Statements at the Beginning of the Advanced Jurisprudence Class

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

The days of Muharram, that is, the great Ashura decade, have come to an end; our individuals who attend some sessions observe, calculate, and report to us. According to what I have been informed and what we have observed on television or outside of it, it shows that this year the sessions were, thanks be to God, very prosperous; we were told that the sessions were even more prosperous than last year. This is very meaningful that in various places in Tehran, sessions are held with twenty thousand, thirty thousand people participating, listening to the speakers, shedding tears for the mourners and reciters, and watching. This connection with the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), despite all the propaganda against the sanctities carried out by our enemies; whether on television, in audio media, or now in the virtual space, with various entertainments and attractions for the youth, you see that when Muharram arrives, massive waves of people move towards the tent of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him); mostly young people; of course, there are middle-aged and elderly people, but the youth, those who are the targets of the enemy's attacks, are more numerous. This has a very important meaning; it indicates that our nation is continuing a path under the tent of Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him). Before we start our jurisprudential discussion today, I have noted a few sentences that I would like to present.

The nation is in the process of decision-making, facing a vast, profound wave of propaganda that is being directed against the country and its sanctities by the enemy's front; sometimes within the country, a corner, a sign of these often underground and hidden waves shows how active the enemy is in this regard. We are certainly aware of a significant part of these conspiracies and similar matters, and various agencies in the country, thanks be to God, understand what is happening; however, the role of the people is important. The emphasis I place in all or many of my speeches on the role of the youth and the role of the people is related to this issue.

Brothers, sisters, those who will hear this speech! The management of improving the situation of this country is in the hands of the people of this country; especially in the hands of the youth. Everything can be placed in its proper channel and lead the country to its desired point under the shadow of the determination of the people, the decisions of the people, the insight of the people, and the faith of the people in this country. When we constantly say "internal capacities, internal capacities," this must be taken seriously; both in cultural issues, economic issues, and social issues. In all areas, even in the specialized fields of agencies, such as security fields and others, it is the people who can help, advance the work, and make corrections.

Today, we have made progress scientifically; this progress is due to the efforts of part of our society, the efforts of our youth; in technology as well. Good news is also coming in various fields of production and production boom; now, God willing, the effects will be seen by the people later. Good work is being done; there have been some neglects, some shortcomings, but now the movements, thanks be to God, are towards the desired goals; these are, God willing, being accomplished. The remedy for various problems in the country is in the hands of the people; we should not look to foreigners, we should not rely on this or that government, we should not depend on meetings and interactions with this or that. Let it not be misunderstood; we do not say to close the door to interactions with the governments of the world; no, I have been the president of this country for years, I am for interaction, dialogue, and meetings; however, having meetings is one thing, and tying the affairs of the country to meetings with this or that is another thing; the latter is what we prohibit and disallow. Use as much of the world's resources as you can; however, know that the remedy for problems is within the country, the solution to problems is in the hands of these people.

One cannot hope for help from foreigners for the benefit of the Islamic Republic, which has created a new path in the world. The Islamic Republic is presenting a new discourse in the world; those who cling to the decayed system of Western capitalism cannot welcome this new call, this new discourse, this new path, and assist it; it is impossible. They will do everything they can to oppose and have opposed; of course, they cannot, their enmity will not lead to anything; especially those whose enmity is clear, like America. By the grace and power of God, we have been victorious, and after this, we will continue to be victorious, but let us know this.

Now you see that the Americans are still pursuing the issue of negotiation; this is a trick, everyone must know this, everyone must pay attention. Of course, the Americans do not speak in one way; sometimes they say "unconditional negotiation," sometimes they say "negotiation without preconditions," sometimes they say "negotiation with twelve conditions"; now either their policy is a confused one, they do not know what they want, which may be the case, or they are employing tricks; one says one thing, the other says something else, to confuse the opponent; however, we do not get confused, our path is clear, we understand what we are doing. When America says let us negotiate, it does not mean that we should come to find a fair solution; no, its intention is that we come to the negotiation table, we say something, you accept it; that is the meaning of negotiation. They have become so brazen that they even say this explicitly now. Previously, I used to say that the Americans' intention is this, some would say no, it is not like that; however, now the Americans themselves say it. Just a few days ago, one of them said the same thing that we must sit at the negotiation table with Iran and Iran must accept certain things; this is what they mean by negotiation; that is, we say something, you accept it. Very well, let them negotiate however they want with those who act as their milk cow; however, the Islamic Republic is the Republic of the believers, the Republic of the Muslims for God, the Republic of dignity; negotiation that involves accepting the words of this and that has no meaning in it.

There is an important point here that both you esteemed scholars, the respected scholars — who among you are speakers, those who deal with the people — must pay attention to, and the general public, especially the elites, must pay attention to. The American government has adopted a policy of maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic; they themselves say it, they say maximum pressure. The current American government's statement is: they say that we cannot bring the Islamic Republic to its knees with courtesy and niceties; we cannot force it to accept and submit, we must apply maximum pressure. Maximum pressure is what you see: various types of sanctions, constant threats, constant nonsense in the media, and so on; this is maximum pressure. Their hope is that this maximum pressure will have an effect. They want to bring maximum pressure to fruition both for their internal rivals, for the Europeans, and as a definitive policy of the United States regime to establish that confrontation with Iran is only possible through maximum pressure.

Well, how do they want to prove that this has succeeded? Because so far, maximum pressure has not succeeded; they themselves say so. Among the Americans, many — and similarly in the world — say that America's maximum pressure has not been able to bring Iran to its knees; of course, this is certainly true. How do they want to prove that maximum pressure has an effect? By bringing the officials of the Islamic Republic to the negotiation table; they want to say, look, those who said we would not negotiate with America, maximum pressure has forced them to come to the negotiation table; this is the goal; with this, they want to prove to everyone and establish in American policy that maximum pressure is the only way to confront the Islamic Republic; this is their policy.

We must pay attention that if our enemy can prove that maximum pressure is the remedy for Iran and has an effect on Iran, Iran will never see comfort again; whatever they demand from the Islamic Republic in a bullying manner, if the Islamic Republic says yes, then it is over; if it says no, they will apply maximum pressure. If it becomes clear to them, if it is proven that maximum pressure works and has an effect, then the Islamic Republic and our dear country and our dear nation will truly never see comfort; because this policy will be behind all the unjust, arrogant, and bullying demands of America; this is the issue. The insistence on negotiation, the insistence of some Europeans to throw themselves in the middle — I will talk about the Europeans another time — to constantly insist that if you come and have a session with the President of America, all your problems will be solved, is because of this; it is to prove that maximum pressure is a successful policy and this must be applied against Iran. We must prove that the policy of maximum pressure is worthless against the Iranian nation.

If we want to summarize the speech in two sentences, one sentence is that negotiation with America means imposing America's demands on the Islamic Republic of Iran; the second is that negotiation means showcasing the success of America's maximum pressure policy. That is why you have seen that the esteemed President, the Foreign Minister, and the officials of the country have all unanimously stated that we will not negotiate with America; neither bilateral negotiations nor multilateral negotiations. If America retracts its statement and returns to the nuclear agreement it violated and repents and becomes a member of the negotiating countries, then it can participate in the gathering of negotiating countries that engage with Iran; without that, no negotiation will take place at any level between the officials of the Islamic Republic and the Americans; neither in New York nor outside of New York; the esteemed President has emphasized this, the Foreign Minister has said it, and I saw last night on television, the esteemed spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry said it; these indicate that the Islamic Republic knows what it will do. Throughout these forty years, with various tricks, they have not been able to defeat the Islamic Republic, and their policies have been defeated one after another by the policies of the Islamic Republic; after this, by the grace and power of God, they will be defeated by the Islamic Republic, and the Islamic Republic will emerge from the field proud and dignified.