Hawzah News Agency (Urmia, Iran) - The statements made by Iran's Leader in meeting with the officials of the congress on 12 thousand martyrs of western Azerbaijan held on October 22, were issued Sunday in Urmia.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the necessity of cherishing the memory of martyrs, the spirit of sacrifice and martyrdom and said "the most outstanding figures of our contemporary history are the selfless youth who defended Iran and the revolution."

Iran's Leader asserted that whenever devoted, self-sacrificing men have not entered the stage, Iran has gone through abject misery and every time valiant men have been present, similar to the Iran-Iraq war, Iran has prospered and went on “we must not allow the memory of martyrs to be forgotten behind worldly glittering facades and false magnificence and events such as the congress on martyrs are antidotes to such conspiracies."

Having appreciated the selfless efforts of the people in Western Azerbaijan in fighting enemies since the beginning of the revolution, the Leader of Iran treasured the memory of outstanding provincial heroes such as Mehdi Bakeri, Brig. Gen. Zakiani, the scholar Ghazi Khezri and Ayatollah Hassani and said “patience and perseverance of the people of Western Azerbaijan in battles and against disasters such as chemical bombing of the people of Sardasht are signs of their greatness."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the necessity of introducing the spiritual eminence of the people of western Azerbaijan to other Iranians, and continued "in introducing this province, people usually refer to its tourist attractions or the problems it encounters, while we know that western Azerbaijan resisted conspiracies bravely and such courage and greatness need to be introduced and shown to people."