Today is the 13th anniversary of the historic 9th of the Iranian month of Dey, corresponding to December 30, when millions of people flooded the streets of Tehran, as well as other cities and towns, to express their support for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, following the nipping in the bud of the intricate plot of Global Arrogance to use certain simpletons in Iran to cast doubts on the 2009 presidential elections.

Thanks to the sagacity of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei the nation delivered a thundering blow to the conspirators and anti-revolutionary elements. A glance at events and developments of the past forty years in Iran, make us realize the prominent role of people in the various social, political, cultural, and economic scenes, much to the chagrin of the enemies. As a matter of fact, Iranian people have turned threats and sanctions into unique opportunities, strengthening the resolve and solidarity of the nation.

Ever since the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the US has been hell-bent on somehow undermining and shattering the unity of Iranian nation, and resorted to futile efforts to stir up internal political and social rifts in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The steadfastness of the Iranian people against these sinister currents, however, has proved that the nation’s resolve and power are the cornerstone of the stability of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic system of government that will never allow the enemy’s infiltration.

in 2009 on the eve of the 10^th presidential elections in Iran, Global Arrogance, with the US at its head, had drawn extensive plans in a bid to discourage the Iranian masses from casting their votes. When this failed and the people flocked to the ballot boxes in exceptionally large numbers, the West resorted to ‘Plan B’ and instigated some of the poor losers amongst the candidates to question the fairness of the counting of the votes. At the same time, the West kept its cameramen ready to film the violence in some streets perpetrated by its paid agents, in order to give the impression that the Iranian people no longer support the Islamic Revolution and the ideals of Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul). This also failed to exasperation of Washington, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, all of whom continued their feverish propaganda against Iran.

In order to nail the lie, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called for expression of nationwide support to the ideals of the Islamic Republic system. Thus, on Wednesday, the 9^th of Dey (corresponding to December 30), Tehranis gathered in millions on the roads and streets around the Tehran University Campus to renew their allegiance to Ayatollah Khamenei. Similar massive gatherings were held in various other Iranian cities and towns, calling for the bringing to justice of the real cheaters, that is, the losing candidates. The world’s eyes became glued to the Islamic Republic of Iran, while Zionism and imperialism were shocked to see their plans of destabilizing Iran go awry.

It is worth recalling that ten years ago in his address to the vociferous gathering in Tehran, the Leader’s representative, Ayatollah Ahmad Alam-al-Hoda, referring to the errant presidential candidates, had said: “You should repent … otherwise the system will confront you as ‘mohareb’ (that is enemy of God).”

Iranian TV channels fully covered the rally and showed the Iranian people making a bonfire of the flags of the US, Britain, and the illegal Zionist entity – the main culprits behind the acts of violence by the miscreants. Some segments of the foreign media admitted that the rallies were the biggest over the past three decades, which indicates the continued fervor and enthusiasm of the masses for Islam, the Islamic Revolution, and the Islamic Republic system. It was obvious the Iranian people were angry at the Godless miscreants, who taking orders from Global Arrogance had, some 50 days earlier indulged in the unpardonable act of blasphemous sedition on the streets on the tragic day of Ashura, the 10^th of the sacred month of Muharram, while mourners for the immortal martyrs of Karbala were busy at mosques and Hussainiyas commemorating the anniversary of history’s most heartrending tragedy.

The Iranian people were naturally incensed and called for punishment of the ringleaders of the sedition. They said they will not remain silent at the insulting of religion and the sanctities of Islam. At the call of the beloved Leader of the Islamic Revolution millions took to the streets in a peaceful manner. “Death to America”, “Death to Britain,” and “Death to the Zionists” reverberated throughout the lengthy and breadth of Iran.

This grand display of national unity and Islamic solidarity of the people of Iran astounded the West, and some theorists started calling for a change of the hostile approach toward Islamic Iran, and a shift from hard war to soft war, in view of the American failure against the resolve of the Iranian people.

The then US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, later referring to violence and acts of vandalism of the American agents in Iran, admitted that the Barack Obama administration had spent millions of dollars for training more than 5,000 Iranian opponents across the world for indulging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic and inciting riots in Iran.

A few weeks after anti-revolutionary riots in 2009, the former US Assistant Secretary of Treasury, Paul Roberts, in an exclusive interview with Foreign Policy magazine, revealed the role of Washington in guiding the post-election riots in Iran in 2009. Another point of importance in Day 9 epic nationwide marches in 2009 is the emergence of the hidden elements of powers, embedded and rooted in the Iranian nation. This power is the result of the deep insight of the Iranian nation, clearly recognizing the enemies of the Iranian people.

The other point of significance is the multidimensional effects of the presence of people in the scene. The massive turnout in the Dey 9, nationwide epic marches ten years ago, showed that the Iranian nation will not retreat an iota from safeguarding the Islamic Revolution, the sacred Islamic system, and Islamic values. This is indeed among the dynamic points of the Islamic Revolution. The steadfastness of the Iranian people against all sinister currents, including the recent acts of violence and vandalism in some towns and cities on the pretext of the petrol price hike, showed that the Iranian nation will never allow the enemies to infiltrate.

The Iranian people, through their timely presence, coupled with revolutionary and political insight, expressed their resentment toward sedition, whose trans-national dimensions were disclosed upon revelation of the key role of the US and Britain in these riots. The Iranian nation has learned from experience that the goal of the enemies is to somehow polarize the Iranian community. The 2009 riots were part of this nefarious move, to even insult the mourning ceremonies of the sacred month of Muharram, especially the tragic anniversary of Ashura.

Today, on the 13^th anniversary of these historic rallies, Islamic Iran has emerged stronger and more stabilized, while the hypocrites have been exposed in their true colours. The enemies of the Islamic Revolution, especially those regimes in the West such as the US, have become despaired of undermining the Islamic Republic. Iran and the people and countries of the region who share the vision of Islamic unity, are determined to defeat this latest plot. The Islamic Republic is sparing no efforts in this regard and has taken the lead to preserve the stability of countries in its neighbourhood, whatever the magnitude of the plots of Zionists. This is all indicative of the grand display of national unity by the Iranian masses ten years ago on December 30 to give the message to the world that the presidential elections of 2009 were fair and free, and the plots of Global Arrogance to question their validity with the help of certain misled elements, deserved nothing short of a shattering defeat.