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, Muhammad, and upon his pure Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.
First, we would like to express our appreciation to all the officials and friends in the 14th administration, including both the active managers and the diligent staff. In particular, [I wish to thank] those institutions that played a role in the recent 12-day trial, as Dr. Pezeshkian mentioned — [such as] the Ministry of Health and other departments. We are aware that during those 12 days, they truly were fulfilling their duties with genuine sacrifice. We would like to thank all of them.
I would like to especially thank the honorable President for his intensive, productive work. Working in this manner with such motivation and spirit is precisely what the country needs. One such effort was his recent trip to China. It was a very productive trip that has laid the groundwork — not as a certainty, but potentially — for major developments that our country needs, both economically and politically. Fortunately, he has created this groundwork with his visit. Certain achievements have been made, and they must be followed up, God willing.
Before I begin what I have to say, I’ve written something at the end of my notes that I find appropriate to mention here at the beginning of my talk. That subject is that those country’s officials who speak to the people should tell of the country’s strength, power, and resources — much like the speech he [the President] gave today. They shouldn’t be narrators of [the country’s] weaknesses. Yes, we have weaknesses, shortcomings, and deficiencies. Which country doesn’t? But we also have strengths, we have capabilities, accomplishments have been made, and efforts have been made. We should be mindful of these things and tell people about them. The press and state media [IRIB] both have a duty in this regard, but the greatest duty falls on government officials themselves. When they address the public and speak through a microphone, they mustn’t be narrators of weaknesses, inability, hopelessness, and such things.
The President, Dr. Pezeshkian, just spoke for about half an hour, and every point he spoke of was a point of strength. Of course, having been involved in executive matters for many years, I am familiar with these things and I know full well that the distance between wanting something and making a decision, and that thing actually happening, isn’t a short distance. We all know this. However, having the will, motivation, determination, and the hope that they will succeed is a major factor in realizing goals. This was the necessary point [I wished to make], and I would like to truly thank Dr. Pezeshkian for the remarks he made as well.
What I want our dear friends to know is that you should cherish the opportunity you’ve been given to serve the people. First of all, this isn’t an opportunity that is given to everyone. Second, it isn’t something that will last forever. You and I have a responsibility for a few years. We have a job or a field in which we can act, work, and serve the people. During this time, we have the opportunity to earn God's satisfaction. We shouldn’t miss this [opportunity]. Let’s use every single hour of our time when we are serving [the people].
If we act on this recommendation and this is done — and if we refrain from redundant efforts, idleness, underperformance, or getting distracted by other matters — then in my opinion, the problems will be solved, as he [the President] mentioned. And they will be solved in the short or medium term. We shouldn’t have to wait for years, particularly on economic issues and matters related to the people's livelihood. We must act much more earnestly on those matters. We shouldn’t wait for external developments either. In the world, in the realm of politics and diplomacy, certain things will happen. We shouldn’t wait because of those things. We should focus on our own work. Those whose duty it is to handle those matters will do so. We must fulfill the tasks entrusted to us.
We must make a spirit of “work and effort” prevail over a state of “neither war, nor peace,” which the enemy is trying to impose on us. In other words, one of the harms and dangers facing the country is precisely this state of neither war nor peace, which isn’t good. This isn’t a good atmosphere. We must make a spirit of work, effort, determination, and motivation prevail over this situation with our words, our actions, and by showing results.
An important duty of governments is to strengthen the components of national power and dignity. This is true for all governments throughout the world. They have a duty to reinforce the elements of national power. The most important of these elements are the spirit, motivation, and unity of the nation.
In other words, if we were to list the components of power, the most crucial thing is for the nation to be united, to have a high morale, to be hopeful, and to be motivated. Through our own performance, our words, and our adherence to carrying out our various duties, we must instill this spirit in the nation. If it already exists, we must strengthen it and prevent it from decreasing.
In our work, we must pay attention to priorities. There’s a great deal of work that needs to be done, and our capacity — both our financial and human capacity — is naturally less than the scope of the tasks that must be carried out. Therefore, we must identify our priorities. The criteria for setting priorities are urgency and the task being foundational in nature. These are our priorities. Some tasks are urgent; others are foundational. These are the priorities. We must pay attention to these priorities. If we succeed in identifying them, that in itself is one of the fundamental principles of management: the ability to discern and determine priorities.
By the way, I forgot to mention this that I also wanted to thank Dr. Aref. I am well aware of his meetings in following up on the decisions that are made. This in particular shouldn’t be overlooked or forgotten. He truly puts in effort and works hard, and we are aware of his extensive activities in this regard.
The governments, are responsible for meeting the common, public needs of the people. These common needs, which governments have a duty to address, include things like livelihood, security, healthcare, culture and lifestyle, the environment, and matters of this kind. We must identify our priorities in these areas and see which of these basic areas is a priority. In those areas, we must see which particular branches should be addressed first.
In the Islamic system, as you know, the Islamic system was fundamentally established for the realization of Islamic teachings and laws. Anyone who says otherwise is speaking contrary to the truth of the matter. From the very first day, Imam Khomeini’s slogan was that we must work for God and for the realization of divine goals, divine teachings, and divine laws. He told this to the people, and the people rose up and took action primarily motivated by faith. The work is for God and is for the realization of these things.
One of the most important topics I want to emphasize is the matter of following up on matters. Now, sometimes this follow-up is at the presidential level, which is taking place, praise God. He truly pursues matters. These trips to the provinces, his being in [direct] contact with the people, his visits to the ministries, and his close working with staff and senior managers — these efforts to follow-up matters are extremely valuable and very beneficial.
However, it shouldn’t stop there. Following up on matters must be a part of the body [of the system]. It must exist among mid-level managers. Sometimes as a minister, you make a decision. You agree with it, and you want it to be implemented. You issue the order, and your deputy then gives that order to the director. But after passing through two or three intermediaries, the matter gradually loses importance and eventually disappears altogether.
By the time the order reaches the fingertips [people at the bottom of the hierarchy], there is nothing left, while it’s the fingertips that must carry out the tasks. The hands must implement it, while the minds only issue the commands. So following up on matters is important. Follow matters up all the way down to the fingertips until results are achieved, all the way to the end. There are, of course, differing opinions. But fortunately, reaching a consensus in the country is possible today. This is the situation today. The heads of the three branches of government are of one heart and one mind. They’re prepared. Many of the decision-making and policy-shaping bodies are working together. In my opinion, reaching a consensus is easier today than in the past. This opportunity must be seized to advance the work on which there is a consensus and to move forward.
The tasks at hand are truly important. Regarding the few points he [the President] mentioned, one is the issue of downsizing the body of the government — that is, reducing the number of organizations whose presence or absence makes little or no difference; or reducing the number of employees within a department, a ministry, or an institution. These are important undertakings, and they are difficult as well. They aren’t easy. However, there is a sense of harmony today, so these things can and must be done. These are tasks that have to be carried out. This is a big opportunity. There are different viewpoints and obstacles, but those must be overcome.
I have a few recommendations to offer regarding the economy, which is an important matter for the country. Of course, there is much to be said. And as was mentioned, there are many topics and points to speak about, but we must keep this brief.
The first issue is the revival of production units. Those who have expertise in this field and understand real, practical economic issues all agree that production is the key to the country's economic progress. Attend to production and revive the production units. Now, it was mentioned that the electricity to some factories is being cut off. While there are some situations where an emergency exists, in cases where there is no emergency, production must be taken seriously. This is my first recommendation.
My second recommendation is about the timely provision of essential goods. This is one of the country’s issues. There have been times when a relevant official has reported to me — why he reported it to me, I don't know — that a certain commodity, which is classified as a vital essential good, was supposed to be available for a certain period of time. But in action, it was only available for one-third of that period. That is alarming. I don’t wish to mention the reported timeframes, [but the point is this that] we must ensure essential goods are provided on time. The level of our commodity reserves must always be checked and compared to the required amount.
There are potential risks, and we cannot always predict all of them. A problem may arise unexpectedly. A task that can be done now, or a product that can be imported now, may not be importable at another period of time. Such considerations must be kept in mind. These risks must be taken into consideration. Therefore, the country's supply of essential goods must be fully ensured. If essential goods are available in the country in a timely manner, this has a direct impact on the people's dinner tables. This has a direct impact. Under such conditions, there will no longer be arbitrary, temporary price hikes in the market, and food security won’t be threatened. This is one issue.
Regarding essential goods, one of the topics that’s been discussed for several years is the issue of making the import of these goods competitive. The importation of some essential goods has been monopolized. The existence of a monopoly is bad. Monopolies tie the hands of government agencies. Efforts must be made — in terms of imports themselves, their countries of origin, and those who are the direct importers — to create a competitive environment. This will help the country's situation. It’s said that if we create an environment of competition, both the foreign currency purchase prices and the domestic prices in rials will decrease, which is great news and a very important matter.
After all, the issue of the people's livelihood is one of the country's most important matters. As the President mentioned, arrangements must be made so that people can obtain a certain number of essential goods — for example, about ten items or slightly less — without worrying about rising prices. In other words, we can't have a situation where an item has one price today, and it doubles or nearly doubles tomorrow due to inflation. For several types of goods, the idea of using coupons has been suggested. Experts who are knowledgeable in this field endorse this. Since I’m not an expert on this specific matter myself, I believe it’s something that should be pursued. It’s been reported that the foundation for implementing so-called electronic coupons also exists. In other words, the infrastructure for this is now available and can be used. This would allow for arrangements to be made so that people could, for example, obtain around ten essential items at a fixed price without worrying about these. This is my recommendation on this matter.
For other goods as well, a solution must be found for bringing order to the market. People shouldn’t feel that the market has been abandoned, and a product has one price today, and all of a sudden, the price rises drastically tomorrow. Or it is sold at one price in one place, and elsewhere at another price! Such a state, which is the state of the market when it’s unsupervised, harms the people's morale. People shouldn’t feel this way.
Regarding storing reserves of goods, as I mentioned earlier, it is also appropriate to point out that storing gas reserves for the winter is a critical issue. Starting now through gas imports and similar measures, preparations must be made to ensure that the country doesn’t face gas shortages in the winter. There’s Turkmenistan, and there are other places as well for arranging this.
Housing is also one of the country’s major issues. In fact, it is one of the fundamental problems. Proposals are often presented to us, but since we aren’t the authority in charge of doing this and it isn’t up to us to make this decision, we refer these proposals to the officials in charge. Suggestions are made to us for solving the housing problem — or at least partially solving it, even if not completely. Our honorable officials hear these suggestions. They should follow up on them and bring them to fruition, God willing.
Another issue is oil. It was mentioned that both oil production and exports have increased. But at the same time, oil production — given its obvious importance to the country's economy — is at a low level. Our oil production methods are outdated. The tools are old, the methods are old, and we are lagging behind many of the world's oil-rich countries. At the same time, there is no doubt that by way of our young students and educated youth who have experience in the oil sector, significant achievements can definitely be realized. Their help must be sought.
In this regard, we have experience on a difficult issue during a previous administration. It was a challenging problem. Two or three students came to us and said, “We can solve this.” I referred them to the Minister of Oil, and later the Minister of Oil reported that the problem was solved. This shows that a few young students — a few educated, young people — may well be able to create a transformation in oil production methods, extraction techniques, and similar areas. As for oil exports, we undoubtedly need greater dynamism. The matter of [increasing] the number of customers and branching out to various customers in the oil sector is an important issue that must be pursued, God willing.
I would also like to offer a recommendation regarding wastefulness. The truth is, we do waste resources. A few years ago, I designated the slogan of that year to be about avoiding waste, although I don’t recall the exact wording right now. The idea was that people shouldn’t waste. Some people came to us and said, “You are the biggest wasters yourselves. The government is the most wasteful of all.” And indeed, they were right. There is waste in many areas: in electricity, gas, water, construction and buildings, travel, and so on.
For example, why should there be unnecessary trips? Many trips serve no real purpose. And then there are trips taken with entourages two or three times larger than what’s required! What’s the justification for such things? If one must travel somewhere, it should be with a small number of people whose presence is essential. Or, for example, there is the matter of staying in expensive hotels at the destination. This is wasteful. This kind of extravagancy must be avoided. When your income is low, your spending must also be reduced.
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. (Saadi, Gulistan, chapter 7)
You must have an income before you think about spending.
My final point is regarding Gaza and the unprecedented crimes which that cursed Zionist [regime] is committing. The extent of the crimes and atrocities is truly appalling. They feel no shame and even speak openly about what they’ve done. They say, “We’re doing this, we intend to do this, and we will do this.” This must be stopped. Yes, it’s true that the US is supporting it, and the US is undeniably a major power, but the ways to confronting this situation aren’t closed.
Opposing countries — which includes both Islamic and non-Islamic countries today, but especially Islamic countries — must completely sever their commercial ties with the Zionist regime. They should even cut off political relations as well. They need to isolate that regime. Of course, the evil Zionist regime is already the most isolated regime in the world today. There’s no doubt about that. It is the most despised government in the world. However, it’s possible to do even more. Avenues must be closed.
This is the duty of all governments. I believe one of the main lines of our diplomacy must be this to urge and emphasize to governments that they must cut off their relations — first and foremost their commercial ties, and second, their political relations — [with the Zionist regime].
I would also like to address writers and public speakers. Those who write for newspapers, those who publish articles, and those who say things on the radio, television, or on social media should be careful not to speak to the detriment of their own country. They shouldn’t be narrators of their country’s weaknesses. Instead, they should highlight the [country’s] strengths for the people. The strengths and capacities that genuinely exist. These are the things they should tell the people.
God willing, may Almighty God grant you all success and assist you so that you may fulfill this weighty, important responsibility in the best possible manner. We’re praying for you.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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