[AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION FROM PERSIAN]

27 February 2026

To the steadfast and faithful followers of the
    Greatest Name in the Cradle of the Faith

Dear long-standing friends of the Almighty Lord,

At the threshold of the arrival of the month of ‘Alá’, the sacred period of the Fast, every hour of which, according to the Pen of the Most High, is blessed, sanctified, and endowed with a special virtue, we take this opportunity to convey our boundless love and affection to those wayfarers on the path of devotion and constancy, heroes in the arena of service and high endeavour.  We address you at this time of bitter suffering in the history of your land, and express our sympathy and fellow feeling as we call you to mind.  In the course of these days, the company of believers in the far-flung corners of the earth, relying on the spiritual forces released by the Fast and with pure motives and stainless dispositions, will be occupied in prayerful remembrance and deep reflection on the heavenly teachings, that they may burnish the mirrors of their hearts and thereby attract divine confirmations, illumine all people through the effulgent rays of the light of God, and increasingly strive to serve and show love towards those around them and to foster the oneness of the world of humanity.  Be assured, also, that all the followers of the Blessed Beauty are in the course of this month united and joined with you, their spiritual sisters and brothers.  They remember you and your beloved compatriots, and are broken-hearted and grief-stricken at the pain being suffered.  They are engaged in intimate communion with God and are praying fervently to His Threshold, beseeching serenity and honour for the sacred land of Iran, the birthplace of Bahá’u’lláh, and entreating protection and health, well-being and comfort, for all its peoples.  We, too, continually pray on your behalf and supplicate in the sacred precincts for you and for all the noble peoples of Iran, that the hearts may find consolation, universal welfare may be attained, and true prosperity may become manifest.

[signed:  The Universal House of Justice]