Imam Khamenei addressing the families of the martyrs: "Let me say to you openly: whenever I think that this war, these martyrdoms, and these arenas of honor and blood might come to an end, and that we might remain, only to one day die in an ordinary way, perhaps in an accident, as so many do, or from an illness, by God, the mere thought of it places such pressure upon my heart. To be deprived of an arena that is a contest for eternal and divine honor, a race toward Paradise, and then simply to die in the usual way; this is very difficult. Would that our death might be like the death of your children, this is a prayer that rises from the depths of our hearts. And I do not believe there is anyone who truly understands the reality of such a death and does not long for it."