Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Members of the City Council and Mayor of Tehran

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

Dear brothers and sisters; welcome. First, I thank the Almighty God for the successes granted to you for the administration of the city of Tehran within the Islamic City Council and the municipality. Any grace that the Almighty God bestows upon you and any success He grants you, we all must be grateful for it. I am also grateful that, thanks be to God, the focus of work in the municipality has been placed on serving the people, and one can feel the presence of service in the municipality.

One of the greatest things that sweetens the people's lives is to see, feel, and find that their officials are sincerely, persistently, and knowledgeably pursuing service to them. This alone makes the people happy. Sometimes it is said that we must make the people happy and lift the depressed from their sadness; this is a correct statement. If anyone is genuinely pursuing this matter, the way is to show the people that they are engaged in sincere, persistent, and knowledgeable work. This will create a joyful atmosphere more than anything else.

You have also performed well. I sincerely thank both the Islamic City Council of Tehran for the work they have done, the seriousness they have shown, the good mayor they have chosen, the diligence they have in their tasks, and the follow-up they conduct on their work - the essence of the report that Mr. Engineer Chamran provided and which I had previously been informed about and heard - and I also thank Mr. Ahmadinejad and his colleagues for their sincere work.

You still have a lot of work ahead of you. What has been accomplished is valuable; however, it is little compared to what needs to be done. The amount you have done is truly worthy of gratitude from the people and fair officials. Good works and useful actions have been taken. One can sense the pleasant aroma of the feeling of service; one sees that in the management of serving the people, there is a feeling of sincerity for God. This is very valuable, especially in the municipality, which deals with the people. Organizations that interact more with the people must possess the spirit of service and sincerity more than others.

The first point I want to recommend to all of you is to be steadfast in this path and continue it. The beginning is a blessed thing; however, it is not enough. "Indeed, those who say, 'Our Lord is Allah,' and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them". When you persevere, when you stand firm on a path and continue it, its value multiplies. Do not settle for a good beginning; set the foundation for continuing the path, along with precision and consideration of all the conditions necessary for continuing this path. Therefore, continue the path of service and diligence in it.

The next recommendation - which you also mentioned - is to fear nothing and trust in God. Know that if you work for God, God will help you: "Whoever is for God, God is for him"; whoever is for God, God is for him. The laws and principles of nature move in service to him and become fruitful. Whoever chooses the good path for God, the Almighty God will smooth the continuation of this path for him as long as he has the determination and will; that is, every step you take, the next step will be opened for you, and as you proceed, the Almighty God will create successive openings for you. Trust in God, fear nothing, and do not pay attention to threats and frowns.

Of course, this does not mean that you should neglect the enmities; no, do not be negligent. Truly, the seven-headed dragon of financial corruption is not something that can be easily eradicated. What I have realized is this:

He said it is a dragon, when is it asleep? It is following the depressed without tools.

Do not imagine that those who have gained boundless wealth through the confiscation of national lands and law-breaking will sit quietly now that you have come to power and not make a mistake; no, they will conspire; they will exploit weaknesses; they will create weaknesses to take advantage of them. You must be vigilant against them.

So, both trust in God and be cautious of those who will be harmed by the correctness of your actions. Any official who has correct actions will certainly face a number of corrupt profiteers who will be harmed. They are not weak and normally have resources at their disposal; be cautious of their blows. Of course, as I said, the field is a battlefield. In the battlefield, one expects the enemy to strike and attack; however, he trusts in God and employs all his power, knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom and moves forward. "So when you enter it, you will be victorious"; Prophet Moses told the Children of Israel to go and enter; as long as you enter and do not turn your back on the battlefield, victory will be yours. Therefore, what is important is not to turn your back on the battlefield and to maintain the field and continue the work; the Almighty God will help you.

My next recommendation is: maintain the cooperation that, thanks be to God, currently exists between the members of the city council and also between the city council and the mayor with all your strength. The mayor should be aware that the city council is his root; the city council should also fully support the manager it has chosen. Be united. The city council should support the mayor because he is the soldier sent to the battlefield; therefore, it must fully support him from the rear. That soldier should not consider himself disconnected from his root and origin; he should know that he is connected to that place and derives from it. This is the unified management of the city.

Of course, in the administrative organization of the Islamic Republic, no guardian has been appointed for the city council; because it is elected by the people and also elects the mayor and plans and predicts the work with these correct methods and healthy approaches, and then carries it out.

Both Mr. Engineer Chamran and Mr. Ahmadinejad mentioned that scientific methods are used in the work. This is very necessary and essential; I also emphasize this matter. Use knowledge, thought, planning, and knowledgeable individuals. Add as much as you can the intellects of the wise to your own intellect and strengthen your intellectual reserves so that you can carry out the tasks.

Tehran has many issues and problems that will be solved in the long term; however, you must recognize these problems. The informal settlements of Tehran, the unlimited expansion of Tehran, the issues within Tehran, the heterogeneous and uncoordinated architecture of Tehran, and the stark differences between the neighborhoods of Tehran are very important issues. You must recognize these. Identify the problems that may create points of weakness. Anticipate the dangers and plan to confront them. Keep yourself prepared and equipped.

Another part relates to the cultural and social issues of Tehran. The work of the municipality is not just construction. Fortunately, in the area of cultural issues, you also mentioned some matters in your report. Cultural and social issues of the city are very important. Strive to spread the spirit of Islamic faith and ethics throughout the city of Tehran; this is a possible task and will solve many problems. Many of our problems arise from distancing ourselves from moral virtues. The more we distance ourselves from moral virtues, the more complicated and numerous the problems and knots of life will become. We must draw closer to Islamic ethics and the virtuous qualities of Islam, and this is entirely possible in the cultural environments of the municipality; in the quality of managing the city parks, which do not have a cultural appearance - it is an environment for people to come and use - it is possible; in cultural centers and in the types of work that the municipality does in Tehran - installing signs, advertisements, traffic, and all other such matters - it is possible.

You can spread virtuous ethics among the people with all these means. Set this intention, base your planning on this; the Almighty God will also assist and inspire you so that you can find the correct paths in this regard and move forward.

Within the municipality's organization, do not tolerate corruption; whether it is corruption related to outside the municipality that seeks to use the tools of the municipality, or corruption that, God forbid, has infiltrated within one of the cores of the municipality and seeks to expand there and create a safe space for itself. Any tolerance of corruption and giving it room will undermine your foundation and make it difficult for you to continue your work. Do not allow corruption to infiltrate anywhere in the municipality. Of course, it is a difficult task. The municipality is a place where one faces money, people, clients, and those who are willing to spend extravagantly for some of their purposes. In such places, one must be very vigilant. This is where God-consciousness comes into play. Piety is an armor that, if a person wears it, the poisonous arrows of corruption and sin will not affect him and will not bring him down. Piety is the stronghold of a person. This is why we have been advised so much to be pious. Many of the errors and deviations you observe do not have a cognitive root; do not think that there is an ideology that compels someone to act in this way; no, the root of many of these lies in the carnal desires of the person himself. At one point, a person's foot slips and does not prevent it; this slip continues, and the person seeks to justify it and creates an ideology for himself. Sometimes a person creates a correct cognitive basis to correct his error. Let us prevent our errors and slips from everywhere, and the best place to do this is at the beginning of the work, and better than the beginning of the work is prevention. This will strengthen the spirit of piety within us.

We hope, God willing, that the Almighty God will assist you. We also have a duty to pray for you, and we pray. I will also share the recommendation you mentioned with the officials. We hope that with your services and with the sincere and devoted work and efforts you undertake, you will be able, God willing, to make the people happier day by day. The fact that you open the door for the people to come and meet with you is a very positive, good, and valuable act; maintain this. Of course, this work has its difficulties and troubles; however, bear this burden upon yourselves and endure its hardships so that, God willing, you may benefit from its good effects. One of the greatest rewards that the Almighty God gives to a person is the satisfaction of the people - of course, greater rewards are preserved for later - just the fact that the people become happy and grateful to you.

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