Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Wednesday urged the Iranians to remain vigilant in the face of the plots hatched by “the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation” that aim to make the issue of the Sacred Defense fade into insignificance.
The Leader made the remarks in a huge gathering of people in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, who go on regular cultural excursions to the country’s border areas that used to be war zones during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s.
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that such annual trips to the former war zones is a perfect opportunity to relive the memory of Iranian soldiers’ devotion to their country and commemorate the veterans and characters that played significant roles during the 8-year-long imposed war.
In relevant remarks on March 17, the Leader had underlined the significance of the Sacred Defense, saying that the Iranian defense against the Iraqi invasion is like a “great and glorious picture” with deep and wonderful aspects.
In Iran, the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war is known as the Sacred Defense, and Sacred Defense Week is held on the anniversary of the beginning of the war.
Sacred Defense Week begins on Shahrivar 31 in the Iranian calendar (September 22 this year), which is the day Iraq invaded Iran and began the imposed war on the country in 1980.