Speech [Special role of the personnel of the oil industry in the victory of the Islamic Revolution]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate the Merciful

Although I do not feel well, I would like to talk a few words to you my friends, to you my dear ones, the respected men and women of the oil industry.

True, our movement is the result of the self-sacrifice of all strata of the people, although all strata of the people helped in the victory of the Revolution, both men and women, some groups played a special role, such as the personnel and employees of the oil industry. This is because these people were working in an area where the lifeline of the country for the foreigners, and the regime was at their disposal. Their strike was of special value and their cooperation with the movement was of more significance. In this sense, we appreciate you all and we extend our sincerest thanks to you. You went on a strike and stood up against the regime of the Shah and helped the advancement of the movement, and empowered the rule of Islam. I must extend my thanks to you. I prayed and still pray for you. However, you said you were under double pressure. Put it this way that you felt double pressure, otherwise no one in this country was free of pressure. Show me a group that was free of the pressures of the regime. Which group was not deprived? Were not the clerics deprived? They were deprived of all preaching and teaching, and they had been suppressed so tightly that they dared no to speak. Such was the case for other strata of the people. All suffered pain, and all lived in poverty.

Life is absurd in the absence of freedom. Life is useless in the absence of independence. It is not an ideal life to work for your enemies. Today, you live well because you enjoy independence, because you work for your nation, for your country. However, you must know that those preventing production in factories, and staging demonstration on the streets are your enemies. They want to make you go on a strike and cut the lifeline of the country that is at your disposal, the order to paralyze the government and the economy. The stagnation of economy means giving the opportunity to others and the return of the past evils. In a pitiable manner, but evil in nature, they visit the working unions. On the face, their words seem to be real, but they have evil plots. They do not want to allow development of the country, establishment of peace and security in the country and they have targeted the best possible point, the oil industry. They grasped the power of the oil company, knowing what the personnel did before the victory of Islamic revolution to bring the regime down to its knees. They realized this great power and wanted to turn it against the nation, mobilize it against the government, if not, paralyze it.

My friends! Only the Almighty God is very sympathetic to the workers and employees. It is His will to make the needy happy. Islam is very concerned about you. Your savior is only Islam; it saves you from the darkness of ignorance. Islam insures you. Tend to Islam more than ever. As you saw, Islam advanced our movement. Unity of expression and attention to Islam granted us victory. Safeguarding these two from now on, will be the key to further success. As a sign of attending to Islam, people sought the establishment of an Islamic government and unity of expression also manifested in their slogans for the establishment of an Islamic republic system of government. Islam granted and will grant us further successes.

My religious brothers! Stick to the rope of Islam and know for sure that those who want to divide you from Islam, and from the Almighty God, are not friends. These are enemies in the disguise of friends. They do evil wherever they go. They visit farms and do not allow farming, at a time that is said that Iranian agriculture is developing. If these people are sympathetic to the farmers and agriculture, why do they not let the wheel of the economy turn? Is it not in favor of the nation that agriculture, factories, and the oil industry keep on working? They do not let the implementation of anything in favor of the nation. Be on alert my religious brothers! Take heed and uproot the corrupt roots of the previous regime and its followers.

May God bless you all! May God bless the men and women! I am a servant of all and God only knows that I am very concerned about you. I am sorry. Try to be patient and let the government continue what it ought to do and allow the implementation of the anticipated programs. We are talking to one another freely and it was not possible to do so in the past. Last year, we could not gather here, you could not gather here. Neither women, nor men, could gather here. Ladies and gentlemen! We are enjoying this valuable blessing because of the revolution. We gather and express our pains freely. Today, the foreign powers have no clasps on our oil reservoirs. These reservoirs are ours and this is a great blessing. If you work hard, you will work for your nation, for yourselves. I wish health, glory, and salvation for you all.