In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
O’ Conqueror of hearts and sight
O’ Planner of night and day
O’ Transformer of power and circumstances
Transform our condition to the best of conditions!
Dear God, give us your guidance, such guidance that you provide for your best-guided servants and nourish us with the diligence of your diligent servants
I would like to congratulate all of our dear compatriots, in every part of the country, the planet, and other nations that celebrate Nowruz. In particular, I would like to congratulate the honorable families of martyrs, the dear disabled war veterans, and their families. I, especially, wish to congratulate the young, teenaged individuals of Iran who engender hope and pioneer the national movement of the country. I hope they have a joyous and sweet Nowruz and a year full of achievements and blessings.
This year, the spring of Nature has coincided with the spring of Spirituality. In other words, Farvardin, Ordibehesht, and Khordad (the three Persian months marking spring) have coincided with Rajab, Sha’ban, and Ramadan. I hope that this year, we will have both natural and spiritual growth for our country—God willing. This hope is being nurtured in our hearts that, by Allah’s favor, worldly and otherworldly saplings will prove to be a provision for this nation and country in the future. I wish to send my greetings to the Imam of Time (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake). Also, I commemorate and send my greetings to the immaculate soul of our magnanimous Imam [Khomeini].
I want to briefly discuss the years of 1396 and 1397 (2017-2018). Like all years, the year 1396 was a mixture of peaks and troughs, sweet and bitter events, just like other stages of our lives. These were the sweet events of the year 1396: the emergence of the people’s greatness and power and the national presence from the beginning to the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, we witnessed the very magnificent and dazzling presence of the people in presidential, city, and village council elections. More than 40 million people participated in the elections, that turnout was very impressive and meaningful. After that, we witnessed the Quds Day rally during the auspicious month of Ramadan, and at the end of the year we had the 9th of Dey rally (December 30), and, most importantly, there was the spectacular 22nd of Bahman (February 11) rally.
Of course, on the 9th of Dey, because of the disturbances that broke out – I will refer to this later – the people staged voluntary and continuous rallies, in different cities of the country, all of which showed the presence of the great, insightful, sharp and prepared people of Iran, in all the areas that their presence is necessary.
Another important and sweet achievement, in the past year, was that the Islamic Republic managed to turn regional threats into great opportunities. The purpose of those threats–at least, one of the purposes–was to deliver a blow to the Islamic Republic; however, not only did those threats fail to harm the country, they became opportunities. Those who are aware of international issues understand this perfectly.
Another positive aspect was the effort made in the direction of reviving and utilizing the slogan of the year: National Production and Employment under the category of the Economy of Resistance [Economy of Resistance: Production and Employment]. Great tasks were carried out in the fields of employment and national production; however, there are many tasks left undone which should be taken care of. The goal of the slogan was implemented to some extent, but it should continue to perfection so, by Allah’s favor, the slogan's concept can become a reality.
We had some bitter events in the year 1396 as well. The earthquake incident, floods, an airplane crash and a ship collision incident in which some of our dear ones lost their lives. They were bitter events for us. Additionally, there was drought, in some areas of the country, which is still an ongoing issue. I hope that divine grace will make up for it in the spring. Moreover, the livelihood problems of some social classes have continued from the past. There should be a great effort–everyone should make an effort [so that these problems are solved]. I will refer to this matter, later on, with the hope that these problems will be eliminated, God willing.
During the final months of the year, certain disturbances were staged according to plans of the Iranian nation's enemies. However, [in a move against their plans] the Iranian people entered the arena voluntarily. Even individuals who were supposedly instigators of such disturbances, triggered by the enemies, entered the arena and stood up against the rioters. This was an incident wherein the greatness of the Iranian nation became clear on their stance.
As for the year 1397–the year that begins at this moment–what is important is that everyone should work hard. The maxims that I choose for different years, I usually address officials. This year, the masses of the people–including government officials–are addressed. As an introduction, I wish to say that the issues of the economy, culture, and various other issues are important; but, this year, our main concern is the issue of the economy and the problems surrounding the people’s livelihood. Everyone should endeavor, everyone should work hard, and the pivotal point is national production. If everyone pursues and follows up on the national production, according to the basis of an explanation that I will provide in the speech [Supreme Leader’s speech at Imam Ridha Shrine], then many economic problems and many problems of the people, regarding their livelihood–the issue of employment, investment, and other such issues–will be resolved, and social detriments will decrease to a large extent. The pivotal point is national production.
If national production is accelerated, many problems will be resolved. I have chosen this as the center of this year’s slogan. This year’s slogan is “Support for Iranian Products”: the Year of "Support for Iranian Products.” This is not only related to officials, all people from various social backgrounds can help in this area, and they can enter the arena in the real sense of the word. Of course, there are five, six dimensions for this support. By Allah’s favor, I will expand on these dimensions in my speech. God willing, I will discuss the things that people from various social backgrounds and the various officials of the country can do in this regards.
I hope that Allah the Exalted will help both officials and the people so that they can carry out their duties in the best way possible, and they can act on this year’s slogan–the slogan of “Support for Iranian Products” – in the true sense of the word.
Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings
