Speaking at a meeting on August 13 to commemorate the 3,400 Martyrs of Ardabil province, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized the importance of preserving and consolidating the path of the martyrs and conveying their way of life to younger generations.
“Consider, for example, someone like Martyr Soleimani was martyred on the path of God,” he said, adding that as a result of such martyrdom, “a nation will shake; a nation will move; and all these illusory lines between the members of the society will collapse and the nation will walk together as one.”
Ayatollah Khamenei argued that since the younger generations do not have first-hand experience of meeting with the martyrs and understanding their impact, it is the duty of scholars, intellectuals, academics, and government officials to play a role in this regard.
“The way to counter the cognitive, economic, political and security war of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution is to continue the path of the martyrs and follow their lessons, that is, Mujahidah (struggle), perseverance, and resistance,” the Supreme Leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also praised the people of Ardabil for being front-runners in the fields of struggle, saying that about 35,000 fighters were sent to battlefronts from Ardabil during the Holy Defense (Iraq-Iran war), 3,400 of whom were martyred, which is proof of the sacrifice and struggle of the people of Ardabil, and these characteristics should be introduced to the young generation of this region.