Eurasia Press & News
On June 11, 2025, two days before he was killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran, IRGC commander Hossein Salami said in a speech at the Center for Documentation, Research, and Dissemination of the Legacy of the Iran-Iraq War that the Iran-U.S. war did not end with the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, but only changed its face. According to him, despite the changes to the areas and the deployment of forces, the essence of the struggle remains the same: Iran is on one axis, and America is on the other.
Gen. Salami clarified that unlike Russia and China, whose relations with the U.S. include geopolitical and economic conflicts that could one day end, Iran’s enmity towards the U.S. is rooted in faith, independent of time or circumstances. The sanctions on Iran, he said, are only part of the struggle, not its essence, and behind all this is the “global arrogance” (the U.S.) that Iran is fighting.
Earlier, on May 25, Gen. Salami said at a ceremony in the city of Urmia honoring veterans of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) that the Iranian people would never accept humiliation, labeling Iran’s current situation as at the heart of a great jihad against the global satanic coalition of enemies small and large. He added that as the pressure builds, the people’s faith grows, to the point “where the enemy hears the sound of its bones breaking under the weight” of this faiths. He also said: ” Our dear and wise leader [Khamenei] is at the heart of this great campaign, with inner security stemming from the remembrance of God, in the wisdom bestowed upon him by God and inspired by the holy Quran.”
The following are translations of excerpts of Gen. Salami’s speeches on June 11 and May 25, 2025.
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami: “Our Enmity For America Is Essential And Rooted In Faith, And We Are Fighting The Global Arrogance” [The U.S.] – June 11, 2025
“Throughout history, we see peoples who were eradicated from the face of the earth, or conquered, or destroyed, and whose populations were uprooted and suffered irreparable harm. Thus, wars change the fate and identity of peoples – and that is also what the warmongers aim to do from the outset. The Iran-Iraq War was also a clear mirror of a global decision aimed at changing the destiny of our land, burying Iran’s new revolutionary and Islamic identity, and sending us back to the dark and shameful era of tyranny [of the Shah].
“Iran’s enemies did not see us with an independent role, and they do not see us that way today either. Iran’s independence has become a model [to be emulated] constituting a threat to their [global] rule. Their war against us in this area is not yet over. The Iran-Iraq war was imposed [on us] in order to change our land’s destiny…The Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic revolution] said: Even if the war lasts for 20 years, we will stand fast…
Operations such as Kheibar and Badr [battles in the Iran-Iraq war named after wars in early Islam] were only possible by virtue of people with a great spirit of dedication and aspiration to martyrdom… Commanders such as the martyr Gen. [Mohammad Reza] Zahedi [IRGC Qods Force commander in Syria and Lebanon, killed April 1, 2024 in an Israeli strike in Damascus], the martyr Gen. [Abbas] Nilforushan [Qods Force commander in Syria and Lebanon, killed September 27, 2024 in Beirut], and the martyr Gen. Hajj Qassem Soleimani [Qods Force commander killed by the U.S. at the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020] were the same commanders who fought in the Iran-Iraq War and were raised on the principles of that school of thought. The idea of ‘resistance’ emerged in this war. If we liken the Iran-Iraq war to a ‘pure tree,’ [we see that] its roots emerge from it and its branches extend to the present. This chapter of history, which has become a denominator common to Iran and Islam, will never recur – yet we must learn from it and disseminate it, both spiritually and historically…
“We must look at the reflections and the cultural implications of the Iran-Iraq war, and especially at the culture of resistance. Our people’s tolerance for sanctions is high, and we are rooted in the culture built during that war. Those eight years of a war that was imposed on Iran constituted one of the longest and most asymmetrical wars of the modern era, and Iran successfully stood up to its enemies and emerged from the war in a position of superiority. It is necessary to understand what this culture is, and to strengthen it …
“Today, only the territory and the deployment of troops have changed – but the truth and the essence of the struggle have not, and the political and military goals have not undergone any significant change: We stand on one side [of the war] – and on the other side is America.
“Our hostility toward America is different from other countries’ [hostility towards it]. Unlike Russia and China, where the hostility is geopolitical or economic, ours is essential and rooted in faith. For them, war and hostility begin and end, and after that they could be friends again. But for us, even when the war ends, America’s hostility toward us does not. Our enmity for America is essential and rooted in faith, and we are fighting the global arrogance [the U.S.]. The oppressive sanctions imposed on the Iranian people are not the essence of our struggle, but only part of it.
“During the Iran-Iraq War, God gave us a chance to find ourselves and to grow stronger, to the point where we could face these powers. Had this not happened, America would have attacked us again and again. The most important factor in creating deterrence in the face of the threat of war is how peoples and states have acted in previous wars, and when we stood on the ground for eight years of asymmetrical war, it was this that was transformed into a deterrent in the face of today’s threats. This was while America was not as weak as it is today – it was at the height of its power, and all the European countries and the then-Soviet alliance stood by it, all of them against Iran [in the Iran-Iraq war].
“Had there never been Ashura [the death of Hossein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, at the Battle of Karbala against the Sunnis in 680], Islam would not have survived. And had there never been an Iran-Iraq war, neither the [Islamic] revolution nor Iran would have survived. Even today, when we fight the enemy, this is thanks to our reliance on the Iran-Iraq war – which provided [us with] a strong infrastructure that established the country and boosted its resistance and strength. Everything we have today – missiles, speedboats, and more – is the result of the knowledge and experience accumulated during that time…
“One of the most important achievements of the Iran-Iraq war was its eradication of the Iranian people’s fear of war. Even though the U.S. president is openly threatening to bomb us, we can deal with them in the region… “[1]
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami: “We Are A People That Will Never Accept Humiliation… The Enemy Hears The Sound Of Its Bones Breaking Under The Weight Of The Faith Of This People, And Cannot Find A Way To Overcome It” – May 25, 2025
“[…] We are a people that will never accept humiliation. We learned this deep understanding from the pure lives of the pure saints and imams. This is the logic of the Ashura, this is the doctrine of the Ashura, which says ‘distance humiliation from us.’ Acceptance of humiliation is impossible as far as we are concerned. The Iranian people cannot be humiliated; defeat has no meaning, and enemies cannot possibly infiltrate.
“Today, this great land stands tall and proud, with a steadfast and determined people, in the heart of a great jihad. In various areas, from the political and economic to the military, we are facing a complex and powerful array of enemies small and large, as part of a global Satanic coalition, but nevertheless we stand fast, in dignity and security. We see the enemy with our eyes, we hear its rhetoric and threats, and we see its army deployed across our country; its political and propaganda pressure is also clearly felt.
“There is a wonderful secret deep in the soul of this people. It is a secret that causes the Iranian people, under the guidance and leadership of their Imam [Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei], to remain on the ground stronger and more stably and to directly confront the enemy in all the arenas. The enemy hears the sound of its bones breaking under the weight of this people’s faith, and cannot find a way to overcome it. There can be no victory over such a people. The enemy has no choice but to repeatedly change its positions, to retreat, and to change its ways.
“What is the source of this glory? This strength and resilience are the fruit of this people’s deep faith – a faith that not only repelled the enemy but also caused it to lose his way and be unable to find a path to [gaining] dominance. Although we are in the midst of an all-out war, there is no sign of confusion or fear in the country. This situation is extraordinary – a phenomenon that is amazing and rare in history. Our people are calm and not anxious, while our enemies, especially the Zionists, are constantly tense and worried.
“Our dear and wise leader [Khamenei] is at the heart of this great campaign, with inner security stemming from the remembrance of God, in the wisdom bestowed upon him by God and inspired by the holy Quran. The great Iranian people and the Islamic nation surround him in a circle of love, loyalty, and support, and he stands among them like a sparkling diamond. This is the central secret of the vitality, resilience, and survival of the Iranian people. As long as this spiritual and divine connection is maintained, the Iranian people will remain immune from harm. We have made a firm decision to stand fast and overcome our enemies “[2] [1] Isna.ir/news, June 11, 2025.
[2] Mehrnews.com/news, May 25, 2025.
