Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei, has met with thousands of members of the Basij on the occasion of National Basij Week. The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah on November 29, 2023.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khamenei has described Basij as an invaluable legacy of Imam Khomeini, saying the fact that the late Imam was proud of being a Basiji demonstrates the high status of the volunteer force.
He said the transnational and cross-border aspects of Basij are among the outstanding features of the million-strong force.
"The 'formation of international cores of resistance' that Imam Khomeini had envisioned has come true in the region today, and the resistance cores are changing the fate of the region, an example of which is Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," he noted, referring to the Palestinian resistance groups’ operation against the Zionist regime on October 7.
Referring to the failed plan of the Americans to change the geopolitical map of West Asia, Imam Khamenei said, "A few years ago, in the issue of Lebanon, they said that they were looking for the formation of a 'New Middle East' based on their own illegitimate needs and interests, but they failed of course."
The US, the Leader went on, sought to destroy Hezbollah, but after the 33-day war, the Lebanese resistance movement became more than 10 times stronger than before.
He also called the United States' failure to swallow up Iraq through the establishment of a US-installed government another manifestation of the failure of the formation of the "New Middle East."
"In Iraq, which they sought to swallow up, the cores of resistance have entered the Palestinian cause today," he asserted.