Iran has marked the 33rd anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death with a new revolutionary anthem sung by boys and girls segregated in town squares, mosques and stadiums across the country. 

In order to convey to the young generations the zeal of the 1979 revolutionary days, the regime has resorted to making multiple music videos of children born in the last decade, singing the anthem, “Salute Commander.” They give a military salute, pledging their unswerving loyalty to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The original Persian lyrics of the anthem are heavily ideological: “In spite of my small size, when the time comes I will rise up for you … I am a child but the life of my family and I belong to you.”

The children also raise their right arm and sing: “I make an oath to become your Qassem Soleimani when you need me,” and pledge to become Khamenei’s “nameless soldiers,” a reference to Iran’s intelligence operatives.

When the children in the UK sing “We wait under the flag of our leaders,” there should be no doubt that they refer not to the Queen, but to the Supreme Leader of Iran.

MEMRI had documented a previous effort by the Islamic Education Center of Houston.

On February 20, 2019, the Islamic Education Center of Houston, Texas uploaded to its YouTube channel a video of a February 17 ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Morteza Kazemian, a tenth grader, spoke and said that the United States continues to sanction Iran because it is scared of it and that America’s two goals in the Middle East are to support Israel and Saudi Arabia. The audience chanted: “Away with the humiliation… Allah Akbar! Khamenei is our Leader!” In addition, young boys wearing scarves and green headbands sang a song that went: “We are your followers, you are our Leader… We are your soldiers, and together we can all be your power… May Allah always keep your hand upon us… A warrior just like the Battle of Khaybar… May you always be the light to our guidance.” 

Khaybar notes the beginning of the Islamic ethnic cleansing of the Jews which originated the phrase, “Allahu Akbar”.

The real war at home is still coming.