Statements in Meeting with Members of the Assembly of Experts

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I extend a warm welcome to the esteemed gentlemen, the revered and distinguished members of the Islamic Republic's Assembly of Experts. I express my gratitude for the points raised by the gentlemen in this session, which reflect a sensitivity to the issues and events of the country and a sense of responsibility towards the future of the nation. God willing, may the Almighty grant you success and assist us all in fulfilling our duties with sincere intention. The impact of this is with God, and acceptance depends on His grace and kindness; however, each of us, wherever we are, must strive and dedicate ourselves to the advancement of our tasks.

I find it necessary, before presenting the points I have noted, to thank our dear people, to appreciate them, and to honor them for their timely and impactful presence in this election. Truly, our dear people have shown remarkable commitment and brought forth the power derived from faith and insight in the face of the opposition and enemies of the country and the people. Anyone who understands the efforts made by the enemies over the past months to diminish and undermine the twelfth of Esfand (March 2) knows how much they spent, how many they employed, how much they planned, and how much they crafted narratives in think tanks to influence the minds of the people and affect their actions will realize how significant the people's actions were and how immense this movement was.

First and foremost, one must thank God; for it is from Him, belonging to Him, arising from the divine will and the mercy and grace of the Lord. Then, one must sincerely thank the people with all their being; for this divine mercy is not given without cause or reason to anyone, to any nation, or to any country. In our prayers, we say: "O God, I ask You for the causes of Your mercy." We must create the conditions for mercy, and then the abundant and torrential rain of divine mercy and grace will pour upon us. Our people have created the conditions for divine mercy. Their presence in the arena, their steadfastness against the onslaught of the enemies, their insight—these are all the causes of divine mercy. The success in fulfilling these conditions also belongs to the Almighty God. We are grateful to the Almighty and bow in gratitude before Him, and we sincerely thank our dear people, hoping that God grants them sufficient and complete rewards.

The matter I wish to discuss revolves around the issue of elections. Elections are not a transient event; they are a significant event; therefore, we must reflect on this. Firstly, elections are a crucial pillar of the system. The system of religious democracy relies on elections. Without elections, there will be no democracy. The criterion for reliance on the people, the evident and measurable criterion, is this very election. Therefore, anyone who believes in the Islamic system considers participation in elections as their duty; even if they may have objections to something, to this very election, or to a certain aspect of the elections; nonetheless, despite their objections, they enter the electoral arena; this is a duty. Thus, all those who entered this arena across the country acted upon this obligation; they fulfilled this duty; they demonstrated their correct understanding. This correct understanding shows that the issue of elections is a matter of the system's pillar. We cannot disregard this issue simply because we have objections to Zayd or Amr, or to something else. These objections do not prevent this; this is the fundamental and essential point.

One effect that this election had—and elections generally have this effect—is the issue of dispelling illusions. Elections act like a wake-up call and an awareness-raising force for those who are immersed in their illusions and daydreaming about the future of the system, about the essence of the system, about the people, about the country, and about the enemy. Elections pull them out of these illusions; they present the truth before them.

Two days ago, we heard that the President of the United States said that they are not considering war with Iran. Very well; this is good, this is a reasonable statement, this is a departure from illusion. Alongside this, he said that they will bring the Iranian people to their knees with sanctions—paraphrasing. This is an illusion. That departure from illusion in the first part is good, but remaining in illusion in this second part will harm them. When a person's calculations are based on illusion rather than realities, it is evident that in the planning they undertake based on these calculations, they will fail; and this is precisely the case.

Well, it has been a year since they have imposed what they call paralyzing sanctions and so forth—of course, our sanctions have lasted thirty-three years—they stated that the goal is to separate the people from the Islamic system; however, they saw that the people came out and voted for the Islamic system. Voting for any electoral candidate, coming to any ballot box, is a vote for the Islamic system; the people demonstrated this. We have stated that elections are a wake-up call; this wake-up call has various forms; one type of wake-up call is the awakening and alerting one. Therefore, this election also had the characteristic of a wake-up call.

The second point that was mentioned is that elections demonstrate the people's trust in the system. After the tumultuous and eventful elections of 2009, some predicted that the people's trust in the system had been lost; that the people would no longer come to the ballot boxes. This election was a decisive and clear response to this erroneous assumption, to this incorrect inference, to this flawed speculation. The people refuted these speculations; they showed that no, they are committed to the Islamic system, they trust it, they respond to its call—saying that I have set up a ballot box, come and cast your vote and set the agenda—and they come into the arena. Just as we mentioned, each vote was, in fact, a vote for the Islamic Republic. This overwhelming majority that came into the arena was one of the highest figures and ratios of our elections in these thirty-three years. After thirty-three years, the people entered the arena in this manner; this demonstrates complete trust.

Another point that was evident in this election was the insight and intellectual elevation of the people. The people entered the elections with analysis and voted; they had analysis. You could see from the first-time young voters to the elderly men and women, whenever you asked them why they were voting, they provided an analysis, they mentioned a reason; it was not merely that, well, it is an election, we must go and vote; no, they said why they wanted to vote: because our enemy is lurking, because the hungry wolves are lying in wait; God willing, I will elaborate in another discourse on how they are lying in wait to devour and tear apart, thinking that this is a lamb and can be torn apart; they do not realize it is a lion and cannot be approached! The people saw this front, they saw the enmities, they saw the enemy's targeting and the hostile front; thus, they entered with insight, they entered with analysis; and this is very important.

Another point that is associated with this election is that now the parliament that emerges from this election has a heavy responsibility. This is always the case; our leaders who are elected by the people, every official at any level who is elected by the people carries a heavy burden of responsibility. In these circumstances, with this uproar from the enemy, the people's presence in this arena, this parliament that will be formed will be a very responsible parliament. We tell these brothers and sisters who will enter the parliament—those who have been elected and those who will be elected in the second round—to know what a heavy burden lies upon them; they should come with wisdom and prudence to fulfill their duties.

The importance of the country lies in the formulation of its laws. We need guiding laws in all matters. The representatives of the parliament must look at the truth, recognize the needs, and based on the needs, provide the necessary remedies for every ailment and complaint before the officials. The law must be guiding. A law that closes paths, complicates matters, or is unenforceable, or creates numerous problems, or is contradictory, is of no benefit. Simply sitting down to prepare and draft a law is not enough; we must know that the law must be guiding, it must be prudent.

The formation of governments is the responsibility of the parliaments. In their selections, they must know who to choose with what needs, for what purpose, with what advantages, and with what characteristics. They must be both careful and fair. We do not recommend that they be careful, although sometimes this care and scrutiny can lead to unfairness. They should be careful, along with fairness; they should act wisely, along with sincerity. Truly, what is fundamental is sincerity. Mr. Mahdavi mentioned in his statements that the influence of Imam's word and the realization of what Imam had designed was largely due to Imam's sincerity. It was truly so; he was a sincere man, his entire being was filled with sincerity. If we have sincerity, our work will progress. Both officials in the legislative branch, in the judiciary, in religious positions, and in military positions—in various positions—what is necessary is that we recognize our duty and perform our work for the sake of our duty; we should not mix other considerations.

Of course, I must also emphasize here: thanks to those involved in the electoral process. Now Mr. Yazdi mentioned that thanks have been given to the Guardian Council. This is indeed the case. When one sees the volume of work, the delicacy of the work, the difficulty of the work up close, they honor these individuals in their hearts. I told Mr. Jannati and some of the gentlemen that truly, whenever I remember the work you are doing, I honor you in my heart. We repeatedly prayed that God grant them strength and capability; both them, and the government and the Ministry of Interior, and the officials of protection and security who managed to ensure the security of the elections, and the officials of propaganda, broadcasting, and others. They truly accomplished remarkable and significant work; they managed to carry out this great responsibility, this very heavy and vital project in the best possible manner. Well, this is our model; the model of Islamic democracy.

In Islamic democracy, the spirit, the essence, and the main substance is Islam; there should be no deviation from this; it does not exist and, God willing, it will not exist in the future. In the formulation of laws, in the selection of individuals, our criterion is Islam. The form of work, the framework of work, the method of management is democracy; that is, it is the people who enter the scene, who have a deep belief in Islam; even if someone may not outwardly appear to be committed to Islam and the Islamic system; however, they are truly committed, they love Islam.

The experience of these thirty-three years has also shown that Islam can bring dignity to a country; it can elevate a nation; it can outline good goals; it can pave the way towards these goals; it can create scientific movement; it can create technological and industrial movement; it can create pious and moral movement; it can make them proud before other nations; these are events that have occurred in our country; these are great works that have been accomplished by the blessing of Islam in this country. Islam remains the essence and content and main substance of our system's movement, and the form is that of democracy; they are not separate. That is, this democracy also originates from Islam.

To say that we learned democracy from the West is a mistake. The outward appearance is one thing; however, our democracy has its roots in a different religious understanding and a different worldview than what they propose. We regard human beings with dignity, we value their votes, and we see their presence as a means for divine objectives to be realized, which is not possible without it.

The Westerners act differently. Of course, we have frameworks, and they have theirs; their frameworks are oppressive. In a country, if someone objects to the myth of the Holocaust, saying I do not accept it; they imprison him, convict him for denying a historical imaginary event! Now, even if it is imaginary—if it is real—very well, is denying a historical real event a crime? If it is not clear to someone, if it has not been proven, and they deny it or even doubt it, should they be imprisoned? Now, in the so-called civilized countries in Europe, this is the situation: if someone objects, doubts, or does not accept it, the courts convict them; meanwhile, they openly insult the Prophet of Islam, the most distinguished human being in all of history, and insult the sanctities of one and a half billion Muslims, and no one has the right to object to why they did this! See what a wrong and disgraceful framework this is. This is their framework. If someone appears with a hijab there—in a university or workplace—they are a criminal! This is the framework, but it is a wrong and distorted framework, contrary to human nature, contrary to correct human understanding. Our frameworks are divine frameworks: we oppose corruption, we oppose immorality, we oppose all kinds of human deviations, according to what the Sharia and religion teach us. We believe that we must stand against these deviations; the paths of life must be derived from Islam and the Quran and divine inspiration and revelation. This is our framework. This is the religious democracy. This is our model.

If Muslim nations want to know what the Islamic Republic says and what its claim is, they should know that our claim is this: we do not disregard Islam; we consider the divine laws and the divine Sharia, which is Islamic Sharia, to be obligatory in all aspects of our lives; our effort and endeavor is to achieve this. Our framework and form for entering this arena is also religious democracy. The people must come to choose. The legislator who will legislate based on this must be determined by the people. The executor must be determined by the people. Everything is through the people's choice, through the people's presence, with the dignity and honor of the people.

We hope that the Almighty God grants us success to continue this path correctly, to keep ourselves safe from deviations, and to be able, God willing, to reach those lofty goals and be included in the blessed prayers of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.