Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks in a meeting with the organizing committee of the National Conference in Commemoration of Martyred Aid Workers, which had been held on May 12, 2025, was released at the venue of this conference on Wednesday.
In the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei described relief workers as embodiments of human virtues and humanitarianism, emphasizing the importance of fostering a spirit of selflessness and compassion among the Iranian people through cultural initiatives. “The opposite of this spirit is the crimes and savagery of the Israeli regime in Gaza, along with the West's support for it. Standing against this bloodshed and the axis of falsehood is a universal duty,” he added.
Referring to a report by the Congress Headquarters on initiatives such as producing books, films, and video games related to relief worker martyrs, he said, “Merely creating these inspiring and motivational works is not enough. You must ensure that these productions reach at least 20 million people”.
Ayatollah Khamenei also highlighted that the involvement of motivated and innovative youth in various sectors, such as industry, politics, construction, literature, and art, has been crucial to the country’s progress, adding, “With the presence of determined and passionate young people, no task is impossible in this country.”
He said, “Under a hail of bullets, relief workers focused solely on saving others, not themselves. Their astonishing spirit of sacrifice was such that they even aided wounded enemy prisoners, which starkly contrasts with a world alienated from humanity.”
He further emphasized, “The selfless efforts of doctors and nurses working in field hospitals near the frontlines during the Sacred Defense can only be truly conveyed through the language of art.”
Criticizing the failure to properly showcase the remarkable achievements of Iran’s youth to the world, the Leader added: “While some countries with no real history or heroes fabricate and heavily promote false champions, we must introduce our true heroes and embed them into public culture. This will demonstrate that aid and assistance are both Islamic and humanitarian duties, which must be perpetuated across all generations”.
The Leader described the opposite of the spirit of sacrifice and relief as the barbaric actions of Israeli criminals who attack ambulances, bomb hospitals, and slaughter defenseless patients and children, adding, “Today, the world is dominated by these human-like beasts. The Islamic Republic views it as its duty to oppose their savagery and bloodlust.”
Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that protesting crimes against civilians is a universal obligation, saying, “It is this sense of duty that fuels action and keeps the flame of hope alive in people's hearts. However, it has also provoked enemies like the West to oppose the Islamic Republic, because if we ceased condemning their brutality, they would not be hostile toward us.”
The Leader identified the fundamental issue for Western oppressors as the Islamic Republic’s rejection of their false civilization, adding, “Falsehood is destined to decline and be destroyed. However, achieving this requires action and resistance. We must avoid passivity, retreat, smiling at falsehood, or praising it, as such behavior only empowers it.”
IRNA