In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master Muhammad, and upon his pure household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth
You are very welcome. The meeting is a very important meeting, one that carries a lot of weight. I am very sorry that a number of friends did not find the opportunity to make their statements here. The way to raise your points is to hand in the writings you wanted to read out. Some of the brothers as well raised their hands from among the crowd to speak, but because it is the honorable presenter who runs the meeting, I did not and will not intervene.
The primary purpose of tonight's meeting is to show respect to producers. This is the main goal of the meeting. We wanted to establish the idea among the public opinion of the country that the Islamic Republic respects and attaches great significance – in the true sense of the word – to producers, the promoters of domestic industry, domestic agriculture and domestic production. And this goal was thankfully attained tonight. So, it does not matter if I make my statements or not because the main goal of the meeting has been achieved until this hour.
The points that the friends raised here, which I listened to carefully, were important and noteworthy points. Of course, in order to make decisions about such proposals, we need to think, to deliberate and to consult with experts. However, you should rest assured and you should know that I believe in this movement from the bottom of my heart. I believe that the cure for and the key to the problems of the country lies in promoting domestic production in different areas.
Tonight, ten people spoke. This signifies that we have new ideas to present in ten important production divisions. The points that the gentlemen raised were very important and accurate. I am skilled at listening to people. Many individuals come here and speak and I listen to them. The statements were well-organized, accurate and important. There are a number of honorable officials in the meeting, but this is not enough. I wish there were more executive officials – the officials in different divisions of the administration – and Members of Majlis so that they could listen to these statements.
I also wish those who think otherwise about production and boosting the economy of the country and who pin their hopes elsewhere showed their presence here to see that the solution is this. The outlet conveying life, light and energy inside the country is the one that has been opened by the individuals in charge of production. There is no other option.
I will tell you that the reason why we attach significance to economic matters is that the economy plays a very important role in the Islamic government. If some people think that the Islamic government has ignored engendering wealth, expanding public welfare and creating important and wealth-generating production units, this is a grave mistake because it is not correct. One of the most important bases of the Islamic government is to enrich society and the country and to achieve national wealth. Of course, the outlook of the Islamic government is different from that of materialistic governments and systems – including the ones referred to as capitalist and liberal systems and the ones known as Marxist and socialist systems and other such systems.
In the Islamic government, creating national wealth is a value, but so is distributing it in a fair way. The kind of equality that used to be claimed by socialism – which was never attained of course – is rejected by Islam. In Islam, equality in its socialist sense of the word is completely meaningless, but public welfare has meaning. The public should have welfare. According to our knowledge of communist governments which is complete and thorough – whether the main and the mother governments such as the Soviet Union and the like or the governments which followed this model such as Latin American governments, African governments and some Asian ones - those who chanted the slogan of equality did not take heed of it in practice and as it happens, it was not attainable to begin with.
Islam does not believe in these models, rather it believes in creating national wealth and raising the level of public welfare in society. Of course, in society, some people have more resources and some less. There is nothing wrong with this. However, public resources should be distributed in a fair way. This is the outlook of Islam towards wealth. In the Islamic government, class fissures do not occur naturally, there should not be rifts and fissures. Of course, there are differences between individuals, but there should not be class fissures.
The main point that I want to discuss is that like all other arenas, this arena of developing production, boosting the economy and causing national wealth and public welfare to soar in the country needs pioneering, leadership and taking the frontlines. You producers are the pioneers, commanders and soldiers in the frontlines. I am not merely addressing the present gathering. This type of movement and the gentlemen who spoke about their activities are the ones who form the frontlines and who cross the borders in these areas. This arena is an important and critical arena because it is an arena of war.
Economic war in the world takes different forms. Those individuals who are well-informed about the international economy clearly see that countries and powers – in fact, the whole world – are at war over the economy. This war and struggle has manifested itself in the current administration in the US. They are at war with China, South Korea, European countries and others, all in different ways, but this does not mean that there had not been a war before this administration. There were wars in different forms.
However, wars sometimes take savage forms based on grudges. An example is their war against us in the area of the economy. There is a criminal and grudge-based aspect to the sanctions that they impose. Of course, there have been sanctions since the beginning of the Revolution, but they have been intensified in the past 10 years, and the sanctions will remain for the time being. If someone hopes that they will come to an end in one, two years, I will tell you that this is false hope.
Based on our information about this front, what I understand is that the sanctions will remain there for the unforeseeable future. Logically, they must and will be there. In order to save the economy of the country, we should not wait and see when the sanctions will be lifted, when such and such a person and party will go and what such and such a country will do. This will not have any impact and the sanctions will be there. Of course, some individuals adopt some clever measures by outmaneuvering the sanctions. This is very good and there is nothing wrong with it. I thank them as well, but the main task is to immunize the economy of the country against the possible detriments of the sanctions. This is the main task.
Maneuvering the sanctions is a tactic, but immunizing the economy of the country is a strategy which should be implemented. We should act in a way that we will not be vulnerable in the face of the sanctions. However, this is not the case in the present time. In the present time, our economy is reliant on oil. Of course, with the sanctions on oil, this reliance has been undermined and our financial balance has changed, but our economy is reliant on oil in general. Well, oil is a vulnerable source of income. When we decide to use oil revenues for filling the budget of the administration – not only the budget for infrastructure, but also the budget for our day-to-day affairs – this is what happens: we become vulnerable. Therefore, we should cure this.
And this is not just what I am saying now, I have been saying this since the 1370s, during the late Hashemi's (may God bestow mercy on him) administration - who was my dear brother and my dear friend. I used to say to him and to his ministers that we should gradually reduce our dependence on oil.
The National Development Fund was established to that end. The National Development Fund means that every year, we should put a certain percentage of our oil revenues in that fund by taking it away from consuming organizations. Of course, the fund is in control of the administration, but it should not be spent on daily affairs. We were supposed to add to it continuously. This year, if we were supposed to proceed within the law, we should have put about 35 percent of oil revenues in the National Development Fund, but executive officials in all administrations – not just in the current one – come to see me asking to use the fund over different matters. This is not legal. Because it is not legal, they come to see me. If it had been legal, they would have taken it out on their own. Because it is not legal, they come and see me in order to fix the problem and they beg me by saying that there are such and such problems and that I should let them take such and such sums out of it.
The National Development Fund has unfortunately become less efficient and it has lost some of its functions. I have said to them in response that if the President writes to me saying that it is necessary to do so, I will accept and I will give my blessing. Of course, the fund is run by the administration. The person in charge of it is appointed by executive officials and they run it themselves, but it is this humble person who has to give permission to withdraw money from it in this illegal manner, I have to allow it [audience laughs]. So this is a problem. We should choose this path, which is a new path, and we should tread it in a serious way: the path of domestic production.
One of our dear friends said here that some people think that the safest thing to do is to avoid making any decision. This is one of the most dangerous thoughts. One of the most dangerous thoughts is to say, “If I make a decision, then such and such a supervisory organization will oppose me and such and such a trouble-maker will be against it. Therefore, I would be better off if I did not make any decision.” This is very dangerous. You should make a decision and then put it into practice. You should get along with the difficulties and you should eliminate the obstacles.
Until now, many obstacles have been eliminated, as you can see. Many of the individuals who spoke tonight have presented successful works in different areas. It was not like this 10 years ago. It was not like this 15 years ago. Things have been facilitated gradually. I myself am pursuing the matter. You should know that I will defend and help. Production should move forward in the country. This is the cure. Therefore, our main strategy is to immunize the economy against the sanctions. The main strategy is to become invulnerable and in fact to arm the Revolution with the weapon of domestic production and domestic willpower.
One of the blessings of this action – moving towards domestic dynamism – is that the country will stop being "conditionalized". One of the worst things to do in the country is to "conditionalize" the economy. Unfortunately, our economy has been suffering from conditionalization in recent years:: “Let us see what will happen. Let us see what will become of the Bar-Jaam [JCPOA].” And there are other such thoughts. In the present time, some people are trying to conditionalize the economy again: “Let us see what will become of the measure adopted by the French President. Let us see what will become of such and such an innovation.” They should put these aside. If they can do something, they should do it. They can do the things which are not forbidden and for which they do not have to cross the red lines, but they should not make the economy dependent on it and they should not draw the attention of public opinion to it.
Public opinion should know that: "wearing one's old rag is better than wearing borrowed clothes" [from a poem by Sa'adi]. We should attend to our own affairs.
And domestic capacities are very large in number: they exist in abundance! You know this better than I do. Of course, I am not unaware, but you who work in various aspects of production, know very well that the capacities of the country. In fact, the gentlemen and the lady who spoke displayed some of the capacities of the country in their own fields. When they voiced their complaints and concerns, this means that there are untapped capacities in that field that cannot be utilized with the existence of certain obstacles. Their statements imply that should we eliminate the obstacles, we will be able to use them.
So, the whole point in tonight’s meeting was that the capacities of the country are immeasurable and numerous. Some of them have been utilized and they have thankfully exerted a positive impact, but many have remained untapped. If we can use them, the economy will become immune. By Allah’s favor, we will utilize them thanks to the sanctions. For this reason, sanctions can turn into an opportunity for us instead of being a threat. This was also correctly pointed out by the one of the friends in the meeting.
We should also pay attention that if we Iranian nation – we economic activists and thinkers in all affairs of the country – manage to foil sanctions with reliance on domestic power, then the imposers of the sanctions will stop imposing them as well. When they understand that their sanctions are of no avail, they will stop imposing them because they too will suffer a loss. In the present time, the Europeans and others are making a loss as a result of sanctions, but the complex and intermingled relations in the international economy do not allow them to adopt the necessary measures.
When they see that sanctions are inefficient, they will stop them. However, when they do so, we should not once again change the policy of relying on the inside. Some people are waiting to see the path unblocked to turn the vehicle in that direction again. This is wrong. We should strengthen and reinforce the different aspects of the policy to rely on the inside in such a firm manner that it will not be harmed in any way even if the sanctions were lifted. Well, should this happen, more resources will be at our disposal including exports and various other resources, but the movement to rely on the inside should not be harmed.
One of the great advantages of the country is the opportunity to benefit from its young population. I really enjoyed it a great deal when that brother of ours said that he has employed four thousand youth in a certain area. One really enjoys hearing this. As demographers put it, this is a “population window.” Today, we are in the heart of this opportunity.
According to the reports, experts in this field say that this opportunity will be there for 20 years. We have 20 years. If we manage to strengthen our work in this area during this time span, we will win. However, if we show negligence allowing the opportunity to slip from our grasp, then nothing can be done when the country enters the aging stage.
Well, how can we benefit from this opportunity during the next 20 years? There are two main issues at hand: one is that we should not allow the population to decrease. We should not allow the young population to decrease. We should increase the birth rate. And the second is that we should create permanent wealth for the country. These two actions should be done.
When I place so much emphasis on population, birth rate and the like, this is what it means. If this issue is ignored – as has unfortunately been the case for long – if this negligence continues and if everyone does not think of having children and launching this great movement in the country, then in 20 years’ time – which will pass in a flash: 20 years is not a long time – we will enter a stage where it will be difficult for us to proceed. Another task is to create wealth.
The country has many advantages. It has many capacities and everyone has certain responsibilities. I have written down some words of advice for economic activists, the masses of the people, academic personalities, NGOs and the media – one of the gentlemen made a complaint in this regard – and for government organizations. I wish to discuss these words of advice, but we will certainly be short of time. So, I will have to discuss them in brief:
As for economic activists – you gentlemen – I only wish to say that you are the ones addressed by the policies on Article 44. It is you who are addressed by Article 44 of the Constitution within whose framework, I announced to the people the policies on Article 44 by adopting a legal and reasonable outlook. The day when those policies were announced, everyone approved of them. On that day, I do not remember if one single person from among economic critics and experts complained. Everyone approved of them saying that it is the right course of action to take, which was correct. The same is true of government officials.
Of course, they were not implemented correctly. If by using Article 44, they entrust such and such a factory to a person who wants to take advantage of the situation by closing the factory down and build a tower there instead, this is not strengthening the private sector! This action played a major part in tarnishing the environment [of privatization]. Even one percent of economic activists and those who were entrusted with governmental firms and factories did not act like that. Others did the right thing, but even that one percent because it was discussed at length, led to pessimism about the situation. .
I will tell you that you are the ones addressed by the article. The policies on Article 44 will give you economic activists certain rights and they will also make you responsible. Therefore, you should pursue the matter.
I have written down that you should form the chain of specialization by formulating practical plans and having a road map. Producing science, developing technology, designing, engineering, providing the necessary equipment, machinery and ingredients, manufacturing products, marketing and distributing are all tasks that fall on you. By Allah’s favor, you should carry them out.
Of course, I should add that I firmly believe in cooperatives. I completely agree with what the honorable head of cooperatives said. Cooperatives are a very good phenomenon for our economy as they collect small capital and they empower every individual. They also create a great deal of employment. Later on, if it is possible to create a network of them, there will be a great system. This has many advantages. Therefore, they should follow up the issue of cooperatives.
The honorable Minister is present here as well. They should seriously pursue the issue of cooperatives and eliminate the problems in this regard.
As for the masses of the people, I have always spoken about this at length. What I wish to say to our dear people is that they should definitively use domestic products. And those who can should definitely participate in production investments including in cooperatives or in certain areas of the stock market.
The people – those who have the capability to do so and who are influential among the people – should promote the culture of jihadi work and the spirit of cooperation and solidarity among themselves. Fortunately, our people are ready. As you can witness, when a flood or earthquake takes place, the people enter the arena without being told to do so. This is our experience, one that is not particular to the present time. This was the case even before the Revolution. I myself have had several successful personal experiences on the issue of public cooperation and assistance in the case of such incidents. Just recently, when the streets of Tehran became frozen and when it was raining, the television showed that a number of individuals – a number of Muslims – endeavored to bring sand and salt [to de-ice the streets]. They were not members of the municipality and public services, nor were they part of the police. They were ordinary people. And it is not clear if that specific street was frequented by them. The vehicles passing there were not their vehicles either, but they were stuck and they could not drive on those frozen roads. So, they embarked on sprinkling sand. Our people are like this. They are ready.
This spirit should be grasped in order to promote jihadi work. The people should attach great significance to production and they should respect producers and healthy economic activists. They should disapprove of wrong behavior, but they should not extend it to others. I wish to stress that they should not extend a wrong and inappropriate course of action that they see somewhere to everyone. In every group of people, there might be – and there are - certain dishonest people.
Sometimes, we see certain phenomena in people’s handicrafts and small production businesses. Sometimes, we see that they manufacture products which are good, but they put a foreign label on it. I am surprised at this. They put a foreign label on it. Once, we asked for certain products to be sent to an underprivileged area. They brought me a sample of it, but I saw that it had a foreign label. I asked, “Did you not say that it is a domestic product? This was supposed to be produced inside the country.” They answered that it is a domestic product and that the tailor is such and such a person, but he has put this label on it. So, I ordered them to tear it off. It is one of the bad actions that some people do: giving the people domestic products with foreign labels.
As for scientific and academic personalities, I have said this many times: first of all, they should attend to solving the main issues of the economy. We have many issues in the country in the area of the economy. Universities can work on and resolve them.
Secondly, they can cooperate with production organizations. They can help production organizations and in return, those organizations will reward and pay them for their work. This will help academic research. This is a very advantageous and essential piece of work. Of course, it is many years now that it has begun, but it should continue.
Another issue is about training creative and innovative manpower, which is compatible with present-day needs. Another issue is doing scientific work on the banking system and the issue of the budget. These are our problems. In the present time, we really have problems in the area of the budget. I have placed great emphasis on this matter and I gave them a four-month deadline to correct the budget system. Well, it has not been done.
There are scientific knots which should be untied by universities. The same is true of our banking system. In the month of Ramadan, I have meetings with students and university professors. They come here and speak for hours, giving very good opinions. This is not only done by university professors, but also by MA and Ph.D. students. They make very valuable statements and I really learn from them. They are experts and they can solve the problem. So, government officials can benefit from them. They can ask them to help, and academic personalities can enter the arena.
My firm advice to public nongovernmental organizations is that they should not turn into a rival for the private sector. This is what I have always said to public nongovernmental organizations. They can enter the arena when either the private sector does not have the necessary power and resources or it is not willing to do so. If after some time, the private sector becomes involved, they should go get involved in a harder area and in a distant region. They should go to such areas and make investments there. And they should seriously avoid competing with the private sector.
As for government organizations, this is my advice: the first issue that I insist government organizations should seriously pursue is to improve the business environment. All the problems that the gentlemen in the meeting enumerated are due to the failure to improve finance. There are interfering rules and regulations and possible wrong measures, but there are not ulterior motives – of course, there might be ulterior motives in certain cases as well. They should create a suitable environment for production in the country. There must be a good environment to the advantage of production and production-oriented movements and against the tendency to import and to rely on the outside.
Unfortunately, we have a very bitter and sinister legacy from the taghuti regime. In that regime, economic and financial moves were reliant on imports. This has not come to an end ever since that time. The Revolution changed many wrong notions, but it has unfortunately not been able to change this correctly. There must be a serious effort to that end. We should shape the environment of the country – the economic, financial and monetary environment, the banking system, the budget, the social welfare system and the rules and regulations required in this regard – in a way that it will be to the advantage of production. Imports, brokerage and dealing and dishonest paperwork should be sidelined.. This is the most important issue.
Another issue is to cooperate with healthy and well-established activists. Fortunately, a large number of our economic activists are healthy, well-established and deep-rooted people and they are really working. Some of them work for the sake of God. Of course, the private sector is after its own personal profit which is alright, but there are some individuals who work for God. I knew someone who was rich. He was one of my acquaintances in Mashhad. He said that he could put his money in the bank earning a lot of interest without any trouble, without any tax and without any supervision, but that he did not do so.
He was in the business of raising chicken and other farm animals. He said that he invested his money in that business which involves a lot of trouble. It was a production business, but for the sake of God. He said that he found it necessary for the Revolution. Notice that he gains personal profit too, but he is also rewarded by God. This is one issue.
Interfering rules and regulations should be lifted. This falls on the Majlis. They should be replaced with facilitating rules. This has already happened in the case of some rules. They have changed them to the benefit of production, but they have not been implemented yet. Good laws have been passed. Some of them have been ratified, but they have not been implemented, but they should. These are our main problems in the area of banks, customs and the like. They should be eliminated and the Majlis and the administration should be seriously active in this regard.
Producers also make some mistakes, but not all mistakes are at the same level. It is not the case that every mistake makes supervisory organizations pour into production units and create problems for them. This is our advice to such organizations. Of course, some commit an act of treason. Their case is different, but there are some mistakes and errors that can be eliminated with warnings and with second chances.
Fortunately, the honorable head of the judiciary branch said to me a while ago – perhaps a week ago – that they have prevented a large number of production units, which were on the verge of being closed down, from being closed down. Well, this is very good. Supervisory organizations should pay attention to this point.
Another necessary word of advice to the administration is stability in its monetary and financial policies. It should have stability in its policies. Policies which change every few months or once a year deal hard blows to the production of the country.
There is another point which originates from our experience in doing business with foreigners: experience has shown that foreign companies are not willing to transfer basic and fundamental technologies to the country. One of our friends in the meeting said that we have transferred technology to such and such a country. I said to him, “It is very good to transfer technology.” However, others send their products, but they refuse to send their technology to us. I am not saying that you should do the same. Sometimes, it is necessary to transfer technology because it is very good and it is a source of credit for the country, but others do not do that, particularly in fundamental areas such as oil, the automobile industry and petrochemicals. Therefore, domestic organizations should seriously satisfy the needs of the country in these areas.
One, two years ago, the Ministry of Oil presented a project according to which foreigners would extract oil wells under certain terms. We have had some backwardness in this area. However, what I want to say is that, is the kind of genius and talent that can produce stem cells in the country without any help from others – the day when we produced and achieved it, it was a very complex and rare industry in the world – or that can enrich uranium from three, three and a half percent to twenty percent, while no international organization and no holder of the industry was willing to help in any way, incapable of helping the administration in the area of extracting oil in a better and efficient way? It can certainly help. This is one of the most fundamental tasks. There should be planning for basic technologies and we should grasp this historic opportunity.
Notice that oil and automobile companies left the country sooner than everyone else. Some people became upset at this, but we should become happy about this. Very well, they left, but we have so many resources in the area of building automobile components. One of the friends in the meeting touched on this matter. We can develop the necessary components in oil and automobile industries. We can benefit from the existing resources. Of course, executive officials can play a very efficient role in this regard. We should focus the efforts when it comes to building components in different areas – oil, automobile, household appliances, transportation and machinery. They should interact and add to one another.
They should hold permanent exhibitions for displaying their work. I have spoken about this before. A few months ago, I said that the needs of the different industries which have certain problems in their work should be identified and then, they should entrust knowledge-based companies and universities with the task of helping them. Later on, they should display their works in those exhibitions. This happened. Fortunately, this step was taken, but it is not enough. There should be permanent component-building exhibitions in different areas. This measure should be adopted.
Another task would be to transfer the great capability of military organizations in the area of engineering and technology to non-military organizations. The level of our engineering activities in the military is fortunately very high. The tasks that are being accomplished in the present time are very important and this is not just related to the present time. It is perhaps 10, 12 years now that they have been carrying out important tasks in the area of military industries.
I might have spoken once, twice on this matter in my public speeches: once, I read an article written by an Israeli general a few years ago. At that time, our youth had tested a missile. He wrote an article somewhere and they brought me the translation. He had said, “I am on bad terms with Iran. I do not like Iranians, but I bow down to this great endeavor. Iran is under a severe siege, but it can produce this masterpiece in such circumstances.”
Of course, after that, many better, more important and more interesting works have been produced. When you see that our ballistic missiles, with a range of two thousand kilometers, can hit the target with an error rate of at most on, two, five meters, this is a very great and important phenomenon. Well, this engineering and technological capability can be utilized in the area of automobile, oil and various other areas – aerospace and non-military industries. It is quite possible to do so. Of course, military organizations have good relations with universities and they make the most of their capabilities. You should know this as well.
Another issue is about supporting exports and the active presence of economic activists in the arena of foreign affairs. This was also mentioned by the friends and it is completely correct. We can benefit from our diplomatic capacity. Around us, there are three, four hundred million people in our neighboring countries with some of whom, we have ordinary and good relations. We can have good interaction with them. The officials in charge of diplomatic affairs should highlight Iranian brands outside the country.
Imagine that when you participate in an international meeting, the suit that you are wearing has the brand of an Iranian tailor – for example, a tailor in Semnan has sewn it in a very exquisite manner. When it is worn by our officials, the brand will be promoted. So, they should promote Iranian brands. They should also promote Iranian ideas and concepts, but some people do the opposite. One of my complaints to some of the officials of the country in recent years was that when they speak to Europeans, what they say to them is European! What they say is something that a European thinker said, for example, a hundred years ago. The idea enters our country and then, officials convey them to the Europeans.
Well, such ideas are not of great value to them. We ourselves have new ideas which are unheard. Therefore, we should convey those ideas. The same is true of Iranian brands which should be promoted. In the case of some products and goods, we must use a barter system.
As for the policies on Article 44, I wish to stress again that the policies on Article 44 were not about replacing the executive sector with the private sector. Both private and government sectors have their own separate roles and positions. They should help one another and avoid interfering in one another’s affairs. We said that the government sector should not interfere in the affairs of the private sector. What does this mean? It means that the government sector should not get involved in a task that can be carried out by the private sector. Even if it is already involved, it should step aside and let the private sector take over. They should complement one another.
However, this does not mean that the government sector should completely abandon economic activities as there are certain tasks that cannot be accomplished by anyone but the government or public sector. They should get involved in such affairs and do them, as I mentioned previously.
The private sector and cooperatives should definitely be expanded. In the area of oil and gas, the private sector and cooperatives can have a comprehensive presence. Recently, a law has been ratified which involves downstream oil and gas industries. This law should be enforced. Some laws are ratified in the Majlis, but they are not enforced. In other words, the necessary statutes are not prepared and they remain idle. This should be done as soon as possible. They should pursue the matter so that it can be done.
And we should also increase our capacity to produce oil and gas. We should have strategic oil and gas provisions. This is a necessity and I have mentioned it in policies on the economy of resistance.
As for the media, I advise them to reflect these achievements. They reflect some of the shortcomings out of sympathy. Very well, it is alright to reflect the shortcomings so that officials can understand where the problems lie, if they watch television. However, they should reflect the achievements as well. They should reflect the very statements that you made tonight and the tasks accomplished in the areas of oil, aquaculture and chemical products so that the people and youth become familiar with our achievements.
After that, they should introduce the numerous and various capacities that exist in the country so that talented individuals will pursue them in the future. Of course, they should follow up the reasonable demands of economic activists so that executive officials will pay attention to them.
Tonight, I learned another fact about the media: foreigners promote their products in the IRIB by giving 30 million dollars. They give money. When they manage to find customers for their products, the price of their products go up. And when the prices go up, domestic producers should pay the same price when they want to promote their products in the IRIB, but they cannot. This is my advice: I am not saying that you should not receive that 30 million dollars. No, you should receive as much as you can [Audience laughs], but you should differentiate between them. You should set tariffs in a reasonable way. You should set a certain tariff for foreign producers and you should set a different one for domestic producers. You should not do something to prevent domestic producers from promoting their brands inside the country.
Well, I am finished speaking. Everyone – both our friends and our enemies – should know that we pushed back the enemy in the arena of military war, in the arena of political war and in the arena of security war. The recent incidents were security plots. They were not hatched by the people, rather they were security measures, but the enemies were pushed back. We have pushed the enemy back in different arenas and by Allah’s favor, we will definitely push him back in the arena of economic war. [Audience chants, “Death to America!”]
I hope that Allah the Exalted will increase your achievements, God willing. According to the reports that I have received on production and what has been achieved this year, I see a bright future in the area of economic matters. As I mentioned, the key is production and boosting production. By Allah’s favor, this path will become brighter on a daily basis and you friends will make more achievements, God willing.
Thankfully, I see bright prospects. According to what I see and on the basis of experience and the information that I have, I see very bright prospects.
Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings
۶) خندهی حضّار