Full Text of the Supreme Leader's Statements in Meeting with Various Segments of the People

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

I thank all the brothers and sisters and welcome each one of you dear ones; especially those who have come from afar and particularly the esteemed families of martyrs, the Disabled, and the veterans and the self-sacrificers. I hope that all of you dear ones and all the people of Iran are endowed with divine favors and are also recipients of the special favors of His Holiness, the Awaited Savior.

The Almighty God has bestowed grace upon the people of Iran, and this noble nation successfully held a grand and enthusiastic nationwide election. There are points regarding this very good and blessed event that all the officials of the country and the people must thank and express gratitude to the Almighty God, and especially the officials should express their gratitude in action to this great, dear, and faithful nation.

One point is that the election of the twenty-ninth of Bahman this year was a massive popular movement to consolidate the Islamic Republic system. In defiance of those who, from beyond these borders, constantly attack the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic with their propaganda and accuse this system of baseless allegations, the people demonstrated in this election that the Islamic system is a popular system, reliant on the votes and will of the people, and is guided by those whom the people accept. This was a great allegiance of the people to the Islamic system.

This election made your friends—who observe the affairs of our country—happy all over the world; at the same time, the centers of global arrogance and power—though they may not openly acknowledge it—were flustered by the fact that in some areas of the country, even more than ninety percent of the people were present at the ballot boxes, and overall, more than sixty-five percent participated in the elections across the country—which is a high global standard.

The Iranian nation accomplished a great task. The Iranian nation, through its election, showed that it is loyal to the Islamic system and the Constitution—which embodies Islamic values; it showed that Islam is tied to their very essence; it showed that they honor the blood of the martyrs. In each of these cities—whether Tehran, large cities, small towns, or the most remote rural areas—how many young men and teenagers went to the battlefields against the enemy and attained martyrdom, their pure blood shed unjustly. The people showed that they will not forget this blood and are loyal to it. First and foremost, the officials should regard this as a great gift to the Islamic system and appreciate it. Gratitude in words alone is not sufficient; it must be expressed in action. The people themselves should also thank God that their system is a firmly established system, and their country is not as the enemy wishes to create crises through divisions. The people went to the ballot boxes with complete composure and acted according to their own judgment. I said before the elections, and I say now: whoever has cast a vote in the ballot box for the sake of consolidating the system and fulfilling their duty, and has written the name of anyone they deemed correct on that paper, is rewarded before God, and the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him)—who holds this country and this nation in His power—watches over this country and this nation, and will reward each individual who participated in this great task; who went to the ballot box, or encouraged others to go to the ballot box, or did something for this matter, and they will be thanked before the Almighty God.

Another point is that this election was conducted by this nation with complete security and tranquility. Perhaps we ourselves, who have had twenty-one calm and secure elections since the beginning of the revolution, do not realize how great this blessing is! My dear ones! Know that in many countries of the world, for such elections, there are disputes at the ballot boxes and in the midst of propaganda struggles; crises arise; damages occur, and innocent lives are lost. This nation is one that has shown courage when it was necessary—namely, in the battlefields against the enemy—and when national interests are at stake, it has conducted this great task with security, tranquility, and composure. The officials should also thank the people for this.

Let me tell you that the enemies do not favor this tranquility and security of ours. One of the goals of the centers and decision-making circles of global arrogance in their espionage services is to create insecurity in this country. Of course, they will not allow their plans to be exposed, and when they achieve results, one understands; just as was observed this summer, how the enemy sought to create chaos and crises in the country; later, the officials understood this and it became clear to them. Now, one of the responsible American military personnel, after this magnificent and glorious election, again says that in two or three months there will be a crisis and insecurity in Iran! It becomes evident that they have something up their sleeve; they have a plan in mind; dear nation! Be awake and vigilant. Of course, this American military official has spoken foolishly and without wisdom, revealing this with such a statement. Their politicians do not say this and do not allow it to be known; however, it becomes clear that they have a plan. The security of this nation is a thorn in their eyes.

A large majority in this country are our youth. What are the youth doing in other parts of the world? You see what the youth are doing in European countries. In America, every so often, news of insecurity within civil societies and among the people reaches our ears; in broad daylight, they kill young people in schools; they kill people in restaurants; they kill people at parties! They see that in our country, there are no such news. Here, security and tranquility prevail; however, they cannot tolerate this! They know that insecurity undermines the foundation of a system; they long for it; they are certainly planning for it; but the people must be vigilant. Of course, the enemies should know that this nation and the officials of the country will not remain silent in the face of crisis-making and chaos. The Islamic system will act powerfully to safeguard the security of the people and the security of these youths. They should not think that it will be allowed for people to come in and expose these innocent youths and the children of this nation to the whirlwind of insecurity while the Islamic system stands by and watches; is such a thing possible?! If the enemies think that by creating insecurity and tension in this country they will be able to infiltrate the pillars of this system, they should know that they will take this wish to their graves.

The third point concerns the duties of us officials. First and foremost, this humble servant, then the government officials, the representatives of the parliament, the judicial officials, and others have a duty. The actions of the people must be responded to. For the people, two things are of utmost importance; one is their livelihood issues, which are very important to them, and the second is the issue of religion and Islamic values in their eyes. The people have rights. The weak and underprivileged classes of the people face many difficulties. Some must abandon these tension-creating political discussions and focus on fundamental and practical matters; the people expect this from the officials. Political disputes are constantly occurring. The elections were held, and they are over; these disagreements, these divisions, these conflicts, these false accusations against one another, these excuses against this and that should be abandoned; especially the officials—whether parliament representatives or government officials—should set these matters aside and focus on the fundamental issues of this country and its people.

We do not lack difficulties within our country. The roots of the difficulties stem from two things: first, from our own negligence, shortcomings, laziness, and sometimes poor actions regarding public funds, regarding extravagance, and regarding accountability to the people in various institutions. The second root is the enemies who exploit these very issues and circumstances; they tighten the screws on these people; they threaten; they create divisions; they sow discord; they impose economic blockades. The people are united and faithful; if the leaders and officials of the country are also united and cohesive, the enemy will not dare. In this case, no effort against this nation and this country will bear fruit. They should abandon these disagreements. The leaders should guide the younger ones directly and along the right path. If they make a mistake, that mistake should not be justified for them, nor should they follow them blindly, or lead them into error. The result of these disagreements is precisely these issues. Some are only concerned with sitting down and using their minds, eyes, hands, pens, and tongues to ignite the flames of discord and, under the guise of factional, party, and group issues, pit two groups against each other! These actions must be abandoned.

The people have just expectations from the officials. The officials must pay attention to economic issues and address the issues of inflation and unemployment. If the officials work diligently, away from the uproar and commotion, they will achieve good results and solve the problems. If there are still problems remaining somewhere, they should come and sincerely tell the people that we have made our efforts; however, this problem has not been solved for now—it will be solved in the future—the people will accept this from them. The concern arises when, instead of addressing the real issues of the people's lives, they engage in political matters under various false names and, by sowing discord and creating a tense political atmosphere, please the enemy; these are bad. I advise all those who play a role in guiding public opinion and presenting the right path to recognize their divine and Islamic duty; to recognize their duty towards this nation and this country. The correct response to the elections is this.

The issue of the people's religion is also important. These people are religious; however, some want to pretend that the people do not care about religion! No; this is not the case. These people are the same ones who the Pahlavi regime spent fifty years trying to secularize in this country; yet they could not succeed. After fifty years, these same people rose for religion and in the name of religion, rallied behind a religious authority; they established the Islamic system; they raised the flag of Islam; they made the world aware of the dignity of Islam and made themselves esteemed in the eyes of Muslims worldwide—and even non-Muslims. Will this nation abandon religion?! Do they think that the youth are irreligious?! Sometimes the youth are more religious than their parents! These massive demonstrations that occur in the name of religious issues, these grand religious gatherings, these prayers, all signify the religiosity of the youth. In recent years, in various cities, tens of thousands of people—most of whom are young—recited the supplication of Imam Hussein on the Day of Arafah and wept profusely. The hearts of these youths—both girls and boys—are pure and bright; they easily and readily connect with God; are these irreligious?! The tradition of I'tikaf was not among our people; however, for several years now, during the days of I'tikaf, many major mosques in various cities are filled with those observing I'tikaf, most of whom are young. No; our youth are mostly religious, and the entire nation is committed to religion and religious values.

Everyone must know this: officials must know; representatives of the people must know; those who have just been elected must know; lest anyone, due to a mistake or due to the false propaganda of foreign radios, misunderstand the people's understanding and speak contrary to the beliefs and desires of the people’s religion; in that case, since the people have not allied themselves with anyone, they will reject them. I sincerely thank the Almighty God and wish that His favors, grace, and mercy descend upon you dear people and the great nation of Iran. I sincerely express my gratitude to His Holiness, the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him), whose hand of power and will—behind the will of God—has always been watchful over this nation, as a humble soldier. I sincerely thank you, the great nation, who stand firm in the scenes and safeguard the dignity of this country, the dignity of this nation, and the dignity of Islam and Muslims, and I ask God for the success of all of you.

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