Statements in Meeting with Representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly

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 sisters, esteemed representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. This annual meeting is both an opportunity to honor the Islamic Consultative Assembly, to focus attention on this magnificent institution, and to acknowledge the significance and importance of the Assembly's position. It is also a chance to express sincere encouragement to the esteemed representatives. You have worked hard for a year — in fact, this time for three years — and it is truly appropriate to sincerely and wholeheartedly express encouragement to the esteemed representatives at the end of each year; this is one of the goals of this session. There are also some pieces of advice and reminders that I think may be useful and perhaps in accordance with Article 57 of the Constitution, which is that we should occasionally offer you some reminders and advice.

I have prepared several points to discuss, but before starting these points, I find it necessary to recall the great epic of the liberation of Khorramshahr; a truly unparalleled great achievement. In early Farvardin, on the second of Farvardin in the year 61, the great operation of Fath al-Mubin took place, with the tremendous victory that occurred, where more than fifteen thousand enemy forces were captured in that operation. It was not thought that our armed forces would soon consider another operation, let alone one that would be double or several times that of the Fath al-Mubin operation; however, this event occurred. When we look at the liberation of Khorramshahr, we see that it was indeed a miraculous event; it was truly miraculous. After the liberation of Khorramshahr, intermediaries, some presidents and such, would come to Iran; Mr. Sekou Touré, who was a significant figure in Africa, came to me and said that today your situation is different from yesterday because of the liberation of Khorramshahr; it means that the context of discussion is entirely different.

The greatness of the liberation of Khorramshahr draws attention, but I want to say that more important than the liberation of Khorramshahr, or at least equally important, are the events of the Beit al-Muqaddas operation, which culminated in the liberation of Khorramshahr; the sacrifices, the innovations, the military plans and strategies that I believe should be taught in military universities.

Finding a middle path, immobilizing the enemy, besieging the enemy, resisting and standing firm in the face of human and armament shortages, and the high-ranking martyrs we lost in this operation are of great importance. Truly, individuals should read the relevant books. I do not know if you dear brothers and sisters have the time to read these books about these operations; in my opinion, you should make time to read them; it is worthwhile. If you find the opportunity to conduct elections in your city, to carry out electoral campaigns, to speak among the people with peace of mind, and then the people go to the ballot box and cast your name inside, and then you come to the Assembly and stay in the Assembly for four years, if these events happen, it is because of those sacrifices, because of those martyrdoms, because of that true selflessness. When, for example, a battalion commander in the midst of the battle feels that his forces are exhausted, lacking resources, and the enemy is coming with two hundred tanks towards their trench, and to boost the morale of his men, he stands on the trench and speaks to his men, these are easy to say; these great deeds, these movements are truly beyond the ordinary human capacity — that is, ordinary human capacity is not this much — their greatness is immense; do not let these events become old. You are sitting on a high pulpit, the pulpit of the Islamic Consultative Assembly; your voice reaches the entire country, indeed the world; do not let these great events and these immense honors become old, fade, or be forgotten. Well, God willing, the third of Khordad is a blessing for all the people of Iran!

However, I have noted several points to discuss: the first point is about the issue of law, there are two or three points I will mention; the second point is about the eleventh Assembly, your current Assembly; the third point is several recommendations that I will present. Of course, many of the points I will tell you today have been said many times; last year, right here, we discussed many of these issues, and in previous years as well, but ultimately, hearing and reminding and repeating is a necessary matter in itself.

Regarding law and the importance of legislation, I must say that it is true that you recognize two functions for the Assembly, the function of legislation and the function of oversight — in the same sense that “oversight” is defined in the law — but the function of legislation is much higher than the issue of oversight; the essence of the Assembly's role is legislation. What is the philosophy of law? Why do we need law at all? Because stability in life is a vital necessity. If there is no stability, society becomes unpredictable, and planning cannot be done. Planning is based on your ability to be assured about the future so that you can plan for the medium or long term. How do you become assured? With law. Law establishes rules in all matters — economic matters, political matters, cultural matters, etc.; that is law. If there is no law, life will be disrupted. It is well-known in the world that a bad law is better than lawlessness; while a bad law is a great affliction, it is said to be better than lawlessness. Therefore, the issue of legislation is very important. Legislation enables individuals to plan for their lives, it also provides opportunities for various cultural and economic entities, and it gives opportunities to the officials of countries and governments; law [is important]. This is the importance of legislation. Well, if there is no law, it is naturally a daily routine, chaos. It is well-known that legislation is like laying tracks; we have repeatedly said this; Mr. Qalibaf also mentioned it in his statement; it is a correct statement; however, laying tracks means preparing the path for the executive forces of the country to follow this path. However, in laying tracks, there is a peculiarity, and that is that the one who moves on the track has no power to go left or right — the train moves on the track — while our executive officials and governments throughout history have deviated from laws in various instances. So, in reality, we can say that [legislation] is like road construction. But in any case, it is about defining the path.

Legislation has a relationship with general policies; because there is something in the Constitution called general policies. This question sometimes arises that what are the general policies? What is legislation? The answer is that I say: general policies determine the direction, legislation specifies the paths and roads that can be taken towards this direction; that is the difference. For example, in general policies, it is stated that we should go north; however, there are multiple paths to the north; this government says I choose this path, that government says I choose that path; there is no problem. Hence, general policies have the capacity for all tastes and all management styles. This Assembly says I choose this law for this [matter], another Assembly may choose another law; that is the difference. Well, it is very important that the direction should not be forgotten. Law must not deviate from that “direction”; the relationship between policymaking and legislation is this.

Well, the very act of law writing and legislation has principles, which of course these principles are mentioned in the policies of legislation; now those policies must also be turned into law, which unfortunately has not happened and has been pending for several years. One of the tasks that must definitely be done is legislation for the method of legislation — legislation for the method of legislation — so that it is clear how legislation is carried out.

In the general policies(4) that have been formulated with the consultation of the Expediency Council and various experts, we mentioned points regarding the characteristics of law, and now I will mention three or four of them here: one is the issue of the non-interpretability of law; that is, the law must be explicit, it should not be such that it requires further clarification from the Assembly, which would bring up a repetitive discussion; it must rely on comprehensive expertise, be sound, and truly be based on expertise, and be executable. One of the characteristics of good law is its executability; if a law is not executable in terms of the country's financial resources, in terms of the country's capacities, that law is not a good law. Well, many aspirations exist, but one must see if we can realize this aspiration; that is, if, for example, you were not a representative of the Assembly but were the minister of a certain government or the president of a certain government, could you implement this? This is important; this must be taken into account. When we want to legislate, the executability of the law must be clarified. The stability of the law is one of its characteristics; of course, the law must be updated; there is no doubt about that, but updating the law is one thing, and constant changes, adding clauses, and such are another thing that will take it out of the legal state. It must be refined(5); it must be without conflict. Well, these are the musts; from these musts, the must-nots can be understood.

One of the must-nots is the accumulation of laws, which has now been mentioned; I have received a report that laws are being refined by artificial intelligence to eliminate these conflicts; the conflict of laws arises from the accumulation of laws. For example, a single subject appears in the annual budget law, suppose it appears in the law related to the environment, and in some other laws; well, these laws may not be compatible with each other; when the obligations between different laws become unclear, a person who wants to exploit will exploit. These lawbreakers, whom I have repeatedly mentioned,(6) are the ones who take advantage of these situations.

Legislation that is focused on the interests of individuals is one of the afflictions of legislation, where the law is focused on the interests of a certain class or a certain person or a certain group; these are the afflictions of law that must be guarded against.

Previously — I do not remember if it was last year or the previous session — I gave a reminder to friends regarding the increase of proposals;(7) I said do not let proposals overshadow bills. Well, when a bill comes, in fact, the government is saying I can do this work, but a proposal does not. You may prepare a proposal with great effort, then with great effort pass that proposal in the Assembly, and then when it reaches the government, it says, well, I cannot do this or it will not be executed; that is, the efforts go to waste. That I said should be focused on execution [means] that part of it is also this issue of reducing proposals. Now, of course, there are places where proposals must exist, which I will refer to later; there are cases where if the Assembly does not act and does not refer a proposal, the country will remain idle; however, the general policy should be that the Assembly's work should focus more on bills than on proposals.

One of the afflictions of legislation, which is clear to friends, is the influence of the legislating representative by the atmosphere; the atmosphere of excitement. Sometimes the propaganda of the propagandists, whether enemies or those who are not enemies but are, after all, involved in propaganda and such, creates an atmosphere; this should not affect the spirit of the legislator; this is my point. That “now they dislike it,” “this is how it will be among the people,” “certain people will protest, criticize,” these should absolutely not influence legislation. Excitement, or factional considerations, or various groupings.

Well, there are groupings; there are in the Assembly as well; both in your Assembly and in previous Assemblies. There is no way around it; after all, tastes differ; one group thinks one way about issues, another group thinks another way. These groupings, which are inevitable to some extent, should not affect legislation. When they say bipolarity, the meaning of bipolarity is this; the meaning of bipolarity is not a difference of opinion; well, there has always been a difference of opinion, there always has been. The meaning of bipolarity is that when this difference of opinion arises, instead of thinking about the truth and the interest, we think about the position of this grouping; our group wants this, so it must be this; now whether it is right or not, whether it is in the interest or not, [does not matter]; that is the meaning of bipolarity. Well, these are now regarding the issues of law. The law must be written healthily, with purity, in the name of God, for God; it must be written this way so that if it is done this way, then it will gain blessings. If the law is written and approved with these considerations and with good intentions, it truly gains blessings. Then governments will also be compelled to act.

This is one point.

The next point is about the current Assembly. From the very beginning of this Assembly's formation, I expressed my belief and my interest in this Assembly, which was based on knowledge; I said the Assembly is a revolutionary Assembly.(9) Now, after three years, I repeat the same. This Assembly, thanks be to God, is a revolutionary, educated, young, dynamic, and hardworking Assembly. Of course, the judgments one makes about a group are based on the overall view of the group; now there may be some exceptions; we do not concern ourselves with those exceptions. When one looks at the group as a whole, this Assembly is truly a revolutionary Assembly. Now, from various corners, from the left and the right, a quip, a side remark, or something is sometimes directed at the Assembly; well, let them say it; one cannot expect everyone to praise a person; no, after all, there will be oppositions, but the reality is as I have stated; that is, based on the knowledge and awareness I have, this Assembly truly possesses these characteristics.

The eleventh Assembly has recognized the problems of the country; this is important. The problems of the country have been recognized, and based on the recognition of the problems, laws have been enacted. This detail that Mr. Qalibaf provided — who had previously sent me a detailed report; [of course] I have reports from other sources as well, meaning the report is not only from the Assembly — of the works that have been done, the laws that have been passed or are currently in the process of being passed, all indicate familiarity with the problems of the country. When one understands the problems, one enacts laws according to the problems. The aim of these laws has been to combat corruption, eliminate discrimination, remove monopolies, improve the business environment, and other economic issues. These laws have been explicitly and decisively stated, ruled, and approved. This is also important; that is, there is no consideration or concealment in the laws; it is explicit and clear.

Some of these laws that you have passed are strategic laws; that is, they are not temporary or situational laws, they are truly strategic laws for the country that deserve respect and commendation; whether in economic fields or non-economic fields; in all of these. The “strategic action” law(10) that you passed at the very beginning is a fundamental law, an important law. This [law] saved the country from confusion in the nuclear issue; that is, it eliminated the state of bewilderment and ignorance. When there is bewilderment and ignorance, one makes decisions based on every step, and sometimes contradictory decisions! This law clearly specified what we should do, and we are now observing its signs in the world. Or the “support for family and youth population” law(11) which is truly one of the vital laws. I have been saying this for years — that is, for several years — but your law is different from our saying; our saying in some cases takes on a counseling nature, [but] your law is executive and obligatory; it must be implemented. This law is very important. Or the “knowledge-based production leap” law;(12) these are strategic laws. There are other laws of this kind that are strategic laws.

One of the advantages of the eleventh Assembly that I insist on stating and expressing is simplicity; that is, as far as I have been informed, compared to many individuals, the behavior of this Assembly has less or no aristocratic attitude and disregard for the people. Now, I have mentioned that there are exceptions; that is, I see exceptions before my eyes, but the overall approach is this; this overall approach is very good. Do not lose these; I want to say that this interaction with the people, this humility before the people, this listening to the people's words should not be lost. Of course, listening to the people's words is different from making promises to the people; that is, it should not be that when you are sitting in your city in your electoral district and people come to complain, you just keep making promises; no, you cannot fulfill this promise; sometimes the Assembly cannot fulfill it, sometimes the entire system cannot fulfill it. Do not make promises; listen, say we will try, we will strive, perhaps it will be resolved; that is, listening to the people's words with an open face and a pleasant demeanor, without frowning. Some people used to frown at the people! It was said:

"Since you do not untie a knot, do not be a knot yourself; Be open-eyed as long as your hand is not open."

That is, ultimately facing the people with an open brow and a pleasant face is very valuable; these are important; keep these. These strengths — which I mentioned and you know better than I — are said so that in this last year, you continue these.

The last year is a sensitive year. Now, later I may say a word regarding this last year. One of the country's problems is the last year of Assemblies, which is in the face of elections and the people's scrutiny and such things. The point is, continue your strengths in this last year; you entered healthily, exit healthily. "My Lord, let me enter with truth and let me exit with truth";(14) may it be this way, God willing; what remains for a person from work is this. Whether we are elected in the next term or not, these are worldly matters; they are second-degree matters. The essence of the matter is that whether we come to the Assembly later or not, the work we have done until now is accepted by God Almighty; that is the essence of the matter. Well, this is the second point.

The third point is also some recommendations that I have mentioned several recommendations. Of course, I mentioned that I have previously shared these recommendations with you.

The first recommendation is about the type of relationship between the Assembly and other powers, especially with the executive branch; this is the fundamental matter. The type of relationship must be organized. There is a duality here: the duality of approximation and destruction; one view is an approximating view; one view is a destructive view.

In the destructive view, the mentality of considering the other power as a rival dominates; now the executive branch less so, mainly the executive and legislative branches consider themselves rivals; a rival that must bring the other side down; this view is a dangerous one. Now, this can happen from the government side, it can also happen from the Assembly side; that is, both sides can create problems with this wrong view. Governments sometimes consider the Assembly as a redundant, bothersome entity; sometimes they become obstinate. Years ago, one of the esteemed presidents of the Assembly complained to me that this government does not even give us bills! We are left idle. This is a reality! That is, an Assembly was formed whose composition was contrary to the will of that government; that government did not cooperate, did not provide bills at all. That I said sometimes proposals become necessary, this is where it is. When the government does not provide bills, the remedy is that you should continuously prepare proposals and pass them and present them. That is, when a government wants to annoy the Assembly, one of its ways is to not provide [bills]. Naturally, when no bills come, the country remains idle. This is a real example; this is an example that has happened. Or a law is formulated, is announced, [then] they put the law in a drawer and lock it! They do not implement it. [Or] there is a law that has been announced, but its regulations have not been formulated for a long time. A law without regulations cannot be executed; regulations must be prepared, must be provided for [execution]; this work is not done. These are from the governments' side.

From the Assembly's side, there is an excess in the use of oversight tools. Well, yes, you have oversight tools; from questions and reminders to impeachment. Well, these must be used in their place; these are the tools of the Assembly; the Assembly has no choice but to use these for the administration of the country, but excess in using these is not good. Ministers in various governments have repeatedly come to me and complained about the number of questions directed at them; they say that our time is mostly spent answering these questions; we either have to go to the committee or go to the Assembly floor to answer questions. Or, for example, suppose a minister has received a vote of confidence from the Assembly, three months later — three months later, four months later — the same minister is impeached! Well, why impeach? What can be done in a ministry in three months that if not done, one should impeach? This is excess in the use of oversight tools. Or similar things that it is better not to repeat. Therefore, this is one view that is a destructive view, a view of considering the other side as a rival.

Another view is to see the system as a whole:

"When one member suffers, the whole body aches."

[The system] is a body: one is the heart, one is the brain, one is the nervous system; these must work together. If they are not complementary, a brain that does not help the heart, a heart that does not help the brain, a nervous system that does not help the brain will not work; they must complement each other; they are indeed complementary. This is a correct view. This view is the true view. Therefore, my first and important recommendation is that the Assembly's view in this one year — now that you are in the fourth [and last year of the Assembly], the overall [view] of Assemblies; whether you are there or someone else — must be one of cooperation and synergy. Of course, we give these reminders to the government and the judiciary in their respective matters; now we also present them to you. Well, the government bears the burden of execution; you are aware of this! Some of you have previously been in the executive branch, whether at the ministerial level or at the managerial level, you have been in the executive branch and know that the executive branch is different from the legislative branch. There, there is work, there is effort, there is work pressure, there are expectations, there are demands; the executive branch must be respected, and some unreasonable disputes should not be involved. Sometimes it happens that when the Assembly cooperates with the government, some of these unethical individuals who are sitting in corners immediately say in newspapers and on social media and such: "The Assembly has lost its independence, the Assembly has become governmental!"; do not pay attention to these at all. Either these words are said out of malice or out of ignorance of the interests of the system.

One of the matters I emphasize is the issue of some of the strictness regarding ministers presented to the Assembly. Sometimes unnecessary strictness is applied regarding a proposed minister that causes the ministry to remain without a minister for a long time and be managed by an acting minister; well, this harms the country. Care must be taken; the qualifications must be recognized, there is no doubt about that, but strictness must be at a logical, reasonable level; now we currently have several ministries without ministers, and all of these come to the Assembly.

Another recommendation I want to present is that maintaining the freedom and clarity you have is very good. The freedom and clarity of this Assembly is good. This freedom and clarity must definitely be accompanied by piety and sufficient honesty; that is, if something is to be said, a word is to be said, well, it must be said with clarity, but honesty and piety must be observed. The Holy Quran states: "Indeed, those who love to see indecency spread among those who have believed..."(16) If there is something that can be pointed out to the responsible agencies, intelligence agencies, governmental agencies, and warned against, there is no need for one to make it public. In some cases, of course, yes, it is necessary, but even there, piety must be observed, honesty must be observed. Sometimes we want to strike a blow to a certain official, we strike a blow to the Assembly; this is it. That is, harming a person sometimes coincides with harming the Assembly. Is it not a pity? The Assembly, with all this effort, should not be ruined! The point is that attacking the reputation of individuals is not permissible; attacking the reputation of individuals is an attack on the religious and revolutionary identity of individuals. Of course, this statement is not specific to you. This applies to the entire country, all individuals from top to bottom [are included], but individuals like me and you who are sitting on high pulpits where our voices are heard by all, in our case, these considerations must be more.

The next recommendation is the same issue of the "last year" that I previously mentioned. Do not let the desire for prestige affect your words and slogans; that is, if we say this word, if we give this slogan, people will become interested in us, the likelihood of gaining votes will increase, completely remove this from your mind; this is one of the important and necessary struggles. This is also a recommendation.

The last recommendation is that this year, meaning until next year — now the elections are at the end of the year, but the upcoming months are important — there are great tasks ahead of you: one is the seventh program; one is the issue of the slogan of the year; the issue of controlling inflation and boosting production; these are very important tasks. One of these is the half-finished bills that have been mentioned, that some bills or proposals are in the process of being passed, and have not yet been approved; well, these should reach a point, reach a conclusion.

Ultimately, this last year is an opportunity for one to look back; if there has been a gap in the past two or three years, if a shortcoming has occurred, may it be compensated in this last year, and as you entered the Assembly with dignity, may you exit with dignity, God willing.

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