Speech [The need for order to exist in the armed and security forces and to purge them [of undesirable elements]]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The basis for this revolution and movement is Islam. That is, we do not accept any other criterion; any other contention. And therefore all the armed forces (the Islamic guards, the gendarmerie, the army and others) must adjust themselves to Islam. Those individuals who are not Islamic in their outlook; that is, they have not accepted Islam, must be purged. And those who are Islamic in their outlook and accept Islam, but in practice disregard their faith, and do things according to their own interests, must be guided. But if they do not correct themselves and the authorities lose hope in them they must be put aside. The element stirred the people (to action) was Islam. No other power could have driven a thirty five million population in one direction; no other power. Thus we can see in our history that those movements- some of which we have witnessed ourselves, like the nationalization of the oil industry- which were not Islamic and had nothing to do with Islam, being based on nationalistic considerations, were unable to succeed. And they (the one who nationalized the oil industry) were later deprived of whatever they had partially accomplished, and so left the scene. If Islam and Islamic doctrine rules, in the military or non-military set-ups, we will triumph. But if we disregard the Islamic doctrine, with everyone doing what they wish and just thinking about themselves, we will become vulnerable. Thus, it is incumbent on us; on the heads of the army, the pasdars, the gendarmerie, the police force and all the intellectuals and writers to drive the nation in one direction: toward Islam and God. If this goal materializes and all the government organizations are" Islamized", we will succeed; no doubt. But if we disintegrate, and every organ goes its own way- for instance the Islamic guards do not cooperate with the gendarmerie or maybe even oppose it, or oppose the army, or any other two organizations oppose one another; then in such a case we must be ready to face defeat, even though it may not happen in the near future.

In my opinion, one of the very crucial issues is coordination among the armed forces. They should not be in disagreement. They should all be together. But the question of how this can be carried out and arranged should be thought out by themselves. And my representatives in the armed forces should also think of a way of creating coordination among the armed forces. It should not be so that if a problem surfaces, God forbid, each department goes its own way thus entailing defeat [for us].

The important issue is" Islamization", which means that Islamic practices must be implemented. Some individuals believe that we must spread the Islamic ideology and leave aside Islamic practices. This opinion is contradictory to Islamic doctrine. The Islamic practices must be implemented in the army garrisons and the center where you the pasdars are based. That is, now during the month of Ramadan they [i. e. all the armed forces] must fast; [of course] those for whom fasting is obligatory must fast. All of them must pray [i. e. they must perform their five daily prayers] and retrain absolutely from committing acts prohibited in Islam. Islamic criteria must be observed; this is the meaning of the Islamic Republic. Otherwise if there is no sign of implementation of Islam in the gendarmerie, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the army or in any of the other government offices it will not be an Islamic Republic. It will be a wrong name for a state which is being administered in that same taghouti manner. We must correct these discrepancies in earnest. And so if there are corrupt individuals who are against the creed, they should be expelled at the very outset and furthermore, if they are found guilty of treason, God forbid, they must be prosecuted. Those who adhere to the Islamic doctrine (meaning that they believe in Islam) but act otherwise should be guided. If they are amenable to guidance, so much the better; but if they are not and the efforts prove futile, they must[ also ]be purged.

One of the important issues is keeping order. It means that if the affairs are not carried out on an orderly basis, disorder will prevail. If the officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps do not obey the higher ranks and the latter also do not obey their commanding officers; and if the same thing goes on in the gendarmerie and everyone goes his own way [disregarding the other departments]; such a trend would certainly undermine the armed forces. And in such an event, the country will become unstable. Thus, one of the important issues is the maintaining of order. The soldiers must obey the colonel, the general and the head of the guards [depending on their ranks and the department they serve]. They should submit [and obey] in the name of Islam. This period is not like the time of taghout for one to obey if it so pleases him, and even if he obeys outwardly, he, in reality, does not want to do so. Islam the thing that is now in control; it comprehends both the exterior and interior of people. Thus, if someone in his heart of hearts does wish to obey, that person has disobeyed God [just like the soldier who has disobeyed his superior]. This is another important issue that must be observed in the army, the IRGC, the security forces and the rest of the armed forces.

Another important issue regarding the Revolutionary Guards Corps is that though I like these guards a lot and am thankful to them- what Iran has accomplished is the result of the struggle of such people- some enemy agents, in some cases, infiltrate their ranks and do certain things that damage the reputation of the guards. For example, several officers decide that a particular individual is a bad person and, based on this assumption, arrest him and confiscate his orchard and land. Such actions entail commotion, and are, therefore, against the interests of the Islamic Republic, and also against Islam. Such actions ought to be really prevented; the guards should not take action without a court warrant. They should not interfere without the orders of the public prosecutor. A pasdar should not presume that he can do whatever he deems appropriate because he has power. This gives rise to anarchy; and doing something in a disorderly manner means that one is taghouti [in his actions]. This is another important issue that you who are in the Revolutionary Guard Corps should seriously follow up on all over the country with the assistance of the authorities and the others in the judiciary. If an officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards or several of them, take action on their own, without having a court warrant, and confiscate orchards or plots of land, or if they seize some possessions or arrest people, they must be prosecuted and punished. For Iran to stand up on its own feet and to be able to determine, God willing, its own future appropriately, the first thing that needs to be done is to establish order among the armed forces. It does not make any difference whether it is the pasdars or the rest of the armed forces. They must observe order and the Islamic precepts, and also preserve their own Islamic essence so that all the tasks are (well) accomplished. I wish to reiterate that cooperation among the armed forces is also mandatory according to Islam, while their disunity is against Islamic law. I do not want to rule out [the reality of] the differences of opinion. This, however, does not mean that everyone can do as he wants. The commanders should sit down with my representatives and sort out their differences. It should not be that in the face of any eventuality, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the gendarmerie and the army act separately without any coordination among them. There ought to be unity and coordination among them. And this could be achieved through your efforts and [the efforts] of Mr. Mahallati «1» and Mr. Khamene'i «2» who are there and the other authorities in other places. These issues should be taken care of through consultation among yourselves. And what you said about their request that I intervene in the affairs of the armed forces is not possible for me. I cannot intervene in every issue directly; and that is why I appoint representatives and, for example, approve of you to be in the Guard Corps, and to direct the affairs. My representatives are the ones responsible to be directly in contact with the issues. This is how I can act and so whatever you do there (in your area of duty) means that I have done it. Those who like to take orders from me must obey you [in order to obey me]. And this is how I involve myself in the affairs. This is the case regarding all the persons whom I have appointed [or approved of]: obeying them is obeying me. They are not in charge independently. For instance, the President; I have placed him as the president and so cooperating with him is cooperating with me. And it is not possible that I directly intervene in all the affairs. I have appointed certain individuals for this cause and that is how order can be maintained.

In any case we are all part of this nation and we are all responsible for safeguarding this country. And you see it is much more sensitive at this stage because of the apparent dangers that we have faced and will face more in the future. We have been entrusted by God (the Blessed the Exalted) with the responsibility of safeguarding this Islamic country. And thus we must not permit any weakness in ourselves. There should be no personal considerations, no selfish motives. We are all brothers and so we must endeavor together to safeguard this trust that God has given us. I want to tell those who lecture and write about the issues that undermining the police force and the Islamic Guard Corps is undermining Islam. The same case pertains to the gendarmerie and the rest of the armed forces. Of course, this does not mean that the corrupt individuals in these forces should not be purged. The corrupt individuals should be prosecuted no matter what position they occupy. But those who are working in line with Islam- all the lecturers and writers whether clergymen or laypersons- must support them. Just a word to weaken their position is weakening Islam and thus is blasphemous and forbidden. I hope that you all be successful, and blessed by God, in safeguarding this trust. We must be aware that there is another world ahead where we will all be present and called to account. Thus, if we do anything to damage the Islamic Republic, we must explain ourselves [in the Hereafter], and we will be judged and very harshly at that in the Presence of God, the Blessed and Exalted.

It is important to take notice of these matters. Those individuals who have done wrong but can be reformed by admonishing, advising and guiding them, should be reformed by such means. But if they do not change, they should be purged. And those who participated in the recent happening and had this evil thought of staging a coup d'etat, «3» should be put to death according to the ruling of the Holy Qur'an, without any exceptions. No one has the right to pardon anyone guilty or to be lenient with him. According to the Qur'an and Islam they are corrupt and corrupters, and for such people four penalties have been designated, of which the smallest is the death penalty. I hope that, God willing, you will succeed in traversing this path, this straight path, safely, and will enjoy good health and prosperity. May God protect you.