Iran Leader Says Revolution Ended Foreign Domination, Hails Eight-Year War Defence

What the report says

Iran’s Supreme Leader Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei said the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution ended what he described as decades of foreign domination and set Iran on a new political course under the Islamic Republic, according to Nile Post. He made the comments in a speech tied to Sacred Defense Week, a national commemoration focused on Iran’s wartime mobilization and losses.

Khamenei linked the revolution to earlier episodes of foreign interference, including the nationalization of Iran’s oil industry and the 1953 US-backed overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. He contrasted that period with the post-revolution era, saying the new order fostered national solidarity and resistance to outside pressure. In his remarks, he also framed the Iran-Iraq War as a defining test of the Islamic Republic’s early years.

The article says he described that 1980-1988 conflict, which Iran calls the First Imposed War, as a central example of the country’s defense against aggression after Iraq invaded Iran. His speech also coincided with the anniversary of the death of Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose killing by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in 2024 was noted in the report.

The remarks are significant because they reflect how Iran’s leadership continues to tie current political identity to revolutionary history, wartime sacrifice and opposition to foreign influence. In general, Iranian officials often use these anniversaries to reinforce themes of sovereignty and resistance.