Statements on Meeting with System Officials on the Tenth Day of Ramadan

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, and may God's curse be upon all their enemies.

We are very grateful to the Almighty God for this grace that He has bestowed upon us, allowing us to once again, albeit in a limited manner, be present among you, the officials and managers of the system during these blessed days of the holy month of Ramadan. God willing, through your sincerity, your purity, and your prayers, we will be able to attain divine blessings and be included in God's grace. I also thank Mr. President; he provided a good report, and God willing, he will be able to advance the work in this manner and with appropriate speed at the right time.

The remarks I have prepared to share with you dear ones consist of a few spiritual reminders appropriate for the month of Ramadan, which are primarily reminders to myself; let us say them so that, God willing, our hearts may be affected; because more than all of you, I myself need these reminders. One section consists of recommendations related to your work, your spirit, and your feelings as officials of various sectors of the country; another section includes practical recommendations regarding several issues, based on experience and perspective on the matters.

Regarding those reminders, I first say that one of our requests in this month, which is reflected in the supplications, is sincere intention; in the supplication of the days of the holy month of Ramadan, it is stated: وَ القُوَّةَ وَ النَّشاطَ وَ الاِنابَةَ وَ التَّوبَةَ ... وَ النِّیَّةَ الصّادِقَة. This sincere intention is very important. Let us sincerely make a commitment to ourselves and to our God that we will move decisively and without feeling tired on the right path, the path we believe is correct; this is sincere intention. If, God willing, you create and strengthen this sincere intention within yourselves during this luminous month, it will be a help, a strength for continuing your path throughout your period of responsibility, and this sincere intention will assist you in moving forward.

One of the things that has been repeatedly mentioned in this month, in the supplications of this month — in the dawn supplications, in the daytime supplications, in the nighttime supplications — is the issue of seeking God's forgiveness; asking God for forgiveness, istighfar; in the expressions of the supplications, it is stated: هَذَا شَهرُ المَغفِرَة; this is the month of forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is frequently repeated in these supplications. Well, what does istighfar mean? It means apologizing. We must apologize to the Almighty God for many of our actions, for many of our deeds and omissions.

This apology, which is naturally accompanied by that sincere intention, creates a purity within you, a cleanliness that attracts divine mercy. We must strive to attract divine mercy and blessings. In supplication, we read: اَللهُمَّ اِنّی اَسئَلُکَ موجِباتِ رَحمَتِک; there are causes that bring about divine mercy and make it manifest to humans. In all fields of life, this istighfar has an effect; now, for example, in the current issues of life, in Surah Hud, it is stated: وَ یا قَومِ استَغفِروا رَبَّکُم ثُمَّ توبوا اِلَیهِ یُرسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَیکُم مِدرارا; meaning that the Almighty God will send down heavenly blessings upon you; then it states: وَ یَزِدکُم قُوَّةً اِلیٰ قُوَّتِکُم; it increases your strength as well; this is very important. This is not just a personal matter; it is a public matter, a national matter.

More clearly and explicitly than this verse, the effect of istighfar is evident in one of the most difficult arenas of life, namely the arena of open struggle against the enemy, where in this noble verse, in Surah Al-Imran, it is stated: وَ کَأَیِّن مِن نَبیٍّ قاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبّیّونَ کَثیرٌ فَما وَهَنوا لِما اَصابَهُم فی سَبیلِ اللهِ وَ ما ضَعُفوا وَ مَا استَکانوا وَ اللهُ یُحِبُّ الصّابِرین; and their only statement was: رَبَّنَا اغفِر لَنا ذُنوبَنا وَ اِسرافَنا فی اَمرِنا; meaning that those who struggled alongside the prophets in the battlefield — and here the direction of the prophets' movement is also clarified; do not imagine that the prophets were sitting at home, or always in mosques and temples; no, they went into battlefields and fought against the enemies — these righteous ones, the God-fearing, and the pillars of God-fearing, their prayer was: رَبَّنَا اغفِر لَنا ذُنوبَنا وَ اِسرافَنا فی اَمرِنا وَ ثَبِّت اَقدامَنا وَ انصُرنا عَلَی القَومِ الکافِرین; meaning the relationship between istighfar and war, with steadfastness, with victory; this is how istighfar works.

If a person sincerely seeks forgiveness from the Almighty God for their mistakes and shortcomings, God Almighty responds; this is explicitly stated in the verse of the Quran. Then God's response to those who sought forgiveness and asked Him for victory was: فَآتَاهُمُ اللهُ ثَوابَ الدُّنیا وَحُسنَ ثَوابِ الآخِرَة; before the Hereafter, in this world, He answered them because of the istighfar they had made. Thus, the lesson from the Quran is to seek help through istighfar for victory in various fields; that is, our view of istighfar should not be that it is only sufficient for personal sins and for cleansing our hearts; no, istighfar has an effect in national fields, in large social arenas, and leads us to great successes.

Well, now what should we seek forgiveness for? One category consists of the wrongs we have committed, sins that — in my expression — are the sins of negligence; such as lying, backbiting, unlawful glances, unlawful touches, usurpation, and the like; this is one part; another part consists of inner sins: وَ ذَروا ظاهِرَ الاِثمِ وَ باطِنَهُ اِنَّ الَّذینَ یَکسِبونَ الاِثمَ سَیُجزَونَ بِماکانوا یَقتَرِفون; those inner sins also have a different discussion; one category also consists of sins that are in the sense of omission; there is no action, it is the omission of action; there was something we should have done but did not do. My dear ones! Many of us are afflicted with this last category; there are many things we should have done, words we should have said, actions we should have taken, signatures we should have made, a place where we should have made a move but did not do so; due to laziness, due to lethargy, due to negligence towards duty, we did not do it; this is a sin; we are questioned about this. Therefore, in the supplication of Makarem al-Akhlaq, it is stated: وَ استَعمِلنِی بِما تَسأَلُنی غَداً عَنه; employ me in that which you will question me about tomorrow.

One of the things I have repeatedly pointed out and sometimes mentioned, and one of the moving stories of the Quran, is the story of Prophet Yunus (peace be upon him); this great prophet of God: وَ ذَا النّونِ اِذ ذَهَبَ مُغاضِبا; well, why was he angry? Because his people were infidels, they did not listen to him no matter what he said, for years — now I do not know how many years — he invited them, but it did not have an effect, and he became angry, upset, and left them. Well, if we compare this with the omissions we commit, this does not seem like a big deal at all, but the Almighty God holds him accountable for this action: فَظَنَّ اَن لَن نَقدِرَ عَلَیه; he thought we would not be strict with him; no, we are strict. His strictness was that he left and was imprisoned; and then in another place, the Quran states: «فَلَو لا اَنَّهُ کانَ مِنَ المُسَبِّحین، لَلَبِثَ فی‌ بَطنِهِ اِلیٰ‌ یَومِ یُبعَثون»; what news! If it were not for this glorification and this supplication and this remembrance: «سُبحانَکَ‌ اِنّی‌ کُنتُ‌ مِنَ‌ الظّالِمین»، he would have remained imprisoned until the Day of Resurrection. Of course, following this verse, there is also a good tidings: فَنادی‌ فِی الظُّلُماتِ اَن لا اِلهَ اِلّا اَنتَ سُبحانَکَ اِنّی کُنتُ مِنَ الظّالِمینَ، فَاستَجَبنا لَهُ وَ نَجَّیناهُ مِنَ الغَمِّ وَ کَذٰلِکَ نُنجِی المُؤمِنین; this: وَ کَذٰلِکَ نُنجِی المُؤمِنین is a good tidings for you and me; that is, we too can attain salvation through glorification, praise, istighfar, and acknowledgment of sin and seeking forgiveness from the Lord. Therefore, istighfar is necessary both for committing forbidden acts and for negligence, inactivity, and mismanagement; it is necessary for both.

One point that exists is that we refer to the officials in the Islamic Republic as "responsible"; we say responsible; what does responsible mean? It means we will be questioned; about what? About what we have done and what we have not done.

Of course, this "question" in the common and political literature of the world is referred to as "the question of the people", but above this and more importantly, it is "the question of God"; this is more important in the Islamic Republic. Of course, the question of the people is also important and is one of the pillars of religious democracy, the sense of responsibility towards the people is one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic and democracy, but far more important than that is the sense of responsibility towards God. اِلٰهی ارحَمنی اِذَا انقَطَعَت حُجَّتی وَ کَلَّ عَن جَوابِکَ لِسانی وَ طاشَ عِندَ سُؤالِکَ اِیّایَ لُبّی; on the Day of Resurrection, it will be like this: they will ask, and we will have no answer; we will have made some arguments in our minds, we will say, they will invalidate the arguments, and there we will understand that the argument is not correct. [For example, if they ask] why did you do this? Why did you not do that? We have an argument in our minds, we present it there, but there is no answer. اِنقَطَعَت حُجَّتی وَ کَلَّ عَن جَوابِکَ لِسانی وَ طاشَ عِندَ سُؤالِکَ اِیّایَ لُبّی — this is how it will be. Even in a place where a responsible person is far from the questioning of the people and the oversight of the people, there is God; just as the work you do, the service you provide, is the same. I have repeatedly told the groups serving in various government agencies that have encountered me; I have said that that half an hour you spend beyond your official time, no one knows, not even your superiors are aware, not a word of verbal thanks is given to you, but God sees. The omissions are the same, the mistakes are the same.

This saying of our Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) that "the world is the presence of God" is a very important statement! Truly, may the Almighty God elevate the ranks of that heart filled with knowledge. The world is the presence of God, it is the place of God's presence; "presence" means the place of God's presence. God is everywhere; wherever we are, whether alone or in a gathering, in our hearts, our thoughts, our imaginations, our intentions, all are in the presence of the Almighty God. The essence of responsibility is this: divine presence; the essence of social responsibility and political responsibility is this. Know that the decision you make, the signature you put, the signature you do not put, the work you do, the work you do not do, all are in the sight of the Almighty: وَ کُنتَ اَنتَ الرَّقیبَ عَلَیَّ مِن وَرائِهِم وَ الشّاهِدَ لِما خَفِیَ عَنهُم.

One point that I must mention in this friendly and intimate and good session is that we who have responsibility in the Islamic Republic, even if we are like this in our personal lives — now, for example, sometimes a person does not have many commitments — when we enter the realm of governance, our vigilance must increase. For example, if you did not pay attention to the night prayer and the night supererogatory prayers and waking up early, now that you have become a manager, you must pay attention. You must increase what connects you to God during your period of responsibility. You and I must feel the presence of the Lord in our actions and omissions; if this happens, then divine blessings will descend. The same noble verse of Surah Hud that heavenly blessings will descend upon us. Heavenly blessings are not just rain; everything, including divine mercy: خَیرُکَ اِلَینا نازِل. And this attention of you and me is beneficial for the people, for the Islamic Republic, and for the country, as well as for ourselves; it brings our hearts closer to spirituality, to the good life of God. Well, these are the reminders I have presented, which I myself need more than all of you. May God grant us success, help us so that, God willing, these reminders will have an effect on our hearts.

And now for the recommendations; I have a few recommendations for you dear brothers and sisters who have entered this field of governance — whether in the parliament, in the government, or in various agencies, a relatively large number of young people have now entered the field, and especially the youth — this is very encouraging and pleasing if it is accompanied by these precautions.

The recommendation I want to present today is to pay attention to two harms: one harm is the harm of pride; one harm is the harm of passivity. These are two harms that you must be very careful about.

Pride is a tool of Satan. Pride, being deceived, is a tool of Satan. It has various sources, and it does not matter what its source is: sometimes the source is the very position and rank you have taken. Suppose you were working in a remote area, and now you have come to a high management position, for example, in the parliament or in the government or in revolutionary institutions or in the armed forces. This makes a person proud that they have gained a position; one source of pride is this. Another source of pride is success. You achieve success, you make progress in the work you are doing, and here a person becomes proud of themselves that we were able to accomplish this task. One source of pride is being deceived by God's grace and divine attention, which is mentioned a lot in supplications and even in the Quran: وَ لا یَغُرَّنَّکُم بِاللَهِ الغَرور; do not let the deceiver — who is Satan — deceive you about God. What does being deceived by God mean? It means that a person feels absolute assurance from God, no longer having any caution; for example, saying, "We are among the friends of the Ahl al-Bayt; God has nothing to do with us"! This is being deceived by God. وَ الشَّقاءُ الاَشقیٰ لِمَنِ اغتَرَّ بِک; the prayer of Sahifa Sajjadiyya — I think it is the 46th supplication — the supplication of Friday: وَ الشَّقاءُ الاَشقی لِمَنِ اغتَرَّ بِک; O Lord! Whoever is deceived by You, their misery is the greatest; this is being deceived; being proud is like this.

Do not be proud; do not be proud. If pride arises, it is the precursor to defeat, the precursor to downfall; this pride, from any of the sources we mentioned, is the precursor to the downfall of a person. When a person develops such pride, they fall within themselves, they fall in society, and the social movement that has arisen around them disappears and collapses. This noble verse: لَقَد نَصَرَکُمُ اللهُ فی مَواطِنَ کَـثیرَةٍ وَ یَومَ حُنَینٍ اِذ اَعجَبَتکُم کَثرَتُکُم فَلَم تُغنِ عَنکُم شَیئًا وَ ضاقَت عَلَیکُمُ الاَرضُ بِما رَحُبَت; this verse is about this. The Battle of Hunayn was the first battle that the Prophet entered after the conquest of Mecca; there were also many people with the Prophet. Contrary to the Battle of Badr, where there were 313 people, here there were several thousand of the new Muslims, the emigrants and the supporters, victorious from the conquest of Mecca, heading towards Ta'if for the battle of Hunayn. When they looked and saw that the crowd was large, they became proud. The Almighty God defeated them because of that pride. وَ ضاقَت عَلَیکُمُ الاَرضُ بِما رَحُبَت; the earth, despite all its vastness, became narrow for you; ثُمَّ وَلَّیتُم مُدبِرین; then you turned your backs and fled. One of the places where the crowd fled from around the Prophet was during the Battle of Hunayn; like the Battle of Uhud. Well, the result of pride is this. Of course, later God granted them victory, and they were able to succeed, but the consequence of pride in oneself and such things is this; it causes a person to fall; it causes both ourselves to fall and the group that is moving around us to fall and disappear. Therefore, in the supplication of Kumayl, one of the things you read and ask from the Almighty is: اَن تَجعَلَنی بِقِسمِکَ رَاضِیاً قانِعاً وَ فی جَمیعِ الاَحوالِ مُتَواضِعا; do not be proud, and in all circumstances, be humble. Humility means being modest; it is the opposite of pride; this is what a person asks from God in the supplication of Kumayl.

One of the problems of pride, if it arises in us, is that it distances us from the people. Pride and being deceived by oneself distance us from the people. The people become small in our eyes; we belittle the people, and naturally, we distance ourselves from them.

It causes us to be deluded about ourselves; we think we are more than we are; this is the danger of pride. When we consider ourselves to be more than we are, our mistakes become small in our eyes. Well, we all have mistakes, and we all confess in our hearts that we have mistakes; there are some cases where we know exactly that we made mistakes in such and such matters, but these mistakes become small in our eyes; while if the same mistakes are in another person, they appear large in our eyes, but our own mistakes appear small in our eyes. When the mistake becomes small, we become oblivious to correcting the mistake; we do not correct the mistake and continue in that mistake and remain in it. You see; these are the consequences of being proud; how many problems there are in these!

It deprives us of hearing constructive criticism. Now, sometimes someone says something to us out of malice, we may, for example, not be able to bear it, become angry, but sometimes when someone criticizes us constructively, we will no longer have the ear to listen. Well, this is the first harm, that is, being proud.

What was the second harm? Passivity. Passivity is the opposite of pride, which is also a disease, it is also a harm, it is also a cause of misery. What does passivity mean? It means a weak spirit, considering oneself incapable, self-perception of incapacity, feeling a deadlock in matters, feeling no possibility of relief, passivity. Despair of divine mercy is one of the effects of this [passivity], which is one of the major sins. لَا تَیاَسوا مِن رَوحِ الله; among the sins mentioned, despair of divine mercy is one of the major sins. This arises from passivity, where a person feels a deadlock and says nothing can be done; this is a dangerous poison. For a manager of a group, for a responsible person, this is truly poison, to feel a deadlock. And the enemies also try very hard to instill this meaning; they do so in various ways — through meetings, conversations, slogans, interviews, news, and some operational activities, they try to create despair and passivity and deadlock in their opponents — whoever they are — in various ways. This is also this [harm].

Of course, we have a way to counter this second harm [that is] passivity; we have the means to counter this in the Islamic Republic. First of all, there are divine promises, the verses of the Quran that are the infallible promises of the Lord. In Surah Al-Imran, after exposing the feelings of the enemy towards us, it states: اِن تَمسَسکُم حَسَنَةٌ تَسُؤهُم وَ اِن تُصِبکُم سَیِّئَةٌ یَفرَحوا بِها; then it states: وَ اِن تَصبِروا وَ تَتَّقوا لا یَضُرُّکُم کَیدُهُم شَیئًا; the Quran shows us the way to counter the enemy: "patience" and "piety". Now, I will explain what is meant by piety in such cases. Therefore, we are certain that the promise of the Quran is a truthful promise; that is, there is no doubt or suspicion in this. اِن تَصبِروا وَ تَتَّقوا لا یَضُرُّکُم کَیدُهُم شَیئًا; that is, their plots will have no effect on you and will not push you back; this is the divine promise.

First of all, what does patience mean in وَ اِن تَصبِروا وَ تَتَّقوا? Patience means not becoming tired. In many of these Persian translations, for example, patience is translated as steadfastness; this is correct; it means not becoming tired. If they say endurance, it means the same thing: not becoming tired. Patience means this: do not become tired; patience in worship is the same, patience in the face of sin is the same — there is a sin that is attractive to a person, it constantly pulls them, and a person resists; this resistance tires a person, and then they surrender to their desires; patience means not becoming tired — in the face of calamity, it is the same, in the face of the enemy, it is the same; patience means this. Not leaving the field and not exiting is patience.

What does piety mean? It means complete vigilance; piety means this everywhere. فَاِنَّ خَیرَ الزّادِ التَّقویٰ; piety means complete vigilance; like the vigilance of someone who is walking in a thorny field with long clothes — like our clerical garments — well, they are careful not to let the thorns catch their garment; vigilance step by step, step by step. They must look under their feet, and they must see where there are fewer thorns in this space and go in that direction; they must look under their feet and also have a perspective; this is piety. Then "piety towards God", which is usually expressed as fearing God and such, is the same; fearing God means this; it means being careful that one does not act contrary to God's command, His orders and prohibitions; this is piety. In such cases where [the Quran] states: اِن تَصبِروا وَ تَتَّقوا, there is a particularity: this piety is piety in the face of the enemy. That is, being vigilant; being vigilant of the enemy, being vigilant of their movements, being vigilant of your own movements in front of them, being vigilant of their maneuvers and activities, being vigilant of what you do that may indicate your negligence; piety means this. This is what Amir al-Mu'minin says: اِنَّ اَخَا الحَربِ الاَرِقُ وَ مَن نامَ لَم یُنَم عَنه; it means being awake, being alert; piety here is like this. The general meaning of piety is the same, but its form here is this: be vigilant of the enemy. In every issue, this is the case; in diplomacy, piety is necessary, in economic matters, piety is necessary, in security matters, piety is necessary, in all of these; and in each of them, piety is necessary according to its own context. With the help of the Lord, seeking help from the Almighty, and being vigilant is what the Lord commands.

Our experience also shows the same. There was a time when we used to read these verses, we mentioned the experience in history and cited the early Islamic period as an experience, but today it is not like that; today we have experienced these ourselves, we have observed this in various fields that if we have patience and piety, we will succeed. The day the war began — I am referring to the period of the Sacred Defense — now we thought the war would last, for example, a week, ten days, twenty days; but it lasted eight years! It lasted eight years. Imam from the very first day was confident; not that he explicitly stated that we would be victorious; no, but we did not observe any anxiety in Imam; he would ask, seek explanations, inquire about the details in the meetings we had with other officials; he would ask what happened, why it happened — these were his actions — but in Imam's face and in Imam's demeanor and in Imam's statements, we did not observe any anxiety; that is, his heart was firm and assured that it would reach a good place; and he stood firm; he stood firm in various instances.

Now, some people criticized from the very first day why this decision was not made at a certain point; well, they were not present, they do not know, and they are not aware of the circumstances and the aspects of the matter. The actions that were taken at that time — the overall actions [are meant, we do not want to mention the details] — there may have been some mistakes in the details, but the overall movement was one of patience and piety that ultimately, thanks be to God, led to our victory. In various matters, it is the same.

With all this successful experience we have in various sectors, it is truly a disservice to the people, a disservice to the country, and a disservice to the revolution if today someone wants to discourage the people and instill a sense of deadlock in them and wants to break the spirit of the people and weaken the will of the officials.

Of course, in some cases, our indicators are negative; in the economic field, the indicators are not good; we all accept this; officials and managers before and after all know that the indicators are not desirable in the various years that have led to the present. Now, all of these are certainly correctable; all these economic problems are certainly correctable, God willing, and they will be corrected; but in the country, the issue of the economy is not the only indicator of power, progress, and success; there are other indicators, and those indicators must also be considered. Even in this economic field, there are signs of success in various sectors that I will mention a few of them.

First of all, despite the sanctions that have been imposed against our country — which, well, the sanctions that existed against us and still exist are unprecedented; they themselves have said that throughout history, such sanctions have not been imposed against any country — our economy did not collapse, contrary to the predictions made by foreigners who said Iran would go bankrupt; no, the economy remained standing. The resilience of the economy is a great success.

In addition to this, we used the sanctions; our nation, our officials, our managers utilized the sanctions, and in many cases, we reached self-sufficiency. If we had not been sanctioned, for example, when the coronavirus came, we would have gone to various parts of the world to import vaccines, and we would not have thought of producing vaccines. Today, in five or six centers — as the President also mentioned — vaccines are being produced; this is a pride for the Iranian nation, an honor for the Iranian nation. Yes, we also used vaccines from others; we had to do so, and there was no problem, but the fact that we were able to move forward is a success. In many cases, we have reached this self-sufficiency and innovation. On television, many cases are shown where four or five young people gathered together, produced something, created something that had high currency consumption domestically, and its quality is better than that of foreigners; they are showing it, it is in front of everyone, we are seeing it; these are the successes of a nation, these are the advancements of a nation. This is also in the economic field and regarding the economy.

In this economic field, our country, despite the sanctions, despite the strict measures, did not fall into debt. Look at many countries — both neighboring and non-neighboring — that had neither sanctions nor this much enmity, they have become three hundred billion, four hundred billion in debt to the World Bank, to the International Monetary Fund, to such and such countries. Our debt is close to zero — it is not zero, but close to zero — this is not a small success; this is very important. That is, even in this economic field, where there are now multiple negative indicators, these indicators also exist.

Another achievement of ours, which itself is an indicator and must be considered, is our scientific and industrial progress and our technological advancements. We have been able to make progress in various fields of knowledge and industry during periods of various international pressures; this is not a small matter, it is very important. Some popular investment institutions — that is, popular investment groups — have done remarkable work, and just a few weeks ago, there was a meeting in this Hosseiniyeh (where the economic activists came and reported; it was broadcast on television, you must have seen it; economic activists came and reported, and these were not verbal reports; images were shown here, showing the great work they have done, the active companies in production and non-production have done great work.

Another indicator that we can rely on is that the popular management of the country proceeded easily and smoothly. Look at some other countries regarding their management issues, their elections, what problems they have: early elections, annulment of elections, and so on; here, no, here, despite all the enmities, the work proceeded legally, correctly, and moved forward and reached results; these are important indicators for the country's work. Compare these with some other countries, and then it becomes clear how important these are.

I want to state emphatically that these achievements and many other matters, such as strategic depth and spiritual influence in countries and so on, have made the Islamic Republic an attractive model. Certainly, today the Islamic Republic is an attractive model for many nations. Of course, our propaganda is limited, others also propagate against us a lot; that is, the propaganda against the Islamic Republic is several times more than our own propaganda; therefore, many nations and countries are not aware. Thanks be to God, the Islamic Republic is an attractive model for those who are connected, who are informed, who know.

Well, therefore, these indicators must be considered; that is, those who want to judge the situation of the country, their gaze should not be limited to the issue of the economy; the economy is one indicator; there are indicators of security, indicators of scientific advancements, indicators of using sanctions for innovation, indicators related to diplomacy; all of these are indicators; these must be looked at. The power of a country is a system, a collection of various factors that are interconnected. Not seeing and understanding this systemic form of power and credibility leads to incorrect judgments. Therefore, the entire system must be seen; when a person looks at the system, it is encouraging.

Of course, the enemy has covetous desires, and they also make irrelevant and despairing statements; they used to do so before, and they still do so now. In the early days of the revolution, when Saddam Hussein attacked Iran, he gave an interview near our borders, close to Ilam and there, and he said that the next interview would be in Tehran! He said this. He promised himself and his listeners that they would come to Tehran next week, conquer Tehran, and conduct the next interview. You saw what fate he faced in the war and after the war. In the war, in one of the operations, Saddam Hussein's situation reached a point where he was close to being captured by the children of the IRGC; that is, in the Fath al-Mubin operation, if the children had arrived half an hour earlier, they would have captured Saddam; he fled, he was lucky. In the end, well, with that misery and misfortune, he accepted Iran's conditions and then sought refuge in Iran, sending his planes one after another without permission in subsequent events; that was how it was; recently — apparently it was last year — an American clown said he would celebrate Christmas in Tehran. They say such things, but the reality is far from what they desire and pursue.

Well, therefore, the fact that you see that the Americans explicitly state that maximum pressure against Iran has suffered a humiliating defeat is a very significant matter, a very important matter. The fact that arrogant America, the proud America, the arrogant powers admit that maximum pressure against Iran has suffered a humiliating defeat is a very important matter. Therefore, my dear ones! Let us not be proud, and let us not be passive; let us not lose our spirit, nor let us be deceived by ourselves; these were the two recommendations I presented.

There are also several practical recommendations that, God willing, if it does not take too long, I will mention. One issue is the issue of the slogan of the year, which we said is production with two characteristics: one characteristic is being knowledge-based; the other characteristic is job creation. Some have criticized us, saying that these two characteristics do not align; they are correct; in some cases, it is indeed like this; that is, the more advanced the technology becomes, the less human labor is needed; some have sent messages saying, "How can this be?" I have an answer for this. Yes, in some cases, it is like this, but in our case, it is not like this; because we have many factories and companies that are either closed or semi-closed in the downstream sectors, which are very numerous. Therefore, making companies knowledge-based can be directed towards these companies; that is, it can even multiply and increase job opportunities; this is how it is. Therefore, we can have job creation as well. In addition, new technology has a natural expansion tendency; that is, the more one progresses in technology, the more fields open up in front of them; therefore, job creation will certainly not be harmed, and knowledge-based production can be considered, while job creation also exists.

Another point that comes to mind regarding knowledge-based production and in response to this criticism is that if we make our production knowledge-based, we actually elevate the type of human resources employed; that is, who comes to work in the knowledge-based company? Our educated youth. Today, many of our educated university youth — their population is a very high percentage — now work in fields that have no relation to their field of study; this is how it is; this is a significant problem; this is actually a type of unemployment. They have worked hard, studied, the government has spent money, a lifetime has been consumed, but they are not utilized; this is a type of unemployment. When we are able to develop knowledge-based companies, all these youths will be absorbed into work, and the quality of human resources in our working institutions will improve, will be elevated; the elites will come to work, and our elites will no longer have to turn to low-value service jobs and pay attention to them.

One important point regarding knowledge-based companies is that — of course, previous reminders have been made, but I will add these as well — quality standards must be established for knowledge-based companies; it should not be that a company that works with technology from forty years ago comes to register as a knowledge-based company, for example, to benefit from the facilities and benefits available; this is not correct. In a truly knowledge-based company, there must be an innovation that I will mention some other characteristics as well. Or a company that is merely an assembler, which in fact assembly is the same as unregulated imports in another form; this is not production, this is not product creativity; this is a type of import. This should not be recognized as a knowledge-based company! It is not like this. Therefore, it is necessary to have precise indicators, quality indicators — which I think this work is related to the scientific assistant or wherever the authority is that ultimately approves these companies — to determine and take them seriously.

Another important point is that to evaluate whether the country's production has become knowledge-based or not, merely the number of knowledge-based companies is not sufficient. Now, I emphasized the number in the first speech of the year; for example, they said a certain amount, we said no, more than this; they said it might increase by thirty percent; we said no, at least fifty percent or one hundred percent should increase. This is the number; well, this is an indicator, but it is not sufficient. Companies that are established must have characteristics that are vital, fundamental, and important.

One of these characteristics is that there must be innovation in it; one is that there must be a reduction in currency consumption. Now, in some cases, we consume a lot of currency for importing a product; if this knowledge-based company produces it or gets close to production, this either reduces currency consumption or completely eliminates it; this is one of the criteria.

Job creation; one of the indicators is that companies must be genuinely job-creating. They must have export capability; that is, they must be competitive in the face of global and international products. Such indicators must be determined and, God willing, pursued.

Another very important point is that in the development of knowledge-based companies, priorities must be considered. One of the priorities that is very important is that these companies must be directed towards solving problems; we have specific economic issues in the country; these companies must be oriented towards solving problems, they must be problem-solvers, they must emerge according to needs; that is, needs assessment must be done regarding these companies. There are some sectors where economic security depends on them; for example, consider the agricultural sector, which, incidentally, I mentioned the other day in the first speech of the year that one of our most dependent sectors on imports and the outside is our agricultural sector. While the agricultural sector relates to our food security; this is an important issue.

In knowledge-based companies, this direction should be observed, either because economic security depends on them, or they have a high capacity of specialized and unemployed human resources that can attract specialized personnel, or in sectors where companies export raw materials, such as the mining sector; unfortunately, in our country in the mining sector, we have many problems; one of the problems is this raw material export. Now, oil is one thing; in the case of oil, we truly have no added value; in the case of gas, there is some; while specialists say that in the oil sector, a lot of added value can be produced and created if attention is paid to the downstream sectors of oil. Gas is the same; in other mining sectors, the same applies; how many valuable stone mines exist in the country; these are exported without any added value, without working on them. These sectors are important that we should direct knowledge-based companies towards these sectors.

Another important point regarding knowledge-based production is that we must truly support knowledge-based companies; the state sectors must support them. The most important consumer of production in the country is the government. Well, the government can use knowledge-based production; that is, this [issue of] preventing unregulated imports that we have repeatedly mentioned is a complete example of this, that these companies, their products should be supported.

And one important economic issue is the discussion of raw material export that we mentioned. We export raw materials at cheap prices and import final products at high prices; the ratio of these two prices has been written for me, and friends who are specialists in these matters have also mentioned it; the ratio is very significant. We export raw materials at cheap prices and import final products at high prices, while we should be exporting final products. The country's exports should go in this direction, production should go in this direction, knowledge-based production should go in this direction so that we can export final products in all various materials.

One of the important issues that we have told the officials — now you are here from both the government and the parliament — is the issue of the seventh development plan, which should have been approved last year and should have been the basis for the annual plan of 1401, but it was not done last year. This year, bring it to a conclusion, God willing; strive to ensure that this plan is prepared based on the general policies and is completed in the government and parliament, God willing.

One important issue is the issue of being popular, which the President referred to and is correct; this presence among the people and these provincial trips is a very valuable work, it is a good work and is a problem-solver. There are some things that a person cannot understand the realities unless they observe them in the field or unless they hear from the people who are present in the field or unless credible news is conveyed to them by those who go and see — until this is not the case — one cannot understand the realities and plan based on them. Being popular is very important, but one of the most important issues of being popular is remaining popular; remain popular, do not become tired. The patience I mentioned is one of the aspects here. It should not be that we are popular at the beginning and then gradually become tired; no; truly remain popular. I do not mean that these provincial trips must continue until the end of the term; no; it may stop at some point, and that is fine, but being popular is not just provincial trips; it is about connecting with the people, hearing from the people, listening to points, as sometimes points are heard from ordinary people that are not heard from the experienced, skilled advisors close to a person; one benefits more from that; connecting with the people and receiving reports from the people has this [advantage].

Another point that I strongly recommend is the issue of the policies of Article 44, which were announced a few years ago, and everyone praised and commended them as good policies, but they have not been implemented. It has been repeatedly emphasized to various governments, and they have said they want to implement them or are implementing them, but in reality, the policies of Article 44 have not been implemented. The economy of the country must genuinely be placed on the shoulders of the people, and the government should only play its special governmental role and not be the main operator; this is very important. Sometimes you take a burden on your shoulders, you want to walk with this burden from this city to that city, sometimes you put it on an active vehicle, and you drive it yourself; this second case is correct. The active vehicle is the economic activists of the country; activate them, but supervise their work, policy-make, ensure that no errors occur, that no mistakes occur, but let them work; they benefit, the people benefit, and you benefit as officials of the government. This is also an issue.

Another issue that is also very important and, of course, long-term, is the issue of economic growth without oil; like those countries that do not have oil, they also have economic growth and progress, and they are not few. This narcotic substance of oil has unfortunately made us addicted for the past hundred years; that is, it has truly created a very hard addiction. This, of course, is not possible in the short term and will be realized in the long term, and it is not the work of today or tomorrow or the work of one government; that is, if governments strive, it may take two eight-year terms to achieve this. Of course, I mentioned this many years ago; if we had started from that day, today, without a doubt, the situation of the country would be different; it was not pursued.

Another issue is the issue of foreign currency resources, where we consume these foreign currency resources and how we consume them. Be careful that if a foreign currency opening occurs, for example, from a certain area, these foreign currency resources should not be spent on unregulated imports; they should be spent on the country's infrastructure; the country needs infrastructure work. The issue of transportation, the issue of rail transportation, various issues related to these knowledge-based companies, the issue of communication routes with neighboring countries, these are infrastructure works that must be done, and the country needs these. Modernizing industries; many of our industries are outdated, and modernizing them requires foreign currency income. These things should be spent; it should not be that as soon as we receive some money, for example, it opens the door to importing luxury goods, which many of them are said to be smuggled; but the smuggling must also be stopped; that is, truly one of the great and important works is this. To import dog food from abroad, to import cosmetic items at exorbitant prices! Not a single currency should be spent on these things, let alone large amounts of money. The point is, there are many infrastructure works we have. This issue of water in the country, the water problem, is one of the infrastructure works, and its solution is completely possible, but it requires money. Now, fortunately, we know and are aware that this government has done and is doing very good work in this area, and it is in progress. These works must be done. This water issue is one of the important issues.

One important opportunity that the officials of the country have is this Economic Coordination Council of the Heads of the Three Branches, which was approved and started in the previous government and did great works. Of course, the initial and important responsibility of this council was to reform the budget fundamentally, one issue was the banks, for example, that these must be pursued so that the budget structure is reformed; the budget structure has problems. And from the beginning, one of the duties of this council was to manage the confrontation with the sanctions. This capacity must be fully utilized, and the officials of the three branches must pursue this with complete cooperation and sincerity — which, thanks be to God, exists; there is sincerity among them — and follow this up. Well, these were the economic issues that took up most of our time, and it has become lengthy.

The vital issue of culture is very important, and a smart struggle in the field of science and culture is necessary and must be directed correctly, which the official committed centers such as the Ministry of Culture, the Organization of Propagation, the Office of Propagation, the Broadcasting Organization, and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution are primarily addressed by this request, and secondly — now it cannot be said that it is second — naturally, the extensive cultural activists across the country, who, thanks be to God, are not few and are many. Everyone must truly pay attention to this vital issue of culture and give it importance; however, this work must first be a matter of struggle and round-the-clock effort, and secondly, it must be smart and not be done blindly and without consideration, and must move in the right direction. One is this issue.

Another issue is the issue of diplomacy, which, thanks be to God, the country's diplomacy is moving in a good direction. What is currently of concern in diplomatic matters is the nuclear issue, which, well, you are certainly following the nuclear news, you are aware of the issues. As I have said before, the government officials have also said, and the President has repeatedly emphasized this, do not let the negotiations on the nuclear issue delay your work at all; do not let it delay your work; do your work, see the current situation of the country, and plan based on the current situation. The negotiations may reach certain points, positive points, semi-positive points, negative points, whatever happens, you do your work, do not stop your work for them. Well, fortunately, the honorable Foreign Minister and the negotiating team provide their precise reports to the President, to the Supreme National Security Council, they are informed, they make decisions, they think, they weigh the aspects of the matter.

[Of course] criticizing the work of these officials is not a problem, expressing opinions is not a problem, but first of all, be careful that these expressions and criticisms are not pessimistic. Of course, I have always reminded those who are responsible in all governments that the view towards someone who is in the field and actively working in the front line should not be a pessimistic view and based on suspicion. Well, the faithful, revolutionary, hardworking individuals are working hard; they are working in this field. If there is criticism, it should be optimistic, not pessimistic; secondly, it should not weaken those who are working hard in this field; and the hope of the people should not be weakened, meaning that it should not be said in such a way that they [become hopeless].

Of course, our negotiating team, thanks be to God, has resisted against the bullying and excessive demands of the opposing side and, with God's grace, will undoubtedly continue to resist. The one who has broken the promise is the opposing side; they are now caught in this breach of promise; they are stuck; that is, the opposing side that broke the promise and, as they say, tore that agreement, is now stuck in it, and they feel more of a deadlock. We, thanks be to God, do not feel a deadlock. We have been able to endure difficulties and pass through them. We have passed through many problems, and with God's grace, we will pass through other problems as well.

Another issue is the issue of Palestine, which I want to mention briefly. Palestine is showing that, thanks be to God, it is alive; Palestine is alive. Contrary to American policies and the policies of the followers of America who wanted the issue of Palestine to be forgotten and wanted to leave the issue to oblivion so that people would forget that there was a land called Palestine and a nation called the Palestinian nation, contrary to their wishes, the issue of Palestine is becoming more prominent day by day. Today, Palestinian youth in the territories of 1948, not in distant lands, in the very center of occupied Palestine, have awakened, are moving, are striving, are working, and this will continue; undoubtedly, it will continue, and with God's promise, victory will also be with the Palestinian people.

The issue of Yemen is the same. In the issue of Yemen, I have a piece of advice for the Saudi gentlemen that this is truly from a place of advice and goodwill: why do you continue a war in which you are certain you will not win? Is there any possibility of victory for the Saudis in the war in Yemen? There is not even a possibility. With the determination of the Yemeni people, with the courage that their leaders are showing, with the initiative they have in various sectors, there is no possibility of victory. Well, a war in which there is no possibility of victory, why does it continue? Find a way to extricate yourselves from this war. Well, recently negotiations have taken place, even if on paper or verbally, they have announced a two-month ceasefire, which is very good. If, God willing, there is a real ceasefire, even if it is for two months, this is valuable and very good; it must continue. The Yemeni people are also patient people and have truly been wronged in this matter, and the Almighty God helps the oppressed, and the resilient people of Yemen and the resilient people of Palestine, God willing, will be included in divine grace.

My final remarks are this. Dear brothers, dear sisters! The opportunity of responsibility is very fleeting; it is very fleeting and will end; cherish this opportunity; make use of every hour of it.

The second recommendation: do not work for show. Do not consider that the people of the area who have elected me or the people who, for example, hear my words on television, should have a good opinion of me; do not consider this; this will take away the blessing of work. If you think that people should like you and do not consider the importance of the work and the essence of the work and the pleasure of God, it takes away the blessing of work, and many times the work does not yield results.

The third issue is the conflict of interests. Now I see that in the parliament, this term "conflict of interests" is constantly repeated. This conflict of interests is not only in the economy; there are conflicts of interest in other sectors as well. If you and I have a benefit in the attention of the people towards us, and there is also a benefit for the public interest of the country, this is a conflict of interest; which one will we prioritize? If we consider our reputation and the attention of the people towards us to be more important than what benefits the country, well, this is a case of conflict of interest; we must consider God. This is also this issue.

The parliament and the government also have specific duties in law; I have previously mentioned this in another meeting that these lines of separation must be maintained. It should be such that the government has its own responsibility so that a person can question the government; a person should also be able to question the parliament, to judge it. If the works are mixed together, judgment becomes difficult.

O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make our intentions sincere; what we have said, what we have done, what we are doing, what we say, make it for You and in Your way. O Lord! Fill our hearts with sincerity of action for You. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, gather us with our great Imam who opened this path for this nation, who brought us into this field, into this path, and unite us with Your prophets and Your saints; be pleased with his pure soul; grant patience, reward, and mercy to the families of the dear martyrs.

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