The leader of the Islamic Republic was absent at the February 8th meeting with the Air Force personnel.
Contrary to previous years, this year Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, attended the February 8th ceremony and meeting with the Air Force members and commanders, instead of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic.
The absence of the leader of the Islamic Republic at this ceremony, which is considered a staple of the 1979 revolution anniversary and was held every year with his presence, attracted media attention.
In this ceremony, Major General Mousavi stated that he was present as a representative of the leader of the Islamic Republic and considered it an honor. In his speech, he mentioned the possibility of confrontation with the United States, stating that while the Islamic Republic is militarily prepared, it has no desire to start a regional war and warned that such a war could set back the region’s development by years.
The February 8th ceremony is reminiscent of the historic meeting of the Air Force Homafars with Ayatollah Khomeini at the Refah School in 1979, a meeting regarded as one of the factors that accelerated the fall of the Pahlavi regime.