Statements in Meeting with the Chairman and Members of the Assembly of Experts

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 gentlemen. One of our desirable and sweet sessions at certain times is the meeting with you, the members of the Assembly of Experts. The impact you have in your social environment, the significance of this honorable and dignified session within the system, are all important points. We hope that what you have thought, what you have contemplated, what you have said, desired, and acted upon, God willing, will be encompassed by divine grace and assistance and will yield results.

We are very grateful for the remarks of Mr. Jannati and Mr. Shahroudi; they provided useful statements and we were informed about the atmosphere of this session during the days of the assembly; of course, I had previously seen a report in this regard. Important issues were raised by the gentlemen that are truly noteworthy. Let us remember the late Mr. Haj Sheikh Ali-Asghar Masoumi (may God have mercy on him); he was one of our old friends and served several terms as a member of the Assembly of Experts. In this recent term, he did not wish to participate, as he had fallen ill and was incapacitated, and just a few days ago he passed away, and we hope, God willing, that he will be encompassed by divine mercy and grace.

The occasion of Muharram was mentioned by the gentlemen - Mr. Jannati and Mr. Shahroudi - and it is indeed a very significant occasion. Muharram is the month of Imam Hussein, the month of all those values that are manifested and embodied in the existence of the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him); the month of martyrdom, the month of jihad, the month of sincerity, the month of loyalty, the month of sacrifice, the month of commitment to preserving the religion, the religion of God, and standing against the opposing powers of religion. The blessed existence of the Master of Martyrs and the events of Ashura and Muharram and similar matters are manifestations of these things. And it is indeed true that it is the uprising of the Master of Martyrs that has preserved Islam; just as throughout time, in successive centuries, this event has become more vibrant day by day. Today, this ceremony is being held with much more warmth, engagement, enthusiasm, and breadth than it was a hundred years ago when the people's religiosity, on the surface, did not face adversaries like today's adversaries; all of this has meaning, all of this indicates certain truths and a movement that is advancing in the world under the leadership of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him); and God willing, it will continue to advance and will be a solution and will open the knots of nations.

I want to present three points; one point regarding this esteemed assembly [i.e., the Assembly of Experts]; one point is a somewhat repeated statement regarding the issues of the country; and one point is about the outlook on the regional and global situation and its relation to us and the Islamic Republic.

Regarding the first issue, this assembly is truly an exceptional and unparalleled assembly in terms of its composition, its duties, and its performance in the past years up to today; and in my opinion, one can have hope in this assembly for another important task alongside the works it has done and continues to do, which is a macro and strategic perspective on the revolution and the path of the revolution. We do not have this in our institutions; we do not have an apparatus for this work. Of course, it is part of the duties of the leadership, and as much as possible - now with the shortcomings that exist in this humble self - efforts have been made for this work to be done, but we do not have an apparatus for this work. The three branches of power are tasked with managing the country and must manage the country; each in a certain section and in a certain way. Of course, they must manage it in a revolutionary manner, there is no doubt, but their perspective is naturally directed towards the path they are currently on, towards the path they are currently following; and there is not a macro and strategic perspective on the entirety of the revolution over these past 39 years and over the coming decades; a center is needed that holds this perspective.

Now what does this mean? Let me explain a bit more; it means that within this assembly of the Assembly of Experts, one can envision a think tank - because, thanks be to God, there are many individuals with ideas and thoughts in this group of seventy or eighty people - whose duty would be to take a macro view of the path of the revolution from the beginning until today. Well, this revolution had certain goals, a movement began towards those goals; they should look to see how close we have come to these goals, which ones we have approached, in which goals we have stagnated, in which goals we have regressed - because there may be cases where, for instance, in the early days of the revolution, there was movement and progress towards this goal, and then not only stagnation but regression occurred - we need to recognize these. And if we observe such things in certain cases, this assembly should adjust its demands based on that. Speaking of demands, which has also been mentioned in the statements and speeches of the gentlemen [in the assembly], the gentlemen here have indicated, and I have previously stated that the Assembly of Experts must have demands from various institutions; these demands can be organized based on this study. Now let us give examples of the existing cases.

For instance, one of the important titles of this revolution was the revolution of "neither East nor West"; today the East does not exist, [but] the West exists with full strength and power. What does "not West" mean? It means we should not be captivated by the West, we should not be influenced by the West, we should not accept Western culture, we should purify (refine) our country and culture from mingling with the degenerate culture of the West; politically, we should not be influenced by the West, we should not join the West, we should not be obedient and submissive to the West. This is what "not West" means; [of course] the meaning of "not East" is the same, but today there is no Eastern bloc. Where is the West? It is America, it is Europe; [well] the European governments have a culture, a policy, a long and grand roadmap; and as the Islamic Republic, we have the duty to save ourselves from falling into the path desired by the West; this is a duty. Have we fulfilled this duty so far or not? How much have we done? Where have we done it? If in certain cases it has not been done, where is the problem? Based on recognizing that problem, demands arise for this assembly. This demand may come from this humble self, it may come from the government, it may come from the judiciary, it may come from the IRGC, it may come from the parliament; a demand arises based on this. This is one example.

Or, for example, consider the economic situation. Well, one of the pillars of the country's power is economic power, and in economic power, one of the major components is the strength of the national currency; that is, the national currency must have purchasing power and create wealth for citizens, for those who hold that currency. If we have reached a situation where, due to incorrect executive policies, wrong decisions, various negligence, the national currency has been declining day by day, this is regression, this is backwardness. We must identify this and based on this, organize demands, define demands. This demand can be, for example, from the government, it can be from the parliament; and so on.

Or one of the things that has been raised from the beginning of the revolution is the issue of justice. Justice means reducing the gap between the poor and the rich in the country and fighting poverty in the country and distributing wealth correctly in the country. This is different from Marxist thoughts; this is different from the equality that socialists or communists express; this is the view of Islam; Islamic resources and documents all confirm and emphasize this meaning. Not that we should seize the wealth of the wealthy and want to take this wealth from them; no, rather we must manage the country in such a way that the gap between the poor and the rich is reduced. Well, this is a very important issue and is also raised in the world today; this "Gini coefficient" that is discussed in the world and is now among the economic criteria and indicators, is precisely this; in fact, it represents the gap between the poor and the rich. We must look to see how far we have advanced in this regard - from the perspective of Islam - how much we have moved forward; why has it become this way. We must calculate these.

Or consider the preservation and safeguarding of revolutionary motivations. The condition for the survival of the Islamic Republic is the existence of revolutionary motivations and the presence of a revolutionary spirit. If there is no revolutionary spirit, there will be no Islamic Republic; yes, a government will be in power, but that government will no longer be the Islamic Republic. This movement of the people, the blood that has been shed, the efforts that have been made for the revival of Islam, for the revival of Islamic law, have been for this; these will be lost, trampled upon. Therefore, revolutionary motivation is absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Islamic Republic. What is the state of this motivation; has it decreased, has it increased, has it continued, what confrontations and struggles are there against this motivation, what is the way to confront them; and based on that, we should organize demands. For instance, when I repeatedly say in various speeches that we should support the revolutionary and Hezbollah youth, this means exactly that; it means this is a demand based on the view of the revolutionary movement of the country. Of course, in this regard, fortunately, the country has not only not regressed but has also advanced; this is also provable and certain.

Or consider the issue of the religiosity of the people; well, we want the people to become religious. This statement has sometimes been repeated that "we do not want to force people into heaven"; well, this seems to us to be an incorrect expression, a fallacious expression. No one wants to force anyone into heaven, but we must open the way to heaven for the people, encourage the people. Prophets came for this; they came to lead the people to heaven, to prevent them from going to hell; all the sending of messengers and the revelation of books and all this effort and struggle has been to prevent the people from falling into hell. This is our duty; we must do this work, the people must become religious; there is no doubt about it. Of course, through the correct means and in the correct manner. This also does not mean that someone says, "there is no force in Islam in this regard"; this is not a correct statement; [then] what are these legal limits? What is this "So lash them... a hundred lashes" or "So lash them eighty lashes"? What are these? These are indeed the same force.

Therefore, these are strategic studies; that is, when your think tank sits and takes a look at the path of the revolution, at this collection over these 39 years, each of these cases - and ten or fifteen other important cases that can be counted - should be considered and seen that we have made progress in this area, well, this progress is a cause for encouragement; certain actions must be taken to continue and preserve this progress, because certainly this progress has opponents and adversaries; or in some places we have stagnated, in some places we have regressed; we must see what to do in the face of these. This creates demands; that is, the demands that are necessary are far beyond the specific and executive demands that, for example, what problem does a certain province or city have. Those are also problems, and we do not want to deny them, but the dignity of the Assembly of Experts is to address those kinds of issues. This, in my opinion, is one of the fundamental and important tasks that this assembly can undertake.

The second point I mentioned regarding the problems of the country, and the repeatedly stated and often repeated statement we want to express once again, in summary, is that we want to say that the officials of the country should know and the people should know that solving the problems of the country is only possible by the hands of the people of this country and is not feasible; whether economic problems, cultural problems; all kinds of problems can only be solved by this nation.

I want to make a statement regarding that previous discussion that is also true for this issue, and that is that when you reach a conclusion regarding one of these important fundamental titles of the revolution, this must be transformed into discourse; [for example] published in a publication. You are a large group; many of you are Friday prayer leaders or prominent figures of the provinces or in the center, have pulpits, can speak to the people and address them; repeat it, say it, until it becomes a public demand. Discourse means that thought that is prevalent among the people, the public demand of the people. When something becomes a public demand and discourse, it will naturally come closer to action. This issue is the same; this matter of addressing internal hands to solve the problems of the country must become one of the obvious and evident thoughts of the people. It must be said, reasoned, explained, and repeated enough that it becomes a definitive discourse.

We have motivated youth, we have specialized individuals, we have good producers, good entrepreneurs, good workers and farmers, good teachers, good professors. The work must be corrected by individuals of this kind; they are the ones who must resolve the problems of the country; they must also resolve the economic problem and various work-related problems. Nothing can be done by foreigners.

I am not saying to cut off relations with the world; this is not my view at all. From the beginning of the revolution, I have been one of those who insisted on communication - communication with the world around us - and I still hold the same opinion, but my point is that we should not replace our powerful and natural footing with the cane of the foreigner. That instead of standing on our own feet and relying on ourselves, we rely on the cane of the foreigner, is a mistake. [Of course, negotiation] in global relations is not a problem; the issue I had and have regarding the nuclear negotiations, which I have repeatedly raised with the officials in private and public sessions, is this: I say it was not a problem for us to negotiate, negotiation was not a problem, but in this negotiation, necessary care and attention should have been taken so that it would not be the case that the opposite side could do whatever it wanted without it being considered a violation of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], while if we make a slight move, it is considered a violation of the JCPOA! This is a mistake; this should not have happened; this arises from a lack of reliance and attention to internal power, [due to] reliance on the opposite side and foreign elements, this situation arises.

We express this that we should not look to the foreigner, we should work with the world, we have no objection, working with the world has its requirements, we accept those requirements and take them upon ourselves, but we do not rely on the outside; because our enemy is abundant outside the environment of our society and country, there is a broad front of enmity against us. Well, thanks be to God, until today we have struck blows against this front, we have defeated it, we have pushed it back, and after this, it will be the same, but let us know that there is not just one point of enmity against us, there is a vast front of enmity.

And as for the situation of the world and the region, which follows the last word I mentioned. I must briefly state that we are, thanks be to God, making progress in global issues. Not only do we not have regression, but we do not have stagnation either; we are making progress. The Islamic Republic of Iran, contrary to what some want to portray that "our reputation in the world has diminished, we have become small in the world," no, the Islamic Republic, by God's grace, by divine power, by divine honor, is esteemed, and until today it has become more and more esteemed and its power has increased; this is what angers the enemies.

You heard the foolish speech of this American president at the United Nations - you must have heard these words directly or indirectly - using very ugly and vulgar language; gangster language, cowboy language, and meaningless and incorrect threats and completely incorrect analyses; a speech full of contradictions, full of lies! There may have been twenty obvious lies in this speech; a confused talk, which indicates that they are both angry, both helpless, and intellectually backward, suffering from superficiality. That is, all three things were shown in this speech; it showed both anger, helplessness - that they do not know what to do in the face of this reality that exists - and superficiality. The things that were said were not honorable for a nation like the American nation. In my opinion, American elites should feel ashamed - and they do - for having such a president and for saying such words. Now, I do not care what he said and how he said it; what I want to say is why they are angry. The discussion is our progress. This issue of anger is an important issue. In this speech, more than anything else, what was clear was the anger. Why are they angry?

The anger is because America has had a plan for this region of West Asia, which they call the Middle East, for fifteen or sixteen years - perhaps even earlier; it is possible that the plan is older, but its emergence has been from about fifteen or sixteen years ago - based on which they brought up the name "new Middle East" for a while, and for a while the name "greater Middle East"; they had a plan for this area. The main axis of this plan and the heart of this plan consisted of Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq; these three countries were the three axes and three centers where this plan was to be primarily implemented; how was it to be implemented? Governments in these three countries were to come to power that were completely submissive and obedient to America, obeying whatever America wanted and acting for it. What would the result be? The result is that the entire region would become a foothold for the Zionist regime, and in this region, the area from the Nile to the Euphrates that they had mentioned would be secured in some form, even if not in the form of overt policy, in the form of domination and influence and real control. This is what they wanted to do. They wanted to do something so that Iraq, [this] historically magnificent country, with all its glories, would fall under the control of the Zionists and Americans; Syria, this important center, the hub of resistance against the Zionist regime, would actually fall under the control of the Zionist regime; Lebanon, whose situation is already known. This is what they wanted and they wanted to carry out this work.

Now you look at the reality, see how far the reality is from what they wanted! Look at Lebanon, they could not do anything; observe Iraq, exactly the opposite of what they wanted has occurred; observe Syria! Of course, in Syria, America and its allies committed many crimes, their hands are up to the elbows in the blood of the Syrian people; there is no doubt about this; they unleashed ISIS, these Takfiris - Jabhat al-Nusra and the like - and committed a kind of massacre against the people, they did this, but they could not advance. Today, you look at the issue of ISIS, the issue of ISIS is actually coming to an end, the Takfiris are completely isolated, the situation they wanted to eliminate has actually become more established, and the exact opposite of what America wanted has been realized. When the Americans look, they see Iran as effective and culpable in this regard, hence they are angry. Well, as the late Mr. Beheshti said, "Be angry and die from this anger"! Well, let them be angry. This is the issue, this is the dispute. One should not make a mistake thinking that now, for example, a power such and such is positioned against Iran; no, the reaction they are showing is a sign of weakness, a sign of their backwardness, and a sign of the anger stemming from their defeat. Their noses have been rubbed in the dust; hence they are angry, they say these words, they make these silly speeches and do these actions.

Therefore, what I want to convey is that in terms of the quality of the presence of the Islamic Republic in today's world, thanks be to God, the Islamic Republic has been successful, "And to God belongs the honor and to His Messenger; and to the believers" (Quran 63:8), thanks be to God, the believing Islamic Republic has become subject to this noble verse and has this honor; we thank God for this; we must preserve this. With wisdom, with planning, with correct thought, with a correct plan, with not making mistakes in the type of interactions, the type of decisions, the type of speech, we must preserve this honor and, God willing, increase it.

And this honor has come about due to struggle. What I mentioned that the motivation for struggle is today better than before, one example of this is the dear martyr Mohsen Hojaji; well, this is one example, we have many such youths. God has highlighted this example for certain reasons and has shown it to be in front of everyone's eyes so that all can see and submit to this noble and dear truth that this revolutionary motivation is increasing day by day among our youth, by God's grace and divine success. There are those who write letters to us and plead, they truly plead that let us [go] - now those who can reach out to make a phone call here and write a letter; and many more who probably do not even have that opportunity - they plead with us to send them to where they can fight the enemy, to struggle against the enemy; this is the same motivation of our youth. And this is a miracle, due to the factors that exist against it; one of them is this virtual space that Mr. Jannati mentioned, which of course his remarks and warnings are correct, we are also seriously pursuing this issue, but despite this virtual space, despite these conspiracies, despite these temptations, you see that the Islamic Republic observes such youths and such motivations; this is divine grace.

We hope that God Almighty will keep this grace for this country, for this nation, and that those who have created this situation for the country, the Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), the dear martyrs, and the fighters on the path of truth will be encompassed by His grace and mercy.

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