The following is the full text of the speech delivered by the Leader of the Islamic

Revolution, Imam Khamenei, on June 4, 2023 on the occasion of the 34th anniversary
of Imam Khomeini’s demise.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master,
Prophet Muhammad, and upon his pure, chosen, guide-of-the-guided, infallible,
magnanimous progeny — particularly the Vestige of God remaining on earth.
Peace be upon the pure soul of our magnanimous Imam! Imam Khomeini was the
flagbearer of divine missions in an age of militant ignorance in recent centuries.
This magnificent and blessed ceremony has been held for over thirty years now. The
topic of discussion during this ceremony in all these years has mainly revolved
around our magnanimous Imam. The conversations that have occupied most of the
time of this meeting have been about our honorable and dear Imam.
In my opinion, the new generations of this country need to know more about the
honorable Imam. The same applies to us older people, we all need to become more
familiar with the dimensions of this multidimensional and magnificent personality.
This will help us in our progress and in the continuation of our journey. Today, I will
share some points about the magnanimous Imam. I will also speak about ourselves
and the lessons we need to learn and about what needs to be done.
As for Imam Khomeini, the first point to note is that not only is Imam Khomeini the
outstanding figure of our time, he is also one of the outstanding figures of our [Iran’s]
history. Outstanding figures are those who possess greatness in any fields, in any
parts of the knowledgeable and practical fields. Among the notables and
distinguished figures, some are better than others. We describe them as
“outstanding figures.” There are outstanding figures in every age, but some are not
specific to their time, [rather] they are outstanding figures of history.
Outstanding figures cannot be erased from the memory of history. This is the
important thing that we need to note. Outstanding figures cannot be erased, nor can
they be distorted. This is not to say that the propaganda of the opposition will not be
capable of misrepresenting the face of outstanding figures, it can. The propaganda
media which are becoming more modern, updated, and better equipped every day
can introduce night as day and day as night. They can also spread lies about
prominent, enlightening figures. But this is the foam on top of the water. “As for the
foam, it bursts and disappears” (Quran 13:17). The sun does not remain behind the
clouds forever. After the passing of a thousand years since the time of Ibn Sina
[Avicenna] and Sheikh Tusi, these figures introduce themselves [to us] with a clear
voice today. Their personalities cannot be erased; they cannot be wiped from
historical memories; they cannot be distorted. The dimensions of Imam Khomeini’s
character are broader and more varied than those of Ibn Sina and Sheikh Tusi. The
characteristics that were involved in the formation of Imam’s personality were far
greater than the features that existed in the personality of such prominent,
outstanding figures. 
Imam Khomeini is an all-round outstanding figure. He excels in religious sciences —
including jurisprudence, philosophy, and theoretical Islamic mysticism (irfan) — he
excels in faith, piety, and pious behaviors. He has great strength of character and
willpower, he excels in rising for the cause of Allah and revolutionary politics and
creating transformation in the human system. The collection of these dimensions is
not seen in any of the outstanding figures in Iranian history, but they can be seen in
the magnanimous Imam. Nobody will be able to remove him from history's memory,
neither now nor in the future. No one will be able to distort his character. It might be
possible to spread lies and distort his character for a short while, but, eventually, the
luminous face of Imam will introduce itself to everyone with a resounding voice. You
cannot keep this sun behind the clouds. This is the first point.
Our magnanimous Imam took three magnificent, substantial, historic actions. He
brought about three major transformations — one in Iran, one throughout the Islamic
Ummah, and one at the global level. These three transformations are unprecedented.
One cannot foresee whether or not something like this will ever happen again in the
future.
The transformation at the country level was to create the Islamic Revolution in this
country. The people conducted the Revolution, but Imam Khomeini created it. This
Revolution broke a monarchical political structure, replacing it with a democracy.
This Revolution removed a humiliated system of governance that served as a puppet
of world powers, replacing it with an independent system that relied on national
honor. This system of governance took an anti-Islamic government out of the picture
and established an Islamic government in its place. This Revolution replaced tyranny
with freedom. It replaced the ever-increasing lack of identity of this nation with
national identity and self-confidence. This Revolution has equipped a nation that had
its eyes fixed on the hands of foreigners with the power of “We Can.” These are the
miracles of this great Revolution, this is the great transformation that the
magnanimous Imam brought about at the country level.
As for the transformation that occurred at the level of the Islamic Ummah — the
transformation at the level of the Ummah — the movement of Islamic Awakening
was created by Imam Khomeini. The period of passivity and inactivity in the Islamic
world moved toward weakness and destruction, with Imam’s movement. Today, the
Islamic Ummah is more dynamic, active, prepared and livelier than the period before
the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the era that existed before Imam Khomeini.
However, there is still more work that needs to be done in this field.
After the Zionists and their supporters supposed that the issue of Palestine was
finished and that there was no need to talk about Palestine anymore, the issue of
Palestine became the top issue in the Islamic world with the action that Imam took
and the transformation that he created in the Islamic Ummah. Today, the issue of
Palestine is considered as the first and foremost issue of the Islamic world. Today,
Palestine is the center of attention of Muslim nations. The resounding voice of
Palestinian leaders standing at the top [roof] of the Zionist embassy in Tehran, shook
the world at the beginning of the Revolution. Everyone knew that a new era had
begun in Palestine. It breathed new life into the depressed body of the Palestinian
nation and today you see that the Palestinian nation is proving its presence with
strength and power. It makes its voice heard around the world. On Quds Day, not only
do people show their support for the Palestinians in Iran or Tehran, but those who
live in the capitals of the non-Muslim world also display their support for the
Palestinian people. This is the transformation that has occurred at the level of the
Ummah.
The third transformation occurred at the global level. Imam Khomeini revived an
atmosphere of spirituality and spiritual attention in the world, even in non-Muslim
countries. Spirituality had disappeared, [as a result of] being stomped on by
materialistic and anti-spiritual policies. The reaction of people toward the
aggressiveness of Zionist and arrogant institutions that promoted materialism was
passive in nature. Spirituality had been forgotten. Imam Khomeini’s movement once
again revived spirituality across the world. Of course, this was met with a strong
reaction from those same centers of power. Today, they’re attacking spirituality with
their own special methods at the global level wherever they can with an even greater
incentive. Some of their methods are so disgraceful that one feels ashamed to even
mention them! This was the second point about Imam Khomeini. So, the first point
was that Imam Khomeini cannot be erased from the memory of history. He is alive.
His cries, his articulate words, are inextinguishable. The second point is that Imam
Khomeini brought about these three great transformations with the important and
outstanding character that he had.
The next point is important. We ask ourselves which hardware or software did Imam
use to support and help him with these great tasks? What was the factor that was
able to help the Imam and lead Imam in this field so that he would not feel tired and
have the ability to do these great things and remove these large mountains of
obstacles? Imam Khomeini did not have any hardware elements that could aid him.
He had no money. He had no propaganda tools. He did not have any radio stations,
nor did he have a news agency and none of the world’s politics supported or helped
him. The only hardware that Imam Khomeini had was a piece of paper on which he
could write his statements and audio tapes that recorded his voice so that people
could hear it. He did not have any hardware elements that could help him. Software
elements were the only things that helped Imam. What were these software
elements? This is important.
This software factor can be expressed in different ways. I have chosen two titles,
two interpretations of this factor that assisted the Imam which I will share with you.
Those two factors are “faith” and “hope.” The thing that led Imam on this path,
enabling him to bring about these great changes at the country level, at the level of
the Ummah, and at the global level for the length of history was his faith and his
hope. Faith and hope.