8-year Sacred Defense Resulted In Iran's Independence : Official

Arak, Markazi Prov, Sept 22, IRNA – Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei said Friday evening that the eight-year Sacred Defense (1980-1988) made the Islamic Republic independent and powerful in the world. Addressing a local gathering in this central provincial capital city, Rezaei urged the Iranian nation, the young people in particular, to be vigilant against the soft war and the cultural invasion of the enemies. He then referred to the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq imposed war as an opportunity for the Iranian nation to move forward. Today, he said, the Iranian army has turned into a powerful army in the Middle East, stressing that the Islamic Republic is currently capable of neutralizing pressures and sanctions./end