In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, Muhammad, and upon his Pure Progeny, particularly the vestige of God remaining on earth, may our souls be sacrificed for his sake.
I am very grateful to the Almighty God, and I am happy from the bottom of my heart that the Almighty God once again has lit up my eyes with the holding of this important, unique meeting. [This meeting] is important because officials from different sectors of the country — both the current officials and those who held posts previously — are present here, and one can observe and help to bring about a single mentality among the system’s authorities in this country in this meeting. Some misunderstandings can be resolved in this meeting. [That] they meet each other and talk together is a sign of unity among the political, social, and national activists. This will have a useful, favorable effect, God willing, on the public atmosphere and public opinion of the country. This meeting is an important, sensitive meeting.
I have prepared some words to say. First of all, I would like to truly thank Mr. Raisi, our honorable President. Well, he presented a report, and such reports are necessary, not only for the people and public opinion, but also for the officials in different departments. One of our problems is that in many cases different departments are not aware of one another’s work. They are not informed. That I once said they should organize a tour of some sort for some of the officials in the military and non-military sectors is truly the case. Every once in a while, we need to put an accessible, tangible, visible report on the country’s issues, on the country’s progress, on the measures that have been taken, in front of everyone’s eyes for all of us to become informed. Well, praise God, his remarks were very useful in this regard. I will make some remarks on these matters as well.
The first issue I want to raise is a spiritual issue. It is a reminder to me and you. And that is that the month of Ramadan is the month of remembering God (zikr). It is the month for remembering. It is the month when the lights of the remembrance of God shine on people’s hearts. Let’s not easily lose this. There is no other time of the year when hearts are this ready to perceive the divine lights of guidance, divine blessings, and divine mercy. This is how the month of Ramadan is. A month in which one night of it is better than a thousand months is something important. It is the month when, “Your breathing is equivalent to prayer and your sleep is equivalent to worship.” It is the month of the softening of the heart and soul. This material life, especially this mechanical life, takes the softness away from our relationships, our inner selves, our inner beings, and the way we function. Similar to a wheel that needs oil for lubrication so that it may spin smoothly without wearing down, the role that the remembrance of God and supplications play in this month is similar. They soften our hearts and our souls by way of reciting the Quran, the supplications for the days and nights, fasting itself, and the Qadr Night. Therefore, let’s remember this first point that the remembrance of God exposes the heart to the divine lights.
It frees us from being negligent. Negligence is a major adversity. In the blessed prayer of Abu Hamza, we read, “O my Master, only through mentioning You has my heart stayed alive. Only through my confidential conversations with You have I been able to calm the pains of my fear.” With Your memory and remembering You, my heart is alive. By praying to You, anxiety and fear have gone away from me and I have found release. That there are many verses in the Quran about remembering God — tens of verses, maybe a hundred verses, but [of course] I haven’t counted them — shows the importance of this truth in our lives, in our relationships, in our destiny, and in the end of our path. That the Almighty God says, “Remember Allah with frequent remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening” (Quran 33:41-42) shows that remembering God is necessary, and its being in abundance is necessary as well. It is necessary to remember God very much. Well, this is one dimension of the issue of remembering God that causes the hearts to be aware and frees them from negligence. There is another dimension in remembering God and that is the effect of this remembering on our deeds. When there is the remembrance of God, it affects our deeds. In a saying attributed to the Commander of the Faithful, he says that continuous remembrance of God and being a person who always remembers God causes our deeds — both our hidden deeds, what we ourselves do in our hearts, in our family, in our private room, and also what we do in the realm of the society — to become decent and good.
Well, we are the country’s authorities after all. A part of the current affairs of the country, from implementation, legislation, justice, guidance, defense, and so on, is the responsibility of these people who are present here and have all gathered here. What is our job? “Serving the people.” What is our job? “Good administration of the country.” Therefore, “His actions were good in hiding and in public,” should be true in our case. If we are remembering God, this will have an effect on our serving the people, which is our great responsibility before God the Almighty.
We also see this “service” mentioned in supplications. The blessed Kumayl Supplication [reads], “I ask You by Your truth, Your holiness, the greatest of Your attributes, and Your names, to help me to remember You at all times, day and night, and to serve You continuously.” Remembering God and service come together. “And let my deeds be acceptable to You until all my deeds and actions become one word and I am constantly at Your service.” I am constantly at Your service. Then again it says, “Give me the physical strength to serve You, and in addition, give me spiritual strength and the ability for decision-making so that I can make timely decisions. And help me to be serious in fearing You and to be constantly busy in Your service.” It’s “service” being talked about again. You see, it’s all about service. What does “serving God” mean? God does not need your service or my service. “Serving God” means serving life, serving people, serving God’s people, and serving the advancement of goals. This is our basic duty, which is repeated in the supplications. What we call “being kind to people” is a part of this serving people, “Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness” (Quran 16:90). Well, [about] this kindness, there is a narrative from the Commander of the Faithful (pbuh), which I again quote from Ghurar al-Hakam. He said, “The most deserving of people to do good is the one whom God has done good to and given the power to do so.” Everyone should show kindness, and everyone should do good deeds and serve others, but the one who is most worthy of this duty is the one whom God has given the power to do so, like you. You are managers, some in directing people’s thoughts and some in managing people’s affairs. This is the extension of a hand; this is your power. In the Islamic Republic, the Almighty God has given the ability to the pious to serve the people according to the religion of Islam and according to the demands of Islam. This is the best opportunity. So, this is our most important work. It is the most important source of our divine test. And the Almighty God tests us.
There was a time, which most of you who are young don’t remember, when pious people and those with religious and Islamic tendencies didn’t have the slightest executive [power] in the country. They couldn’t do anything, [power] was in the hands of the tyrants and the subjects of the tyrants. One day, it was like this. [But] the Almighty God threw them out of these positions and put you in their places. Prophet Moses told the Israelites, “Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land. And then He will see how you act” (Quran 7:129). God, the Almighty, has put you and me [here], and we must take this test. What will we do? They performed poorly. How will we do? Therefore, another side of remembering God, another dimension of remembering God, is service. Ramadan is the month of remembering God, meaning the month of service.
And now about the issues related to the country’s administration and such. There are many issues, but the issue of the economy is a central issue. As you noticed in the president’s remarks, the “economy” is the focus of the talks. The main part of my speech today is about economic issues as well. Of course, there are also other issues that, God willing, if you don’t get too tired and I don’t get too tired, I will discuss at the end.
The economy is the first and foremost issue of the country. The issue of people’s livelihood is a tangible issue for all members of the society. Well, this year’s slogan is an important one. It is a sensitive slogan. Of course, the slogans of previous years have in general been related to the economy for many years. But the fact that I chose economic slogans does not mean we should disregard cultural and social issues and other similar issues. They are also important in their own way, but a chaotic economy also affects the society’s culture. That is, the effect of the country’s crooked, unbalanced economy on social and cultural issues should not be ignored either. High inflation over several consecutive years is something very important — several years, one after another, having high inflation. Well, this affects the income distribution in the country and makes it uneven. Some people remain deprived, while the pockets of some others are filled in different ways. Corruption will come about on both sides. On the side of poverty, cultural and social corruptions come about, and on the part of those groups who have been able to fish in troubled waters, exploit this illegally, and gain forbidden money, there will be corruption on their side as well. Inflation appears to be a purely economic issue, but one sees that it is not. It can affect people’s culture, people’s thoughts, people’s behavior, and the social issues of the country. There is much corruption in society and culture, which if we follow to see where it started from, we will see it started from illegal money and discriminatory privileges.
Well, as for the issues of controlling inflation and a growth in production, Mr. Raisi pointed this out correctly. Sometimes we have been able to control inflation, but at the same time, this was accompanied by stagnation. This is to the detriment of the country. It is not good if inflation goes down but stagnation dominates the country’s economy. It is important to be able to control inflation in a way that production does not end up in stagnation. Production should grow, and this is possible. When I say it is possible, these are not my words. These are the words of economic experts who tell us, prove, argue, and give reasons. We can accept their words. If efforts are made, good effort [and work] is followed up seriously — which, praise God, good work is being done and I will talk about some of those points. We can put this slogan of “controlling inflation and a growth in production” into practice.
If we want to put this slogan into practice, first of all, it is necessary for different governmental organizations and different parts of the country to accept that this is a priority. This is the first [step].
What does “accept that this is a priority” mean? It means that all endeavors and all determination throughout the year — we are talking about the year in front of us — should be focused on this point. It should not be the case that we say, talk, write in headers, and promote this for some time, then it slowly becomes old, isolated, marginalized, and forgotten. No, this slogan is not just for one year, of course. These slogans often continue and should continue. But from now until the end of this year, 1402 AHS, all endeavors, whether in legislation, in implementation, in the judiciary, and in various other departments, should focus on this central issue. That is, they should pay attention that this task is the main, central task.
Giving priority to this has another meaning too, and that is to use all the country's capacities for this purpose. We have great capacities in this country. Some of our facilities are hardware facilities. We have natural resources. We have a [good] geographical location. We have economic infrastructures — factories and machines. We have capabilities in software. We have creative human resources. We have motivated, young people. We have scientific capabilities. We have technological capabilities. We have new ideas. Many intellectuals write to me, and I spend time reading many letters from people who are experts on these issues. Of course, I am not the authority on these matters to be the one who can take action on them. I send these letters to the [related] departments. But I read the letters. In all fairness, sometimes one sees very good, very new ideas. Well, these are some of the capacities that exist in the country. All of these should serve in controlling inflation and bringing a growth in production. We have the executive capabilities. We have legislative capabilities. We have judicial capabilities. We have media capabilities. We have experience and experienced individuals. There are those who have struggled, have worked, they know, and are informed. All of these should be used. We should use foreign connections. Foreign relations does not just refer to relations with America and a handful of European countries. There are two hundred and some countries in the world. Each of them has a capacity. These foreign connections can be used for this [purpose]. This is another dimension of the meaning of priority.
Priority has another meaning, and I have mentioned that we must give priority to this issue. And that is to avoid creating distractions. Sometimes you see that a good move has been started for controlling inflation. There is a law, and the government is busy implementing it. Suddenly, from one side, from one corner, a piece of legislation appears, which increases inflation and stops the work. We should be careful about this. Sometimes political views and political party lines interfere. For example, suppose that because one [person] does not agree with someone else in the administration or with the administration itself, they throw stones and create obstacles in front of a good action that the government is taking. This shouldn’t happen. Giving priority to something means that everyone must truly give priority to it.
So, this is the first important point. If we want this slogan to be implemented, we must give priority to it with the same meaning that I mentioned. It should not be such that only policies are announced. Now sometimes a policy is announced, a committee is established, and an order is given. But these things are not enough. It needs to be pursued in the way that I mentioned. I also have some things to say about how it should be pursued, which I will share with you shortly. If this [issue] is given priority, we will be able to see the tangible effects from it by the end of the year. Firstly, experienced individuals will look at the economic indicators — including the production rate index, which he [Mr. Raisi] said and is very important, or the investment index, the consumer price index, and things of that sort — and these indicators will be determined. Secondly, people will feel a certain ease and comfort in their lives to some extent if we can, God willing, pursue and implement this slogan.
Well, if we want this slogan to be implemented, there are some requirements, which I have written down and will share with you. The first requirement is that “different organizations must help each other.” What this means is that the government, the parliament, and the judiciary should all help each other in different ways. The law should be in accordance with the requirements for implementing it. If we want this to happen, we need everyone’s cooperation. So, all of you who are present here today — there are members of parliament here, there are government officials here, as well as members of the judiciary, and the armed forces — all of you must truly implement the decisions that are made. Everyone should help each other for things to move forward. This is necessary.
The next requirement, which I believe is very important, is to “seriously follow up on the decisions that have been made.” I often emphasize the matter of following things up in the private meetings that I have with our respected officials. Following up is very important. Sometimes very good decisions are made, but because they are not followed up properly, the work is left unfinished. The half-finished projects that he mentioned are due to a lack of following up on them. Now, let’s say that a very good plan has been proposed in the parliament or government, the government has started to implement it and it needs to be completed within three or four years. However, 13 years have passed, and it is still not finished! Why? This shows that it has not been followed up. It has been abandoned. Following up on matters is very important.
Let me give you an example of something that happened recently. A number of large, government companies that have made good profits gave a promise to the president. They committed themselves to carrying out some useful construction projects for the people in different parts of the country. President Raisi made a request, and they promised to carry out a certain project. Around two or three weeks ago I asked him about what they were doing and what they had achieved. They gave him a report, and he brought the report to me. I read the report, but I didn’t find it convincing. I mean they had not achieved what they were supposed to have achieved. Some things had been done, but the main point, the main issue, which was to serve the people and provide benefits to them, had not been realized. Therefore, “following up” is another requirement. Things need to be followed up. Our respected officials, especially those working in the executive branch of the government, need to follow things up.
Another requirement is to have stability in economic policies and decisions. It is very harmful for the country to make continuous changes in our monetary and financial policies. It is truly harmful. It creates a sense of distrust and causes hesitation in investors and entrepreneurs. We are also seeking foreign investments. We tell foreigners to come here and invest. Anyone who can and is willing to come, can come invest. They will benefit from this and so will we, but first and foremost, those inside the country will benefit. May God have mercy on [Habibollah] Asgaroladi’s soul. A few years ago, there was a meeting here where he spoke and said, “You want foreigners to come and invest here. The foreigners look at the domestic investors.” They — according to him — are the government’s showcase and mirror. “They want to see how you treat the domestic employers and entrepreneurs. Then if they see that you are treating them well, they will come too.” What he said is correct. Changing policies and directions causes a great amount of damage. Therefore, one of the most important matters is to have stability in monetary and financial policies and things of that sort.
One of the most important requirements needed for the implementation of this slogan is to get the people involved. This is a determining factor. It is a very important factor. Our performance in this regard has been weak throughout these years. Our performance has truly been weak. If we are able to get people involved, and not just in the words that we have always uttered but in practice, which I will briefly explain, there will definitely be a growth in production. The thing that will definitely bring about a growth in production is the people’s participation. That is, production by the people in the different parts of production from small to large scale production. This growth in production itself will have an effect in controlling inflation. In other words, it will have an effect on that as well.
But this is not going to happen with just talk and slogans. If we just say, “People, come participate,” no one will come. This doesn’t make sense. There is no use in telling people to come and participate. How should they participate? Where should they participate? The grounds for participation must be prepared first.
One of the good experiences [that we have had] are these knowledge-based companies. This has been a good experience. Of course, it should not be limited to just this — which I will talk about — but it has been a good experience. A mechanism has been created for knowledge-based companies that has allowed talented individuals, the elite, and those who had potential and were motivated to come and create thousands of knowledge-based companies that helped increase the rate of production. These companies have had a great impact, and of course, there should be more of them. Making things knowledge-based requires planning. Which sectors should be knowledge-based? For example, let’s assume that the oil and agricultural sectors need to become knowledge-based. How? What program will this require? What kind of individuals should be the ones to enter this field of work? It will require a plan and program that needs to be announced to those who are capable, interested, and wish to get involved in this kind of work. We have a large capacity in terms of a young, educated workforce. Praise God, up until now, we have had a great number of educated, young people. Many of them are busy working in jobs that are not related to their fields of study; however, they work in those jobs because they have not been offered work that is related to their fields of study.
If we can implement this plan properly, we can overcome this problem. Our respected government officials need to prepare the road map and operational program for a knowledge-based national economy. They need to, then, inform the people and provide the grounds for their participation. As I mentioned before, they need to ascertain which sectors should be given a higher priority for becoming knowledge-based, and what methods need to be employed to make them knowledge-based. They need to specify these and inform the people. The framework needs to be established. A framework must be produced, established, and announced to the people in order to get them involved in the formation of knowledge-based companies.
Of course, when I talk about people getting involved, I do not just mean in these fields. People’s participation should not just be in the area of knowledge-based companies. We must do something so that all those who have the strength and capability to work, or are in the so-called working range, can do something that will help improve their lives, livelihood, and put better food on their tables. The first clause of the Policies on the Economy of Resistance is about this. You should make the arrangements for the income of the low-income classes to increase. This is how the weaker parts of society can become empowered. A complete road map should be drawn up in this area. It can be done. The Plan and Budget Organization and similar government organizations can make plans and determine how the people, the weaker sections of society, can take part in economic activities. This is the best way to create a justice-based economy. The reason why we insist on justice is because working on the economy in Islam is based on justice. “… so that humankind may maintain justice” (Quran 57:25). This is how the establishment of justice will be brought about — by creating the possibility for everyone to work and earn an income.
I am aware that some organizations have been working in remote areas very far from Tehran, such as in villages, and they have been able to revive the families living there with simple things. A small example is helping them by giving them a few sheep. Families were revived with a few sheep, for example, or with some special goats that exist there in some parts of Iranshahr. There are simple things like this, or there are very large projects that can be carried out to build up a city or a region. So these needs exist. If we want to put these words into action, we need to pay attention to the needs that I have mentioned. Of course, there are more than these, but it is not the place nor the time to go into further details about them. Our officials, intellectuals, and the people who think and reflect on these issues can develop these ideas, work on them, and reflect on them. This is what is required for putting these words into action.
Regarding economics, there are a few key recommendations that I will briefly mention for our officials to pay attention to. The first recommendation is that we need to fight corruption. Fighting corruption has always been among the honorable president’s campaign slogans, before and after the elections, and we all believe in its necessity. Fighting corruption is a necessity, but it is also very difficult. A few years ago, I gave a detailed eight-article order regarding this issue, where I stated that the threat of this issue is like a seven-headed dragon that threatens people from all directions. Therefore, we must fight corruption will all our strength. Corruption causes people to become disappointed and to lose hope. They lose their desire to live in a healthy manner.
When one sees others filling their pockets through illegal, corrupt ways, he/she may be tempted. Corruption is a contagious disease, and a very dangerous one, that truly leads to the destruction of a society. Fighting corruption is necessary. Corruption should be fought firmly and without other considerations, no matter where it is taking place. This is the most important requirement regarding the issue of economics.
The next issue is fiscal discipline. Firstly, fiscal disciple comes about through the structural reform of the budget. In my first meeting regarding the economy with the heads of the branches of the previous government, one of the important goals, which I stated and which was written and announced, was the structural reform of the budget. But this has not yet been completely carried out. The structural reform of the budget is a very important matter. It leads to fiscal discipline. One of the important parts of fiscal discipline is that financial obligations that do not have reliable, stable resources must be avoided. Mostly I am addressing the parliament in this. Having unreliable financial resources for fixed expenses leads to a lack of discipline and it undoubtedly creates numerous problems.
We need to practice being thrifty. One of the important matters necessary for fiscal discipline is being thrifty. We need to learn to be thrifty. Unfortunately, this is a national problem in our society. We waste; we have much waste. We can see that some countries use their resources very efficiently, and their people, their officials, and their different government organizations are very good at being thrifty. As the [Iranian] poet Sa'adi said in his poem:
When your income is low, spend carefully
For sailors have a chant in which we hear:
If rain doesn’t fall on the mountains,
The Tigris River will dry out in a year.
When someone has a low income and they have trouble making money, they must be thrifty. Even if they have a high income, they should spend carefully. Wasting is always bad, especially during the times when one’s income is low. We can see there is some waste in different areas. We need to be careful about this. For example, sometimes there are unnecessary trips, useless conferences and gatherings, and different government organizations may buy and do unnecessary things.
The next issue that is very important in economics, which our specialists have repeatedly encouraged, is productivity. In the Sixth Development Plan, in a clear law ratified by the parliament that was later extended and then further extended this year, the country’s economic growth was set to reach eight percent. One-third of this growth was supposed to come from productivity.
When we look at the past few years, we see that not only was one-third of our [economic] growth not from productivity — that is, productivity did not grow or lead to economic growth — but the amount of our productivity was very, very low. The figures are available, and I have the numbers. I don’t want to read out statistics and numbers here, but the amount of our productivity is very, very low. Our efficient use of water was lower than most other countries in the world. Our efficient use of energy was extremely low. A few years ago in my New Year’s speech, I said that the amount of energy consumed in our country is evidently a few times more than that of developed countries. What this means is that our consumption is high and our efficiency is low. This is another issue.
Regarding economic issues, another recommendation that I have is for state organizations to have a logical relationship with large government-owned companies. There are large companies that belong to the government. That is, their capital and income belongs to the government. The government should regulate its relations with these companies. There are some good, active managers in these companies who should be endorsed and supported.
It is the same in the private sector. There are some good, active managers. Some of them came here and spoke a few months ago, and they presented reports. They gave perceptible, tangible reports that had been recorded on camera and were before our eyes. They gave clear, undeniable reports. They have done good things. I believe one of our responsibilities, especially in the executive branch and the government, is to support these good, active managers. The best way to support an entrepreneurial, active manager is to create a market — foreign or domestic — for their products, to create competitiveness, and to help them better the quality of their products.
Sometimes we see some of our products being produced in high quantities but with low quality. These kinds of products cannot compete in the global market, nor can they compete in the domestic market. We need to help them. We need to support them to create, develop, and expand their market, and also to improve their quality and competitiveness. And we need to help them in similar such issues. These managers that I mentioned have been able to work and stand firmly in the difficult economic war during the past few years, and they have helped the country develop in some areas. Therefore, they should be helped and supported. They too have their own responsibilities as well, especially in the public sector.
The managers of government-owned enterprises should determine their role and purpose in the country’s general economic policy. They should make this clear. For example, we have many large, government-owned enterprises with high revenues. They use domestic resources, but they determine the prices of their products based on the social-media dollar — that is, the fake price of the dollar that the enemy controls. Why? Why are you giving the determining power to the dollar? Why are you strengthening the rival of the rial? One of our major duties is to not strengthen the rivals of the rial inside the country.
About 40 or 50 years ago, in order to strengthen the dollar inside their country, the US bought gold, which was the rival of their dollar, from their people at high prices. They gathered the gold from their people to give value and to strengthen their own currency inside the US. But we are constantly creating rivals for the rial! One of our country’s problems is that different sections of our economy are dependent on the dollar. As I said in Mashhad, some countries have separated themselves from the dollar and do their transactions in different ways. They were even removed from SWIFT, and they stopped their transactions with SWIFT as well. Both sides cut their relations. Now they are in a better situation. Some countries have improved their situation [in this way].
Therefore, a large, government-owned enterprise should determine its role in controlling inflation, for example, which is this year’s policy. What role will it play in helping to reach this goal? What will it do? How will it support the country’s macroeconomic policy? This is regarding the executives in the government-owned enterprises and the private sector. And as I have mentioned, the good executives who have helped the country’s economy during hard times should truly be supported. On the other hand, there are those who have played destructive roles in the country’s financial system. They should be dealt with without any special consideration for them. There are some corrupt financial institutions and some private banks that buy land and properties and overdraft from the Central Bank. This in turn leads to a rise in inflation and multiple other problems. These people must be dealt with.
The next issue, which is also something that is necessary, is the ability to do predictive planning in our planning system. At times, we face shortages in some necessary goods. We should be able to predict this in our plans. The country’s economic planning system and the associated organizations must be able to predict such shortages. If we do not predict them, we will face these shortages suddenly at critical times. What will we do then? We hurriedly and hastily import the goods from overseas and break the back of domestic production. This kind of situation comes about when we aren’t capable in predictive planning.
This is very important. We should not allow shortages in any sector to reach a critical situation. The moment we realize that there may be a shortage in goods such as poultry, meat, rice, or other things, we should use the people’s general capacities and capabilities to overcome these circumstances and prevent the situation from coming to a critical point.
Another point I will mention here is that there are some key actions that help the economy grow, and some even lead to a leap in the economy. The associated organizations should find and identify these required actions. I have written down a few of them that came to my mind.
One is the sea-based economy, which we have recently been receiving reports on. They repeatedly make this suggestion, and it’s true. The sea is the center of blessings, and fortunately we have plenty of seas. We have seas in the north and in the south of our country. Economies based on the seas are economies that have many blessings. This is a matter we should pay attention to. It has some requirements that we must adhere to, pursue, and follow up on.
Another thing is the issue of the North-South Corridor, which has been discussed in the country for a long time now, and this is a correct matter. This must be done. There is currently a competition going on between countries for international trade routes [to cross] within themselves. One country wants this route to pass through it, another country wants to do the same thing. We are located in a sensitive place. We are in a highly-sensitive geographical location. There is probably no other country in this region that is in such a distinguished position. We are in an excellent location. We must develop the North-South Corridor. Of course, there are also other routes [such as] the East-West Corridor, [but] this is the most important. We must follow through with the North-South Corridor. There are people who are volunteering to work on it, and there are also some foreign governments that can cooperate in this work. Follow up on this. This is also another issue, as is the marine economy.
Another thing is the issue of reviving mines. The president said that these things have been done in the area of mines [and he reported that out of 3,000 mines in the country, only 300 have not been delegated], which of course I was not aware of. Well, that is really good. It truly is good news. We are very rich in terms of minerals. I once said here in a meeting with some administrators years ago that based on statistics — the statistics that I had been given and which were quite accurate — we make up one-hundredth of the world’s population, but our sensitive mines are in general more than one-hundredth of them. [They are] two-hundredth, three-hundredth, five-hundredth, and such numbers. In other words, we are very rich in terms of mining — the variety of mines, the number of mines, and their size. So that was about mining.
The same applies to the housing issue. Housing is one of the activities that creates jobs and wealth in the country. Now, these things should also be taken into consideration. Fortunately, there are many people in the government who have a good grasp of economics, and their knowledge of economics is very good. We should truly use them, listen to them, and learn from them. There are many such people. These experts sometimes give us reports and so do other experts, and I tell them a few things. These things I have mentioned are the details that need to be taken into consideration. This was about the issue of economics.
There are a couple of other issues that I need to address quickly. The first issue is about the transformations that are taking place in the world. A while ago I mentioned that the world is on the verge of an important political transformation. This means the global order is changing. Now this statement is being heard and repeated in different places. I would like to say today that this global upheaval is fortunately in the direction of weakening the enemies of the Islamic Republic. This is an important matter.
First of all, the changes are taking place rapidly, at a very rapid pace. Secondly, they are taking place in the way that I mentioned. [That is], they are in the direction of weakening that [the enemy’s] front. The transformations have been like this so far. So what is required here? It requires that we increase our initiative in the issue of foreign policy. We must increase our initiative, dynamism, activities, etc., and take advantage of this opportunity.
Now, I mentioned that the enemy that is confronting us in this [world] order is weakening. There are examples of this, which I will share with you. The US is one of Iran’s most important foes in the world. The US was weaker under Obama’s administration than it was under Bush’s administration. The US was weaker under Trump’s administration than it was under Obama’s administration. The US is weaker under this man’s [Biden’s] administration than it was under Trump’s administration. Why do we say it is weak?
First of all, a bipolarity arose in America two or three years ago during the elections then. This bipolarity still strongly exists. This is a weakness, and it is very significant. This bipolarity was also evident in the recent US congressional elections that took place a few months ago, and it became clear that this bipolarity still strongly exists.
The US has not been able to solve the political crisis of the Zionist regime even though it is very important to them. This shows the weakness of the US. The Zionist regime is very important to the US. You can see what state the Zionist regime is in, which I will talk about later. The US has not been able to resolve this.
The United States announced that it wanted to create a united Arab Front against Iran, against the Islamic Republic, so that they could work unitedly against Iran. Today, the opposite of what they wanted is taking place, and the Arab world’s relations with Iran are increasing.
The US wanted to put an end to the nuclear issue in accordance with its own plans using the pressure of sanctions, but it failed. This is due to the weakness of the US. It tried very much. It made a commotion [in] the media and via non-media routes [such as] politics, sanctions, etc. [But] it was not able to solve the nuclear issue in line with its own plan.
The US started the war in Ukraine. Now this is my belief, and I have many reasons for this belief. Many other people in the world believe the same thing. Of course, the Americans themselves deny this, but they were the ones who started the war in Ukraine. [But] this war has gradually caused a rift between the US and its European allies, and the rift is widening. This rift is because the Europeans are the ones who are bearing the brunt of the war while the US is benefitting from it. The US has created this rift. This shows the weakness of the US.
The US considers Latin America to be its own backyard. [Despite this,] there are anti-American governments coming to power in numerous Latin American countries. The US wanted to overthrow Venezuela and they even appointed a government in place of the current Venezuelan administration that opposes the US. They created a fake president and gave him an army, weapons, and money. They created a conflict there for two or three years and eventually ended up unsuccessful. These are all signs of [the US’] weakness.
The dollar is weakening throughout the world. There are many countries that are converting their dollar transactions into transactions using their own national currencies or other currencies. These are all signs of weakness. [This is the reason] we say that the anti-Islamic front has weakened. So these are signs of the US’ weakness, which is the Islamic Republic’s leading enemy. There are other signs [of weakness] that exist in it too, but I won’t go into that now.
As for the Zionist regime — which is another enemy of ours — in its 75 years of existence, it had never faced a dire crisis like the one it is facing today. Firstly, it is gripped by “political instability.” They have changed four prime ministers in four years. Their political coalitions fall apart before they have even been formed completely. They form a coalition, but the coalition falls apart after just a short time. The parties that have already been formed or are gradually being formed dissolve. That is, they become so weak that it is like dissolution.
An extreme bipolarity exists throughout the fake regime. [If] you look at it now — the Palestinian issue is a different matter — there is bipolarity among them. The demonstrations of 100,000 and 200,000 or more people in Tel Aviv and various other cities are a sign of this. Now, they may strike a place with a few rockets here and there, [but] this won’t compensate for that issue. They are truly suffering from political weakness and instability. They have announced that the number of people, the number of Jews, who will leave Israel soon will reach to two million. They have announced this. They have said that in the near future some two million people will leave the Zionist regime [, the Occupied Territories].
Their own officials continuously warn that their collapse is nearing. Their president says this, their former prime minister says this, their [national] security chief says this, their defense minister says this. They all say it. They say our collapse is close. We will not make it to our 80th birthday. We had said [in 2015] that they would not see 25 years from then, but they themselves are in a rush and want to leave sooner.
We shouldn’t say that the strength of the Palestinian groups has increased by several times compared to the past. [Rather,] it has increased by perhaps tens of times. We received a report saying that the Palestinians carried out 27 operations in the Occupied Territories in 24 hours, in all parts of Palestine. They operate in Jerusalem, in the lands of the West Bank, and in the lands of 1948. They operate everywhere. The Palestine of Oslo — you remember the disgrace that Yasser Arafat and others made for Palestine in the Oslo Accords — has become the Palestine of Areen al-Ousoud [The Lion’s Den]. The Palestine of “ousoud,” the lions! This is how much it has changed. This is how the Palestinians have transformed. On the other hand, they [the Zionist regime] have become weak. Praise God, the Resistance Front is gaining power, examples of this are the Palestinian [groups] that I mentioned. This was something that I wanted to share with you.
The next issue is the enemies’ plots inside our country. There have and will be conspiracies [inside the country]. In the riots that took place [in Iran] last fall, they used women’s issues as a pretext for creating a commotion. Behind this were also the spy agencies of the enemies, [namely] the Western governments. Those are the countries that are heavily faulted on the issue of women.
Recently, they announced in a certain European country that the police have said that women should not go out alone at night. They should go out with a man! This means that there is no security for women. In some centers and camps where men and women are staying, women are afraid to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It is one way in their military forces and in another way in their streets. Then on the subject of women, these countries say things and draw a line for the Islamic Republic, which believes that women have the highest station.
In a European country, a veiled Muslim woman was killed in court in front of the eyes of the police and in front of the eyes of the court! In front of their eyes. The woman had been beaten. She filed a complaint with the court, and the court was convened. The same previous assailant came and struck her in court. The woman died and became a martyr! This is how they treat women. Some people inside Iran were deceived — I believe most of those who participated were deceived — by foreign enemies and traitors living abroad who provoked them while chanting the slogan of women’s freedom. And they created a commotion here. Similar to many other cases, they created a commotion instead of reasoning logically and using correct, dignified words that could be listened to, answered, and discussed.
Well, the issue of women is not just about their covering. Women’s issues also include education, employment, marriage, political activities, participating in social issues, and taking high managerial positions in the government. These are all parts of women’s issues. In which [one] of these is there no freedom in the country? In which of these cases has the Islamic Republic interfered in women's work and prevented their freedom? There are all these educated women, all these female university students, all these women with top government jobs, and all these women who form large social gatherings. There was the active presence of women in influential gatherings during the battles, before the victory of the Revolution, after the victory of the Revolution, during the war, behind the scenes of the battlefield, and today we see them in marches and walks [such as the ones that take place] on the 22nd of Bahman and on Quds Day. Where in the world does a woman take part in so many activities in the way that Iranian women do with such pride and honor?
In the matter of [a woman’s] covering, yes, hijab is a legal, Islamic boundary. It is not a governmental restriction. It is a law and an Islamic rule. Removing hijab is not Islamically or politically permissible. It is not Islamically or politically permissible. Many of those who take off their hijab do not know this. If they knew who is behind what they are doing, they definitely would not do it. I know this for a fact. Many of these [women] are religious. They pray, they fast during the month of Ramadan, and they weep and turn to God in prayer. But they are unaware of who is behind this policy of removing and fighting hijab. The enemy’s spies and the enemy’s spy agencies are pursuing this matter. If [these women] know about this, they will definitely not take part in this.
Anyway, this issue will definitely be resolved. During the first weeks of the Revolution, Imam [Khomeini] spoke about the issue of hijab as being something mandatory and he stated this decisively. It was one of the first things he did. God willing, this matter will be resolved now as well. However, we all need to be careful that the enemy started this task with a plan. We too must work on this based on a plan. Unsystematic, unplanned measures should not be taken. Our officials should have a plan, and they do have a plan. God willing, this undertaking will be pursued with a plan. That was another issue.
Another issue — perhaps the last or second to last issue — is about the [parliamentary] elections that will take place at the end of this year. These elections are very important. Elections can be a manifestation of a nation’s strength. If the elections are not held properly, it will signify the weakness of the country and the weakness of the nation. It will be an indication of the government’s weakness, the weakness of the officials, the weakness of the people, and the country’s weakness. The weaker we become, the more aggressive our enemies will be. If we wish to stop the pressures brought by the enemy, we must be strong. These elections are one of the important tools for a country’s strength. From now the officials who are involved in this should decide on the guidelines for the people’s participation, the election security guidelines, the election fairness guidelines, and the guidelines for competition in the elections. Of course, I know that they are pursuing this. God willing, we will have good, fair elections with a large turnout of the people at the end of this year.
The last issue is regarding the media, which is important. I have talked about the media many times already, but I will say this again. The enemy’s painting dark images [of Iran]; their destructive activities; the conspiracies against the country’s sovereignty, which are carried out by the enemy on social media and the like; must all be exposed. This is the media’s job. Well, praise God, the state media is in the hands of pious, motivated individuals. They must try to neutralize the enemy’s efforts in this area.
O Lord! By Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad (pbut), allow what we have said and heard to be for You and on Your path. O Lord! Help us to act upon and be loyal to what we believe and express. Make the Iranian nation proud and victorious over its enemies. Grant our faithful, motivated, loyal officials success and Your approval. O Lord! Grant us all the blessing of remembering You during this month [of Ramadan]. Grant us all the ability to do righteous deeds and to be kind to others. Make us an example of “Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness” (Quran 16:90). O Lord! Grant us the blessing of reciting the Quran, pondering over the Quran, using the Quran, and seeking light from the Quran. Unite our magnanimous Imam [Khomeini] with the Friends of God. Make him pleased with us. Make the sacred heart of the Imam of the Time pleased with us. Appoint us to be the soldiers of your Guardianship. Unite our dear martyrs with the martyrs of Karbala.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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