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 Remaining One of God on earth.

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for granting us the opportunity, thanks be to God, to gather together in this sincere and brotherly assembly after two or three years of being deprived of your close presence, to hear the remarks of the gentlemen through the esteemed Speaker of the Parliament and to share some thoughts of our own.

These days coincide with the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr; like yesterday, this great event took place, which we take as a good omen. I must provide some explanation regarding this matter. Dear brothers and sisters! The liberation of Khorramshahr was not merely the recapture of a city that the enemy had taken from us; it was not just that — this was one of the symbols of the liberation of Khorramshahr — the liberation of Khorramshahr changed a vital equation in favor of the Islamic warriors; this is the reality of the matter. A bitter equation had been formed. I do not forget the bitterness of those days when we were in this center in Ahvaz, where a board was installed in the room of martyr Chamran, who was the commander of our organization; pins with blue and red heads were stuck on this map, the blue sections were those under our control, and the red sections were those that the enemy had occupied; every day, as the news changed, we would go and look. I do not forget the bitterness of those days when we would see several additional red sections; they had taken this point, they had taken that city, they had taken that military base, they had taken this area as well. They had reached ten or eleven kilometers from Ahvaz, and from the direction of Dezful, they had reached the Naderi Bridge; the enemy even dared to cross the Naderi Bridge and come to the other side; of course, this was contrary to military wisdom, and then they realized it was a bad idea and retreated. These were bitter days when we had this situation for eight or nine months after the start of the war; this equation was a very bitter equation. Then, with the operations of Hazrat Thamen al-A'immah, which lifted the siege of Abadan, this equation began to change; then came Operation Quds and then Fath al-Mubin, and ultimately, the liberation of Khorramshahr; the equation was reversed; that is, until that day we had to constantly worry about what we would lose tomorrow, but from that day onward, we were always on the lookout to see what we could gain the next day. Of course, in the operations after the liberation of Khorramshahr, some were victories, and some were not victories, but the trend was one of progress, one of victory, one of growth of will and determination; this is the issue of the liberation of Khorramshahr; that is, Khorramshahr was, in fact, a symbol of the change from a bitter equation to a sweet equation that saved the Iranian nation. Now, many people may not have much information about the state of the war, but those who were informed lived in constant worry and bitterness; the people were saved by this movement.

Well, what was the source of this national salvation? What was the factor that led to the liberation of Khorramshahr and the events before it? This is important, and I want to emphasize this. The factors were several: jihad, self-sacrifice, steadfast determination, and initiative [that is, seeking innovative ways]. I do not know if you dear brothers have read the writings related to the operations of Fath al-Quds, which are indeed very good. Now, among you, some — a few — may have been present at that time, but most of you are young; you may not even remember those events, and some may not have even been born yet; read these books and see what happened, what was happening; these martyrs who were martyred in these events — whose names are sometimes mentioned; famous martyrs, unknown martyrs — what roles they played; from commanding the headquarters to commanding the division to commanding the battalion to commanding a group; what did they do; what was their role; steadfast determination. Or a long-term perspective on ideals; that is, not thinking about daily and mundane matters. They looked at the situation; because Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) had made clear and eloquent statements regarding this war and this great event, the minor and daily events did not occupy the minds of the influential elements in this great movement, this jihad; they were pursuing those lofty goals, following the indications that the Imam had made.

Well, we said jihad, we said self-sacrifice, we said steadfast determination, and so on; the spirit of all these is sincerity, sincerity for God and reliance on God; working for God and relying on the Almighty God. At that time, along with sincerity and reliance, initiative was necessary, determination was necessary, striving was necessary, self-sacrifice was necessary, and these things that we have mentioned.

Now I want to say that this was not specific to that period and that event; in all the various events of the country that you are facing and will face, the main factor is the same; that is, a person should enter the field with reliance, with sincerity, then have self-sacrifice, strive, have steadfast determination, seek initiative, and search for new ways; it is like this in all matters; if these things are present, victory is certainly behind them; certainly. Now see how many issues we are facing!

I want to tell you that in all these issues we are facing, whether internal or external, hardware issues or software issues; in every way, we can achieve victory with the help of these few factors: that is, striving in the way of God and jihad action, sincerity for God, steadfast determination, initiative, and the like; this is stated in the Quran. Now I will read two verses for you. O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from a painful punishment? * You believe in God and His Messenger and strive in the cause of God with your wealth and your lives — I will explain the meaning of lives later — that is better for you if you should know. * He will forgive you your sins and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of eternity; that is the great success. * And another [blessing] that you love: victory from God and a near conquest; (3) if this faith and this jihad and the like exist, the issue is not just that God will forgive you, no; victory [means] that which you are seeking, the Almighty God will gift to you; [the verse] does not specify in war, [but] in all matters; it is not specific to military war; it is like this in all aspects of life.

Another verse, which is the last verses of Surah Al-Imran: Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers; that promise was the promise of victory over the enemy; Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers, and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection; indeed, You do not fail in the appointment; the believers make this prayer, what does the Almighty God do? Their Lord answered them: Indeed, I do not waste the work of any worker among you, whether male or female; (4) I will not waste your work, your efforts; [this is] known. These are the foundations and principles of the movement of a believing society, a believing group; they have also been experienced. Now, these things we might have read at times, accepted them out of obligation, but since the revolution until today, we have experienced these things, we have observed them in practice, we have seen that it is indeed like this.

Well, I want to say this: most of you are young; that is, you have a great opportunity ahead of you; God willing, you have fifty, sixty years ahead of you to live; during this time ahead of you, events will occur, issues will arise: there are joys, there are sorrows — it is no joke, forty years, fifty years, sixty years in this strange world — many events will come your way, you will face many issues; I tell you to use this principle in all these matters. Strive, move with jihad, have steadfast determination: Strengthen my limbs for Your service, and strengthen my resolve, and grant me diligence in Your fear. (5) This will help you in all the matters that lie ahead of you and will lead you to victory.

Well, we said "jihad and self-sacrifice" and I said I would explain to you what is meant by "self-sacrifice." It is not always that you go and offer your life; there are places where self-sacrifice means that a person goes and puts his life in his hands in the battlefield, like during the Sacred Defense and like today in some fields and arenas that exist and you observe; but it is not always like this. Self-sacrifice has a broader meaning; self-sacrifice in many cases means not being ensnared by petty desires. This is our problem; we sometimes become ensnared by petty desires, we get caught up, we cannot save ourselves; self-sacrifice means to disregard these desires. Now, what are these petty desires? They are a wide range of desires.

Suppose in a gathering, a person sits above his friend; sitting above a friend in a friendly gathering; take this from here to sitting on the chair of presidency and leadership at the national level; these are all desires, and they are all petty desires; it is not that one of these two is a petty desire, and the other is something great; no, sitting in this position and sitting in that gathering with each other makes no difference; it is a desire of a person, both are petty; for the sake of fulfilling a duty, a person sometimes does it, and sometimes it does not happen, it is contrary to duty, a person disregards it. Enjoying worldly wealth, to enjoying public reputation and face; in order to gain a reputation among the people, to gain a good name, we may do some things; this is being ensnared by petty desires; one must avoid these. Of course, no one says that worldly wealth is bad or that a government position or service is bad; no, none of these are bad; neither is worldly wealth bad, nor is a position bad, nor is social reputation bad; all of these are good, seeking these and asking God for these is also not problematic; our prayers are full of requests for these things. The discussion is that sometimes a duty arises for a person that one of these desires comes in the way of that duty; that is when one must step on this desire of the self; "self-sacrifice" means this.

Well; now these were the remarks I made to you dear brothers. Of course, I myself, in meaning, am more of an audience to these words than all of you; that is, I need this advice more than you do, and I hope that the Almighty God will make this advice penetrate our hearts as we give it to our brothers.

And now the Parliament. Well, the Islamic Consultative Assembly is one of the main pillars of the management of the country; one of the main pillars of the management of the country is the Islamic Consultative Assembly; among several essential and main pillars in the administration of the country, one of these important pillars is the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Even if you have been elected as a representative from a remote and sparsely populated city, you have come to the Parliament, you must look at the Parliament with this perspective; you are in such a position; you are in the position of managing the country, and in one of the important and first-degree pillars of this management. The management of the country is a multi-faceted phenomenon, one of its facets is the Islamic Consultative Assembly; it has other facets — now the three branches or, for example, the armed forces and so on — but one important facet of it is the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Its importance is such that this perspective must be held towards the Parliament; both outside the Parliament and inside the Parliament itself must have this perspective towards the Parliament.

Well, the management of the country, of which you are part of the management, is a very difficult, complex, and important task; a country with the position of dear Iran. What does the position of dear Iran mean? It means the vastness of the country, the population of the country, the geography of the country, the history of the country, the diverse and varied climate of the country; these are the characteristics of our country and the characteristics that have made dear Iran one of the important and exceptional countries in the world; this is the reality; you want to manage such a country.

Well, naturally, managing the country is a difficult task; especially this difficulty increases in some situations that arise in the world, like the current situation. Today, there is a condition in the world, there are situations that not only make the management of the country difficult for us but for all countries. What are these situations? Now I will mention some of the important ones: the hostile rivalries of powers with each other; that is, for example, nuclear powers are staring each other down and threatening each other; this is an important matter, this gives the world a very sensitive position.

The existence of military movements in a sensitive point of the world. You know Europe is one of the most war-prone regions in the world. I, with my own research — which may not be complete — do not know of any point in the world that matches Europe — that is, with the width and length of Europe — where so much war has occurred, as has occurred there; in no point in the world; Europe is essentially a war-prone point. Well, the last of these was the two world wars that occurred in Europe, [that is] originated from there, occupied the world, and destroyed tens of millions of people. Before that, various wars between Germany, France, England, Italy, and others were constantly occurring; that is, it is a significant war-prone point in the world. Now, in this war-prone point, a war has occurred; well, this makes the world sensitive, this is a very important point; increasing military threats.

Widespread diseases; this is also one of the things that in the world is either very rare or has no precedent; that now a disease like this engulfs the whole world, meaning no point in the world is free from this disease; this is also a significant point.

Or food threats at the global level; now sometimes in Africa or in some corner of the world, famine occurs, food shortages and food threats arise; today it is not like that; today there is a food threat everywhere in the world. See, the conditions of the world today are a special condition, a particular condition; a situation like today rarely occurs in the world; well, naturally, in such conditions, the management of countries — all countries — becomes harder, more complex.

Of course, we also have another issue; Islamic Iran, in addition to other countries, has another issue, and that is that we have introduced a new discourse in global discussions; religious democracy, Islamic democracy; this is a new word; we have introduced this into political discussions in the world, into the political literature of the world; this is apparently just a word, but what is its essence? Its essence is what incites the enmity and hostility of the world’s first-class powers against this literature, against this word, against this truth, against this phenomenon; that is, this movement in the Islamic Republic has been able to disrupt the organized table of the system of domination. The system of domination had organized a specific table for managing the world. I have defined the system of domination several times; that is, dividing the world into dominators and the dominated; there is no middle ground. Some must be dominators, some must be dominated; this is the system of domination. They had set a specific table for the world; one day in the form of colonialism, one day in the form of neo-colonialism, another day in the form of post-neo-colonialism, after neo-colonialism. They had organized a systematic policy for the world; this new discourse of the Islamic Republic has disrupted this table; it has disrupted the organization of this table; hence they are opposed to it.

You are representatives of the Parliament, your information is very extensive; you know how many intelligence, internet, television, and satellite bases there are against the Islamic Republic and how much money is spent daily and how many people, how many minds sit in what they call think tanks to think about the Islamic Republic; this is the case. Of course, the Islamic Republic has also stood firm, held its head high, is taking bold steps, and is moving forward; they have not succeeded. Well, therefore, managing the country is not an easy task; you are involved in such management; I want to say this; this requires that all components of this management increase their vigilance. You are managers, you must know what you are doing; the government is the same, the judiciary is the same, other various bodies are the same; everyone who has a role in this management must know what a great and important task they are performing.

Well, first, we must be aware of our capabilities, secondly, we must correctly identify our vulnerabilities, we must know both what our capabilities are and what our vulnerabilities are; to use the common Persian expression, we must discover the "Achilles' heel" (7) within ourselves; we must see where we are vulnerable, and be mindful of it. In addition to these, we must strive to avoid making mistakes, to avoid errors. The enemy is more hopeful of our mistakes than of its own capabilities; [that is] that we make a mistake, as military people say, give the enemy a flank. You are facing the enemy, after all; if you become negligent, the enemy will circle around you, attack you from the flank, and you will not be able to do anything. One of the things that military commanders are careful to avoid in the battlefield is giving the enemy a flank; we must be careful not to give the enemy a flank. Well, this is now regarding the general issues of the Parliament.

We said "revolutionary Parliament"! Some were not pleased; but we spoke the truth; now some may like it, some may not like it, it does not matter. The truth is that this Parliament was formed with the slogans of the revolution; the people looked and chose options whose movements, orientations, slogans, and words were those of the revolution; thus, the people also support this trend and this movement that you, as revolutionary elements in your city, in your region, have proclaimed, have spoken. Therefore, a revolutionary Parliament means this. The slogans of the revolution are in favor of the country; contrary to those who want to pretend that the revolution is a trouble for the country, no, on the contrary, the revolution and revolutionary slogans and revolutionary ideals — which, of course, we have not yet reached the ideals; but paying attention to these ideals and moving towards these ideals — is the remedy for the country’s pains; it is not a trouble, it is a remedy for troubles; this is how the revolution is. Well, of course, in cyberspace, in some newspaper, in some writing, someone has an opinion, they say it does not matter, let them say it, but the truth of the matter is that the movement was a revolutionary movement, and the Parliament is revolutionary.

Of course, dear brothers, dear sisters! One fundamental point is remaining revolutionary. You see, the session is a sincere and private session, it is a brotherly session. Now it is completely before my eyes that there were those who, for example, in 1979 — when I was a member of the Revolutionary Council and at that time I was not yet the President — would come to us, and we ourselves were among the children of the revolution and, for example, with a history of struggle, they would sit and speak fiery, passionate words that we would be astonished at who these people are! That is, in the words of the Westernized, super-revolutionary; then they turned back and did not remain revolutionary. Those individuals with that style of approach, with that style of view, could not continue the line, they could not endure. You see, the truth of the matter is that they could not endure! That someone wants to pretend that we looked and saw this choice is better than that choice; no, these words are not true. Going down this path, remaining on this path required endurance; they could not endure. If my memory does not fail me, Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) regarding Surah Hud, this noble verse that [says:] "So be steadfast as you have been commanded, and whoever repents with you" (8), both you be steadfast and stand firm on this path, and those who have moved towards God with you, they should also stand firm; it seems to me — I have not referred to it — he said that this verse made the Prophet (peace be upon him) old; this verse made him old; it is that hard! So be steadfast as you have been commanded; stand, remain, continue on the path. Well, then, you see, more difficult than being revolutionary and having a revolutionary inclination is remaining revolutionary; whether individually or collectively, that is, the entire Parliament.

Well, now what is revolutionary? I have mentioned several indicators for a revolutionary representative. You are, thanks be to God, successful; the Almighty God has granted you success, you are in the Parliament, you are doing good work; I have also heard the report from Mr. Qalibaf. Of course, both outside, this exhibition and these so-called images that explained this report, (10) and the reports that have previously reached me, we have seen the same things that he mentioned in these reports; thanks be to God, you are busy, but at the same time, a reminder is good. Let us know if we want to remain revolutionary representatives, what we should do. I have written down several points here.

The first is simplicity; not becoming a slave to luxury and ostentation and the like; before you came to the Parliament, you had a certain lifestyle; now that you have come to the Parliament, you should not think that now we are representatives, for example, we must live like this; no; be simple, continue the same ordinary life you had. One of them is trustworthiness; trustworthiness is very important; this verse that our dear reciter read here: Indeed, We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and feared it, but man bore it; (11) man accepted the trust, the divine trust. Part of this divine trust is what is now in your hands. Part of that trust is what is now in your hands! This trust must be preserved correctly.

One issue is the issue of responsibility; you pass a law, if you think this law is a good law and should have been passed, stand firm and say, yes, I passed this; yes, we passed it. It should not be that we say we are passing this law, we know that the Guardian Council will reject it, well, let the responsibility fall on the Guardian Council. We know that this law is not practical, some laws are like this; you see, I was a representative of the Parliament, I know the Parliament from the inside; sometimes a person knows that this law cannot be implemented by the government with the resources it has, with the conditions it has; they say, very well, I will pass it, let them not implement it, let the people accuse them, let them be held responsible for why it was not implemented. No, this is not right; you must have a sense of responsibility.

Another indicator is being people-oriented; what does being people-oriented mean? Being people-oriented means mixing with ordinary people, sitting and interacting, having both an ear to hear the words of the people and a tongue to clarify the minds of the people. That we go into a gathering of people, they have a claim, they have a demand, we hear their words and then say, "Yes, you are absolutely right, and those who do not listen, do not act, are like this and that," no, [this is not enough]; sometimes there is a knot in the minds of the people, you must untie this knot; this "jihad of clarification" that we have mentioned (12) includes these cases. There are problems; suppose a certain class has a demand, well, you are representatives of the Parliament, you are aware of the consumption of the country and the income of the country, you know that this is not practical; when you know it is not practical, do not wait for some executive or judicial representative to come and say we cannot; no, you say it cannot be done; that is, both an ear to hear the words of the people and a tongue to clarify the minds of the people. It may be that in that gathering in front of you, two people, three people, ten people say, "Get lost! This one did nothing!" They may say it; you must fulfill your duty. Being people-oriented means this; that when we say "people-oriented," it is not just that we keep shouting support for the people; no, we must help the people; "help" means both hearing their words and executing their demands if possible, and clarifying their minds if there are problems and impossibilities.

Pursuing the resolution of the fundamental problems of the country; that is, truly look at the most fundamental issues, pursue them. Let me put it better, in the issues of the country, there are fundamental issues and there are secondary issues; as long as fundamental issues are in front of us, it is not time for secondary issues. Going after secondary issues while we have fundamental issues in front of us is not permissible. Pursue the resolution of fundamental problems and main issues; categorize the topics into primary and secondary.

Serious avoidance of discrimination and corruption; avoidance! Sometimes we say serious opposition to corruption, well, yes, everyone is against it, we are all against it; however, sometimes this opposition to corruption is with the corruption of others, with the discrimination of others. We must be vigilant ourselves, we must have seriousness, both with discrimination and corruption in Zayd and Amr, and with discrimination and corruption in ourselves.

Sincere cooperation with other stakeholders in the management of the country. One of the problems of the country has been lack of coordination; lack of coordination among the officials of the three branches and the bodies of the three branches. Now sometimes the officials are friends, they sit together and agree, but the bodies do not agree; this creates problems in managing the country; this is our experience over many years. There must be sincere cooperation; there should not be any group pressure; there should not be any meaningless opposition. Sincere cooperation with the government, with the judiciary, with others, with anyone who has any dealings; they must cooperate for the advancement of the correct works of the country. Of course, if a person observes a mistake on the other side, they must point out that mistake clearly; but where there is truly a place for cooperation, they must cooperate.

One of the characteristics of a revolutionary representative is that they are with the general public, with the masses, but they are not populist. I tell you never become populist. Some of our problems in part of these years were due to our becoming populist. Suppose we sat in a meeting with high-ranking officials of the country — these are things that have happened, I also protested to them at that time — in a meeting, for example, professors of universities were also present, one said something, one of them immediately gave a big advantage that was not appropriate, right there, for example, in the middle of the speech to the audience present in the meeting; this is populism, this is not beneficial, this is harmful. Accompanying the people is different from populism and being swayed by the hype; no. One of the most important characteristics of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) was this; if at any time he had an opinion that everyone opposed, and he believed that this opinion was divine and religious and correct, he would stand firm; he would say, let the whole world oppose me, let them. The Quran also gives this instruction to the Prophet: And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of God; (13) this matter is repeated many times in the Quran. A revolutionary representative is one who does not become populist. You passed a law, in your opinion, it was a correct law, a number of people opposed it, of course, the nature of the work is that you look to see whether these opponents have a valid logic or not; if they have a valid logic, of course, you accept it; if they do not have a valid logic, stand firm; say, yes, I passed this law, I stand by it. That there are uproars against us, against the Parliament, against this collection, against this law in the websites and in cyberspace and so on, should not bring you to your knees; one of the characteristics of a revolutionary representative is this.

Adherence to the Constitution. One of the very important issues in the work of the Parliament is adherence to the Constitution; those cases where the Constitution has set a specific duty must be strictly observed. This Constitution must not be even slightly violated. Of course, the duty of conformity with the Constitution is with the Guardian Council, but you can also review some cases; now these have examples as well. Some of the signs of a revolutionary representative — of which we are also devoted to revolutionary representatives and are followers of you — are these.

One of the things that is not a sign of a revolutionary representative is the passionate protest speeches in between sessions; these speeches that you gentlemen [make]. That someone stands there and begins to protest, this is not a sign of being revolutionary at all; the sign of being revolutionary is what we have mentioned and things like that. Protesting and showing anger and the like are not signs of being revolutionary.

Of course, this Parliament has done valuable work in these two years that have passed; the very things that Mr. Qalibaf pointed out — the esteemed Speaker of the Parliament — are very valuable works. Some of these we are, of course, aware of in detail, some of these we are also aware of in general; now not the details; that there too, in this corridor, they had written the explanation of each of these on a sheet that I also took a look at them; these are very valuable. However, I have a few recommendations regarding legislative issues that I will present.

One recommendation is to formulate laws with a comprehensive and long-term perspective. That we jump to create a law for every small or medium issue that arises, while the government does not have a bill, we must submit a proposal — I will also discuss the proposal — this will lead to the accumulation of laws, the congestion of laws, which will lead to the same problems of law that you have done good work on in these two years in the area of law purification; that is, the accumulation of laws is not very desirable. When the Parliament wants to formulate a law, it must do so with a long-term perspective, with a comprehensive perspective; every small, minor issue is not worthy of a law; this is one.

Another issue is that the laws that emerge from the general policies must be given importance. The general policies according to the Constitution are communicated to the heads of the three branches, that is, to the three branches; these general policies of the Islamic system are communicated to the government, to the Parliament, to the judiciary, each of which has duties regarding these; the duty of the Parliament is to legislate in accordance with these policies; it must not be contrary to these policies; well, this is very important; you must pay attention to this. Now I want to say, for example, the general policies of elections — which I think Mr. Qalibaf also made a reference to — these policies have been communicated for five or six years, (14) [but] the law has not yet been formulated; this must be done. Or the general policies of legislation (15) which also have policies; these policies have been reviewed; work has been done on them, thought has been given to them; this has also been communicated for two years, three years, but no law has been placed based on them yet; this is also one of our recommendations.

Another recommendation is regarding proposals; well, you feel a gap, the government has not submitted a bill or does not have one, and does not submit it, as happened; once a Parliament, just a few years ago, some time after the formation of the Parliament, came to me, complained, said the government has not submitted any bill to us; no bill has come in the course of five or six months. Well, one of the duties of the Parliament is this; when there is a necessary issue, and there is no bill, it must prepare a proposal [which] is among the rights of the Parliament; it is both a right and a duty of the Parliament to prepare a proposal; of course, with the conditions mentioned in the Constitution, but my point is that do not let the number of proposals increase; that is, too many proposals should not be prepared and submitted; this has a problem, which of course I have heard, I have been informed — now I have not asked Mr. Qalibaf about this — that in this Parliament, a lot more proposals have been prepared and organized than in previous Parliaments; this is not a good thing. When you prepare a proposal, then this proposal, for example, is approved, it goes to the government; for example, the government says I cannot implement this proposal for any reason; [in this case] the responsibility becomes vague; a person does not know whether to tell the government why you did not implement this law, or to tell the Parliament why you approved this law that was not practical; this is it; it obscures responsibility.

Or the congestion of proposals. One of the problems with these proposals is that often new Parliaments that are formed set aside the proposals left over from the previous Parliament; even urgent proposals; they set aside urgent proposals or perhaps some two-urgent proposals as well! That is, when a new Parliament is formed, a proposal that the previous Parliament has sat down, thought about, worked on, approved, or is in the process of approval, they set it aside; all this effort, all this thought, all this time goes to waste. Then, when the number of proposals increases, expert work also becomes difficult; that you want to do precise expert work on all these proposals is very difficult. This is also an issue.

One issue is the budget, which Mr. Qalibaf has now pointed out. No, the budget has not been reformed; that is, the problem of the wrong composition of the budget has not been reformed, which is partly related to the government, partly related to the Parliament. Of course, I must address this more to the government officials and I have said it and will say it again, God willing; but you also have a role. One of the things that the Parliament can do regarding the budget is not to add to the budget deficit; that is, the expenses that are determined without the income being calculated accurately and it being clear that this income and this source exist. Sometimes it is the case that the budget sources are imaginary, the sources are not real. Well, against imaginary sources, the expenses are real; this increases the budget deficit; the budget deficit is the mother of all evils; many of our major economic problems stem from the budget deficit. This is also an issue.

One important issue is to strengthen the expert capacity of the Parliament. I have spoken about the Research Center a year or two ago, and I praised it; (16) the Research Center is very important. Strengthen the Research Center as much as you can; that is, both in the Research Center of the Parliament and in the specialized committees, strong expert work must be done; that is, the expert capacity of the Parliament must be increased. This is one of the very important issues. Of course, now I am not very confident, but the reports that have recently reached us from the Research Center are not very encouraging reports.

One important issue is the seventh development plan, which you must now formulate. The seventh plan means determining the obligations of the country for the next five years; the seventh plan is already one year behind, that is, it should have been completed last year, but it was not. In the five-year plans and, in common terms, the development plans — I do not agree much with the term development, but it is now a common term — generalizations are not useful. Sometimes in these development plans, generalizations are made that any action with any taste can be included in it; this is not useful. The plan must clearly show the way and place it in front of the executive bodies of the country, it must place it in front of all stakeholders in the country. In our opinion, one of the important things in the seventh plan is to make it issue-oriented; that is, one of the things that is important in the seventh plan is to make it issue-oriented.

Of course, this is also among the duties of the government; that is, the government must pay attention to this; we will also remind the government officials, God willing, you also pay attention. Suppose, for example, the issue of mining; well, we are very behind in the issue of mining; one of our fundamental problems is the issue of mining. There are so many valuable mines in this country, and the country is deprived of the income from these, I do not say one hundred percent, but ninety percent. Some mines remain untouched, some are taken out without added value. Without working on the product of the mine, it goes out. Well, for example, now mining; for the issue of mining — it is an issue in the country — prepare a document; for example, a document related to mining, a document related to industries. Those industrial figures who were gathered here, (17) I told them, what is the industrial document of the country? What do we want to do in the coming years regarding industry? Where is that general document that shows what our strategy regarding industry is? We do not have such a document. Agriculture is the same. These documents must be prepared with regard to the capabilities of the country, with regard to various issues, land use issues; when land use is not taken into account, we then come and place a factory in a place where we should not have placed it; [or] we plant a crop in a place where we should not have planted it. This is the case; [then] the state of our mining also becomes that way. Therefore, making it issue-oriented, that this document is both scientific and takes into account land use, and considers the capabilities of the country, is one of the ways to make the five-year plan more beneficial.

Another recommendation is media clarification; now you say national media, very well, national media has a duty, sometimes it does it, sometimes it may not, but you also have a duty. You formulate a law, you work on it, you study it, you approve it with noise and uproar, but you do not explain to the people what this law is and why it was approved. Well, when you do not explain, a number of people find the opportunity to create a fuss against that law, to create uproar, and to make you regret passing this law; this is it. Therefore, media clarification of laws is also one of the things that the Parliament must do.

Another issue that I pay attention to is the Court of Audit, which, thanks be to God, has become agile, active, and good in recent years; that is, the budget audit reports are done very quickly and well in their time, this is a very good thing that they have recently examined state companies as well; this must continue. Now some state companies are under the attention and examination of the Court of Audit; if this is extended to all state companies — of course, I have a thought on this that I am saying, it must be examined — and if you can do this, I believe this will be one of the great advantages of your Parliament.

I also want to make a strong recommendation; of course, Mr. Qalibaf, now that we were coming in, told me that you said something about representatives interfering in appointments and the like (18) that some of our colleagues were upset. I do not want your upset at all and do not approve of it, but I also love you very much, I want your benefit; you really should not interfere in appointments! Yes, he said some friends were not pleased; no [it should not be like that]; you suppose when it comes to a certain director general, regarding a certain governor, and even regarding a standard, and like this, for example, you suggest to the relevant minister or perhaps, God forbid, you pressure, this causes that if that official acts poorly, one does not know whose collar to grab; neither the people should know, nor the judiciary should know whose collar to grab for why did you appoint this or whose collar to grab for why did you pressure; why do this? One of the important issues of the Constitution is this issue of "separation of powers"; that is, you let him do his job, you do your job; [if] there is a problem, raise the issue appropriately and necessarily. Of course, my recommendation to the government officials has always been this; I have always recommended it before, and I will recommend it again, God willing, to use the opinions of the representatives. The representative belongs to this city, the representative is from this city; that is, he knows this place, he knows the issues here, [therefore] consulting with the representative is valuable; he must do this work, you must also act accordingly; I believe this is important.

One issue is the dignity of individuals; be careful of the dignity of individuals. Sometimes a person sees, suppose in a speech or in a statement in the Parliament — the loudspeaker of the Parliament is different from, for example, a certain internet base and cyberspace; here is an important responsible center — sometimes something is said about someone that has not been investigated! Well, the burden of this [action] is not easily removed; how will you remove the burden of this? If later it is proven to you that, for example, this statement was false, how will a person compensate for this? It is very difficult; of course, it may be compensated, but it is very difficult. Be careful that this does not happen.

My final remarks are that dear brothers, dear sisters! You are responsible; the more a person’s responsibility increases, the more his supplication and reliance on the Lord must increase. Do not forget worship, supplication, prayer, reliance on the divine, and recitation of the Quran; this is among the obligatory and necessary works, this will help you, this will make you honored before the Almighty God and before the servants of God. Seek help from the Almighty God, rely on the Almighty God, make the Imams of Guidance (peace be upon them) your intercessors, request from God through the Imams, ask, the Almighty God will bless you; this work will increase the blessing of your work. We hope, God willing, that the Almighty God grants all of you success.

O Lord! By the right of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make us familiar with our duties; make us act upon our duties. O Lord! Make these words that we have said and heard for You and in Your way, and make this a means for the advancement of our work. O Lord! Join the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the pure souls of the dear martyrs and the pure soul of this recent martyr from the day before yesterday (19) who was from Miyaneh (may God’s mercy be upon him), with the Prophet and elevate their ranks day by day.

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