Statements at a Friendly Meeting with Representatives of Executive, Supervisory, and Election Advertising Committees

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

I must first apologize for speaking with a hoarse voice to my friends. For the past few days, due to a cold or something else, my voice has been hoarse. Please bear with me.

The main and fundamental point I want to convey to all the friends present here—whether representatives of the esteemed candidates' headquarters or representatives of responsible agencies—is that elections in our country, unlike in some other countries, have always been a manifestation of national unity and a display of national dignity; because anyone who approaches the ballot box and casts their vote is, in fact, reiterating their support for the Islamic Republic and the Islamic system. Therefore, you have always seen that the officials of the country and I have insisted on increasing the number of participants in voting; we encouraged and motivated the people, and they, with awareness and at critical times, engaged in the issues; at times when the country needed to raise a loud and clear voice against its opponents and adversaries in the world, they came to the ballot boxes and voted. In several of my congratulatory messages regarding the elections, I repeated the phrase: "The people are wise and time-conscious." I have brought this expression again this time, as I have mentioned it on several previous occasions. The reason is that the presence of the people at the ballot boxes has always been seen as a sign of their presence in the arena and their awareness, and their vote for the Islamic Republic has been perceived as such. Thus, our elections have always been a manifestation of national unity and dignity.

We must strive and be careful that elections do not become a source of division; this is my main point. To think that one group, for example, with twenty-four million votes is on one side, and another group with fourteen million votes is on the other side, is, in my opinion, a very significant mistake; the situation is not like that. Everyone is on one side. Those who voted for the elected president of this election are just as committed to the revolution, the country, and the system as those who did not vote. The popular groups are the children of this country; they are the children of this nation. It is a mistake to consider these two groups of voters—those who voted for one candidate and those who did not—as adversaries; no, in one issue, in one choice, their preferences were not the same, but in the fundamental matter, in their belief in the system, in their support for the Islamic Republic, all of them are united. We should look at the nearly forty million votes of the people in this election; this is important.

I believe we all have a duty to safeguard this. That is, we should not underestimate the national unity in expressing and declaring support for the Islamic system; this is very important. Today, the Islamic system is showing that true popular sovereignty prevails within it. The people come and sit to listen to the various candidates, they listen, and then for about ten to fifteen days, they actively participate in the streets. This, in my opinion, is a very important issue. We should take pride in the various nights when people gathered in the streets of Tehran and some other cities, supporting some candidates and chanting slogans, and there was no conflict among them; this is very important. Our people are like this; they have differences of opinion, they have various views regarding different candidates, but they work together. Mr. Engineer Mousavi recounted to me that in a street he was passing through, a car accompanied his car. They began to chant something against Mr. Mousavi, and he said he laughed and waved at them and passed by. Well, this atmosphere is a very good atmosphere. This atmosphere after the elections should not turn into an atmosphere of hostility and confrontation; some want to realize this in society. This is contrary to reality.

Those who gather to support one candidate and those who gather to support another candidate are both part of the Iranian nation, groups of people; we must look at it this way. They have votes; some voted for this candidate, and some voted for that candidate. Of course, the rule of popular sovereignty is that the majority takes precedence over the minority in practice; that is, the one whom the majority voted for takes on the responsibility; this is the rule of popular sovereignty. However, this does not mean creating conflict and animosity. Everyone should confront the creation of animosity. This is not specific to one candidate or one headquarters or one group; everyone has a duty to confront the creation of discord and animosity. Yes, it is possible that some, as you have mentioned, have registered complaints and objections regarding various aspects of the elections, and of course, there are legal avenues for this. These matters must be addressed. You mentioned some cases. I request the responsible individuals in the Ministry of Interior and also in the Guardian Council to address these matters carefully. If some of the issues necessitate that certain ballot boxes be recounted, that is not a problem. For example, one case you mentioned was that a person said that the vote for a certain candidate was this number, but in the counting, a different number was reported; very well, it is not an issue; the problematic ballot boxes, or randomly some of the ballot boxes, should be recounted; the representatives of the headquarters should also be present and observe, so that complete assurance is obtained for everyone.

Of course, I personally, in this election, just like in all previous elections—you all are responsible, you have been, you know my approach—I trusted the officials of the country; I trusted the Ministry of Interior, I trusted the Guardian Council; while you know that in multiple cases, the officials had different preferences, but I trust the official whose work I know and whose principles I understand. It is the same this time; I trust them, but this trust does not mean that if there is a doubt in the minds of some, this doubt should not be pursued and investigated and the truth should not be revealed; no, resolve the doubts, but the most important thing is this: everyone should strive to maintain national unity and the unity of the country; everyone has a duty in some way.

Elections are a source of pride for us. Forty million votes are no joke. This is significantly higher than the highest turnout we have had so far; this is very important. After thirty years, our nation’s commitment to the Islamic Republic is such that they enter the scene with such enthusiasm that foreign news agencies reported from the very first hours—they were following the news—and all said that this time the presence of the people is extraordinary. Everyone said this. Now, apart from the observations of those who went to vote and came back to report to us, news agencies said, and it was reflected in some foreign television channels that the presence of the people is serious, active, and substantial. In some foreign television channels, they showed the lines of people who were queued. This is a source of pride for the country; let us not tarnish this, let us not ruin this; this belongs to the people. These voters from both sides, both those who voted for the selected candidate and those who did not vote for the selected candidate and voted for another—who collectively amount to about fourteen million—are all part of creating this great epic. We should not forget this unity, this broad perspective, this uniform view, and we should not take this away from the nation. Everyone is involved; the one who voted for Mr. Ahmadinejad is involved; the one who voted for Mr. Mousavi, or for Mr. Karroubi, or for Mr. Rezaei, they are all involved in creating this great epic, and the country is truly indebted to this heroic presence of the people who came to defend their system, which belongs to them, from the revolution that belongs to them, and took this action; the main perspective should be this.

Of course, each side must consider certain matters; I accept this. Both the side that has managed to gain the majority must consider certain matters, pay attention, and be cautious in the quality of their behavior and actions, and the side that did not gain this majority must also be cautious. Everyone must have patience. The Islamic patience, which we interpret in Persian as forbearance, means the ability to endure and capacity for tolerance. Everyone must have the capacity to endure, to be able to tolerate; enduring victory is not easy, and enduring defeat is not easy either. Having patience and the capacity to endure both victory and defeat is one of the human virtues; we must promote this among both the elites and the vast masses of the people.

Of course, you have no doubt, like me, that there are those who do not want this unity. Events arise here and there that are not related to either group, but are related to individuals who do not want this unity, this event, this display of greatness. Now, God willing, on Friday, if I have life and opportunity, I will speak more about this. Some do not want to see your successes. In these matters, you all succeeded; you all triumphed; in the sense that you were able to strengthen the system you desire. The people are all victorious; because they were able to show a greatness and dignity from themselves. Some do not want this, and naturally, they will sabotage, create disturbances, twist words from one side to the other; often, it is contrary to reality. Since I hear words from various sides, I see that the things that are said from one side about the other are sometimes contrary to reality; both the things that are expressed from that side about this side are sometimes contrary to reality. It is clear that there are those in the middle who do not want this unity and agreement to take shape in the country. This is now the easiest aspect; the worse is the sabotage that you see being carried out, and of course, everyone must stand against these acts of sabotage and declare their position. Everyone must say.

These acts of sabotage that are carried out, these ugly deeds that are done, sometimes the crimes that occur, are not related to any of these sides; they are not related to the people, nor to the candidates; they are related to the saboteurs, related to the disruptors. No one should be under the illusion that this is related to those who support a certain candidate; no, they are like those who instigate sectarian disputes among Muslims, which we have repeatedly said they are neither Sunni nor Shia; they incite Shia against Sunni, Sunni against Shia, and in the state of unity of our great community, it is the same. Those who incite one side against the other, do things in the name of supporting one side, while in reality, they do not support them; they are neither from this side nor that side. They are those who oppose the system itself, who oppose the tranquility of the country, who are in favor of tension, who are in favor of chaos, who want there to be no peace.

Whoever is in charge, if the results of the elections were different, I can confidently say that such events would still be seen, such events would still arise, so that there would be no peace in the country. They have targeted the security and tranquility of the country and want to destroy it. No one should assist in this creation of tension and chaos, and everyone must take a clear position against it. As your true positions are nothing but this. They must take a clear position, clarify that this is not their demand. And they should not engage in any actions that create tension; that is, do not provoke each other. I should also mention here to the people who are outside this group of dear brothers, that if these remarks are broadcast, they should also be addressed to the people. I tell our dear people: the two factions and two groups should not provoke each other; neither those whose preferred candidate has won should speak or act in a way that provokes the other side, nor those whose preferred candidate did not win should speak or act in a way that provokes the other side; no, you all have a common direction, which is participation in this electoral scene and defending the Islamic system; this is the essence of the matter, this is what pleases and satisfies the soul of the Awaited One (may our souls be sacrificed for him). This is what, God willing, will bring about divine mercy and the flow of divine mercy in this country. This, in my opinion, is correct.

I hope that God Almighty helps. I felt it was my duty to convey these remarks to you. As I said, I know almost all of you or most of you closely and know your work backgrounds, and I felt that speaking this way and addressing you in this manner, God willing, is good and necessary, and it is my obligation to express this. I feel that today we all have a duty to defend the collective identity of this country and this nation. It is a vast popular assembly, with this heavy burden of trust that it has taken on, with this great and courageous movement that this nation has undertaken over these thirty years; do not let it be torn apart, do not let individuals stand against each other. Each of you will be able to carry out this task in some way. God willing, may God assist you, guide you, and guide us all so that we can fulfill this duty in the best possible way.

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