Hawzah News Agency –The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed the need for a true narration of "the facts of society, the history of the revolution, holy defense and various events of the last 42 years" and said: "If you do not tell the truth, the enemy will change the oppressor and oppressed with lies and distortion."

According to the Public Relations Department of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO), Ayatollah Khamenei, in a meeting with nurses and families of martyrs of defenders of health, on Sunday noted the behavior and words of Hazrat Zainab (as) as the manifestation of greatness, spiritual and intellectual power of the woman.

Explaining the various dimensions of "the value of nursing and the hardships and bitterness of this honorable job," the Leader called the strengthening of the nursing community in various angles the main demand of nurses and considered the fulfillment of this logical demand as a duty of officials and a necessity for the present and future of the country and society.

Congratulating the birth anniversary of Hazrat Zainab (as) and Nurses Day to nurses and activists in the field of treatment and health, Ayatollah Khamenei said: "The great lady of Karbala has proved to all humanity and history that woman despite all the efforts of past and present short-sighted people, including authoritarian westerners to humiliate women can be a great ocean of patience, and a great pinnacle of wisdom and prudence."

In explaining the wise behavior and intellectual power of that great lady, the Leader pointed to the thoughtful behavior and wonderful words of Hazrat Zainab in front of the rulers of the time, such as Ibn Ziad and Yazid, and said: "That historical authority, in front of the people, gives way to explanations and reprehensible words, which later lead to one of the causes of the repentance uprising in Kufa."

The Leader of the Revolution mentioned "Jihad of Narration and Explanation" as another dimension of Hazrat Zainab’s wisdom and deep planning and added: "With the true, effective and lasting narration of Karbala, she did not give the enemy’s narrative a chance to overcome reality."

Reiterating his past emphasis on the need for a true narrative of "the facts of society, the history of the revolution, the sacred defense, and the various events of the last 42 years," the Leader highlighted: "If this is not done, which has not been done in many cases, the enemy will justify its distorted and false narrative in the current public opinion, and by changing the oppressor and the oppressed, it will justify its continuous oppressive actions."

In another part of his speech on the values of nursing, Ayatollah Khamenei said: "The main point of these values is to help the needy, that is, the sick, who needs the attention and help of the nurse in all matters."

The Leader of the Revolution considered nursing as a double divine reward and added: "Creating security of mind for the patient, the patient’s relatives and all people is one of the other prominent values of nursing and the whole nation is beholden to the nursing community."

The Leader referred to the joy of arrogant of the world of the suffering of the Iranian nation, which has been manifested in events such as "helping Saddam to carry out chemical bombings and causing deep pain and suffering to the people of Iran’s border cities" and issues such as "medicine embargo on the Iranian nation."

"Given these facts, when nurses, with effort and self-sacrifice, make the patients smiled and their relatives, in fact, they are struggling against the arrogance which shows the double value of the nursing community in Islamic Iran."

The Leader of the Revolution called the nature of nursing work namely "observing the suffering of patients and caring for them around the clock," bitter and complex, and said: "In some junctures, such as the Holy Defense or the Corona, these difficulties have multiplied."

Ayatollah Khamenei added: "Just as doctors, nurses and paramedics worked under bombardment during the imposed war, so did the nurses during the Corona pandemic by increasing working hours, reducing furlough, attending the hospital during the Nowruz holiday, and painfully observing patient and colleagues deaths, enduring double hardship, and the risk of contracting a deadly disease."

Emphasizing that the nation must understand and value these hardships, the Leader cited the presence of groups such as students, scholars, and young people to help nurses in the Corona as brilliant facts, adding: "This commitment and sense of responsibility that at different times as the struggles for the Revolution’s victory and the Holy Defense emerged, shows the vibrant, and conscientious identity of the Iranian nation."

The Leader of the Revolution considered the great scientific movement of the country as a sign and product of this growing identity and noted: "Heroes such as the martyrs Soleimani, Fakhrizadeh and Shahriari come out of this great truth and identity."

Referring to the lack of the artistic narrative of the hardships and difficulties of nursing, and the many fields and artistic themes to address these events, the Leader said: "Responsible and committed artists should come to the scene and showcase this huge cultural capital in the form of various arts."

Ayatollah Khamenei then emphasized the issue of nurses" demands and said: "The main demand of nurses in one sentence is "strengthening the nursing community," which is a necessity for the present and future of the country."

The Leader noted: "The Corona case showed that if the nursing community is not strengthened, we will be hurt in the nick of time."

The Leader of the Revolution called the "implementation of the law on tariffs for nursing services" one of the specific demands of nurses and, referring to his previous emphasis in this regard, said: "This law was approved 14 years ago, but unfortunately until the last days of the previous administration I urge the Ministry of Health to pursue and implement the issue of tariffs in this administration."

"The shortage of nurses and the need to complete it per capita compared to hospital beds," and "the issue of job security" were two other demands that the Leader of the Revolution considered necessary and said: "In some cases, such as during the corona period, there have been calls for nursing work, but short-term contracts have been signed with nurses and they have been dismissed after a while, while the nurse should have job security and should not be seen as a seasonal worker."

"Reconstruction of the country’s health network" and "equitable distribution of doctors" were two other issues the leader raised regarding the health system.

Referring to the excellent effects and achievements of the health system in the 80s and early 90s, focusing on health and prevention, Ayatollah Khamenei stated: "Of course, treatment is necessary, but prevention is better than that, and the health network must be rebuilt and strengthened to lower costs, for more public health.

Ayatollah Khamenei called the distribution of doctors in different regions unfair and added: "I will not comment on the issue of shortage or adequacy of doctors, but the distribution of doctors in different parts of the country is not fair and this issue should be taken into consideration"