Statements in Meeting with Members of the Assembly of Experts

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 be upon all their enemies.

Welcome, esteemed gentlemen, dear brothers! First of all, I extend my condolences to all of you dear brothers who are students of that school on the occasion of the martyrdom of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her). I would like to mention one point in this regard: It should be noted that during the days of Fatimiyyah, in connection with the mention of the virtues of that great lady and the mention of her martyrdom, divisive issues should not be raised. Today, the astonishing and devilish international policies are seriously trying to sow discord between Shia and Sunni. Today, there are wars in the region; I tell you that none of these wars are ideological wars; they are political wars driven by various political and ethnic motivations and have nothing to do with religion. However, the enemy, namely America, the Zionists, and England, are trying to turn these disputes and differences into sectarian conflicts; because you know that sectarian differences are not easily resolved. We must not assist in this goal. Today, we have Sunni brothers who are fighting alongside us in defense of the sanctuaries of the Ahl al-Bayt and are being martyred. Families of the martyrs defending the sanctuaries have come to me, among whom were several Sunni families. Well, this Sunni brother who sends his young son to the front to defend the sanctuary of Lady Zainab or the sanctuary of Amir al-Mu'minin or the sanctuary of Sayyid al-Shuhada, and then comes to us, instead of expressing sorrow, instead of expressing grief or complaint, proudly states that my son has been martyred in this path; should we distance ourselves from this? Should we make this a reason for separation? These are important points; these are fundamental points. Today, one of the main priorities of the clergy is to prevent us from easily facilitating the work that America and the Zionists are laboriously trying to accomplish; keep this in mind. In Sistan and Baluchestan, Sunni scholars encouraged the people to participate in the elections; these Takfiri groups are now threatening them for helping the elections; because they encouraged participation. The Takfiri groups are not only enemies of the Shia; they are enemies of the Islamic system, enemies of anyone who helps the Islamic system; we must pay attention to this. Of course, we have repeatedly stated that discussing history, while observing the principles, manners, and important considerations of expediency, is not problematic; however, preventing the creation of discord and animosity is among the things that must be given serious attention today.

Today’s session is the last meeting of the longest term of the Assembly of Experts; during these years - about nine years as Mr. Yazdi mentioned - this assembly has held sessions, accomplished tasks, made important statements, and has been the source of effects. There have been deceased members; I believe - as I have been informed - about seventeen members of this assembly have passed away during these years. Of course, this new term that will begin will be the same; the world is like this; some are at the end of the line, and the movement towards the world of eternity is a continuous movement by all of humanity; and this is divine power and divine destiny. We must be vigilant, and for those dear deceased who were present during this term and worked hard, we should seek forgiveness.

I especially remember the late Mr. Tabasi (may God be pleased with him) and the late Mr. Khazali (may God be pleased with him); these two good brothers were among those who truly maintained the position of expertise in the Assembly of Experts and truly passed a good test. The late Mr. Tabasi (may God have mercy on him) had a history of struggle during the period of oppression, and afterwards, his services in the Astan Quds and in various revolutionary matters are clear to most of you; however, there are some highlights that cannot be overlooked; may God's mercy be upon this great man and our dear brother. He clearly demonstrated and maintained his revolutionary position at the most sensitive moments and insisted on it. In the fitna of 2009, he set aside all considerations and came to the forefront; he put aside friendships and formalities; we saw this attitude from him many times; a frank, faithful, decisive man. These are the things that remain in the character of individuals and in the history of their lives; in divine reckoning, these remain as well. The life of this faithful and noble man throughout this period of responsibility did not change; he passed away in the same house where we had visited many times before the revolution; in that same house and with the same furnishings. On the day when we did not know how to sit on a couch, he had a couch in his house; that same couch from 40 or 45 years ago is still in his house and he used it. He did not expand his life, nor did he adopt a luxurious lifestyle. Well, these things have an impact on the people; despite the fact that there was much propaganda against him, you saw how the people of Mashhad honored this man. The funeral of the late Mr. Tabasi and the prayer over him was like the largest marches that have taken place in Mashhad that we have seen; that magnificent courtyard was filled with people, and all were from Mashhad - it was not a time for pilgrims to say that pilgrims had come; no, it was the people of Mashhad who came to express their gratitude; they appreciated him. May God's mercy be upon this dear deceased.

The late Mr. Khazali (may God be pleased with him) faced a different and very difficult test; he stood by his words, stood by the revolution. When it came to relatives and affiliates, he stood with complete clarity and courage. Now, he has repeatedly told me things that are recorded in my heart and in my writings, but he also publicly stated many things that others have heard. This man stood by the revolution. These are the things that give value to individuals and give meaning to the revolutionary movement of individuals. May God's mercy be upon them. We hope that the Almighty God will welcome them with His grace and mercy; as if I am standing before You, for You have covered me with Your mercy. We hope that God willing, the Almighty God will include them in this supplication of Sha'ban.

This year’s elections were very meaningful and important. Despite all the efforts made against these elections, activities were undertaken to question the elections, to diminish the value of the elections, a population of 34 million participated in these two elections; in fact, nearly seventy million ballots were cast by the people of Iran. This is very valuable, this is very significant; the people truly shone brightly. 62 percent, in relation to the population that can vote, is a high percentage [when] compared to most countries; not with some countries [but] with most countries. As I have been informed, in America in the last ten years, the participation rate of the people in various elections, whether congressional or presidential elections, has never reached forty percent. This popular presence is very meaningful; the people have truly shown their trust in the Islamic system and have practically proven it. This was one of the important points.

Of course, in all elections, some win votes, some do not; there are various reasons for this. I find it necessary to thank those who have been present and worked hard during this nine-year term and will not be in the next term. Of course, there are some of our elders whose winning or losing votes does not affect their personalities at all. Some are those from whom the Assembly of Experts benefits from their presence, not they from being present in the Assembly of Experts. Individuals like Mr. Yazdi or Mr. Mesbah are those whose presence in the Assembly of Experts enhances the dignity of the assembly. Their absence from the Assembly of Experts does not harm them at all. Yes, for the Assembly of Experts, their absence is a loss. The prominent personality of individuals is based on their spiritual values, on their spiritual assets. We hope that the Almighty God will grant success to those who are in this new term and have not been there before, and to the entire Assembly of Experts, God willing.

Elections in our country - including this election - have characteristics that I will mention a few that seem important to me. One is that the people have freedom of action to participate in these elections and in [other] elections in our country. In some countries, it is mandatory; even in Western countries - European and non-European - there is compulsion; that is, not participating in elections has a cost for them; in our country, not participating in elections has no cost; the people participate freely, with motivation, with desire; they have thoughts, they move according to their thoughts. This is very valuable.

The second point that has been present in most of our elections and was clearly present in this election as well is the competitiveness of the elections. It was attempted to say that the elections were not competitive, but this was false; the elections were competitive; with various banners, with various names, with various slogans, different factions, different individuals participated and expressed their views; the media was made available to the candidates of the Assembly of Experts; candidates of the Islamic Consultative Assembly campaigned in cities and did what they could. Therefore, the elections were completely competitive, and what has been achieved is the product of a complete competition.

Another important and noteworthy characteristic, for which we must truly thank God, is the security and tranquility of the electoral atmosphere; even in places where there are motivations for discord; such as cases where there are ethnicities, there are disputes between two cities, there are competitions between two cities; we have such cases throughout the country; no bitter incident occurred anywhere. Now, in large cities and similar places, it is clear; in the corners of the country, it was the same; no incident occurred that would sour the electoral atmosphere and, God forbid, harm individuals. Today, observe our surroundings; in the east, in the west, in the north, in the south, countries are afflicted with insecurity. Not only can they not hold calm and healthy elections; they do not have a healthy and calm life either; when one leaves the house, they do not know if they will return home or not. The state of insecurity in the countries around us is almost like this. In our country, thanks be to God, elections of this magnitude, with this wide participation, take place; in Tehran, people voted from eight in the morning until two after midnight; I have been informed that in some electoral districts in Tehran, people were coming to vote until two after midnight, with complete calm and security. This is very important; this is a great divine blessing for a country; we must appreciate this. We must truly thank those who were able to provide this security for us - from the Ministry of Interior to the Law Enforcement Force to the IRGC to the Basij and others who had an impact in this regard.

Another characteristic of this election, like the other elections, was the integrity and trustworthiness; that is, the elections were held fairly; this is the exact opposite of what our enemies have constantly propagated over the years, and this propaganda has often intensified during election times, claiming that "they are committing fraud; they mention someone's name and replace someone's vote with it"; you have heard such statements; a number of people have repeatedly said this outside and some have echoed them inside and repeated the same statements within the country. Despite this, thanks be to God, the elections were fair and have always been fair. This demonstrated the invalidity of the claims of those who once deemed an election like that of 2009 invalid and created that harmful and dreadful fitna for the country; because they accused the country of having an unfair election; no, the elections were fair; today they were fair, previous periods were fair, both 2009 and 2004 were fair; the elections were fair. Such organized actions to change the outcome of the elections have never existed in our country and do not exist, and we hope that, God willing, they will never exist in the future.

Another point that became clear in this election and was very evident is the completely noble behavior of those who did not win votes. If those who did not win votes had decided to protest and quarrel and complain and speak out, the situation would not have remained calm, and naturally, unrest would have arisen. Mr. Yazdi (may God prolong his life) also expressed this at the beginning of your current session, and he had previously stated and expressed happiness, expressed satisfaction, congratulated those who won votes; these are very significant; these are very grand; these values must be appreciated; unlike the ungracious behavior of those who acted in 2009, who, because they did not win votes, caused a quarrel, brought people to the streets, led to clashes, created costs for the country, and emboldened the enemy; this is what happened. God Almighty extinguished that fitna, otherwise that fitna was not a small one that they started. Well, this is another characteristic.

Among those who actively participated in ensuring the security of the elections, I did not mention the Ministry of Intelligence, and I apologize to them; their presence was indeed very effective in creating security and preventing some incidents that could have occurred.

What we must conclude from this section is that the people in this election proved their trust in the Islamic system and their obedience to the Islamic system; they showed that they are followers of the Islamic Republic, accept the laws of the Islamic Republic, and act according to these laws; this is very valuable; this is the exact opposite of what our enemies are pursuing; they want to create a dichotomy between the government and the system on one side and the people on the other side; instead of the people expressing this verbally, they came into the field and showed that no, it is not like that. Of course, before this, there was that so-called march of the 22nd of Bahman with its grandeur, with its enthusiasm and awareness; the people are truly like this. Therefore, fortunately, the enemy's efforts to discredit the elections did not succeed, and the elections were held with full credibility.

There is one point here, and that is that some - it must be said, unwittingly and unknowingly following the enemy - attribute some faults to the Guardian Council; I truly have grievances against such individuals. The Guardian Council has carried out its work with seriousness, with great effort, and with diligence. If you were in the place of the Guardian Council, you would not act differently. The Guardian Council, within twenty days - as Mr. Shahroudi has now pointed out - must review twelve thousand cases. Well, this is a flaw of the law; if this legal flaw is resolved, the problem that arises from it will be resolved. Why should we attribute that legal flaw to the Guardian Council? Gentlemen speak of verification and non-verification; I am astonished by some who make this statement. Well, you are all knowledgeable and learned; can a person be approved without verifying the conditions for a responsibility? Can you approve someone without verifying that they meet the legal conditions for this work? Do you have an answer before God Almighty? You cannot. If you were in the place of the Guardian Council, you could not. If the Guardian Council does not verify, it is compelled to say that it has not verified. When it does not verify, naturally, the person is rejected; well, this is not a fault that can be attributed to the Guardian Council. If you want the Guardian Council to have the opportunity to verify, the law must be amended; the law must be amended - we have repeatedly said this; now individuals are thinking about it, perhaps God willing they can; of course, we have proposed the general policies of the elections and sent them to the Expediency Council; they have also reviewed them; [if] now based on them a correct action is taken, there is no issue - but with the current law, the situation is as it is; the Guardian Council has no choice; it cannot approve someone whose conditions it has not verified; it must verify.

You say that the law has mentioned these four sources; very well - of course, this is also a matter of discussion - let’s assume that it has mentioned these sources for [gaining] information. If you, who are responsible, have learned through some means and realized that this person is not qualified, can you approve them? You cannot approve them; you have no answer before God Almighty. Why is there so much attack on the Guardian Council?

Of course, some become upset when they are rejected by the Guardian Council; this upset is understandable, it is accepted. I too might be upset if I were told in a case, "You are not qualified," but should we create a fuss when we are upset? If a person is upset, if there is a legal path, they should resort to that legal path. I am astonished that some begin writing in newspapers and making noise here and there against the Guardian Council, asking why they rejected us; we were qualified. Very well, you are qualified; if the Guardian Council has made a mistake, you should refer to them, and they must perform their duties according to the law; if it does not happen, the Guardian Council cannot be vilified. Everyone should pay attention! The Guardian Council is one of those main centers that from the very beginning of the revolution, the arrogance has sought to undermine. One of the few important centers that from the very beginning of the revolution, the devilish propaganda apparatus of the Zionists and Americans and the arrogant powers has tried to undermine is the Guardian Council. We must not assist in undermining the Guardian Council because of this [rejection]. Yes, we may have grievances or there may be a problem; well, the problem should be stated; we should not undermine the Guardian Council; this essential legal center should not be undermined. Slandering the Guardian Council is truly an un-Islamic, un-legal, and un-revolutionary act.

Well, the people shone brightly; they did what was expected of them. Now it is our turn; it is the turn of the Assembly of Experts to fulfill its duties, it is the turn of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to fulfill its duties; it is also the turn of the esteemed government to fulfill its duties; we have responsibilities. The people came into the field and determined their representatives. In my opinion, the Assembly of Experts is the most important place that must be aware of its duties. If I were to summarize in one word, that one word would be that the Assembly of Experts must remain revolutionary; it must think revolutionarily and act revolutionarily; this is the summary of the matter. In interpreting this matter, much can be said; one is that in the selection of the future leader, consider God. The possibility that this term, which is about to begin, may be subjected to this test is not small; when it comes time to select the leader, they should set aside considerations and formalities; they should consider God, consider their duties, consider the needs of the country; based on this, the leader should be selected; this is the most important duty in our opinion; they must be vigilant. If there is any negligence in this stage and in this great duty, fundamental problems will arise; this is the most important issue that must be given attention.

Of course, besides this duty, the Assembly of Experts has other duties; as the gentlemen have pointed out, the Assembly of Experts is composed of elders, scholars, and reputable personalities in the provinces; they can have an impact, they can hear the voices of the people and present them here; the Assembly of Experts can serve as an intermediary between the demands of the people and the esteemed government officials or judicial authorities; this is one of the tasks. Or they can clarify the truths, the important matters, considering their expert position and their true personality for the people; whether in Friday prayers or [other places]. This point that Mr. Yazdi mentioned at the end of his statements is clear; our main duty is clarification; we must clarify. This clarification can take place in various forms; the form that leads to fitna, that leads to quarrels, is not desirable. The form that raises awareness among the people, that brings awareness to the officials, that makes the officials grateful for solutions, that form is very desirable; this is not problematic. They should maintain their legal position. Expressing a stance is good, of course, we have said that expressing a stance can be done in two ways; it can be in a way that causes corruption and creates corruption, it should not be so, but expressing truths in a way that makes the people aware, makes the officials aware, makes the officials grateful is desirable. Sometimes a person says something that, although critical, the officials come and express gratitude; it has happened to us repeatedly that officials say, "Sir, this point you mentioned made our work easier, and we can carry out our tasks;" they may express gratitude to you. This is the matter. Therefore, regarding the Assembly of Experts, our statement is that personal considerations should not be observed; formalities should not be observed; the truth and what a person must consider in front of God Almighty, that should be taken into account; they should be aware of the Lord's questioning.

However, regarding the Islamic Consultative Assembly, we have also stated this; I have always encouraged the Assembly to cooperate with the government and assist the government throughout the years in various assemblies and different governments; I still believe that the Assembly must assist the government and pave the way for implementation; because implementation is not easy, implementation is a difficult task. Of course, legislation is important, but implementation means going through the thorns and cutting obstacles and overcoming barriers; it is not easy, everyone must help them. However, this does not mean that the Assembly should neglect its legal duties; no, the legal duties of the Assembly must be fully observed. Those things that are clear in the law, those things that are the duties of the Assembly in the constitution mainly and in ordinary law - it is specified what these things are; they must be fully observed and not neglected, but their foundation should be on helping the government and cooperating with the government; these do not contradict each other.

One reminder is for the government officials. Fortunately, our esteemed president is present here; of course, we give him the necessary reminders in private sessions, in government sessions, and this is a good opportunity. The government should consider the priorities of the country; we have priorities. Of course, there are many needs; the field of the country's needs is vast; it may not even be countable, but according to rational principles, priorities, urgencies, or more fundamental issues must be considered. In my opinion, three issues are the most important in terms of priority, in terms of being fundamental and solving other problems; one is the issue of resistant economy. The country will not grow without a resistant economy, its economic problems will not be resolved, but its troubles will increase day by day if we do not implement a resistant economy. I have requested our dear brothers in the government to form a resistant economy headquarters; they should appoint a commander for it. It is a war; the economic war is a war; now there are no cannons and bullets, but there are tools more dangerous than cannons and bullets. It is a war, it needs a headquarters, and a headquarters needs a commander. We have also proposed this, they accepted it, and some actions are being taken; however, these actions must be tangible, they must be seen. Government activities - suppose a transaction is taking place somewhere - must be specified where this fits into the resistant economy; we have reminded our dear officials that in such and such place you are buying or trading such and such thing, very well, in the arena of the resistant economy, where does this transaction fit into this vast table; it must be specified. That is, the criterion for all our economic activities must be the grand and comprehensive plan of the resistant economy. The resistant economy has not only been proposed by me; this plan has been formulated with collective thought and collective wisdom; then everyone without exception - both supporters and opponents - has approved this plan and stated that the only way to save the country is the resistant economy. So this became one of the top three priorities.

The second priority is scientific leap. We must not allow the scientific leap to stop. If the country engages in science and advances science, it will become a master; in the true sense of the word: Knowledge is power. If we want power, if we want dignity, if we want to be the reference for the countries and governments, not that they are the reference for us, we must strengthen science; and this is possible and practical. About fourteen or fifteen years ago, I raised the issue of science and crossing the existing borders of science and scientific innovation; some said it cannot be done; some came on television and said it cannot be done. Today you see that it has been done; everyone admits that it has been done. The speed of the country's progress has been several times greater than the average speed of scientific progress in the world; of course, since we are very behind, this speed of progress must continue for years to reach the forefront. However, [this speed] was greater and has now decreased; I have warned about this [but] some protested. Today or yesterday, I read in the news that the Minister of Science said that the speed of scientific progress has decreased; see! We mentioned this about six or seven months ago in our discussion, some were not pleased and protested, but now the Minister of Science is saying that the speed of progress [in science] has decreased. We must not allow it to decrease; scientific progress must be pursued with full seriousness. If we pursue scientific progress, then the knowledge-based economy - which has little investment but its products and outputs are very high - will be at our disposal.

The [third priority] is cultural safeguarding. Now I will explain a bit about cultural safeguarding, and then I will elaborate more; our discussion is becoming a bit lengthy, but please bear with me. We must safeguard the country, the nation, and the youth culturally; this requires planning. We must first accept this goal and believe in it, and then, once we believe in it, we must plan for this work. This is not something that will just happen to us; it cannot be achieved with a few speeches and writing books; this cultural safeguarding requires work, it requires a plan.

The result of the works I have mentioned, [if] we accomplish them, will be the progress of the country. In the first degree, if the country considers these three priorities - there are other works that must be done [but] in the first degree, these three priorities - it will progress. What we mean by progress is not superficial progress; it is true progress. Superficial progress is to give a superficial boom to the economy, to import some goods and give it some glitter; this becomes superficial progress, this is of no benefit, this may temporarily please the people, but ultimately it will harm the country. Progress must be real, deep, and based on solid internal foundations; this is true progress. Yesterday I heard that this esteemed commander of the IRGC (may God protect him) who was speaking on television about these missiles and such, said that if they surround all around our country so that nothing enters and nothing exits, we will not face problems in building these missiles; this means progress. We must move in such a way that if they impose sanctions and exert pressure, your progress does not stop [but] the enemy feels the need to come forward. If we want this true progress to take place, we must maintain our revolutionary characteristics, preserve our jihadist movement, maintain our dignity and national identity, not be absorbed, and not be digested in the dangerous cultural and economic digestion of the world; if we observe these, it will be realized.

Before the elections, I raised the issue of infiltration; gentlemen! This infiltration is an important issue. Infiltration is an important issue; I mention this not because I have a suspicion that they might infiltrate; no, we are aware of many things; of many events that are happening in the country that most people or even many of the elites are not aware of, we are informed. I am speaking from knowledge that the program of infiltration in the country is a serious program of arrogance, a serious program of the Americans; they are pursuing infiltration. Let it not be misunderstood! This infiltration is not to stage a coup from somewhere; no, they know that in Iran, in the Islamic Republic, with the structure that the Islamic Republic has, a coup does not make sense. Sometimes they infiltrate within a certain armed force to stage a coup to bring one person in and take another out; no, this infiltration is not for a coup, it is for two other purposes. One of the targets of this infiltration is the officials; the second target is the people. The officials are the target of this infiltration; for what? What is the goal? The goal is to change and alter the calculations of the officials; that is, the official of the Islamic Republic should come to the conclusion that considering the costs and benefits, they should take this action, they should not take this action; infiltration is for this purpose to reach the conclusion that they should cut this relationship, they should create that relationship; infiltration is for this purpose that these calculations in the minds of the officials are altered. Then, when the result of this is that the thoughts and will of the officials are in the hands of the enemy, there is no need for the enemy to intervene directly; no, the official of the country will make the same decision that he wants. When my calculations change, I will make a decision that he wants; I will do what he wants for free and without knowing it - that is, often without knowing it - this work is done. [Therefore] they try to change the calculations of the officials. So the first target is the officials.

The second target is the people. The beliefs of the people must be changed; belief in Islam, belief in the revolution, belief in political Islam, belief that Islam has public duties in addition to personal duties, that it has governance, that it has community-building, that it has civilization-building; these beliefs must be replaced with the negation of these. These must be erased from the minds of the people, and the opposite must take root in the minds of the people.

[They want] to change the belief in independence. Some, of course, act foolishly; we sometimes see in some of the media, they explicitly consider the independence of the country an old and outdated matter and say that today the independence of countries is no longer an issue. What does this mean? It means that in the global geographical map, there is a power, that power decides, and everyone acts - like a central heating system - somewhere produces something, and the rest consume. This is what they are promoting; infiltration means this. Of course, this is a work that is being done.

One of the things that infiltration targets in the beliefs of the people is to make them forget the betrayals of the West. Gentlemen! We have suffered from the West. In global propaganda, they emphasize why in the Islamic Republic, some - sometimes even mentioning my name specifically - oppose the West, why they oppose America. We must not forget what the West has done to us. I am not in favor of cutting ties with the West - I will mention this as well - everyone knows this. I was president for eight years, I sat and stood with these countries and these presidents and talked. Even now, one of the programs of the guests of the president is to meet with me. In our conversations, we do not insult each other; we talk and reach an understanding. We are not against communication with the West [but] the issue is that we must know who we are interacting with and know who our counterpart is.

The West, the Western countries, began their activities against our country from the mid-Qajar period; the weakness of the Qajar monarchs led them to constantly take concessions, constantly exert pressure, constantly narrow our circle of life and halt our progress. Then they concluded that they must bring someone from among themselves, and they did; Reza Khan was one of them. Now some even question this and say that the English did not bring Reza Khan; they repeat a fact that is so clear that they themselves have admitted, that the English themselves said, that the officials of the Pahlavi regime repeatedly said this, but they deny it. The reality is that they brought Reza Khan, and then when they felt that he might not turn out to be as they wished, they removed him and placed his son in power. Then, when a movement arose from within the country as a national movement, they suppressed it and created the 28th of Mordad. After the 28th of Mordad, they created the hellish SAVAK. These were done by the Westerners, these were done by the English; after the English, it was the Americans' turn. They destroyed the agriculture of the country, halted the scientific progress of the country, stole and took away active minds, or halted them, led the young class to corruption, debauchery, addiction, and drinking; these are the things that the West has done in our country. I do not say that we were blameless, but the management of affairs and the administration of work was in their hands, and they did it. Our fault is that we did not seek remedy, we did not resist. Today, if we do not resist, the same dish will be served again; it will be the same.

Then, the Islamic Revolution occurred; from the very first day the revolution occurred, the West began to oppose us. Not only did they oppose [but] they began to resist. They helped Saddam, they helped the counter-revolutionaries in the border areas of the country; they provided both money and weapons, as well as political and intellectual support. They spread rumors, slandered, and acted against the revolution, the revolutionary system, and Imam Khomeini (may God be pleased with him) and the revolutionary officials. In the war, they helped Saddam with everything they could; the bombing of our cities by Saddam was carried out with their support; if they had not been there, Saddam could not have done this. They provided chemical weapons to Saddam, gave him missiles, provided him with Mirage aircraft, and designed the war plans; the aerial photographs of the movements of our soldiers were provided to Iraq and Saddam by the Americans; they behaved like this with us. Then, after the war ended, they imposed sanctions on us. We did not oppose them; we established a foundation and said we are loyal to this foundation; they began to oppose us because we established this foundation, which is independent of them and not subject to them. What should we do?

I see that some of our brothers sometimes say that we must have relations with the whole world; well, yes, with the whole world - of course, excluding America and the Zionist regime - we should have relations; we have no problem. First of all, the whole world is not just Europe and the West; just a little over four years ago, in this very city of Tehran, was there not a conference held with the participation of more than 130 or 140 countries? About forty or more heads of state and government participated; they all came here and participated in the Non-Aligned Movement conference. We have no problem with them; the world is not just Europe; the world is a vast place. The powers today are spread and divided in the world; the East of the world - that is, the Asian region - is today the center of a great power. We have relations with them; we have no problem. We have no problem with Europe either; the Europeans have created problems for us. I told one of these European leaders who recently came here that Europe must free itself from the subservience to America in its policies. The Europeans have followed the policies of America; he imposed sanctions on us, and they followed suit; he propagated against us, and they followed suit. Well, what should we do? In various matters, it was the Europeans who initially started the enmity. Regarding the issue of that café in Mykonos, they accused our then-president and wanted to drag him to court; they mentioned his name as a defendant in court! Well, what should we do with them? Should we go and beg? Should we go and say, "Sir, be better to us than this?" We have not done anything to them; they are the ones who act with enmity. If we do not stand against the enmity of our enemies with courage and power, they will devour us, they will swallow us. When I say "we," I mean the country, I mean the nation; otherwise, I and people like me have no significance; they will swallow the country. We are responsible for the country, we are responsible for the nation, we are responsible for history; we must not allow this. Well, therefore, their behavior towards us has been like this.

Now they have started and have planned for infiltration; they have found various ways - I calculated for myself and found about ten important ways - for infiltration in the country and are acting; they are currently acting. One of them is the scientific route; through connections with universities, connections with scholars, connections with professors, connections with students - seemingly scientific conferences [but] in essence for infiltration - they send security personnel here; this is one of the ways. One of the ways is cultural and artistic routes. They designate a direct agent of security agencies as an artist to send to, for example, a music festival; fortunately, the Ministry of Intelligence understood this and quickly prevented it. That is, they select someone to send as an artist to a cultural festival - for example, a music festival - who is 100 percent political and security-oriented. Well, why do they send them? Economic infiltration is another [way]. They have various types of infiltration; we must be vigilant, we must be careful.

Well, the correct way is that we must strengthen ourselves from within and become self-sufficient. The world respects a country that is rich and strong; it has to respect it. If the Islamic Republic of Iran is strong and rich, those who are currently flexing their muscles will come and stand at our gates and beg. Of course, this has not happened yet; these exchanges that are happening now have had no positive meaning for us so far; perhaps they may have in the future - I do not know - but so far, these exchanges have had no effect. I also told one of these leaders who recently came here - Mr. Dr. Rouhani was also present - that it must be clear on the ground; it is of no use to sit down and negotiate on paper, to reach an understanding on things that later do not materialize and condition them on the approval of some place; it must be clear on the ground what is happening; what work is being done; this has not happened so far. Of course, we hope that, God willing, with the follow-up that the gentlemen are doing, this work will materialize. The experience of the 37-year Islamic Republic shows that we must strengthen ourselves, make ourselves strong; we must strengthen ourselves intellectually, politically, economically, culturally, and scientifically. When we become strong, we will naturally gain dignity; today, the dignity of a nation in the world depends on these.

We hope that, God willing, the Almighty God grants everyone success. I, of course, thank the officials of the country; they are making efforts; I see that various agencies are making efforts and striving. God willing, they will pursue the correct path, the straight path, and the right work with seriousness, and the Almighty God will help them, God willing.

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