Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf made the remarks in a message addressed to the public on Tuesday, on the eve of the 200th night of the countrywide rallies.
“Two hundred nights of the Iranian people’s presence in the streets have demonstrated that military aggression has failed to break the country’s resolve,” he wrote.
The period has shown that people form the primary foundation of the Islamic Republic’s power, the top legislator noted, adding that the persistent popular support has confounded the aggressors’ expectations.
“The enemy believed that it could break our will through military aggression; but today, on the 200th night of the people’s enthusiastic presence in the streets, it became clear that what was defeated was the aggressor’s illusion, not the will of the Iranian people.”
Ghalibaf said the Iranian people’s continued presence was the basis for the country’s defensive resilience, describing the public as the source of the determination underpinning Iran’s resistance.
He added that the public’s role extended beyond the military sphere, noting that its continued presence had also supported Iran’s position in the diplomatic arena.
The official said that Iran’s diplomatic efforts were being pursued on the basis of national interests and that public backing was important to these efforts.
“What is being pursued in the diplomatic arena, [which is] relying on dignity and national interests, is likewise sustained by the backing of this very popular presence.”
Ghalibaf also commended the public for rallying together, notwithstanding their differences of opinion, whenever it comes to the country’s national interests.
“Pressures and differences of opinion can never undermine the deep bond” between the 90-million-strong Iranians and “beloved Iran and its national interests,” he wrote.
Ghalibaf also placed the events of the past 200 nights in the context of Iran’s previous confrontations against foreign aggressors and the history of the country’s Islamic Revolution.
The history, he said, “attests to one reality: Whenever the enemy has failed against Iran, the main reason has been the resistance of the people.
“A resistance that, for 200 nights now, has found meaning through the connection between the military battlefield and the arena of popular presence in the streets.”
MNA
