A steadfast system and its loyal nation

On the morning of Saturday, February 28, when the Leader’s residence—this modest home and refuge of the Ummah—was struck by American-Zionist aggressors, and the standard-bearer of the Islamic Revolution, after decades of struggle, drank the nectar of martyrdom, the enemy—intoxicated by this grave crime— convinced itself that the Islamic Revolution had breathed its last.

The martyred Leader himself had answered such foolish assumptions by the enemies of Iran and the Islamic Revolution last year. With a heart full of certainty, he declared: “There is an important secondary meaning here which is that these transitions show that the Islamic system and the Islamic Revolution are not dependent on individuals. Individuals have roles, missions to fulfill, and they play an important part. However, the system is not dependent on them and can continue on its path.”

Those idiots had mistaken Iran for Venezuela. Yet the martyred Leader, continuing along the path of the great Imam Khomeini (ra), had built a system so firm that even in his absence it remained steadfast and enduring. It immediately entered the arena of defense and battle with strength, initiating a regional war against the enemy—a full-scale and resolute confrontation that upended the calculations of the criminals and of those who supported and hosted them.

And even as the battlefield roared, another historic task awaited. The Assembly of Experts for Leadership had to carry out its historic and revolutionary responsibility. The enemy sought to disrupt this great mission both through heavy verbal threats and media propaganda, and through bombardment. Yet the edifice of the Islamic Revolution and its pillars proved far stronger than the enemy’s bombs.

At this critical moment, the members of the Assembly of Experts stepped forward with their lives on the line. By convening the session to choose the Leader, they fulfilled their historic responsibility and, in accordance with Article 108 of the Constitution, selected the third Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

When this news was announced late on Sunday night, the people—who from the very first days of the War had never allowed the streets and squares to be emptied of their epic presence, and who on the first Night of Qadr of this year’s month of Ramadan were mourning the loss of their martyred Leader—filled the sky with cries of “Labbayk, Ya Khamenei!” Without hesitation, they pledged allegiance to the new standard-bearer of Wilayah, vowing that they would stand firm and resolute on the path of realizing the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and the honor of Iran; that they would not retreat in the face of the enemy and its malice; and that, following the example of their martyred Leader, they would never submit to the Yazid of their time.

And today, that tide has not receded. From Tehran to the farthest towns—people have held spontaneous and magnificent gatherings, pledging allegiance to the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution. These boundless and sincere pledges have taken place even as the enemy continues its crimes; every day, a number of innocent Iranians are martyred in their criminal attacks. 

Yet the people stepped into the arena without fear, once again proving the firm and enduring words of their martyred Leader: that the enemy does not know this nation—and that this very misunderstanding is the principal reason behind the failure of all its plots and conspiracies.

The soaring of the Islamic Iran’s flag has been guaranteed by the blood of hundreds of thousands of martyrs who gave their lives for their faith and ideals, opening this honorable path toward the summits. It is a clear and radiant path—one now adorned as well with the blood of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution—and it will hasten the nation’s arrival at its destination.