Statements in a Video Conference with the National Headquarters for Fighting Corona

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 God's curse upon all their enemies.

I extend my greetings to all the esteemed attendees, the honorable President, and those present in this session, as well as to those who are listening to this speech. The reports that have been presented, especially the comprehensive report by the honorable President, were necessary, good, and enlightening, and we all need to know and hear these reports and details. My purpose in this session and the formation of this program is primarily to express my gratitude to the esteemed workers, to you dear brothers, and as you mentioned, for a long time now, the brothers have been working tirelessly, and to express my gratitude to the Almighty God for the great success He has granted to the Iranian nation and the officials of the country.

Before I present my remarks, I find it necessary to express my condolences to all the victims of this incident, those who have lost their loved ones, and to pray for those afflicted by this disease and other illnesses, asking the Almighty God for their healing, and for the deceased, we request divine mercy, especially for those who have attained martyrdom in this jihad.

A great jihad and effort took place in a diverse and vast arena. What we must truly be grateful for is the success that the Almighty God granted to the Iranian nation and the officials in this incident; a great work was accomplished, a significant jihad emerged in the country, and it was a truly jihadist effort, a jihadist movement. This must be recorded in history; it must be revisited, and I will refer to this later. This great jihad occurred in a diverse and vast arena; both in the field of treatment and various medical and nursing services and other healthcare services, where truly significant work was done and efforts were made, as well as in the area of prevention, screening, environmental health, public health, and disinfecting pathways, streets, and centers of public gathering, and so on, about which I will mention a point at the end of my remarks.

In the field of producing supplies and equipment by various companies, both by specific knowledge-based companies, various organizations, and by individuals across the country, the work that was done—with this speed, the necessary equipment and supplies were prepared and made available, much of it provided free of charge—this is another area that is truly commendable. And in the area of welfare services and charity, the extent and diversity of this faithful movement that began in the country is astonishing. From east to west, from north to south, in most cities, perhaps in all provinces, the people initiated this great movement of assistance; [similarly] officials, armed forces, the Basij, and all relevant organizations. And [regarding] the people, you can see and they show this great service that people are providing in these mosques; this was also truly a significant work that could not have been accomplished without divine will, without the power of God, and it was impossible to mobilize the people in this way.

In the area of the presence of volunteer forces in difficult and dangerous tasks; well, we have repeatedly thanked our dear nurses and doctors, and they deserve gratitude, but alongside them, volunteer forces entered; a certain youth, a certain Basij member, a certain seminary student entered the hospital and took on the voluntary cooperation in this difficult and dangerous work; or as some friends mentioned in their reports, in the area of washing and burying, which was a very difficult task; at a time when some suggested that the deceased and victims of this incident be buried without washing and shrouding, some entered and took on this great, hard, and dangerous task. Also in the scientific and research fields in academic centers and in some knowledge-based companies to identify the virus, this elusive virus that specialists say is very difficult to identify, to find ways to combat it; and I hope, God willing, that in this area, like many other areas, we can showcase Iranian talent to the world, and our youth can truly identify this virus as soon as possible and provide a vaccine against it, and obtain a cure for the disease.

Recording these honors as manifestations of Islamic and revolutionary culture. Well, these works were in various fields, but in the area of planning and management, they truly performed very well; that is, your headquarters, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, truly acted very well in terms of planning and managing affairs. These are national honors, in the true sense of the word, these are honors, and they also show manifestations of Islamic and revolutionary culture; this public exercise that took place in various sectors, [these works] in many cases were truly Islamic and divine works, these honors must be recorded, they must remain. The sentiment of many activists in this vast front was the same sentiment as during the Sacred Defense; that is, those who have seen these things up close say that they sensed the pleasant aroma of services and support during the Sacred Defense here as well.

Now I want to say this - that this is also a serious demand and a wish, God willing, this wish will be fulfilled - I wish that someone could narrate this great and public jihad like Martyr Avini; just as Martyr Avini, with his sweet, beautiful, and impactful expression, was able to narrate the details of the front for us and make it everlasting. I wish that someone could do this; both in speech and in writing and in artistic works and performances and artistic phenomena.

Patience, perseverance, dignity, and the brilliance of the Iranian nation. Well, the Iranian nation certainly shone in another aspect. That is, what we have mentioned were fields of the presence of the Iranian nation and officials, but in another aspect, the Iranian nation has truly shown itself well, and that is dignity and not panicking. When such an incident occurs, it is natural that concerns arise regarding living expenses and public issues, examples of which you have seen on television, and in other countries, attacks on stores and emptying stores and filling home warehouses have been observed [but] in our country, this meaning was not seen at all, and the people showed dignity and patience, they did not panic; this is very valuable.

Moreover, the role of the family was also evident during this period of home confinement - it can almost be said that it was a public home confinement - here the role of the family and the presence of the family showed its effect. In those countries where the family does not have a proper foundation, does not have a proper meaning, these home confinements do not occur in this way or at least do not occur in a tolerable, understandable, and acceptable manner. Here, families gathered together; especially, we must emphasize the role of women in the family and the significant impact that the patience, perseverance, and hard work of the woman of the family has in the good management of the family, must not be overlooked.

The failure of the West in this great test in several areas: 1) in managerial capability. The Westerners have truly failed in this international test! This is an important point that I insist should not be overlooked and should not go unsaid. The Westerners failed in this great test that occurred worldwide - from the East and West of the world - in several areas: firstly, they failed in their managerial capabilities. Although Western countries, namely European countries and America, were infected later - some countries more than a month later - than our country and some other countries and had the opportunity to prepare and ready themselves for confrontation, they nonetheless could not arrange the confrontation as they should have.

You see how high the death toll is in America, how high it is in some European countries; how high the number of infections is; various life problems in these countries that are very high in wealth and various capabilities, but they faced numerous difficulties in terms of life issues for the people - whether unemployment, whether infection with the disease, whether not finding a place in hospitals and sleeping outside hospitals - they encountered many problems; that is, therefore, the Western governments failed in their managerial capabilities.

2) in social philosophy. They also failed in social philosophy; the social philosophy of the West - that is, in reality and in spirit and content, a material philosophy that calculates everything with money - with their view of the elderly, the old, with their view of those who do not have financial benefit for their country and society, sick individuals, disabled individuals, backward individuals, these were made conspicuous in the world. In some countries, nursing homes were neglected, and some of them died due to neglect, or elderly and physically disabled individuals were not allowed in; this indicates the failure of the social philosophy prevailing in these Western countries, which also have many claims. In these countries, money is the criterion, everything is calculated with money; well, when it is like this, naturally, an elderly person who does not produce money for society should not be paid attention to, an elderly woman who is worn out should not be paid attention to, and they do not pay attention; this is the failure of that social philosophy.

3) in the display of public morality. They also failed in the display of public morality; that is, with all the claims made and some Westernized individuals in non-Western countries - including, unfortunately, in our own country - exaggerate regarding Western moral issues, they failed in this as well; you observed an example of this in the emptying of stores. The President conveyed to me that in one of the European countries - which he named; I will not mention the name now - at the first hour of the morning, a truck arrives at the store and empties the goods there, an hour later the store is empty. People rush to take the goods, where do they take them? Into their home warehouses; they actually remove them from public access; this is a moral failure, this is a negative display of public morality in these countries. Of course, we mentioned that the Westerners and Westernized currents do not want these to be seen, but it is necessary to be seen, it is necessary to know; for nations, the choice of their important destinies depends on this knowledge.

Importance of the health and treatment network. Well, I will conclude my remarks. I just want to mention two points at the end of my remarks: one point is that I want to say to give importance to the health and treatment network; this is a point that the honorable Minister - Dr. Namaki - is well acquainted with this issue, as he himself was responsible for this health and treatment network of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education for years. This network is very important. If, as has been speculated and repeatedly stated, we have a resurgence of this virus at another time, certainly this health and treatment network will be able to lighten the burden on the country, and they helped a lot in this matter, of course, they entered midway, the Basij also helped, various organizations helped; this network is an important network, it should be given importance; this is one point.

Reviewing the reopening of mosques and prayer centers considering the needs of the people. The second point is that there is an unanswered question regarding prayer and worship ceremonies; I, of course, do not present any proposals regarding mosques and prayer centers and the like to the national headquarters; that is, I am subject to the expert opinion and judgment of the national headquarters, but I want to say that the issue of prayer and worship, especially in the month of Ramadan, especially in the nights of Qadr that are approaching, is one of the essential and fundamental needs of the people; this is not different from material needs from one perspective, it is higher than the material needs of the people from another perspective. People need to be able to have this connection with God and ask from God, especially in important matters, in significant events or incidents; some thought should be given to this. I even believe that if strict rules are set in this regard, the faithful and mosque-going people will adhere to the rules more than others; that is, if it is said to the faithful people that, for example, they can attend in the courtyards or in the centers or in mosques or in husseiniyahs in this manner, my belief is that those who are mosque-goers will carefully observe the rules. As I said, I have no proposals; I consider the expert opinion and well-considered review of the headquarters to be valid, but my recommendation is that this matter be reviewed by those who truly understand the importance of the presence of prayer and supplication and spiritual matters; they should review the issue and make decisions; whatever decisions are made, it is upon me and all the people to act according to those decisions, God willing.

We hope, God willing, that God will assist you. I express my gratitude to the honorable President, I extend my best wishes to all of you friends, God willing, that God will help you to complete this work that you have started in the best way, and as we mentioned, to record a historical milestone in the honors of the Iranian nation, God willing, and to resolve the various problems that arise in the margins of this matter - such as financial problems and the like - with the necessary wisdom, God willing. I thank all of you, I thank you for your presence in this session, and I thank you for the reports that the friends provided, and we benefited from them.

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