In the name of God
To the Honorable Custodian of the Affairs of the World’s Muslims,
Ayatollah Khamenei, may his esteemed shadow be prolonged,
After greetings and respects;
As you might recall, I, Mohammad Mahdavifar, as the head of a family, two weeks ago, requested in a letter to Your Excellency that on the occasion of the reopening of schools and universities, due to certain inevitable life necessities, our six-member family’s share from the aid to the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq be deposited into my personal account at the Export Development Bank in Martyrs’ Square, Aran and Bidgol City, no later than the end of Mordad [August 22, 2015].
During these two weeks, I checked my account several times, and today being the last day of the month, to be honest with you, I checked my account more than ten times by the end of working hours, but no money was deposited for this purpose.
Dear Leader; indeed, for moments, I was upset with you, but I did not despair. I told myself, God is great, and there must have been some constraints involved.
On the other hand, during these two weeks, some well-intentioned revolutionaries spoke with me and explained that if we do not pay the costs of the wars in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen at this critical global juncture, entities like ISIS will dominate us, and someone falsely claiming to be the caliph of the world’s Muslims might take over instead of the Custodian of the Affairs of the World’s Muslims, endangering our children’s security within our own country.
Today, I spent some time alone, reflecting and contemplating by myself, and thought to myself: Am I truly a peculiar exception from the people of Iran?
When it is said that more than half of Iran’s population lives below the poverty line.
Many Iranian children suffer from malnutrition.
The condition of child laborers pains the heart of every free-spirited person.
Thousands of homeless men and women live in parks and on street corners.
Breadwinners and heads of thousands of Iranian families are imprisoned, and their children endure additional suffering.
I do not know what it was that made me close my eyes to all these realities and only demand my own share.
And so I decided that from now on, I will never selfishly ask for money for myself, and now I seize the opportunity to make just a single non-material request from you, hoping Your Excellency will honor me and not let me down.
Dear Leader; sixteen years, one month, seven days, and twenty-three hours ago, amidst the student protests on 18th Tir, 1378 [July 9, 1999], security friends and country servants within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps or anonymous soldiers of Imam Zaman (AS), or any other security institution, took a 22-year-old student named Saeed Zeinali from his home in one of Tehran’s neighborhoods, in front of his mother and grandmother, for a ten-minute question-and-answer session, and so far, no news has reached his beloved parents.
Saeed’s parents have knocked on every door to find their child, only to face closed doors.
Saeed’s mother and sister were also detained in solitary cells for a time due to persistent inquiries.
Saeed’s sister says: “The interrogator said, tell your mother if she continues to search and inquire about Saeed, it will create problems for all your family members, and don’t forget you have another brother too.”
Dear Leader; I recently spoke with Saeed’s mother. It can be concluded from all assessments that this knot can only be untied by your blessed hand.
Dear Leader; during the Sacred Defense, in Farvardin 1367 [March-April 1989], during Operation Valfajr 10, in the general region of Halabja, two Iraqi prisoners were handed over to me to take them to the command post of Haj Ahmad Kazemi for transfer behind the lines. On the way, the Iraqi prisoner asked me if I could give him some pistachios again.
This was while supply routes to the rear were closed, and our food rations were dropped on us by the brave men of the Helicopter Aviation of the Army, and this was while the Iraqis beat our captives to near death.
Dear Leader; this young student was captured by our security friends years ago for whatever reason.
I hope Your Excellency, who has always had a fatherly hand over the youth of this land throughout these years, will order that if this family’s child is still alive, he be released for the sake of God’s pleasure, and if, God forbid, he has died due to the excesses and negligence of interrogators, his burial location be disclosed to his family to free them from uncertainty.
Your devoted servant,
Mohammad Mahdavifar
Deminer and Diver of the Sacred Defense
31/5/1394 [August 22, 2015]