Statements in Meeting with the President and Senior Officials of the Judiciary and Heads of Courts Across the Country

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One (may God hasten his noble return).

Welcome, dear brothers. We hope that this meeting, although delayed for specific reasons, will, God willing, be beneficial and effective for both the Judiciary and the country. We express our gratitude to each individual working in the Judiciary, from the esteemed head of the Judiciary to the active elements throughout the institution.

What Mr. Mohseni has reported regarding the actions taken is certainly very encouraging and good. My recommendation is to always consider the actions that have not been taken alongside those that have been accomplished; that is, maintain a balance between these. Sometimes a person may feel pleased about a hundred good actions taken, but upon reflection, realizes that two hundred good actions should have been taken, which diminishes that happiness somewhat. Of course, I do not claim that the situation in the Judiciary last year was such; no, many significant works have been done, and we have the reports to confirm this. However, always keep in mind to compare the ratio of completed actions with those that should have been completed.

Regarding the Judiciary, I have studied it in detail every year and have spoken extensively. In my opinion, all the points that need to be made about the Judiciary and the recommendations for it have been stated and reiterated; anything we say now would be repetitive. I only want to mention two points before addressing another issue.

The first point is the Judiciary's pursuit in legal courts—both domestic and international—regarding the investigation of the recent crimes that have occurred; this is one of the most necessary and important tasks. We should have done this in many previous cases in past years, and we fell short; this time, we must not fall short. If pursuing this matter and referring to international and legal courts, as well as domestic courts, takes twenty years, that is acceptable; this work must be followed through. The criminals must be held accountable. Ultimately, one might accuse an international court of being affiliated with a certain power; that may be true today, but it may not be true tomorrow; one day, you may find an independent judge there. This first point is to take this matter very seriously, with great strength, complete awareness, and consideration of all aspects, God willing.

The second point is that the product of all recommendations to the Judiciary can be summed up in one word: that the people trust the Judiciary; that is it. I have repeatedly said in this meeting that we must create a situation where if someone in any corner of the country—in a village or a remote city—suffers from oppression and injustice, they say, "I will go to the Judiciary, I will go to the courts!" This state must be established so that everyone feels that when they reach the Judiciary, their problem will be solved; such trust must be created. This is a very challenging task. Of course, in most legal and criminal cases, one party is satisfied, and the other is dissatisfied; however, even the dissatisfied party, when they see that the work is being done according to the law, with integrity and precision, will accept the process in their heart, even if they are not satisfied with what has happened; strive to create this state; let the people gain trust and belief that the Judiciary will address their problems.

One of the most important ways to achieve this is to combat corruption; primarily, corruption within the Judiciary—on which I have repeatedly spoken with the esteemed head, Mr. Mohseni, and he has taken actions; the same applies to previous heads—and then outside the Judiciary; fighting corruption creates hope among the people and builds trust. This is the point. These are the two matters I wanted to discuss regarding the Judiciary.

Now, the Iranian nation has accomplished a great feat in this recent imposed war; this great work was not of the nature of operations; it was of the nature of will, determination, and self-confidence. The fact that a nation, a country, a military force within a country, observes this self-confidence that it is ready to confront the power of America and its chained dog in the region—namely, the Zionist regime—face to face, the essence of this will, the essence of this self-confidence, is a very, very important value. There was a time—both before us and during our youth before the revolution—when the name of America frightened people; let alone confronting it, whether verbally or practically. In the memories written by the agents of the previous regime, which have been published after many years, it is repeatedly mentioned that the high-ranking officials of the country were upset about an American action—whether regarding oil issues or various matters—and their mood was sour; however, they said nothing; they did not dare to even privately express their objections in closed sessions.

Now, that same nation has reached a point where it stands directly against this power, is not afraid of it, but rather intimidates it, and does whatever it can operationally to address this issue; this operational matter is the second point; the first matter is that spirit, that steadfastness. This national will, this national determination, is what will elevate this country; this is what will make Iran a great Iran, which I said should be the case fifty years from now; this will is the main factor that can bring Iran to that point.

I say that what everyone must know now—both our friends and our enemies, as well as the Iranian nation itself, which is aware—is that the Iranian nation will not appear as the weak side in any arena. Because we have all the necessary tools; we have both logic and strength. In both the diplomatic and military arenas, God willing, whenever we enter, we will enter with full hands. Of course, war involves both striking and being struck; it is evident. In war, there is both hitting and being hit; one cannot expect that no incidents will occur in war; however, thanks be to God, our hands are full; we are well-equipped in diplomacy and military matters, God willing.

Of course, regarding this important matter that has arisen, in this recent incident, we did not welcome war; everyone should know this. Yes, we consider the Zionist regime a cancer, and we regard the American regime as a criminal for supporting it; however, we did not welcome war; we did not go to meet war; but when the enemy attacked, our response was decisive. This must be understood by all; because this is a fact that the enemy wants to cast doubt upon. We entered the war firmly; the clear evidence of this is that the Zionist regime, which was the opponent in the war, was forced to resort to America. If it had not been weakened, if it had not fallen to the ground, if it had not needed help, if it had been capable of defending itself, it would not have resorted to America. It resorted to America; this means it realized it could not handle the Islamic Republic. Of course, this pertains to the Zionist regime; the same applies to America; when America attacked, our counter-strike against America was a very sensitive blow; now, God willing, as time passes, whether in a few months or a few years, the censorship will be lifted, and it will become clear what Iran has done. The center that was attacked by Iran was an extremely sensitive American facility in this region. The blow was significant, and certainly, even greater blows can be dealt to America and others, God willing. Well, this now pertains to operations and such matters.

Another very important point in this incident is the national aspect; apart from the organizational, military, informational, and security dimensions, what occurred in this incident was a "national matter." Those who attacked calculated in this way—truly, they calculated this way; this was part of their planning—that when we attack Iran, targeting its sensitive centers, we will capture a number of personalities from the Iranian government, the Islamic system, and naturally, the system will weaken; this is when the dormant cells of the Mojahedin, royalists, mercenaries, and thugs will become active. They calculated that those who receive dollars to burn their compatriots' cars would become active. [These individuals] exist in society; however, when a powerful apparatus is at work, they remain silent; when the opposing side thinks the apparatus has weakened, they become active and come into the public sphere, inciting the people and, as far as they can, dragging individuals into the streets, ultimately resolving the issue of the system. This was a sweet dream that they had.

What was the reality? The reality was the opposite; it was exactly the opposite; the enemy's attack demonstrated that many of the calculations made by some, whether in political fields or others, are not accurate. The enemy's face was revealed, and its hidden objectives, which they never allow to surface in their statements, became largely clear; for eight or nine months, they sit down and plan for an action, for a military move, while people think there is nothing happening; the masses understood that it is not like that. God nullified their plans; the Almighty God nullified this plan; the people entered the field to support the government, to support the system. The people entered the field, but precisely in the opposite direction of what the enemy had calculated and planned; in support of the system, in support of life and financial backing. On television, you saw the statements of various individuals, with different appearances, different faces, and different clothing, who would not seem willing to speak so selflessly; of course, words and actions may differ, but the very act of speaking, the motivation that leads a person to speak, exists; this is very important. No one believed it would happen, but it did. These individuals, all with various political orientations, sometimes opposing political orientations, with completely different religious weights, stood together and created this great unity, this immense national solidarity.

My message is to preserve this; everyone should maintain this; journalists in one way, judges in another, government officials in another, clerics in another, Friday prayer leaders in another way. Everyone has a duty regarding this state; they should maintain it. This does not contradict political differences in opinion, nor does it contradict differing religious weights. This is standing together to defend a truth; it is defending the country, defending the system, defending dear Iran.

Of course, some actions are necessary, while others are harmful. "Clarification" is necessary; addressing the fallacies that sometimes occur is necessary; however, raising unnecessary objections and discussing them, and creating uproar over small issues, is harmful; these are different matters. The same refutation of the fallacy I mentioned can be done in various ways; it should be done in the best manner so that no problems arise for the country.

Loyalty to the system in speech and expression is necessary and beneficial; it is both necessary and useful. Either everyone should support and accept the general policies of the system in this area of discussion, which is necessary, or that the differences of opinion that exist among individuals should not be intensified to the point that this belongs to a certain faction, that belongs to another faction, and that this statement is like this; no, this is harmful. Therefore, one action is necessary, while another is harmful; we must distinguish between these.

Public enthusiasm among the people is necessary. Today, the Iranian nation has a fervor and excitement, especially among the youth; this is very good, this is very necessary, but impatience is harmful. That they should be impatient, constantly stamping their feet, asking why nothing has happened, why you did not act, and so on, is harmful. That is, we must know which actions are correct and which are harmful. Therefore, these are the points and recommendations I present.

The last recommendation I want to make is that the responsible agencies that are, thanks be to God, currently working—both the agencies responsible in the military sphere and those in the diplomatic sphere—both are necessary and must carry out their work vigorously, but they must pay attention to their orientations. Especially in the diplomatic sphere, the orientations are very important; they must be fully observed, carefully considered, and acted upon, God willing.

It may be that someone has an objection regarding a military or diplomatic matter or others; we do not say they should not express their objections; why not? However, firstly, the tone chosen for expressing the objection and criticism should be acceptable; secondly, it should be after investigation, after obtaining information. Sometimes, in newspapers and some other places, I see certain things; some people make statements and raise objections that stem from ignorance; they do not know what actions have been taken or what should have been done and has not been done; this stems from ignorance. They should obtain accurate information and express their opinions with an appropriate tone. Those responsible should also continue their work with full strength and spirit, God willing. And everyone should know that, according to the verse that this gentleman just recited: "Indeed, God will surely support those who support Him," the Almighty God has guaranteed victory for the Iranian nation under the Islamic system and beneath the umbrella of the Quran and Islam, that the Iranian nation will surely be victorious.

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