translation:
“And victory comes only from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei
