New Year Message on the Occasion of the Beginning of Year 1402

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

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 New Year to each and every member of the Iranian nation, especially the esteemed families of martyrs, the disabled, the self-sacrificers, and the servants of the people's lives, as well as to other nations that honor and value Nowruz. God willing, may this blessed holiday be a blessing for all of you.

This year, the spring of nature coincides with the spiritual spring; the month of Ramadan. Just as it has been said about spring: "Do not cover your body from the wind of spring," regarding the spiritual spring of Ramadan, we must adhere to this saying: "Indeed, in the days of your lifetime, there are breezes; so expose yourselves to them." The spiritual breeze in the blessed month of Ramadan encompasses everyone, and we must prepare ourselves. We should place our hearts in the path of this divine and fragrant spiritual breeze.

In this talk, I will take a brief look at the year 1401 and a fleeting glance at the year that is now beginning; 1402. The year 1401 was filled with various challenges—economic, political, and social challenges—some sweet, some bitter, like all the years of human life and, in a broader view, the years of the Iranian nation, especially after the Islamic Revolution. In my opinion, the most important issue that arose for the nation in 1401 was the economy of the country, which has a direct connection to the livelihood of the people. Here too, in the matter of the economy, there were both bitter and sweet aspects. In some areas, which I will now refer to, there were bitter aspects, and in some cases that lead to economic issues, there were sweet aspects; these must be viewed together, and the totality of these must be calculated. The bitterness was mainly inflation, the high prices that are truly bitter. Especially the rise in the prices of foodstuffs and essential living supplies, which when the prices of food and essential materials increase significantly, the greatest burden falls on the lower strata of society. Because in their household basket, food and essential and necessary materials have the largest share. Therefore, the pressure comes more on them, which of course was among the bitter aspects, and in my opinion, in most economic issues of the country, this point was the more fundamental and important bitter point.

Good works have also been done in this economic issue and the constructions that lead to the economy, which I will now mention; these constructions must continue until they lead to the lives and livelihoods of the people and connect with them. Support was given to production throughout the year 1401, with the information I have, production in the country was supported. Several thousand closed and semi-closed factories were reopened. Knowledge-based companies increased; of course, the amount I demanded last year to increase was not achieved, but there was a significant increase in these companies. The value of the products of these companies also rose. The issue of employment saw a slight improvement, meaning that unemployment decreased by a percentage—even if it is a small percentage—and employment increased somewhat, which is a valuable thing. The exhibition that producers, both state and non-state, held, and also that meeting where major producers of the country came and spoke, was truly encouraging. My judgment regarding the production of producers in the country is a positive judgment, and good work has been done. Some economic indicators showed growth; in insurance, our index is a good one. In construction, in the sectors of water, gas, roads, and the environment, good work has been done. However, as I mentioned, I emphasize that these works must be connected to the lives of the people; they must lead to an opening in the lives of the people. When will this work be done? When will this situation arise? When it continues, when there are precise plans behind it, which God willing, in this year, 1402, these activities must continue until these constructive activities lead to the prosperity of the people's lives and the opening of the tables of the people, especially the weak classes. Of course, this point must also be considered: economic problems and economic difficulties are not unique to us. Today, many countries in the world, perhaps all countries in the world, have their own special economic difficulties, even wealthy countries, countries with strong and advanced economies, are truly grappling with many problems and issues. Some of them are in a much worse situation than us in this regard. Strong economies face bank bankruptcies, which you have recently heard about. Of course, some of them were reported, some were not, and now the news will be broadcast. And there are bank bankruptcies, there are extraordinary trillion-dollar debts in some countries, which are indeed problems; they exist there as well as here. They are also trying to resolve them; we must also strive, we must work, officials must strive. I say that all the efforts of government officials, in addition to the efforts of economic, political, and cultural activists, must be to make the year 1402 a sweet year for the Iranian nation. That is, we must work so that, God willing, it will be a sweet year for the people. The bitterness should be reduced, and the sweetness should be increased, and we should, God willing, add to our successes.

Now, regarding the year 1402; in my opinion, the main issue in 1402 is also the economy. That is, we do not lack problems; we have various problems in cultural and political fields, but the main and central issue this year is also the economy. That is, if we can, God willing, reduce economic problems and officials, God willing, strive, pay attention, and make significant efforts in this area, many other issues of the country will also be resolved. Both the government, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, economic activists, and motivated youth groups, of which I know several and am genuinely interested in them, are doing very good work in these economic areas. All of these efforts must be directed towards helping to resolve the problems of the country and the problems of the people. Now, this resolution of problems sometimes involves fundamental economic activities, such as production, which is a fundamental activity in the economy; that is, production is a basic task in the economy. Or I can say that human and Islamic works, such as mutual assistance and public aid and cooperation with the weak classes of society.

Well, I have emphasized production; I have focused on production, and alongside production, investment is important. This should be noted by both the esteemed government officials and the private sector; we have fallen behind significantly in investment in the 1390s. Investment is one of the important gaps in our country. Investment must be made, which is also an important task.

Well, considering all aspects, both inflation and domestic production, these things that are important, inflation being the main problem, domestic production being certainly one of the keys to saving the country from economic problems, considering these, I announce the slogan of the year as follows: "Controlling Inflation, Growing Production"; this is the slogan of the year. That is, all the efforts of officials must be directed towards these two issues. First and foremost, officials, and secondly, as I said, economic activists and public activists and those who can do something, and cultural activists, the media that must create a culture in these areas, all of these must focus on these two main points, primarily controlling inflation, meaning they must truly control and reduce inflation as much as possible and increase production. Therefore, [the slogan of the year] has become controlling inflation and growing production.

I ask for the success of all from God, the Exalted. I convey my greetings and respect and express my sincerity to the spirit of the world of existence, the Master of the Age, may our souls be sacrificed for him. I ask God for the elevation of the pure soul of our great Imam and our dear martyrs and for the happiness and joy of the Iranian nation.

There are other matters that I will, God willing, present in my speech.

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