On Iran's Islamic Revolution Day, marked every year on February 11, several high-ranking commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which belongs to Iran's ideological camp, harshly attacked the U.S - "the Great Satan" and the symbol of "the global arrogance," in Islamic Revolution terminology. Stating that the U.S. is weak, they boasted of Iran's ideological, military, and geopolitical might in the region, and touted its successes in leading the resistance axis.
The IRGC officials also praised the revolutionary value of hostility towards the U.S., which they called Iran's No. 1 enemy, and lauded the might of the martyrs and jihad as sources of Iran's strength that should be cultivated and nurtured in Iran and across the region. The Islamic Revolution, they stated, is not limited to Iran's borders, but spreads throughout the Islamic world and will in future sweep the entire globe, because its message is universal.
Warning of U.S. intentions to infiltrate Iran by peaceful means, they said that this could be done via Iran's upcoming elections for the Majlis and Assembly of Experts, or via agents in place in Iran, with the aim of bringing down the regime from within.
Following are excerpts from the IRGC officials' statements on the occasion of Islamic Revolution Day 2016:
Khamenei Advisor: "The Iran-Russia-Iraq-Syria-Hizbullah Coalition Is On The Verge Of Victory... Iran Has Become The Strongest Country In Western Asia"
On Iran's Islamic Revolution Day, February 11, 2016, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said: "America is the Iranian nation's No. 1 enemy. America's hands are drenched in the blood of the martyrs of the Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, and Palestinian nations. Some try to depict the enemy as a friend, and are unaware of the deceptions and plots of the arrogance [i.e. the U.S.] against the Iranian nation, as well as the plans of the enemies...
"The heroism of the people in these [Revolution Day] parades is a great investment and has great strategic potential to thwart new enemy plots against the dear Iranian nation...
"The Islamic Revolution brought about the collapse of this bipolar regime of world power [i.e. of the U.S. and the Soviet Union]. Now, the world's power centers are splitting, and, with God's help, Islam's might will be revealed in this century. The liberal-democratic Western culture, and the Western capitalist economy, do not promote humanity's salvation from poverty, injustice, and warmongering.
"The [Islamic] Revolution has championed a message of salvation to the nations of the world, by inspiring an atmosphere of hope and enthusiasm among them. [This message] has crossed geographic [borders] and taught the Islamic nations - Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen - the path of hostility towards the arrogance [i.e. the U.S.], of demanding justice, and of attaining liberty and independence...
"The philosophy of the Islamic Revolution, of [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini and [Supreme] Leader [Khamenei], and of your steadfastness... has created the Islamic resistance in the region.
"Over the past 50 years, America, the Zionist regime, and some of those that depend on America such as the Al-Saud and Turkish regimes, have dispatched tens of thousands of takfiri terrorist soldiers and launched proxy wars. [They did this with the aim of] ensuring peace and security for the Zionist regime as well as the destruction of the infrastructures of the Islamic nations, with the aim of turning them into burned-out, backwards countries. But I bring to you the news of victory, that the nations belonging to the resistance front - that is, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen - will defeat their enemies, and will, with God's help, crush the American-Zionist-Arab coalition.
"The claim that Saudi Arabia wants to dispatch forces to Syria is foolish propaganda. Had it been able to do this, it would have gone into Yemen.
"The Iran-Russia-Syria-Hizbullah Lebanon coalition is on the verge of victory. America must know that Iran is determining the fate of the region in favor of the Islamic resistance. Iran has become the strongest country in western Asia.
"Some ask why Iran should assist Iraq and Syria. If we do not help Iraq and Syria destroy the takfiri terrorism, it will reach our eastern and western borders. Political logic dictates that we meet our security [demands] beyond [our] borders, and deepen our defense against the threat of the Zionist regime.
"Today, the front of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon is considered Iran's strategic defense depth. The political-military strategy of Iran, Russia, Iraq, and Hizbullah in Lebanon is winning this proxy war.
"Now, the greatest enemies of the Islamic Revolution have organized the new plot, about which [Supreme] Leader Khamenei spoke this year... While the policy and administration apparatuses of a certain country are under the influence of the arrogant enemies [a reference to the allies of the U.S.], all decisions in that country will be in accordance with the wishes of the arrogant ones [i.e. the Americans].
"Our enemies want to cause attrition and despair among [Iran's] revolutionary and ideological forces. They want us to believe that we should submit to their goals and agree to capitalism if we want our economic and political situation to improve. The enemy's plan is to create a schism between the people and the regime officials."[1]
Image
posted to the "Iran.Military" Facebook page, which is close to the
IRGC, on Revolution Day (Source: Facebook.com, February 11, 2016)
IRGC Deputy Commander: You Have Seen U.S. Forces Kneel In Worship Of The IRGC Brothers; Iran Lacks For Nothing In Order To Become A Global Superpower
At a Revolution Day ceremony in Tehran, IRGC deputy commander Gen. Hossein Salami said: "When the Islamic Revolution triumphed, the two superpowers, in the East [the Soviet Union] and the West [the U.S.] came together like two scissor blades to cut Iran to shreds. They responded to this revolution in an organized manner, and set the international system against Iran, and the rest of the superpowers and countries united against it [i.e. Iran]...
"[However,] Iran imposed its political will, thus ending the [1980-88 Iran-Iraq] war without a single inch of Iranian soil falling into their [the superpowers'] hands. After they saw that the military strategy did not bear fruit, they used different strategies: economic, scientific, and industrial sanctions, psychological pressure, heavy cultural assault, and the threat of military force.
"Had such heavy economic sanctions been applied to any superpower like the U.S., it would have collapsed. But the Iranian nation stood fast, and the leader of the revolution prepared it for a great struggle, and we indeed stood fast...
SUPPORT OUR WORK
"After the war, we decided to maintain our independence, increase our honor, and change the regional equations in our favor. This great event [did indeed] take place.
"When you look at the region today, you realize that Iran's widespread influence has managed to impose its will on America and its regional allies... They do not want [Iran's] revolutionary thought to infiltrate the world, because if it does, it will cost them their breath."
"After eight years of [the Iran-Iraq] war, we inflicted four defeats on Israel that demonstrated the might of Islam... There, the region is no longer secure. If you observe the developments in the Syrian [war] arena, and in the world, you will realize who controls the intensity of these developments... At most negotiating tables around the world, Iran is considered one center of power, and the rest face it.
"With regard to Syria, all the great superpowers have said that [Syrian President] Bashar [Al-Assad] must go, but Iran said he should stay. Today you see that the Bashar regime still exists, and [you see] how the Syrian [war] arena is advancing.
"The resistance fronts in the world were created according to the model of the Islamic Revolution: In Lebanon there is Hizbullah; in Syria there is the popular army; in Iraq there is the strong popular union; and in Yemen there is Ansar Allah. All this is the result of the expansion of the strategic influence of the Islamic Revolution, which has sketched out, from every point in the world, extensive fronts against the U.S. and its allies.
"The sanctions could not prevent Iran from producing missiles. You see that Iran can launch precise missiles. This was achieved because of the belief of Iran's young people, which made [Iran] a missile power with technology that perhaps [only] the Russian and U.S. armies possess...
"In the naval arena, you have seen the options that we have against them. Three weeks ago, you saw U.S. forces kneel in worship to the IRGC brothers.
"We lack for nothing in order to attain political, economic, and military independence, and thus we will become a global superpower. In the years to come, Iran will be one of the world's great centers of power. The deterioration of the superpowers has already begun. This [statement] is [based] not on a feeling, but on reality."[2]
Khamenei Representative To Qods Force: All U.S. Facilities Worldwide "Will Be In Danger... Iran's Missiles Will Ignite [American] Submarines... Iran's Military Might Is Bringing The U.S. To Its Knees Before [It]"
Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative in the Qods Force, said on February 1, 2016: "The folly of the U.S. has been revealed, in a variety of issues. They even thought that the Leader [Khamenei's] illness was a serious matter, and on this issue, some of their spies gave them false information...
"The Americans must know that as long as the Iranian nation and its Basij forces are alive in Iran, and as long as the spirit that demands jihad exists, they can do nothing...
"If America wants to make a wrong move, all its facilities, anywhere around the world, will be in danger. Iran's missiles will ignite [American] submarines. This is not a [mere] slogan. The military capability of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] is bringing the U.S. to its knees before the [Iranian] nation...
"America's folly is expressed in the fact that even after 37 years, it has yet to understand what this regime relies on, and that this lion cannot be fought."[3]
Iranian Army Chief Of Staff: "The Islamic Revolution Is Delivering Harsh Blows To The Neck Of 'The Great Satan'... Much Of Our Capabilities Will Be Revealed Only When [The Enemy] Either No Longer Exists Or Cannot Retaliate"
At the closing ceremony of Iranian naval maneuvers, on January 31, 2016, Iranian Army chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi said: "After America achieved nothing in military fighting and face-to-face combat, it has begun to think of the tactic of the 'internal blow' against the Islamic Revolution. But on February 26 [the day of the Majlis and Assembly of Experts elections in Iran], it will be dealt a hammer blow to its rotten body, by a nation that longs for Islam...
"Even if all the arrogant powers of the world unite to establish a single force, [such a force] will not compare to the Islamic Revolution [of Iran]; they have already tested our might in a number of ways and with a number of challenges. The blessing of the martyrs' blood and the jihad of the dedicated soldiers of the dear Imam Khamenei give Iran this potential. The front of arrogance has always wanted to fight this achievement [of the Islamic Revolution], using various methods.
"As the Great Satan, America never imagined that Iran could stand against it and challenge it to a struggle. America believed that it could easily render us vulnerable. But our might was far greater than it imagined.
"Not only is Iran's might today incomparable to its [lesser] might at the onset of the revolution - but its might today is incomparable to its might only a few years ago. This has forced the enemies to adjust their strategies.
"America is the source of all the moves in the region, and our might is what made them passive. Today we see America trying a new way to confront us - that is, it has [ostensibly] stepped aside, as primitives and cowards [a reference to Saudi Arabia] arrive on the scene as its marionettes. Because America and its marionettes are being defeated, their next step will be more forceful.
"Aside for the Great Satan, we see no other country with capabilities that we consider threatening [to us]. The other countries who speak like this [a reference to Saudi Arabia/Israel] are undoubtedly imitating America, and they are in no way acting independently.
"If Iran wishes to make a move, it will do so against the Great Satan. Iran's officials can pinpoint their main enemy [i.e. the U.S.]. Throughout the history of the Islamic Revolution, we have always encountered such things. But today, the Islamic Revolution is delivering harsh blows to the neck of the Great Satan.
"Our naval capabilities have grown today to the point where the enemy is only aware of a small portion of them, and unaware of the lion's share of them. What the enemy knows about them today is only what we want [it to know]. Much of capabilities will be revealed only when it either no longer exists or cannot retaliate.
"[The enemy] also wanted to destroy the legitimate and anti-Zionist Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria. But five years later, it has not gotten the results it wants; it is now explicitly stating that it has failed to do so because the Islamic Revolution [regime in Iran] supports the Bashar Al-Assad regime.
"I say that the support [that we give] is not limited to Syria, but that [it will reach] wherever the message of the Islamic Revolution [has reached]... For many years, we did not miss a single day of expanding our readiness, and repelling and intimidating the enemy. All our might stems from the devotion of the humble friends of the revolution and the blessing of the blood of the martyrs."[4]
Basij Commander: Islam's Penetration Of Europe And The U.S. - The Outcome Of Fighting The U.S. Instead Of Compromising With It
On January 29, 2016, Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi said: "Islam has now penetrated the heart of Europe and the U.S. This great success is the outcome of fighting the U.S. instead of compromising with it... Since the onset of the revolution, the U.S. has been hostile towards Iran. Today, American administration officials have been disarmed because each of their plots against the Islamic Revolution has failed. Their slick-tongued arguments also result in failure when they try to show that the [Iranian] people's votes and elections have no impact, with the aim of destroying the [Iranian revolutionary] regime in the name of democracy.
"The enemy uses an accursed trick for penetrating Iran. It has infiltration agents and is willing to return $1.7 billion of Iran's frozen assets, even though some credit their own diplomatic efforts for this [referring to the pragmatic camp's promotion of dialogue with the U.S.].
"The enemy has its hands in public organizations [inside the Iranian regime], because the most clandestine espionage centers have been set up as part of such organizations. These are people who infiltrate [another country], redirect its priorities, and deceive [its public].
"The logic of Hussein [the Third Imam] and the logic of 'demand to be a martyr and do not submit to the arrogance' have brought honor to our nation. This is the logic of the Koran, and the [Iranian] religious councils must be wary that the enemy does not strip them of this logic."[5]
IRGC Official: If Necessary, We Will Also Take The White House; Jews And Christians Will Not Be Pleased With The Muslims Until The Muslims Obey Them
The acting representative for Khamenei in the IRGC, Abdollah-Haji Sadeghi, said on January 31, 2016: "If there is aggression against Iran, rest assured that the IRGC will not allow the aggressors to feel safe, wherever they are. In any event, the IRGC does not seek aggression, but if necessary, we will also take the White House...
"The leader [Khamenei] told [Iranian] officials that we must not pin our hopes on the JCPOA, but on the people. The message of the U.S.'s violation of the JCPOA is that the wolf cannot be trusted. Another message is that according to the Koran, the Jews and Christians will not be pleased with the Muslims until the Muslims obey them.
"The Iranian nation is weary of the U.S.'s crimes. Therefore, another message of the [U.S.'s] violation of the JCPOA is that [Iranian] officials should stop following the U.S., and should instead should trust their domestic capabilities, because Iran has achieved much thanks to these [capabilities]."[6]
Endnotes:
[1] ISNA (Iran), February 11, 2016.
