At this meeting, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution addressed recent economic problems of the country, calling ‘internal factors’ as the source of the crisis and added: Scholars and many officials believe that the problem rises from within the country. The problem of gold coins and foreign currency unfolded due to negligence and mismanagement. People from all walks of life can feel the livelihood problems today. A group of the people are truly under extreme pressure. The inflammation rate in food and housing as well as other financial problems put pressure on the people.
Ayatollah Khamenei described the drastic fall of Iranian Rial against foreign currencies as targeting mainly the working class and said: Reduction of the value of national currency is a problem of the present economic situation. When the value of Iranian Rial falls in such a manner, it is the daily-paid laborer who is left with nothing to live on.
The Leader of the Revolution attributed the source of the current economic problems as internal mismanagements rather than external factors, highlighting the fact that: Economic experts and many officials agree that today's livelihood problems do not emerge from outside; rather, they are tracked down to internal issues.
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that sanctions may have played a role in creating the current economic situation, but that domestic factors are stronger role players on the matter. He articulated that: Not that sanctions are not playing a role, but the main reasons lie in the measures taken within the country. If actions are taken more efficiently, more prudently, more swiftly and more firmly, sanctions cannot have much effect and they can be resisted.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution regarded the Head of Judiciary’s recent letter regarding the punishment of convicts of economic corruption as a major step and held: The committers of economic corruption are to be seriously confronted, with no compromise. The recent letter by the head of the Judiciary Branch is a big step forward to countering economic corruption and [punishing] committers of economic corruption.
Ayatollah Khamenei once again urged the officials to strictly punish financial crimes, and stressed: Those who commit corruption must be punished. When corruption and convicts of corruption are opposed, some may start to protest.
His Eminence described corruption as a “seven-head dragon” that has to be obliterated, and asserted: Some years ago, I wrote a letter to the heads of the three branches of power, indicating that corruption is like a seven-head Dragon that needs to be totally obliterated. Know that economic convicts are going to be seriously confronted, with no compromise.
Meanwhile the audience demanded the capital punishment of the committers of economic corruption and chanted: the committers of economic corruption should be sentenced to capital punishment.
However, Ayatollah Khamenei defied the audience’s slogan and responded: Wait! Are you the court? Do not bring about a negative atmosphere.
The Supreme Leader then called for a just trial of the convicts and added: Some of the convicts might be sentenced to capital punishment, and some to imprisonment. I have reiterated, that encountering must be done justly, with appropriate meticulousness.
Ayatollah Khamenei acknowledged there exist corruption in the country but criticized those who attribute corruption to the entire system and said: I have always been combating corruptions and convicts of corruption, and I still hold to my belief. But some go too far in their remarks, calling all as corrupts, by referring to the term systematic corruption; this is not true. It is true that even a little corruption is too much; but going to extremes is problematic in every aspect.
His Eminence called for supervision of the process to combat corruption and called every branch of the powers as responsible towards confronting economic corruption. He went on to say: Supervision entities must be present with strength and awareness; the parliament (Majlis), the Judiciary Branch, and all the devout people should feel responsible and act vigorously. Any path leading to corruption must be shut down. In the matter of foreign currency and gold coins, if corruption was opposed, corruption would be blocked.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution slammed U.S. rhetoric towards Iran and stated: The U.S. has become more blatant and ruder in their rhetoric over the past few months. Previously they were not so observant of diplomatic etiquette in their speech either; however, they have become ruder towards all nations.
Ayatollah Khamenei drew an example of U.S.’s blatancy in actions and rhetoric and said: The example of it is that during the last week, the Saudis committed two crimes: attacking a hospital and attacking a school bus with 40 or 50 innocent children on board. Do you have 8 or 9 year-olds at home? This is a dramatic tragedy. It truly breaks one’s heart.
He criticized U.S.’s reaction towards the attack and added: The news shook the global conscience. But how did the U.S. react? Instead of condemning the crime, the U.S. said, “We have strategic relations with Saudi Arabia.” Is this not [a sign of] shamelessness? What the U.S. president did to two or three thousand children by separating them from their parents, putting them in cages because they were immigrants is an unprecedented crime in history!
Ayatollah Khamenei further slammed U.S. action towards Iran and held: Recently, the U.S. officials have been talking blatantly about us. Beside sanctions, they talk about war and negotiations. Of course they do not openly talk about wars, but they intent to imply that there is a ghost of war that would scare the Iranian nation or scare those who fear.
He assured the audience there would be no war on Iran by saying: No war will happen as, like we have never previously been, we will never be the initiator of a war and the U.S. won't launch a war either because they know it would end to their detriment: because the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation have proved that any invasion would be responded by a bigger blow.
Ayatollah Khamenei then referred to the humiliating debacle of Operation Eagle Claw at Tabas desert in 1980, saying: They may not understand lots of things, but they probably do understand what the outcome of invading Iran would feel like.
Ayatollah Khamenei then criticized U.S.’s role in negotiating by stating: In the matter of negotiations, they play a poor game. One of them says, negotiations with preconditions, another one says, negotiations without preconditions. Let me address the people on the matter in a few words: There will be no war, nor will we negotiate with the U.S. This is the gist of the word that all the Iranian people should know. The U.S. has now offered to do negotiations; this is not new. This has existed since the beginning of the revolution.
Ayatollah Khamenei elaborated to the audience why Iran has decided not to negotiate with the United States and asserted: Why won’t we negotiate? The U.S. negotiations formula is this:
- Because the Americans rely on money and power, they consider negotiations as a business deal.
- When the U.S. wants to negotiate with a party, they determine their main goals, and then they won’t retreat even a step away from these goals.
- They demand that the other party pay immediate profits; and if the other party refuses to comply with them, they start to make a fuss, so the other party would surrender.
- The U.S. itself does not pay anything in exchange for what it takes from the other party. The U.S. only makes strong promises in order to enchant the other party with mere promises.
- In the final stage, after receiving all the immediate advantages, the U.S. breach their own promises.
He further added: This is the U.S.'s method of the negotiations. Now should we negotiate with such a sham government? The JCPOA was a clear example of this. Though, I was very exigent about it, the red lines were not really respected.
Finally Ayatollah Khamenei banned any negotiations with the U.S., saying: The Islamic Republic can negotiate with the U.S. only when it reaches the favorable power and sovereignty that would nullify U.S.’s pressures and domineering efforts; when those efforts have no effect on Iran. Today this is not the case. Thus, I will ban negotiations with the U.S. just as Imam [Khomeini] did.
Read the full text of the speech here.
