Hawzah News Agency - (Tehran - Iran) - Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Sacred Defense (Saddam's imposed war on Iran), the speech of Imam Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a video conference with the participants of a ceremony honoring the veterans of the Holy Defense, was broadcast live on national tv channels.

The following is an excerpt of the statements His Eminence made in his speech:

"In the 8-year war on Iran, Saddam was just a tool in the hands of big powers like the U.S. that were seriously harmed by the 1979 Revolution, or governments that worried about the creation of a new Islamic power in the region. The USSR, some European countries and NATO were against us."

"During the first years of the war, which were shortly after the Islamic Revolution, the armed forces weren't in good shape and we were extremely short of equipment. These persuaded the enemy to attack us. Imam Khomeini managed the war amazingly under such conditions."

"The U.S. and other powers started the war to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but they were defeated. Iran's victory in this war is as obvious as the sun. The whole world used all their strengths for eight years but failed to achieve their goal."

"In the wars that were fought against Iran over the past couple of centuries, Iran was always defeated and lost parts of its lands. In Saddam's war on Iran, he failed to separate even an inch of our lands even though the U.S., USSR, and NATO supported him."

"The 8-Year Holy Defense enriched our human capital. Numerous people who were involved in the defense later started working in various sectors. Martyr Soleimani was one example. No one has yet understood the extent of his work, and it may gradually come to be known in the future."