Ayatollah Khamenei met with the President and his cabinet members

Iran's defense capabilites must develop further: Ayatollah Khamenei

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei received President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet for a meeting today, on the occasion of Iran’s Government Week.  Ayatollah Khamenei stated during the meeting, that “the economic issues are the top priority of the country.”

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, met Wednesday morning with President Rouhani and cabinet members. Thanking the eleventh administration for the efforts that it has made during the past three years, His Eminence stated that Government Week is a valuable opportunity for delivering reports to the people about the tasks that have been carried out.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned that “economy of resistance”, “foreign policy”, “science and technology”, “security”, “culture”, “The Sixth Plan” and “cyberspace” are the main priorities of the eleventh administration in the upcoming year.

 Congratulating everyone on Government Week, Ayatollah Khamenei commemorated Shahid Rajai and Shahid Bahonar as models of sincerity, diligence and popularity.

His Eminence referred to some efforts to exonerate the notorious munafeqeen terror cult who committed the crime of murdering these two personalities and added: “Unfortunately, some people are trying to create an atmosphere of innocence for these criminals who martyred thousands of people – ranging from ordinary individuals to officials and outstanding personalities – and to damage the reputation of our enlightened late Imam (r.a.), but these vicious and evil hands will not achieve any results and they will continue to fail, as was the case in the past.”

He pointed to the report that President Rouhani and some members of the cabinet delivered and reiterated: “These reports were very good and the people should be informed of them because the main capital is the people and their trust and hope.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the management of the country by the executive branch as very difficult considering the wide spectrum of tasks, the diversity of affairs, the high expectations of the people and the existence of many problems. Referring to the quick passage of three years from the life of the eleventh administration, he said: “With planning and with a serious approach, the administration should do its best to work hard in the remaining year.”

Ayatollah Khamenei advised the administration to stay away from peripheral issues, particularly in the following months during which time electoral discussions will reach their peak. He added: “The administration should not busy itself with electoral discussions in any way. On the contrary, it should formulate plans until the last day for work, for endeavor and for solving problems. The best promotion for an administration that holds office is its action and implementation.”

His Eminence said that Government Week is a valuable opportunity for the people and outstanding personalities to carry out a fair evaluation of the administration’s performance. He reiterated: “There is no harm in making criticisms, but criticisms should be fair and they should present accurate solutions.”

The economic matters and the implementation of the policies on the economy of resistance was the first issue that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to as one of the priorities of the administration in the last year. He said: “Today, economic problems and obstacles are the first issue of the country and they should be solved. And solving them depends on accurate and thorough implementation of the policies on the economy of resistance.”

Thanking the First Vice President for his report about the measures that the command center of the economy of resistance has adopted, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the necessity of pursuing all plans in a serious way until they reach the last stage and added: “The command center of the economy of resistance should observe all the extensive economic activities of governmental and private sectors so that all these activities are in line with the policies on the economy of resistance.”

His Eminence mentioned: “The continuation of those economic plans and projects which are not in line with the policies on the economy of resistance should be stopped in a decisive manner.”

He stressed that in order to implement the policies on the economy of resistance, all the capacities of the country in agricultural and industrial sectors should be brought into the arena: “One of the important requirements for implementing the policies on the economy of resistance is creating a discourse. And creating a discourse is possible through correct clarification of these policies and their effects.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the scientific movement of the country in the recent years and Iran’s achievements in the area of aerospace, nanotechnology, the nuclear energy and biotechnology originate from the creation of a discourse about the scientific and software movement of the past 12 years, further saying: “Therefore, such a discourse should be created for the economy of resistance as well.”

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that implementing the policies on the economy of resistance require actions that are different from the ordinary affairs of the administration in the arena of the economy: “In order to implement the policies on the economy of resistance, we should make a leap and do something that is different from the ordinary and daily tasks that we carry out.”

His Eminence said that giving provinces the authority to make decisions, directing banking and monetary resources towards production, providing export incentives, paying the fee for agricultural products on time, and paying serious attention to villages and value-added industries are the main tasks for implementing the policies on the economy of resistance.

He reiterated that bureaucracy and the existence of rigid rules and regulations for producers and entrepreneurs are among the obstacles in the way of implementing the policies on the economy of resistance, saying: “Another requirement for implementing the economy of resistance is supporting knowledge-based companies.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: “The projects which can be carried out by knowledge-based companies inside the country should not be given to foreign companies.”

Referring to the second priority – foreign policy – Ayatollah Khamenei stated that foreign policy has been one of the priorities of the Rouhani administration: “I agree with this and I have always believed in diplomatic work. However, diplomatic capability and power should be distributed appropriately and equally in the world.”

His Eminence said: “Asia, Africa and Latin America should have a fair share in the foreign policy of the country.”

He stressed the necessity of adopting an active position in the area of foreign policy and added: “On matters like regional matters that are very complicated and interwoven, we should enter the arena in a careful, thoughtful, active and influential manner.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated that appearances cannot be relied on in the diplomatic environment and said: “The only thing that can be trusted in the area of diplomacy is steady, definite, signed and justifiable work.”

Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the unreliability of the Americans on the issue of the Bar-Jaam [JCPOA] is an experience that Iran should learn from and added: “This experience teaches us that we cannot rely on the promises that any American administration gives and that we should not act hastily on the basis of their promises.”

His Eminence added: “My criticism on the issue of the Bar-Jaam originates from the unreliability and viciousness of the other side, not from lack of trust in our own officials. Our negotiators worked day and night within the scope of their capability and we are thankful for those efforts.”

He pointed to “science and technology” as the third priority of the administration in the fourth year and said: “The country needs science and technology for making progress. In recent years, good achievements have been made in this arena.”

Criticizing a decrease in the rate of the scientific movement in recent years, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned: “The rate of the scientific movement in the world is high and we are far behind the world in terms of scientific progress. Therefore, in order to make up for this backwardness, there is no option other than increasing the rate of scientific growth. The discourse of scientific progress in the country should continue and it should not witness any pause.”

He also stressed the necessity of increasing the budget for academic research, of paying the current small budget to universities and also the relationship between universities and industries.

Security was the fourth priority that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to.

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated: “By Allah’s favor and with the praiseworthy efforts and endeavors of the armed and security forces, the country benefits from a solid security shield. This is while regional countries are brimming with incidents and insecurity.”

His Eminence described the revolutionary and religious spirit of the people as one of the main factors behind this solid security shield of the country: “This defensive national wall should not be damaged in any way.”

He stated that the military and security organizations of the country are another factor behind this solid security shield of the country, saying: “These organizations should always be assisted and encouraged.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the defensive equipment and resources of the country as the third factor behind the existence of a solid security shield in the country and added: “The enemy is concerned about an increase in the defensive and missile capability of the country. Therefore, this increase in the defensive capability of the country should be promoted and supported.”

The issue of culture was the fifth issue that Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned as one of the priorities of the country: “Culture includes literature, art, lifestyle and social behavior and conduct. Cultural organizations are responsible towards all these areas.”

His Eminence added: “I do not advocate fanaticism, pressure and suppression in the arena of culture, rather I believe in freedom of thought. However, freedom of thought does not mean decadence and it does not mean allowing the enemy to damage the country.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated that most of the good and valuable tasks in the country are carried out by pious and revolutionary youth and he criticized the effort of some people to produce plays and movies that try to harm the faith of youth.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the performance of cultural organizations in both areas of offence and defense as weak. Stressing the importance of attending to the various arenas of culture and also paying attention to cultural motives and cultural personalities, he said: “Should cultural officials not prefer someone who has spent his entire life serving religion and the Islamic Revolution to someone who has not taken one single step on the path of religion and the Revolution in their entire life and who has sometimes harmed the Revolution?”

His Eminence concluded this part by saying: “In culture, the spirit of thinking freely should exist alongside fair planning. Cultural damage should be prevented by channeling and assisting good developments in the area of culture.”

The sixth priority that the Supreme Leader referred to was the importance of The Sixth Plan of Development and the necessity of accelerating its implementation.

Referring to a delay in presenting the Sixth Plan of Development, he added: “Plans of development create coordination and cooperation and they lead the country towards the goals specified in the 20-year strategic plan like the links in a chain. Therefore, you should not allow the task to remain idle more than this by accelerating the implementation of the Sixth Plan.”

The seventh priority that Ayatollah Khamenei referred to was cyberspace: “Cyberspace is a growing, vast and indescribable world which involves both great opportunities and threats.”

His Eminence stressed the necessity of making optimum use of the opportunities that cyberspace provides and foiling the threats that it involves.

He stated that the Supreme Council of Cyberspace was established on the basis of achieving this goal, stating: “To that end, we should accelerate the establishment and operation of the National Information Network.”  

At the end of his statements, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution discussed the issue of excessively high salaries.

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that this issue should not be ignored and said: “The people’s trust has been damaged on this matter because they and educated youth compare their salaries with these unfair payments and they pose this question: ‘On what basis and because of what advantage and special work have these payments been made?’”

His Eminence stressed the necessity of showing firm determination in confronting the issue of excessively high salaries in all branches and organizations, adding: “Where necessary, the judiciary branch should also enter the arena and confront the perpetrators of these wrongdoings.”