What follows is the full text of the statement:
In the Name of God
The “Ten-Day Dawn” is the manifestation of the perseverance and resolve of a great nation, with a civilization and culture as old as the history, and a wise leader who led the country into a rebirth in various social, cultural, international, political, and economic spheres.
After enduring years of ups and downs through resistance, dignity and unity, the great nation of Iran is proudly celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its Islamic Revolution despite all the endless plots, conspiracies, and hostilities.
At the fortieth anniversary of its rebirth, the nation is now more mature, prudent, and powerful than ever, and thanks God for the dignity and power it has retained thanks to the blessing of theglorious and popular revolution, and backed by its deeply-rooted national and religious beliefs. Getting stronger, prouder, and more hopeful every day, the nation is living its decent life in the land of tolerance.
Today, forty years after the great nation of Iran took an oath of allegiance to transform its political and social life, and after four decades of sweet and bitter experiences the entire nation gained in various fields for a high price, we should learn from certain deficiencies and shortcomings and stand united behind the main pillars of the revolution – the Leader, the people, Islam, and Iran – and firmly bestow “a more brilliant and dignified Iran” uponthe future children of the nation.
There is no doubt that the victory of the Iranian nation’s revolution in February 1979, and four decades of resistance against the storm of events and incidents, could not be possible without honesty, solidarity, unity, and accompaniment of the nation with the Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These are the values that we still need on the fortieth birthday of the Islamic Revolution, and should embrace them in a more powerful way than ever in all aspects of our social and political lives.
The “Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic” slogan of those days is still our most important social need. Interaction and establishing peaceful and multilateral relations with the world based on mutual respect and free from any hegemony and domination is among Iran’s strategies, and has been a basis for all the decisions and policies declared and implemented by the Islamic Republic in its foreign policy since the early days of the 1979 Revolution. The Iranian nation’s children at the foreign ministry, like soldiers at the forefront of the country’s foreign policy, are still committed to the slogan with a revolutionary and popular spirit.
Undoubtedly, during the past 40 years, the world and our region have undergone different and fundamental developments and events. In line with these changes, countries in the world have made conceptual and formal changes to the instruments, language, and methods they use to secure their interests. The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran is still committed to the deeply-rooted principles and values of the 1979 Revolution, and has always endeavored, and will do so in the future, to secure the interests of the country, the people, and the Establishment while adapting itself to the new conditions and using new instruments and languages.
Continuing to tread this path, which is full of ups and downs, requires a national consensus and the support of all domesticcapacities and potentialities for the country’s foreign policy and diplomacy apparatus, which serves as a driving force in [implementation of] the policies of the sacred Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in regional and global spheres.
On the fortieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, we commemorate the memory of martyrs, the Imam of martyrs, and all those who helped the huge tree of revolution come to fruition and remain green and fruitful by sacrificing their lives, assets, and reputation before 1979 and during the forty-year decent life of the revolution.
We also congratulate the Iranian nation on these happy days, renew our allegiance to the Leader and the great and appreciative nation of the Islamic Iran, and vow to attend the 22 Bahman [Feb. 11] rallies in a bid to show our resolve in continuing the path of Imam and martyrs and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
MNA/MFA