Iran's Leader issues message marking anniversary of Operation Zulfaqari in Abadan

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a message on October 31, corresponding to the ninth of Aban, marking the anniversary of Operation Zulfaqari in Abadan. In the message, the Leader discussed the factors behind the Iranian nation's victory in the Sacred Defense, citing the people's vigilance, faith and divine motivation, the sacrifices and selfless devotion of the popular forces, and their steadfastness alongside the valor of the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as key to overcoming armed aggressors.

In the text of the message, the Leader described the ninth of Aban as the anniversary of an epic created by the people, referring to the operation carried out by Islamic fighters against Ba'athist forces that drove them out of Abadan Island only 40 days after the start of the First Imposed War in 1980. The Leader noted that this epic, regarded as the Iranian nation's first victory in the eight-year Sacred Defense, has received relatively little attention and is known as Operation Zulfaqari. The message stated that the operation holds lessons for confronting enemies and aggressors attacking the Islamic homeland in every era.

The Leader said Iraq at that time was ruled by a tyrannical ruler with little regard for the beliefs and traditions of Iraq's people, and who, contrary to the ethos of the noble Iraqi nation, imagined that slogans and baseless claims could sever the bond between the two nations — a bond rooted in shared religious tradition and love for the Household of Infallibility and Purity (PBUT). The message said the Ba'athist enemy employed methods of aggression, occupation and siege, and that countering its plots required the vigilance of the people, the devotion of self-sacrificing forces and their steadfastness beside the fighters of the Army and the IRGC.

The Leader recounted that an ordinary yet courageous Iranian worker alerted the people to the enemy's scheme, and that a group of popular forces and members of local mosques, driven by faith and equipped with minimal resources, took to the battlefield under the guidance of the late Ayatollah Jami, the Friday Prayer Leader of Abadan. According to the message, this movement forced the invading enemy, despite its advanced weaponry, to regret its aggression, and diverse ethnic groups from across Iran united in defense of the country's borders. Less than a year later, the Leader said, the siege on Abadan was broken at the command of the Imam of the Ummah.

The Leader stated that the same vigilance, faith, motivation, sacrifice and steadfastness today aid the Iranian nation, and that this spirit will sustain the nation in confronting what the message described as the domination, crimes and aggressions of the Great Satan (the US) and in achieving victory in the Third Imposed War. The message closed with a verse from the Quran, and was signed Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, Aban 9, 1405. According to Mehr News, the message was released on October 31.