Statements in Meeting with Members of the Thirteenth Government

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially the Awaited One on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and esteemed sister. This meeting is, as usual for all other governments, my session of gratitude to the officials, friends, and members of the government. Of course, our dear Mr. Raisi is absent; however, according to our beliefs, the pure souls of the believers, especially the martyrs, are observing, present, seeing, and hearing; in fact, he too will be informed of our gratitude and appreciation for him.

This meeting is for expressing gratitude, and we hope that, God willing, the Almighty God accepts your efforts. What you have accomplished is one aspect, and your intention to carry out these tasks is another; this too holds significance. Your decision was to implement certain works and programs in the continuation of the government; these too have merit before the Almighty God. God willing, may God grant you success and assist you in continuing these services. Naturally, the structure of the government will undergo changes; there is no doubt about that; however, the service of individuals should not be confined solely to the specific titles of particular managements; they should be ready to work and serve in all circumstances and in all matters. Serve the country, work for the country, and you can, thanks be to God.

The government of the late Mr. Raisi (may God be pleased with him) was a government of work, a government of hope, a government of movement in both internal and external sectors. Although these titles may not have been used by him or the members of the government, it was practically seen and understood this way; he was truly hopeful, genuinely optimistic about the future — and he was right — and he intended to reach those goals with your cooperation. I would like to mention a point about the characteristics of the late Mr. Raisi (may God be pleased with him) that stands out in my mind. Of course, Mr. Mokhber has articulated this very well; he mentioned many important aspects, and I will also present a few points.

In my opinion, one of the most important characteristics of Mr. Raisi was his being people-oriented. For all of us, for governments and heads of governments, for members of governments, this should be a model. He paid attention to the people, respected them, engaged with them, felt the realities by being among the people, listened to their words, and made their needs the focus of his planning; he was like this. The focus of his planning, actions, and the indicators he considered was solving the problems of the people. Now, some may have reached a conclusion, while others may not have, but the focus of his work was these issues; this is what we always faced in our discussions in our meetings.

This is exactly what Islam emphasizes; that is, being with the people. In the famous letter and command of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) to Malik al-Ashtar, he states that the best and most beloved actions in your sight should be these few things; he mentions two or three things, including: the most pleasing to the people. Pursue this. The term "ra'iyyah" — which sometimes appears in the words of Amir al-Mu'minin as "ra'iyyah" and sometimes as "‘ammah" — refers to the masses of the people in contrast to the favored ones, whom the Imam refers to as "khassah". He says that the best and most beloved actions are those that are in the interest of the masses, that please them, that satisfy them, and that align with their satisfaction.

Then, in two or three subsequent phrases, he states: "And indeed, the foundation of religion and the unity of Muslims and the strength against the common enemies of the nation are these people; they are the ones who, if united, will make the country unified; otherwise, the favored ones each have their own motivations and work for themselves. Naturally, when desires conflict, they will clash with each other — there is no doubt about that — meaning that 'society' loses its meaning altogether. However, the people can unite and be a force against the enemy; in every field, the people come into play.

Now, the Imam has very interesting words that I have elaborated on in the Nahj al-Balagha sessions I have held for government friends over the years. He says that these favored ones have the highest expectations, the least patience, and the weakest and most insignificant assistance; when it comes to expectations, they have the highest demands, but when it comes to presenting a task, they are the least involved; when a war arises, their presence is not felt; in contrast to the masses, whose examples you have all seen in the Sacred Defense, in the defense of the shrine, and in other matters. You see, this is a clear line that Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) has drawn. Mr. Raisi was moving along this line; he was pursuing this; this is very valuable, this is very good, this is truly a model, and all of us should learn to do this. This was one of his special points.

The second point was that he truly believed in internal capabilities. We often discuss this issue of internal capabilities and capacities with many officials in various meetings; no one opposes it, but one can understand who deeply and fundamentally believes in these capabilities and who does not. He truly believed; he accepted that we can solve many of the country's problems, or most of the country's problems, or in a way, all of the country's problems by relying on internal capacities; and thus he pursued these matters. This was one of the important and main lines he followed.

Another prominent point in him was his clarity in expressing revolutionary and religious positions. He did not speak ambiguously or consider that if we express our revolutionary positions clearly, certain individuals, certain groups, or certain personalities might be upset; he did not have these considerations; he expressed his revolutionary positions, which he believed in and adhered to, clearly. In the first interview he gave, when he was asked about relations with a certain country, he said no! Clearly; that is, without any consideration or circumlocution; no, he was clear. In all matters, as we had seen, he was like this.

Another characteristic of his, which everyone knows, understands, and has seen, was his tirelessness in work. I repeatedly advised him to take some rest. I would give examples of cases where individuals who did not rest later faced problems. I would say that for the sake of your future work, you should rest a little; otherwise, at some point, you might fall ill and be unable to work! I would say this repeatedly. He always said that he did not get tired of work; he truly seemed not to tire; one would be astonished. He would return from a foreign trip at midnight and have a public meeting with people in a certain location, for example, in Karaj or somewhere else the next morning! These are very important tasks.

Another prominent point of his was not becoming disheartened by slander. This is a weakness for many of us; that as soon as someone criticizes us, we either feel hurt, or our mood becomes sour, or we dislike that someone has shown ingratitude towards us, and we stop working; often it is like this; we always want to be praised. He, however, did not; he was often slandered, but he did not become disheartened. Of course, one cannot say that he did not suffer; yes, he did suffer, and sometimes he would complain to me, but he did not become disheartened or lose enthusiasm for working and pursuing matters. This was another of his prominent characteristics.

Another prominent point in him was that in foreign policy, he adhered to two characteristics together: one was interaction, and the other was dignity and honor. He was a person of interaction. Here, he would sometimes talk on the phone with a certain European president for an hour or an hour and a half! Imagine that he would talk on the phone for an hour and a half. He was a person of interaction, but from a position of dignity; not so harsh and distancing that communication would be cut off, nor giving away concessions unnecessarily and lowering oneself; no, from a position of dignity, but at the same time with interaction. This led to the fact that after his martyrdom, I saw several prominent world leaders who are now considered prominent and top figures in today’s world praised him in messages they sent to me; this is very important; that is, not as an ordinary politician, but as a distinguished politician. He believed in the principle of communication. We had neglected Africa for years, despite all the recommendations regarding Africa; he established communication with Africa, facilitated visits, and interacted. He believed in establishing communication with various countries, with all the countries where there was a basis for communication and where communication needed to be established. He prioritized in this regard; for example, one of the priorities was neighboring countries, which he emphasized.

Another point of his — which Mr. Mokhber rightly pointed out — was his attention to large projects. He was concerned with heavy projects; for example, consider the transfer of water from the sea to several points or, for instance, in the matter of water, transferring water from distant sources to cities that had long been waiting for water; he resolved their drinking and agricultural issues. He had various projects of this kind. This is also a prominent point in the characteristics of our dear president.

Another point was his ethical demeanor; he was truly humble, truly patient. He was a patient person, a person of forbearance, and he was accommodating with those who had differing opinions; whether it was a difference of opinion or theoretical disagreements that led to practical differences in the arena. You know that these things exist in the administration of the country; he would come to me and mention them, citing instances, and sometimes he would feel upset, but at the same time, he would behave with forbearance towards the parties involved. In one instance, he had a disagreement with a certain entity; I told him not to react at all; it was very difficult for him, but he did not react at all; he truly exercised forbearance; while if he had not had this patience and tolerance, a major conflict would have erupted in the country. This was how he was.

Another characteristic was that he was a person of remembrance, supplication, and prayer, as he also pointed out. Now, I do not know the specifics of the prayers he mentioned, but I know that he was a person of prayer, a person of remembrance, a person of supplication, a person who cried, and his heart was bright and connected to the unseen world; and it is these qualities that save a person and advance them.

May God, God willing, elevate his ranks. I mentioned these points so that they may be recorded as a model; to show that someone who is the head of the executive branch of a country can possess and pursue a combination of these practical, intellectual, and heartfelt characteristics — it is possible, it can be done — and he, thanks be to God, had them.

I also thank the ministers; you cooperated, you worked hard over these past few years, and you assisted the president. If it were not for the cooperation of his friends, he certainly could not have provided these facilities. A person cannot accomplish these tasks alone; it requires a collective effort, and that collective effort is you, and thanks be to God, you assisted. I especially want to express my gratitude to Mr. Mokhber; both for his cooperation with Mr. Raisi over these three years — which, of course, deserves a lengthy eulogy for the hardships he endured and the difficulties he bore; he truly faced many challenges, but he cooperated well with the late Mr. Raisi and the government — and also for the past forty to fifty days, during which he has truly and fairly done an excellent job as the "acting president"; he has worked hard, pursued matters, and taken the phrase "until the last day, all tasks should be completed" seriously. You friends are the same; you too, thanks be to God, are all busy, and you must continue your work until the very last moment. These characteristics serve as a model for governments, for leaders, for ministers; God willing, may everyone benefit from this model, and may we all learn from it, and I too benefit.

In conclusion, I once again thank the people for the elections. I sincerely thank the government officials, the Ministry of Interior, the media, and the security forces for the good conduct of these elections. Everyone worked, everyone made an effort, and thanks be to God, the result of this effort was a nationwide election without incident; this is very important. In most places in the world — now we do not say everywhere; we do not know everything — with the political and ideological differences that exist, elections are often accompanied by disputes, scuffles, and sometimes killings and similar events; here, thanks be to God, this was carried out securely. This was your art that enabled you to conduct this election in the best possible manner.

Our custom is that in this final meeting, we present each of you with a copy of the Holy Quran; I also present this to Mr. Mokhber. May God, God willing, protect you, may God, God willing, grant you all success and support, and assist you.

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