Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the Occasion of the New Year

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. O Turner of hearts and sights, O Manager of night and day, O Transformer of years and conditions, transform our state to the best state. I congratulate the arrival of Nowruz and the New Year to all our dear compatriots, especially to the honorable families of martyrs and the families of the disabled and the disabled themselves and all the self-sacrificers; and I also congratulate this holiday to all the nations that cherish Nowruz. This year, our holiday coincides with the blessed Sha'ban celebrations, which we hope will bring abundant blessings, God willing, both materially and spiritually for our new year. The year 1400 is blessed with two halves of Sha'ban, and the people will celebrate the birth of the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) twice this year.

Various events of the year 99:

1) COVID-19 and its impact on people's lives The year 99 ended with various and sometimes unprecedented events. One of those events that was truly unprecedented and unfamiliar to our nation was the phenomenon of COVID-19, which affected the lives of all the people in one way or another; it impacted businesses, educational environments, religious gatherings, travel issues, sports, and various other matters in the country, and it dealt a severe blow to employment in the country. Of course, the bitterest of all was the loss of tens of thousands of our dear people, which means the sorrow and mourning of tens of thousands of families. I take this opportunity to express my condolences to all those dear families and to convey my sympathy to them. We hope that God grants them patience and reward and that He bestows His mercy and forgiveness upon the deceased.

2) The emergence of the capabilities of the Iranian nation in confronting COVID-19 and the maximum pressure of the enemy The year 99 was also, in a sense, the year of the emergence of the capabilities of the Iranian nation; both in confronting this great test, namely COVID-19, where our dear nation, from the healthcare and medical sectors to researchers and scientists, to the general public, to jihadist and service groups, demonstrated great capability in managing this bitter incident, even under the maximum pressure of the enemy during the sanctions; despite the sanctions and the closure of various avenues for utilizing foreign resources, our nation, our scientists, our doctors, our nurses, our paramedics, our laboratory personnel, and our radiologists—those who were involved in treating the people—truly managed to leave behind a great experience and demonstrated great capability; likewise, the Iranian nation showed its capability in confronting the maximum pressure of the enemy. Our enemies, led by America, sought to bring the Iranian nation to its knees with this maximum pressure. Today, they and their European friends explicitly state that the maximum pressure has failed. We knew it would fail and were determined to defeat the enemy in this regard. We knew the Iranian nation would stand firm, but today they themselves are admitting that this maximum pressure has failed.

The realization of the slogan "Production Leap" to an acceptable extent and not to the expected extent Well, the slogan of the year 99 was "Production Leap." If I were to evaluate this based on numerous reports from the public, government, and various agencies—reports coming to us from all directions—I must say that this slogan was realized to some extent, to an acceptable extent, meaning that the production leap was realized in certain sectors of the country and in various matters, although not to the expected extent; that is, in those areas where this slogan was realized, which were mostly in infrastructure and construction works and the like, the result was not evident in the overall economy of the country and in the livelihood of the people; this movement was not felt, while our expectation was that the production leap would create an opening in the situation of the people. Of course, the slogan of the production leap is, in the true sense of the word, a completely revolutionary slogan, an important slogan. If the production leap occurs correctly in the country—God willing—it will have profound economic impacts on the country—in terms of currency value and other major economic issues—and in addition to that, it will boost national self-confidence, increase public satisfaction, and guarantee national security; that is, if the production leap occurs in the country, God willing, we hope it will happen, these important consequences and great benefits will be realized.

Factors preventing the complete realization of the production leap slogan: the existence of obstacles, lack of support for production So why did this not happen completely in the year 99? Because of the existence of obstacles on one hand, and the lack of support for production in all sectors on the other. That is, production needs both the necessary legal and governmental support and the removal of obstacles in its path. For example, suppose when a semi-finished workshop—that is, a workshop that is operating at thirty or forty percent capacity or is completely out of operation—gets back on track with the efforts of a few young people, with encouragement and so on, and after it reaches production, suddenly one observes that a competitor for this product somehow enters the country; either through the treacherous hands of smugglers or unfortunately through legal channels due to weak legal enforcement. This production is naturally not encouraged; this is an obstacle to production, meaning that what has been done ultimately fails. Or also due to the lack of incentives, such as the absence of investment incentives. Investment in production requires incentives. Those who can invest must be encouraged to do so, and the business environment in the country must be such that it encourages them to enter this work, or that production costs do not increase for them, which unfortunately has not happened; that is, the necessary considerations have not been made; neither has there been sufficient encouragement nor has there been thought given to production costs. In one of the years—perhaps it was not year 99, perhaps it was year 98—the cost for the producer was higher than that of the consumer. Well, these are some things that hinder the progress of production.

The necessity of a long-term perspective on the country's issues Therefore, we initiated this revolutionary movement in the country in the year 99, and the Iranian nation welcomed the production leap to a specified and limited extent; this must continue; the year 1400, which begins at the moment of this year's transition, is, in fact, an entry into a new century, and a new century is beginning, so the issues of the country must be viewed with a long-term perspective and calculated accordingly.

The sensitivities of the year 1400: elections, the necessity of continuing the flourishing of production and the production leap This year—the year 1400—is a sensitive and important year: both because of the elections at the beginning of this year, where we have an important election in Khordad 1400 that can have a significant impact on the situation of the country and the events of the country and the future of the country; new managements will come to power, likely fresh and motivated, God willing, entering the executive management of the country. Therefore, the elections make this year very important and sensitive. This is one aspect—of course, I will later discuss the elections in my speech and will suffice with this for now—and also because production received a boost in the year 99 and the production leap created a movement.

The slogan of the year 1400: "Production; Support and Removal of Obstacles" This year—the year 1400—there is a good ground for the flourishing of the production leap, from which we must make maximum use. This movement must be pursued with seriousness, and primarily, legal and governmental support for the production leap must be provided from all sides. Whether this government remains in power or the future government, from the very beginning of its establishment, must focus its efforts on removing obstacles and providing the necessary support, and God willing, the production leap will be realized in the true sense of the word this year. Therefore, I have formulated this year's slogan as follows: "Production; Support and Removal of Obstacles"; that is, the slogan is: production; support and removal of obstacles. We must make production the focus of our work and provide the necessary support and remove the obstacles from the path of production. We hope, God willing, that with God's grace, this slogan will achieve the necessary realization. God willing, I will later discuss this topic and also the elections in my speeches.

We hope that the pure soul of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the pure spirits of our great martyrs are pleased and satisfied with us, and that this year will be a blessed year for the Iranian nation, and that the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) will pray for the Iranian nation, the officials of the country, and all the people, and grant His favors to this nation and continue His grace and attention to this nation, as it has existed in the past.

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