All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-il-Qassem Al-Mustafa Mohammad, and upon his Immaculate and Infallible Household, especially what remains with Allah on earth.
With greetings and regards to His Holiness, Imam Ali ibn Mousa Ar-Reza, I would like to felicitate all the dear brothers and sisters on the advent of the New Year.
Today, at this massive gathering, which has been held in the holy presence of Imam Ali ibn Mousa (peace and greetings be upon him), I intend to talk about three major issues.
The first issue, which I also mentioned in my new year's address, is that the government officials should continue and increase their efforts in the current year to create more jobs and counter economic and financial corruption. Furthermore, all officials in charge of the three government branches should do their utmost to render more and better services to the public.
During the past year, effective measures were taken by the relevant officials to create jobs and lower the rate of unemployment. Therefore, if the officials keep up their efforts, we can hope that the problem of unemployment will soon be resolved in our country.
As regards the campaign against economic and financial corruption, the honorable president and the esteemed head of the Judiciary have submitted to me some reports that indicate that considerable progress has been made in this regard.
The second issue that I would like to talk about today concerns the U.S. military attack on Iraq. The U.S. officials are claiming that their attack on Iraq is aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein because he has weapons of mass destruction or because he supports terrorism. But the fact of the matter is that a new and very dangerous type of militarism has emerged in today's world, and that the U.S. attack on Iraq is only aimed at furthering U.S. interests in the world, especially in the Middle East region.
The Arab and Islamic countries, in particular, should take the U.S. threat seriously, since these countries are rich in oil and other mineral resources that are needed and strongly coveted by the Untied States. Besides, the U.S. intends to dominate the regional market in order to promote the sale of its products and funnel more money into the pockets of the American and Zionist capitalists.
To achieve the above goals, the United States aims to install in the region some puppet regimes completely obedient to Washington and its policies. Therefore, it is clear that even those regional Arab and Islamic states that are on friendly terms with Washington are next on the line after Iraq, and that they will face the U.S. threat in the not-too-distant future.
Are there any obstacles to the U.S. plots and its evil intentions? Yes, there are. The main obstacle is the increasing awakening and political awareness of Muslim nations.
The fact is that, contrary to the negative propaganda of the media that are controlled by the U.S. and Zionist circles, the culture of the Islamic Revolution has deeply influenced the Arab and Muslim nations. Among the main features and characteristics of this culture are resistance to the arrogant powers and opposition to their political and economic domination of Islamic countries.
The enemies have also realized that as long as Muslim nations believe in Islam and act upon its teachings, and as long as the Qur'anic culture prevails in Islamic societies, they will not be able to achieve their diabolical goals. This is why they have been trying to tarnish the image of Islam in the eyes of the world public.
Thus, it is no wonder that when the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were destroyed on September 11, 2001, the U.S. president appeared on television and accused Muslims of involvement in the incident without having any proof, as he aimed to provoke public anger and hatred for Islam and Muslims.
Presently, all the Zionist-controlled media are spreading negative propaganda that is aimed at tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslims. They have also launched a smear campaign against the Islamic Republic only because an Islamic system has been established in this country.
The last issue that I intend to talk about today relates to the stance that the Iranian nation and government should take on the current developments in the region.
My dear brothers and sisters! The enemies will never opt for a military encounter with our nation, since they know quite well that when the people of a country all join forces to defend their homeland, they will be able to bring the most powerful aggressors to their knees.
Besides, some seventy percent of our population is made up of young people below the age of 35, who are full of ardor and energy. The enemies have also witnessed the bravery and self-sacrifice of our devoted people and their desire for martyrdom in the battlefields.
Therefore, they know that a military encounter with our nation is very hazardous and of no benefit to them. In other words, they know that it is not easy to engage in a military conflict with a nation that is not afraid of death. Thus, their military aggression against our country is very unlikely.
However, the enemies of our nation and the Islamic Republic, namely the Zionists and the United States, may pin their hopes on two things and try to achieve two goals: first, to convey the wrong idea that our Islamic system is inefficient and unable to fulfill the people's demands and, consequently, weaken the strong relationship that exists between our people and the Islamic system; second, to foment discord and factionalism in our society.
It is the responsibility of all officials in the three branches of government, namely the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature, as well as those in the revolutionary organs and institutions to increase their services to the public and prove the efficiency of the Islamic system. In other words, the officials and executives should compete with one another to render better services to people.
Furthermore, I have often placed emphasis on the campaign against corruption because if, God forbid, an official or executive is corrupt, he will not be able to serve the people and be useful to society.
Fortunately, there are abundant resources, competent managers and committed workforce in our country, and this makes it easier to render more and better services to the public.
Another point that should be heeded by our people and officials, especially our political groups and those who are active in the political sphere, is that the enemies are trying to foment discord and factional differences in our society. The existence of different political views and differences of opinion in society is something quite natural, but these differences of opinion should not lead to disputes and factional confrontation, which is what the enemies want to happen in our society.
Therefore, the public, the officials, the politicians and our dear young people should be aware of the enemies' plots, which are aimed at pitting our political groups against one another and creating rifts in our society. They should try to foil these plots by closing ranks and consolidating their national unity.
It should also be noted that the U.S. bluster and braggadocio does not mean that this country is really powerful, although it considers itself to be the most powerful country in the world because of its advanced military weapons and equipment. But military power by itself does not make a country powerful, as we have already seen that the Untied States was defeated in Vietnam after some ten years of fighting and had to pull its soldiers out of that country in a humiliating manner.
The Iranian people should take the necessary measures to safeguard their national sovereignty, honor and dignity, independence and security, and they should have deep trust in Almighty Allah. Our late magnanimous Imam once told me in 1986 that he saw divine providence in all the events that had taken place in this country ever since the victory of the Islamic Revolution. I have also noticed divine providence in this country's affairs since the departure of our late Imam.
My dear ones! You should know that honor and dignity belongs to the pious and virtuous servants of Allah, who have deep faith and trust in the Almighty, and that no power is able to defeat a nation that adheres to Islam and acts upon the teachings of the holy Qur'an.
In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to you, the dear brothers and sisters who attended this gathering, and to all the Iranian people for their commitment and sincere endeavors. I pray to Almighty Allah to confer His grace and favor on you all.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings