Hawzah News Agency (Tehran, Iran) - Ahead of the February 18th, 1978 popular Tabriz uprising, thousands of people from East Azerbaijan province met with Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, this morning--February 15, 2017.

In this meeting Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: "This year the march on the revolution's anniversary brought about respect and dignity for the country. I cannot express my gratitude to the nation; we should thank God for them. It is the third and fourth generations of the revolution who come forth standing against the enemy, expressing their will determinedly." He further added, "The officials should not consider the people's presence, in the demonstrations, as a show without complaint against we the officials' and our activities, people have their complaints. People do not approve of discrimination and negligence of certain problems."

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to specific political events in the country stating, "Some people talk about 'national reconciliation'; however, that does not make sense to me: the people are already united. So why do you talk about reconciliation? Are the people against each other? Yes, people are against those who took to the streets on the day of Ashura, beating and stripping the young basiji shamelessly and brutally. They are against them, and they will not reconcile with them.

His eminence went on to say: "It is the end of the year for the 'economy of resistance', its measures and actions; hence, officials must show what they have done to take their own measures and actions--in this regard. They should not talk about what should happen, they should talk about what has been accomplished. People's grievances cannot be ignored: recession, unemployment, and inflation are important issues. The officials must make efforts in this regard."

Ayatollah Khamenei placed further emphasis on the fact that a ploy of the enemy is--with previous and present US administrations--to constantly threaten that some military option is on the table. He said, "This European official said to one of our officials that 'if it was not for the JCPOA a war on Iran would be certain.' This is just a lie! Why are they talking about war? Because, they want to engage the minds in war; however, the real war is an economic war, sanctioning and ruining the levels of employment activity and the field of technology within our country. They draw our attention towards a military war so we may forget about these other wars. A real war is the cultural war."

The Leader of the Revolution touched on the significance and function of the February march, which took place on the anniversary of the revolution's victory. He stated: "Throughout the year, with the money of CIA, Mossad, and British intelligence services, and with the money wealthy moguls provide, hundreds of media outlets worked against Iran--to weaken the revolution and the establishment. They worked hard for one year, then during the February, 10th rally this divine rain falls down, purifying the contaminated environment.

His eminence pointed to the accomplishments led by the Islamic revolution of Iran and said: "In some fields we have progressed 10 to 60 times, compared to the era before the revolution, in accordance with the number of university students, scientific progress, infrastructural activities, and our national dignity and glory. If we compare these achievements with those of the Pahlavi era--when it was US's break time in Iran, and they were easily bullied by major powers--the revolution swooped in, simulating and activating many of our potentials. Today, in the region, we are on top, and with regional issues everyone knows that nothing can move ahead, unless Iran has a presence and wants it to progress."

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