In a message issued on Monday ahead of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Maj. Gen. Mousavi hailed the perseverance of the 1979 revolution, which put an end to the ruling of Iran’s US-backed Pahlavi regime.

“By adopting different strategies in recent years, the enemy has been trying to block the path of the Islamic Revolution and deal a blow to the Islamic Republic,” he stated.

“However, with people’s tactfulness and resistance and the Leader’s wise leadership, the enemy’s plots have failed one after another. Therefore, relying on psychological and media operations, the enemy has organized an extensive hybrid war against the [Iranian] nation and the Islamic establishment,” the senior commander added.

He described the Islamic Revolution as “a major global phenomenon in the final decades of the 20th century” with wide-ranging regional and international effects.

“The Islamic Revolution took place at the era of modern ignorance, when communism and liberalism, based on atheism and apostasy, had dominated the whole world, and superpowers directly or indirectly designed and directed all important and strategic developments,” he said.

The revolution, he added, established an independent and powerful system in Iran by presenting a transcendental model relying on pure Islamic ideas.

“The Islamic Revolution took the path of development and excellence through its powerful resistance and perseverance, in a way that now, after 44 years, with the collapse of communism and the death of liberalism, it is rapidly moving towards the realization of a new Islamic civilization,” Maj. Gen. Mousavi said.

He also noted that the Islamic Revolution is still defending Iran’s interests and security and is standing against bullies and arrogant powers.

“Today, the Islamic Revolution is subject to the enmity of arrogant powers due to its nature and performance as well as its serious pursuit of ideals and loyalty to its main slogans,” he continued.

The commander further stressed that the Iranian Army has in recent years pursued its main missions of protecting Iran’s independence, territorial integrity and Islamic establishment.

Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.

An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.

Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.

The unrest has claimed the lives of dozens of people and security forces, while also allowing acts of terror and sabotage across the country. Iran's Interior Ministry has confirmed the enemy waged a hybrid war against the country to weaken national solidarity and hinder the country's progress, stressing that some 200 people lost their lives in the riots sparked by separatist and terrorist groups.

The US, the UK and the European Union (EU) have imposed a slew of sanctions against Iranian individuals and legal entities since the September death in police custody of an Iranian woman. Iran has returned the adversarial measures and meddlesome statements with sanctions against European, American and British officials and institutions.