Statements in Meeting with the People of East Azerbaijan

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.

I extend my warm welcome to all dear brothers and sisters, especially to the esteemed families of the martyrs, respected scholars, honorable officials, and all the people and dear youth who have traversed this long path and today have perfumed our Hussainiyah with the fragrance of faith and the enthusiasm and motivation that is unique to you; this greeting is indeed for all the people of Tabriz and all the people of Azerbaijan.

Truly, the twenty-ninth of Bahman (February) each year is a sweet and desirable day for us - for this humble servant - and we recall closely what we have always seen and felt from the dear people of Azerbaijan and the people of Tabriz; that is, the same enthusiasm, motivation, faith, vitality, and awakening. The great virtue of a group of people is that they are aware, awake, steadfast, innovative in their activities, know the path, are not afraid of the dangers along the way, and move forward, all of which are present in you, the dear people of Azerbaijan and Tabriz, and have been seen and repeatedly experienced; we thank God for this. Truly, when I see this enthusiasm and feeling and these statements and expressions indicative of deep and fervent faith, I thank God; these are signs of divine assistance. The Almighty God says in the Quran to His Prophet: "He it is who supported you with His help and with the believers"; God helped you with His support and through the determination and strong hands of the believers and the steadfast steps of the believers; this is the role of the believers. The role of you young people, you dear and motivated people is such a great role that God describes in the Quran.

The twenty-ninth of Bahman is an unforgettable day; of course, the people of Azerbaijan and the people of Tabriz have many unforgettable days and it is not limited to the twenty-ninth of Bahman. In our contemporary history, in the history close to us and during the Constitutional Revolution, before and after the Constitutional Revolution, there are days that each of them, if explained and described, would be a source of pride for a nation; these belong to you, belong to Azerbaijan, and belong to Tabriz. Of course, we have shortcomings; these great popular movements must be opened up in various artistic, explanatory, and promotional fields, be spoken about, and be repeated; we are somewhat lacking in these areas, to be fair. However, the twenty-ninth of Bahman is so alive that no matter how much we may have shortcomings, its manifestation does not diminish; if we do not say it increases day by day. The people of Tabriz have made a movement on the twenty-ninth of Bahman that its role in the awakening of the Iranian nation and in the great movement of the Iranian nation was exceptional.

Well, thanks be to God, the people of Azerbaijan have not stopped either; over the long years - from 1978 until today, which is 38 or 39 years since that day; throughout this period - these people have been present in the forefront of jihad, struggle, steadfastness, and activity; these are values; this is what this nation needs, this is what the future of the country depends on. The same applies to the twenty-second of Bahman; the same issue holds true; the twenty-second of Bahman must become more alive, brighter, and more prominent year by year; this is a need for our country.

And I must sincerely thank the great nation of Iran for the epic they created this year on the twenty-second of Bahman. The centers that estimate crowds - estimates close to reality - have reported to me that this year the crowd was significantly higher than last year in almost all cities of the country; in Tabriz, you had a high percentage more than last year; in some other cities as well, it was the same; these are estimated by responsible centers and reported to us. This is very important, this is very valuable; this indicates that the people did not allow any disruption in their resolute determination; especially at a time when the global arrogant powers, the oppressive and arrogant powers of the world that are focused on Islamic Iran, are making every effort to erase the revolution from the memory of the people, or to completely consign it to oblivion, or to weaken and diminish it in the minds of the people. This is an effort that is currently being pursued seriously by the world powers, and in such circumstances, the Iranian nation acts exactly contrary to what they want and performs this ceremony with more enthusiasm than ever.

Well, congratulations on the Revolution to you, the people, and thanks be to God, it has been a joyous occasion; the celebration of the twenty-second of Bahman was a public celebration across the country. I mentioned before the twenty-second of Bahman that we have two celebrations ahead of us: one is the celebration of the revolution, which was the twenty-second of Bahman, and the other is the celebration of elections; elections are also a great celebration for the country. We have spoken a lot about elections; not just this election next week, but about all elections across the country, throughout the time, we have said what is necessary, and we will continue to say it. I will not tire or become weary of speaking the truth and I will say what is necessary for the people, God willing.

The Islamic Revolution ended the humiliation of the Iranian nation; previously, the Iranian nation was humiliated by foreigners and powers; it was subjected to scientific humiliation, political humiliation, and social humiliation. What the dominant powers, primarily the United States, wanted to dictate to the leaders of the Pahlavi regime during these recent years, they acted exactly as dictated; before the United States, the British played this role in the country; the Islamic Revolution came and removed this unbearable humiliation and gave dignity to the country and the nation, and brought humanity to the forefront. When a nation feels its identity, then its talents blossom and they did; talents blossomed, the country progressed. Today, the country ranks among the most dignified countries in the world; the Iranian nation is among the most honorable nations in the eyes of its enemies, let alone its friends; this is intolerable for our enemies. This is intolerable for the United States, which once treated this place like its backyard, and for the Zionist regime, which once considered this place its sanctuary and would come here to rest; it is intolerable for the enemies of the Iranian nation that a nation stands firmly and expresses its decisive opinions against global arrogance without any hesitation and gives courage to other nations, thus they are making every effort they can. How long will this enemy effort continue? Until you, the Iranian nation, reach such a power that you can dishearten them; all the enemy's efforts are aimed at preventing you from reaching this stage. All the disputes you have observed regarding the nuclear issue, the statements they make about human rights, the threats they issue, the sanctions they have imposed, and the threats they continue to make about imposing sanctions are all aimed at slowing down and stopping this nation in its rapid movement along this path; of course, the motivation of the Iranian nation is such that it will not diminish or fade away with these things.

Well, the issue of elections is approaching; I must share what I see and feel with our dear nation. Some things I must say to the honorable officials, and I will say them; some things must be brought to the attention of the public opinion of our nation, and I have the duty to present them to our nation: the enemy is trying to keep our public opinion unaware of its goals and wicked intentions; they are devising plans, preparing separate pieces in various places to connect these pieces, and then their main plot will be realized; we must not allow this. Who must not allow it? The nation. The country belongs to you, the country belongs to the nation, the owner of the country is our dear nation; they must not allow it; however, people like this humble servant also have the duty to make the dear nation aware. I see that in the area of elections, the enemies are making efforts; they want the elections to be held in the way they desire. Of course, deep down, they wished that elections would not be held; a few years ago, during a certain period, they even tried to do something to prevent elections from being held; the Almighty God did not allow it; they are now disheartened and know that their efforts to stop the elections in the country will not succeed, so they want to exert influence in the elections and do whatever they can to disrupt the elections; the people must be aware and act contrary to what they want.

One of the things they are currently pursuing vigorously is to undermine the Guardian Council; see, dear brothers and sisters! Undermining the Guardian Council has meaning. The Americans have been vehemently opposed to several fundamental points in the country and in the Islamic Republic since the beginning of the revolution, one of which is the Guardian Council; they tried, they made efforts, and they took advantage of some unaware and inattentive individuals inside to try to dismantle the Guardian Council - of course, they could not and cannot - now they are trying to question the decisions of the Guardian Council. What does this mean? Our dear youth should pay close attention to this; when the decisions of the Guardian Council are questioned and it is claimed that they are illegal, what does it mean? It means that the upcoming elections are illegal; when the elections become illegal, what is the result? The result is that the parliament formed based on these elections is illegal; the meaning of the illegality of the parliament is that for four years, any law passed in this parliament is invalid and has no credibility; it means keeping the country for four years in a vacuum of parliament and a vacuum of law; this is the meaning of undermining the Guardian Council, and this is what the enemy wants. Of course, those who align with the enemy inside are mostly unaware of what they are doing. I do not accuse anyone of treason; they are unaware, they do not pay attention, but the reality is this. Undermining the Guardian Council, questioning the legality of its decisions, is not undermining the Guardian Council; it is undermining the elections, undermining the parliament, undermining four years of legislation in the parliament; they are pursuing this. See how cunningly they draw the plan. I must tell the public opinion this; the public opinion must know this; the one who speaks against the Guardian Council is unaware and does not realize what they are doing, but this is the work. The enemy's effort is focused on depriving the Islamic Republic of religious democracy - this unique phenomenon, this novel phenomenon, this attractive phenomenon for Muslim nations - this is their effort. If they could, they would stop the elections, but they could not and will not be able to; if they could, they would eliminate the Guardian Council or render its oversight ineffective, but they could not. Now that they could not, they have resorted to these methods, they are entering through these paths; we must be vigilant.

The parliament is very important; the Islamic Consultative Assembly has a very significant position. Why? Because the parliament lays the tracks for the movement of the government. Consider governments like a train that must move on a track; this track is laid by the Islamic Consultative Assembly with its laws. Of course, in laying the law, the government and the parliament cooperate; the government submits a bill, the parliament modifies it, amends it, and approves it. This track is laid, and the government must move on this track. If the parliament seeks the welfare of the people, social justice, economic development, scientific advancement, technological progress, national dignity, and independence of the nation, its track-laying will be directed towards these goals; if the parliament is intimidated by the West, intimidated by the United States, and seeks the dominance of the elitist current, its track-laying will be in these directions; they will bring misfortune to the country. The importance of the parliament is these; are these trivial matters? The importance of the parliament, as Imam said, is that it is at the head of affairs.

The Assembly of Experts is even more important in terms of fundamental and foundational significance. The Assembly of Experts does not deal with current issues of the country, but with the issue of leadership. Who will be the leader, who will be the main decision-maker and policymaker of the country? This depends on who is in the Assembly of Experts. The Assembly of Experts is the assembly that determines the leader when necessary; if they are people devoted to the revolution, devoted to the nation, aware of the enemy's plots, and steadfast against the enemy, they will act in one way; if, God forbid, these qualities are absent, they will act differently. Therefore, the enemy is also sensitive to the Assembly of Experts.

The English radio is instructing the people of Tehran to vote for this person, not to vote for that person! What does this mean? The English are longing to interfere in Iran. There was a time when the king of the country, when he wanted to make an important decision, would call the British ambassador and ask him whether to do this or not. The British used to interfere in the affairs of the country like this; then the Americans did for a while, and both for a time; today, these hands have been cut off; today, this interference has been prevented thanks to the revolution, thanks to the awakening of the people; they are longing for it, now they are instructing the people through the radio to vote for this person, not to vote for that person. When we say that in elections, people should enter with insight, awareness, and knowledge, it is because of this; they should know what the enemy wants; when you know what the enemy wants, you act contrary to it; it is evident. The importance of this election is because this election, like the march a few days ago - the twenty-second of Bahman - is a manifestation of the awakening of the Iranian nation, a manifestation of defense of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic system, a manifestation of defense of the independence of the country, a manifestation of defense of national dignity. This is why I tell all the people of Iran to participate, to express their opinions; the issue is important. Our enemies are reckless enemies; at the head of them is the dangerous and inhumane Zionist network that dominates governments and Western powers, especially the Americans.

The Zionist network - not the Zionist regime; the Zionist regime is just a part of the American arrogance - consists of merchants, the world's top wealthy individuals, the world's propaganda is in their hands, the world's banks are in their hands, unfortunately, they dominate many countries; they dominate the American government, they dominate American policy, they dominate the policies of many European countries; we must be vigilant against them. The Americans act according to their wishes, according to their desires.

Now, regarding the nuclear issue and these nuclear negotiations - which have been discussed, and matters have been raised, and this long process has taken place - just a couple of days ago, once again, an American official said we will do something so that major investors and capitalists of the world will not dare to invest in Iran. Do you see the enmity! This is America. One of the goals of those who pursued these negotiations - and they truly made efforts and worked hard; those who conducted these negotiations truly worked hard, sweated, and spent time - was economic opening with foreign investment; [but] today the Americans are blocking this. They have said this several times; just a few days ago, another one reiterated that we will do something so that investors will not dare to invest in Iran. When I say that one cannot trust the Americans, this is what I mean; when I say that they are untrustworthy, this is what I mean.

American politicians complain that why in Iran's rallies and gatherings, people say "Death to America." Well, when you act like this, what do you want the people of Iran to say? This is your past, this is your history, this is your behavior today. Your enmity is even without pretense. Yes, in private meetings, they smile, shake hands, speak sweetly, use kind language; [but] this pertains to the diplomacy of private meetings; it has no importance, no value, no effect on reality. The reality is that they close the contract, conduct negotiations, spend two years haggling, and then when the matters are settled, they say now we will not allow it, and threaten that we want to impose new sanctions to scare investors, to instill fear and keep them away; they even specify this! This is America; one cannot close one’s eyes to this enemy, one cannot assume goodwill. This [is about] their faithfulness to their promises and their untrustworthiness. Dear nation of Iran! Your counterpart is such an element; you must be awake, you must be vigilant. We do not want to create unnecessary trouble for ourselves; some may say you keep provoking and inciting America; no, America does not need provocation, America is the enemy. America was once the master of Iran, the revolution came and took this [country] from its hands; it does not want to sit down until it can dominate again. This is America.

The remedy for the country's problems lies in the awakening of the people, preserving the motivational faith of the people, engaging motivated and faithful youth, and strengthening the internal capabilities of the country; this is the only way. The Iranian nation must become strong from within; its economy must become strong, its science must become strong, its management systems must become strong, and above all, its faith must become stronger day by day. This is the remedy; this is the path that the Iranian nation has followed until today. And the enemies wanted to uproot this revolution when it was a thin sapling and destroy it, but they could not; today, that thin sapling has turned into a mighty tree: "Like a good tree, its root is firm and its branches are in the sky; it yields its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord;" today, this is the revolution. Today, the enemy is mistaken if they think of toppling the revolution. The people must maintain their unity, preserve their integrity, and maintain their one voice in defense of the revolution and the principles and ideals of the revolution; the honorable officials of the country who care about the fate of this country must work for the sake of God and for the pleasure of God for the people; they must trust and rely on internal forces.

Of course, we have said that the resistance economy is both inward-looking and outward-looking. I have never said to build a wall around the country, but do not forget this inward-looking aspect; if the national economy does not boil and surge from within, it will not reach anywhere. Yes, interaction with the world in economic fields is very good, but it must be intelligent interaction, and interaction that means the inward-looking economy. The way is for the nation to stand firm, for the officials to stand firm, and to move wisely and alertly. Dear youth! With God's grace and favor, you will see the day when America and greater than America and all of America's allies will not be able to do anything against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

O God! Bestow Your mercy and grace upon this dear nation. O Lord! Increase these motivations, these faiths, and this spiritual enthusiasm day by day in this country. I thank you dear brothers and sisters. I also send greetings to all the dear people of Azerbaijan and the people of Tabriz; MANDANDEH SALAM YETIRUN.