We remember
On this day we honor the fighting nation of Iran

September 22, 2005
iranian.com

This is the first war in nearly 200 years of Iranian history in which Iran did not lose an inch of its territory, even though Iran was facing insurmountable odds much greater than any war waged against the historic nation in several hundred years.

And thus, the resilience of the Iranian nation to persevere through such a monumental and lethal predicament can be attributed to those Iranians who sacrificed themselves for the sake of defending Iran from Saddam's invasion on September 22, 1980.

This notorious invasion was backed by the Europeans, the U.S., Russia and all the Arab governments (except Libya and Syria) and despite such disparate odds, Iranian soldiers, young and old, without proper military equipment and training, volunteered by the hundreds of thousands to go to the battlefront with the promise of resistance and martyrdom and they succeeded in heroically defending Iran. Indeed, the heart of a volunteer is the strongest.

"Karbala, Karbala, maa miaayim" (Karbala, Karbala, we are coming) was not just a slogan, but it was a promise to fight the internationally backed ruthless invader until either death came first or Iran's territory was liberated and the threat of Saddam was extinguished.

The honor of this day is not only bestowed upon those men who fought heroically and passionately, but to all those who survived maimed and injured, to all those sons and daughters who grew up fatherless, to all the mother's who raised their children without their husbands, to all who spent countless hours in bomb shelters when Iran's cities were being bombed by long-range missiles.

On this day, we will remember the support the world gave Saddam when it invaded Iran. We remember that the U.S. vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning Iraq for using chemical weapons on Iranian soldiers in 1983.

We remember the fact that Egypt and Jordan sent volunteers, and the West Germans, French, and Soviets sold Iraq weapons paid for by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. government. It is us that will never forget this day and the treachery and deceit of all the parties involved.

On this day, September 22, 2005, we honor the fighting nation of Iran.