Expressing his congratulations on the occasion of the Eids in this month of Sha’ban, in particular the 15th of Sha’ban, Imam Khamenei described the Eid of the 15th of Sha’ban as being the day of the historic dreams of humanity coming true. In referring to the great spiritual significance of the month of Sha’ban and the sublime meanings found in the Sha’baniyah Supplication, he said, “Imam Khomeini was deeply fond of the Kumayl Supplication and the Sha’baniyah Supplication. I hope that God will bestow on everyone the spiritual capacity to be able to make a better use of the blessings offered in this month.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the Assembly of Experts plays an important role in strengthening the Islamic government, and he added, “The necessary condition for all legal institutions to be effective, such as the Assembly of Experts, is for them to act in accordance with the duties that the Constitution has specified for them.”
The Leader continued, “The Assembly of Experts must carefully comply with the strict legal regulations regarding the person who is currently in the position of the Leader and the person who will later be elected to this position by the votes of the members of this Assembly.”
Imam Khamenei said that other organizations too, including the Administration and the Islamic Consultative Assembly, are also obliged to comply with the legal regulations. He emphasized, “The Administration should comply with the laws passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly too should not get involved in the affairs of the Executive Branch at all.”
The Leader stated that strengthening the Islamic Republic brings national power and strength, “National strength is vital for every country. If any nation wishes to achieve independence and greatness, the ability to use its own vital resources at its own volition and resistance in the face of others’ [illegitimate] demands, it should be strong. Otherwise, if it is weak, humiliated and intimidated, it will always have to worry about the transgressions of foreigner powers.”
Imam Khamenei described national strength as being an intertwined combination of different pillars. He explained it in this way, “Science and technology, thinking, reflection and free thought are some of the pillars of national strength. If there is no free thought and intellectual progress, science and technology will not be able to open the way.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to “a strong security and defense,” “the economy, the public well-being and the economic welfare of the people,” “diplomatic strength and bargaining power for ensuring national interests at a regional and global level,” “culture and lifestyle,” and “an appealing logic that influences other nations” as being other branches of national strength. Furthermore, he stressed, “Attracting nations brings strategic depth for any country, and this is very important.”
He added, “None of these branches of national strength should be eliminated in favor of other pillars and branches.” Citing examples in this regard, Imam Khamenei stressed that proposals such as abandoning regional involvement in order to avoid giving the enemy an excuse and stopping scientific progress in the nuclear sciences are actually blows to national strength. He elaborated this point, “Regional involvement gives us strategic depth and more national strength. Why should we stop this approach? Progress in the nuclear sciences too is related to meeting the needs of the country in the near future. If we abandon these, toward whom should we stretch out our hand in a few years?”
The Leader further stated that giving in to the US or any other power in order to be immune from their sanctions is a grave mistake and a blow to our political strength, “There is no idea more naive and simple-minded than the proposal to decrease our defensive strength so that the enemy won’t become sensitive.”
In this regard, he stressed, “Over the years, some of these feeble, unfounded proposals have been put forward, all of which were unfitting and indeed they were rejected. If the people who had wanted to cut some of the arms of national strength had been given permission to go ahead, Iran would be facing grave dangers today. However, by God’s favor and grace, the possibility of implementing those proposals was never explored.”
Expanding on the pillars of national strength, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “The issues that are directly related to the masses of the people – national unity, the nation’s trust and hope, the preservation of the nation’s faith, the issue of the people’s livelihood and the facilitation of social issues related to the people – are very important in increasing national strength.”
Imam Khamenei drew attention to the fact that the resolution of these matters will lead to the maximum involvement of the people and added, “Of course, the people have always been involved despite various problems. But if these needs are met, the nation will unanimously be involved and there will be no worries or fears for the country thereafter.”
Imam Khamenei explained that the efforts of the devils in the world to mislead the people is due to the nation’s exemplary involvement, “With their media, these devils are constantly promoting lies and making groundless statements in order to discourage and bring despair to the people by undermining their faith and national self-confidence.”
He stated that deceiving prominent personalities, with the ultimate goal of deceiving the whole nation, is at the top of the agenda of the enemies and said, “With the most intense soft war waged against the Iranian nation in history, the arrogant powers in the world are trying to deceive those who have a special status, abilities or knowledge with the aim that these individuals will then deceive the masses of the people so that they will not realize the truth and reality.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the enemies train mercenaries, promote taking money in forbidden ways and use threats and lures to deceive individuals. He said, “Of course, this intense soft war shows that the infrastructures and resources of the camp of truth have become stronger, as a result of which, challenging the camp of truth has become difficult. This has led the enemy to wage a soft war to corrupt the thinking of the people.”
