Tehran: President Masoud Pezeshkian has recalled powerful lessons from the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and said that patience, solidarity, and hope remain the foundations of the Islamic Republic's unbreakable resilience in the face of escalating external pressures and threats.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in a post on his X account on Monday marking the 36th anniversary of the return of Iranian prisoners of war from Iraq, the president paid glowing tribute to the steadfastness of the nation's free men who endured years of captivity without ever surrendering Iran's honor.

'What befell our free men during the years of captivity is not merely a part of the history of war; it is the narrative of the steadfastness of men who endured suffering but did not relinquish the honour of Iran,' Pezeshkian wrote.

'Patience, solidarity, and hope are the keys to Iran's resilience in the face of ever-increasing external pressures and threats.'

The anniversary commemorates August 17, 1990, when the first group of Iranian captives, heroes of the eight-year imposed war launched by Saddam Hussein's regime with the full backing from Western powers, began returning home after years of hardship and resistance in enemy prisons.