In a message marking the birth anniversary of Hazrat Zainab (SA) and National Nurses Day on Friday, October 16, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei paid tribute to the women who have followed Hazrat Zainab’s example of steadfastness, courage and compassion, and emphasized the importance of supporting nurses and strengthening the country’s healthcare workforce.

The Leader said the history of Iran’s Islamic movement and Revolution has been filled with scenes of Iranian women and girls demonstrating Zainab-like qualities. During the nation’s unprecedented awakening, which unfolded during the Third Sacred Defense, their role has reached “astonishing” proportions in both quality and scale, the Leader said.

“Today, the Zainab-like women of Islamic Iran, through their strong presence in various arenas, particularly in city and village squares, are at the forefront of practical advocacy and resistance behind the front lines of hard warfare,” Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei stated.

The Leader added that the powers of the time, which seek to inflict suffering, pain and repression on the Iranian nation, do not consider themselves capable of confronting this vast force.

Turning to National Nurses Day, Ayatollah Hosseini Khamenei said the anniversary of Hazrat Zainab’s birth has rightly been designated to honor nurses because of her compassion for those in pain and her self-sacrifice in serving them.

These qualities, the Leader noted, are evident among nurses, whose work, like that of doctors, teachers, religious scholars and relief workers, is life-giving and a source of hope.

The Leader described nurses as “angels of mercy” when they bring calm, hope and healing to patients despite their distress and impatience. Unlike doctors, he noted, nurses must maintain a continuous, persistent and patient presence at patients’ bedsides. Their work goes beyond physical treatment, soothing psychological and emotional suffering and often preventing despair, the Leader noted.

Against the backdrop of the oppressive conduct of the global hegemonic network toward independent and resistant nations, particularly Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the need to strengthen the nursing profession. He cited restrictions on medical treatment and medicine as efforts to impose suffering on the Iranian people and said improving nurses’ knowledge, skills, capabilities, morale, motivation and dignity is essential to society’s physical and psychological health and security.

The Leader urged health officials to make these priorities central to their work, particularly in supporting nurses who have devoted themselves to service in public institutions.

The Leader congratulated the Iranian nation, committed and determined women across the country, and especially nurses on the two occasions.

Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei concluded by praying for divine mercy for the “oppressed and self-sacrificing” members of the nursing community who were martyred, particularly those who lost their lives in the Second and Third Imposed Wars and the January 2026 sedition.