High voter turnout, a morale booster for Iranians

TEHRAN, March 4(MNA) -- Iran’s sworn enemies have set an all-time record in terms of the exertion of pressure on the Islamic Republic over the past few months. So many measures have been taken to build up an unprecedented amount of pressure on the Iranian government, from claims of Iran’s involvement in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States and the imposition of sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran to the adoption of an oil embargo on the country and threats of military action. All this inevitably cast a shadow over the country and caused a tense atmosphere to prevail among the Iranian people, particularly those who closely follow the news and political affairs. Iranian officials made every effort to calm the situation down through making it clear that all the pressure, sanctions, and conspiracies will never bring the Islamic establishment to its knees and that nuclear Iran will never be overawed by the enemies and will continue traversing the path of development. However, some Iranians were so overwrought by the enemies’ tricks, felt so on edge, and believed the situation was deteriorating so much that they lost sleep over the thought of the possibility of a calamity and could not be calmed down by such remarks. Many of them needed an assurance that the majority of their countrymen have not withdrawn their unswerving support for the Islamic system and are still pillars of strength for each other. The 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which was celebrated by an ocean of people across the country on February 22, provided a suitable opportunity for zealous Iranians to decisively enter the scene once again, make their voices heard in the world, and prove to countries hostile toward Iran that they are ready to defend their motherland to the bitter end. However, it could be predicted that the efforts by the enemy’s propaganda machine to disparage the epic event would only be a cloud on the horizon. Reports published by certain Western media outlets suggesting that the people’s participation in the rallies was not spontaneous cast doubt on the authenticity of the event and thus could not help mollify the Iranians beset by worries. But as experience has shown, every cloud has a silver lining. Iran’s ninth parliamentary election, which was held on March 2, provided another ideal opportunity for patriotic Iranians to once again reaffirm their allegiance to the Islamic establishment and help their compatriots withstand the relentless foreign pressure exerted on the country in a show of solidarity. Now, it is more difficult to put into question the authenticity of the election and the sincere intentions of those who cast their ballots to be masters of their own destiny. Actually, the high turnout for the election helped allay the concerns of a certain segment of society at the right time.