First, I would like to express my welcome to the venerable brothers and sisters, the representatives of the people in the Majlis. I would also like to express my gratitude to you for all the efforts that you are making as the people's representatives. In particular, my sincere gratitude is due to Mr. Karrubi for his great endeavors and the trouble that he is taking in his capacity as speaker of the Majlis.
I begin my words with a verse from the holy Qur'an that says: "It is He Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they might have more faith added to their faith, and the armies of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah, and Allah is Knowing, Wise." (48:4)
The enemies of Islam and the Islamic Republic have been spreading negative propaganda through their media against us for the past 24 years in order to daunt and dispirit our brave nation. A similar situation also existed at the time of the advent of Islam.
At that time, some people who had been disheartened by the enemies' negative propaganda against Islam and Muslims were trying to daunt and discourage other Muslims.
The following verse of the holy Qur'an refers to the brave and faithful Muslims and also to the dispirited people: "Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered against you; therefore fear them." (3:173)
The same holy verse goes on to describe the reaction and response of the brave and faithful Muslims to such disheartening words:
"But this increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us, and most excellent is the Protector."
Thus, this reaction clearly shows the tranquility that Almighty Allah sends down into the hearts of the believers.
Dear brothers and sisters! You are parliamentarians, and you are active in the field of politics. Many of you already know what I am just going to say. The fact of the matter is that what the United States, which has been spearheading the aggression against our Islamic revolution, expects from our nation and government is submission and surrender to its hegemony, and this is the real motive for U.S. claims regarding weapons of mass destruction, human rights or democracy.
The reality on the ground indicates that the United States is not in favor of democracy, since most of the regimes that are Washington's favorites are totalitarian and their peoples do not know what elections are or what voting means!
However, despite all the elections that have been held in our country since the victory of the Islamic revolution and despite the cordial and close relations that exist between our people and our government officials, the United States is accusing the Islamic Republic of being dictatorial and opposed to democracy! It is quite clear what is behind this accusation.
As far as weapons of mass destruction are concerned, the United States itself has supplied these weapons to certain regional regimes like the Zionist entity. Washington even provided Saddam's regime with weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, or helped it build these weapons. This proves that there are also certain ulterior motives for U.S. allegations against Iran concerning weapons of mass destruction.
Indeed, by leveling baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic, the United States aims to force the Iranian people to compromise their values, principles and national sovereignty, which have their roots in our constitution, so that it may restore its domination of our country, the domination that it had under the former regime.
In other words, U.S. hostility is not aimed at any certain political group or faction in Iran, but it is aimed at the whole Islamic system, which has been founded on the native values of the Iranian people, not those imported from the West.
This Islamic system, which was established based on the people's votes, not only ended U.S. interests in this country, but it also gave rise to a wave of Islamic awakening which is currently threatening U.S. interests throughout the Islamic world.
Following President Khatami's visit to Lebanon, during which he was accorded a very warm and enthusiastic welcome by the Lebanese people, I told him that he would receive a similar welcome if he visited any other Islamic country.
Which country's president will receive this kind of welcome during his visit to another country?! This phenomenon is peculiar to the Islamic Republic, and it indicates the significance that other nations attach to the Islamic Republic and its officials.
I made a visit to Pakistan during the time that I was president, and the enthusiasm that was expressed by the people of that country surprised the world. Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani also made a visit to Sudan during his presidency, and the world was surprised by the warm welcome that was accorded to him in that country.
This is something unprecedented in the history of international relations. In other words, never in the past had the people of a country carried the pictures of another country's president, surrounded his motorcade and chanted slogans in his favor when he visited their country!
The legitimacy of our system stems from Islamic thought and depends on compliance with Islamic teachings and principles. The same is also true with regard to the legitimacy of the Majlis and leadership.
Our late magnanimous Imam once noted that the people would withdraw their support for the officials, including him, if they deviated from Islam, and he was right. Indeed, even today if we deviate from the right path, it is we that will suffer. But the Islamic movement of the Iranian people will never deviate from its path, and it will continue to move forward.
The reason is that the Islamic system does not depend on officials. Once our late Imam stated that the Islamic system did not rely on him. We were really surprised by this remark, since the late Imam was the author of the Islamic revolution and the founder of our Islamic system. However, he insisted that our system did not rely on him. Thus, if the Iranian people can protect their Islamic system without the presence of our late Imam, they can surely do so without the presence of us.
Today, the enemies have targeted our Islamic system. One of the enemies' plots against our system is to force us to retreat from our values and principles and make concessions to them. For instance, they have included our country in the so-called "axis of evil", and they are now trying to obtain certain concessions from us in order to remove us from this axis! Is this in any way rational?! They have been wrong to include us in this axis in the first place!
The point that should be noted here is that if the officials of a country get daunted by the bullying of the arrogant powers and, as a result, begin to retreat from their own principles and make concessions to those powers, these concessions will never come to an end!
First, they will pressure you into recognizing such and such an illegitimate regime, then they will force you not to call your constitution Islamic! They will never stop obtaining concessions from you through pressure and intimidation, and you will be forced to retreat from your values and principles step by step!
Indeed, the end to U.S. pressure and intimidation will only come when the Iranian officials, as representatives of the Iranian people, announce that they are ready to compromise Islam and their popular government of Islamic Republic, and that the United States may bring to power in this country whoever it wants!
However, neither you nor I have the right to do so, as the Iranian people have not invested us with the right to surrender our country to the enemy!
I believe the power of the enemy has been exaggerated. Besides, weapons, intelligence and spying apparatus are not sufficient to dominate a nation that is determined to resist. This is why U.S. officials are now saying that certain measures should be taken to weaken the will and determination of the Iranian people and bring about the collapse of the Islamic system from within. They know that as long as the will of a nation, which is reflected in the will of its officials, remains strong, they will not be able to do anything.
We have been entrusted with heavy responsibilities, and we should try to perform our duties with wisdom, discretion, courage and trust in Almighty Allah. The main duty is to promote national unity and solidarity. Thus, you should not allow differences of opinion to turn into disputes and conflicts. There is nothing wrong with the exchange of views or raising objections, but this should be done based on logic and reasoning and in a legal framework, especially in the framework of the constitution.
I hope that you will be successful in performing your duties, and that Almighty Allah will be pleased with us. I would also like to ask you to make the most of this last year of the Sixth Majlis and do your utmost to solve the problem of inflation and high cost of living. In particular, the parliamentary commissions that were mentioned by Mr. Karrubi should make more serious efforts in this regard.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings