In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and greetings be upon our Master and our Prophet, Abul-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his untainted, pure, chosen Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.
Our meeting today has been very beneficial and pleasing. One part of what’s been covered in this meeting is the work that’s been done, innovations that have been brought into the field, successes, victories, and sources of hope. We need to hear about all of these in my opinion. Considering the discouraging atmosphere that the enemies, due to their own [evil] intentions, try to create among particular groups in the country, such as among the youth and university students, these remarks, reports, and statements serve as a source of vitality, hope, movement, and progress. Another part [of this meeting] has been the complaints, which we have repeatedly heard from groups like yours and to which we are obliged to pay attention and we must address these problems.
Regarding the first part — the good news, progress, and speaking of what has been achieved — I believe there is a need for significant work to be done in the media. Do our youth know about the advancements you’ve reported here and that we’ve heard discussed? Do our university students know these things? Do those who are eager to work inside the country, want to have an impact, and who see capabilities within themselves know that it’s been possible, for instance, to establish a small unit in a small city a few years ago, then after some time, multiply that unit more than ten times in size and progress? Are they aware of this? We are falling short in showing these existing advancements and aspirations that have been realized. Work is needed in the media, but this is a separate topic. They should sit down, discuss this issue, and think about it. I will also address the complaints shortly.
Well, today’s meeting marks the fifth time I have had a meeting with you, the community of entrepreneurs and investors, in recent years. We began these meetings in 2019. They were held in 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, and now in 2025. Many of you were also present in these meetings in previous years. In 2019, at the peak of sanctions and heightened threats of pressure and so forth, we organized this meeting to express our gratitude to those who had worked with determination inside the country and made production and the country’s progress their primary focus. We wanted to tell them, “You are the commanders on the front line of the economic war.” In 2019, I gave this title to those friends who were present, saying, “You are the commanders on the front line of the economic war.”
Today, one of the most important parts of the war we’re facing is the economic war. I've emphasized that we must pursue a growth in production. Every year when this meeting is held, I’ve observed and understood — and not just from reports — that the private sector has increased its creativity and grown stronger. Prior to that, our concern was to bring the private sector into the field. Today, we see that the private sector, with the experience it’s gained by entering the field, is motivated and eager to expand production and increase investment. What this means is that we have made progress during these five years.
Yesterday, I visited the exhibition. Of course, what was exhibited in this exhibition was actually a small part of the broader reality that exists in the country. At the same time, this exhibition showed — the exhibition I saw yesterday — that the country’s private sector, despite external pressures, despite sanctions, and despite the threats of further sanctions that we’re witnessing, has been able to achieve a satisfactory amount of progress. This exhibition showed that we are making progress. It showed we are moving forward. Why don’t we appreciate these great, divine blessings that exist? The country is moving forward and advancing. The private sector, in the field of the economy, is one example and manifestation of the country’s progress. If we enter a discussion on the field of science and research, we will encounter a similar reality there as well. We see these advancements in various sectors of the country. Of course, there is no shortage of flaws, deficiencies, and problems, which are due to us ourselves. Now, the ministers are present here as well as Dr. Aref; I will address what our duty is.
A country that is grappling with sanctions must pursue this path, and this should be one of its principles in carrying out its work. There are a number of countries worldwide that are currently under sanctions imposed by global powers. Of course, these are sanctions from their [the global powers’] perspective. The very things that they have sanctioned become available to those countries in appropriate, correct ways despite the sanctions. At the same time, the duty of a country that’s under sanctions is to focus as much as possible on its domestic capacities, to pay attention to those capacities, and to make use of them.
I suggest that the country's officials come and visit this exhibition. I made the same request in the previous administration as well. They should come look at this if they haven’t seen it yet. The honorable heads of the branches of government and our esteemed officials should come and see this exhibition. Last year, I made the same request. Our martyred president, Mr. Raisi, may God have mercy on him, came here after a day or two. He visited the exhibition. He spent perhaps twice as long as I did viewing the exhibition and was even happier and more pleased than I was. I’m sure that our country’s officials, the heads of the branches of government, and other officials will feel the same way.
There is a pleasing point that was evident in the exhibition and was repeated in today's discussions too, which I was aware of outside of this, and that is that in certain cases, which are not few, we observe that private investors are more concerned about the country's progress than their own personal income. This is extremely important. We saw this reflected in today’s discussions as well. Yes, they’re concerned about their own income and improving their personal lives as well, but to the same extent, or in many cases even more and significantly more, they’re concerned about the country's progress and its ability to overcome these problems.
A fundamental point, which I have been making and which I wish to stress again today, is that the country's executive decision-making system must assist the private sector. This is a necessity! It must provide assistance. The most important form of assistance is to remove the obstacles blocking their way. It needs to remove the obstacles. Unfortunately, I have observed that government agencies or regulatory bodies act as speed bumps in some instances. In other words, instead of helping companies to progress and develop, they create obstacles that actually hinder advancement.
One issue is the matter of imports, an issue which several gentlemen have now referred to. This is something I have repeated many times. You need to follow up on this. Dr. Aref must follow up on this matter with the respected Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade. It was a shame to hear what one of the gentlemen stated, that the monetary figure for the import of products similar to that of a [domestic] factory is about 40% higher than the figure for the factory’s production. This means [creating] competitors for Iranian workers, Iranian factories, and Iranian investors. This is truly shameful. Why? When Iranian products can solve the country's problems, why should we allow and pave the way for foreign investors to profit at the expense of Iranian investors? Why? This is harming the country. This is not a trivial matter. We must follow up on this issue.
What I want to emphasize is that government agencies must help and overcome the obstacles that exist. Sometimes these obstacles are laws, and these laws must be amended. At other times, they are government regulations and must be changed. Of course, I don’t recommend being negligent in the face of wrongdoers. Some people enter the scene as investors or entrepreneurs, but in reality, they aren’t truly investors. They’re seeking to exploit the system. This has been seen in the allocation of preferential currencies, etc. There have been many cases of misuse. That’s not what I’m suggesting. You must be careful. You need to be vigilant, but at the same time, you must also increase assistance for those who are genuinely working correctly. Remove the obstacles from their path.
An important example of removing obstacles is implementing the policies of Article 44. When we announced the policies of Article 44 several years ago, everyone — all those officials, knowledgeable people, and experts who were in contact with me — endorsed it. Some expressed their support in the press, some in the media, and some directly to me. They endorsed it, said that this is the solution to the country’s economic problems, and said this would open the way. But unfortunately, many officials in the field didn’t implement these policies. We are still grappling with this issue today. We still have this problem.
The policies of Article 44 need to be implemented. In my view, one of the reasons for our economic decline in the 1390s [roughly the 2010s] was precisely this. There were various reasons, but one of them was not implementing these policies. We repeatedly made this recommendation [that they should be implemented] too, but attention wasn’t given to this matter.
Regarding an 8% economic growth, praise God, I’ve been informed that a number of experts in this field worked several months in specialized working groups. They identified capacities, recognized capabilities, defined investment projects, and identified solutions to problems. Government officials must seriously pursue this matter. These tasks must be carried out. These working groups have sat down, worked hard, and identified solutions to the problems, and now the implementation of these solutions is the duty of officials. By implementing these, they can, God willing, achieve the 8% economic growth. They [the officials] shouldn’t say it can’t be done! They shouldn’t tie this matter to something that is impossible to do [for example] saying it requires such and such a large amount of foreign investment. Well, it’s clear that [with such attitude] such a thing won’t happen.
These people who sat down and worked on this issue didn’t tie this 8% growth to something that’s impossible to do. What they are proposing are things that can be done domestically, but they need help and the government must help. In my opinion, this is totally possible. Of course, the 8% growth won’t work miracles, and nothing greatly important will happen in one year. This must continue. High growth must continue. Benefits and products must be distributed fairly for them to create change in the country’s situation, and so that this change will be noticeable to the people.
One of the capacities and facilities at our disposal is our recent membership in organizations like BRICS and others. We must make the maximum use of this. This also requires the presence and involvement of the country’s diplomats. They should join in and help. This is a great opportunity for the country, especially the BRICS financial system. If this is benefitted from — the BRICS financial system, the exchanges that are to be made using the currencies of member countries — it will undoubtedly be a great help. One of our problems today is being dependent on the dollar. Those countries have also understood this.
Of course, some members of this financial fund don’t dare to actually get involved due to political reasons and such. Diplomacy is needed. This must be forced to happen and to be done. Inside the country, the esteemed president has also said this and he is in agreement with this line of thought. I fully agree that they must strive to eliminate the dollar in trade as much as possible. This is a big task, and it’s an important task. In the economic campaign, eliminating the dollar is a very decisive, critical move. Of course, it will cause a reaction, but you will be stronger if you can do this and the Central Bank paves the way for the use of other currencies.
I have many things to say about issues related to the private sector, and I’ve spoken of these matters in previous years. I don’t want to repeat them. What’s important is that government bodies must help the private sector. The private sector should feel that it has the backing of the government. It should feel that obstacles are not being created to block its path, and that the path is smooth and easy. Yesterday in this exhibition, a gentleman told me, “Last year I told you that they’ve delayed giving us a license for three years for such and such an establishment.” He told me this last year. The next day, like today, I gave a speech here, and I spoke of that issue. I said, “Why are you delaying this for three years? Why is it that something that can be done in ten days or a month at most is being delayed for three years?”
Solve the issues and get them out of the way. Yesterday this gentleman said, “It’s been three years, and if you include this year, it’s now four years!” In other words, they haven’t done anything in the past year either. Well, this needs to be solved. You can’t carry on like this. I truly felt ashamed. These problems need to be solved.
Much is said. We talk, say things, repeat them, and emphasize them, [but] we must also act upon them, “Those who have faith and do righteous deeds” (Quran 103:3). Faith is necessary, but righteous action is also needed. This applies to both the afterlife and worldly matters, as well as to religion, law, and the Islamic law. [But] it’s the same in everyday life as well. Believing in a truth is necessary. In other words, it is essential for you to believe that you must support the private sector. If you lack this belief, progress cannot be made. However, this belief is not enough. It must be accompanied by righteous action. There must be faith and righteous action. This is what I wanted to say today regarding this matter.
I would like to say a few words about Gaza. As I’ve stated previously, the Resistance is alive and will stay alive. Gaza has won. The Resistance has shown that it will stay alive. What’s taking place before the eyes of the world seems like a myth. If we were to read about this in history, we would refute it and truly find it hard to believe how a massive military force like the United States had come to the aid of an oppressive, bloodthirsty regime like the Zionist regime. And that regime was so ruthless and hard-hearted that it had no qualms about killing 15,000 children in the span of roughly a year and a few months. Furthermore, that power [the US] was so indifferent about human values and humanitarian concepts that it provided that brutal regime with bunker-buster bombs to bomb the homes of those children and the hospitals where they were being treated. If this had taken place in history, we certainly wouldn’t have believed it. We would have thought there must be some mistake in the story.
[But] today, this has taken place right in front of our eyes. The US gave all the kinds of equipment it had to the Zionist regime. Because if it hadn’t done this, the Zionist regime would have been brought to its knees in the very first weeks. They committed all the crimes they could for a year and three months. They attacked hospitals, mosques, churches, homes, markets, and places where people had gathered. They attacked wherever they could reach. Where did this happen? In a small piece of land like Gaza. In a small piece of land like Gaza! They committed all the crimes they could with a specific goal in mind. They said they wanted to — this was said by the head of the Zionist regime, that disgraced, wretched creature — destroy Hamas and that Hamas must be destroyed. And they had even drawn up plans for the administration of Gaza after the war. This is how confident they were. Now, that same oppressive, brutal Zionist regime has come to the negotiating table with the same Hamas that they wanted to destroy and accepted its terms in order for there to be a ceasefire. This is what is happening. This is why we say that the Resistance is alive.
This is what we mean when we recite [the verse], “If the unbelievers fight you, they will turn their backs [to flee]. Then they will not find any protector or helper” (Quran 48:22). This isn’t just relevant to that time, because afterwards it states, “[This is] Allah’s precedent that has passed before, and you will never find any change in Allah’s precedent” (48:23). This is a divine tradition. They were supposed to be victorious and they were. Wherever the righteous servants of God show resistance, victory is definite.
That delusional dreamer announced that Iran has become weak. The future will show who has become weak. Saddam also began his attack [on Iran] based on the illusion that Iran had become weak. Reagan too, based on the illusion that Iran had become weak, gave a huge amount of aid to Saddam's regime. They and tens of other delusional people have gone to Hell now, while the Islamic government has grown stronger every day. I tell you that this experience will be repeated this time too, by God’s grace.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
Comment