The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei termed the era of the eight-year imposed war of Iraq on Iran in the 1980s, a period known as the Sacred Defense, as a prominent part of Iranian history.

“The issue in the Iraq war against Iran was not only a change in boundaries and geography, they had targeted the identity of a nation,” said the Supreme leader.
He added that Western powers like the US, France, Germany and the former Soviet Union provided the Iraqi regime with the military supplies it needed in the war against Iran.
“The main instigator was the US. The French supplied the most modern military equipment to Iraq. The Eastern Bloc and the former Soviet Union gave Iraq whatever it needed in terms of ground and aerial supplies,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Supreme Leader said there is a need for more works on the history and culture of the Sacred Defense era in Iran as he called on officials and activists in the country to do more to make the younger generation more familiar with the sacrifices made by Iranian military and volunteer forces during the period