Statements at the Farewell Ceremony for the Cabinet

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

My purpose in this meeting and session was to once again sit among you, dear brothers and colleagues in the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; to renew our pledge and honor the memory of the difficult days of cooperation, and God willing, to create a good memory for the days after this.

Of course, my usual method was to often contact ministers who, for any reason, were separated from the government of Mr. Engineer Mousavi, sometimes inviting them and holding a session with them, and saying farewell individually. Sometimes, when the situation was such that several people were separated together, we would meet the brothers collectively, greet them, and bid farewell, parting on good terms.

This time, however, it is I who have separated from your group. Perhaps many or some of you will be present in the future government. In any case, it makes no difference; the line of service is a continuous line, and the government is a unified entity. Wherever and whenever the brothers are working, and wherever any of us may be, we are colleagues in this great assembly and the vast family of the Islamic Republic system and the Iranian nation. The type of cooperation may differ, but undoubtedly the principle of cooperation will not change. It is not that if we do not sit around the same table and do not work in the same job and unit, it means that we are no longer colleagues. No, truly my spirit is not like that. In the Islamic Republic, separation from the assembly of capable hands and intelligent minds is inconceivable; wherever they are, they are together.

Before the passing of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), which was during the last months of my responsibility, I thought to myself that I would engage in cultural work. This is our main inclination, which we love to engage in cultural activities. My mindset, Mr. Engineer Mousavi's, and some other friends' is often like this; that is, our main attraction is towards cultural work, unless a responsibility is placed upon us and becomes obligatory for us.

Of course, at that time, I also said in a gathering that if it became obligatory and incumbent upon me to serve in the position of ideological and political leadership of the Zabol Gendarmerie Company — which I know has a company and also has ideological and political leadership — I would go and engage in it. Truly, wherever a person works, they do not feel separated from the assembly of capable and experienced workers of this system.

In any case, now that we have formed this session and are speaking together, it signifies the end of a specific work period of a particular assembly; not the separation from each other and lack of cooperation, which is unimaginable for me concerning the committed and good brothers — all of you are like this and possess the qualities I mentioned. Naturally, wherever we are, we have cooperation; however, now this assembly of the government and our gathering is something special that after this, we will no longer be together.

I have a special feeling about these past times. It is true that for eight years there was constant war, bloodshed, anxiety, and worry, and there was not a day when we woke up without having concerns and sorrows about the fundamental issues of the country — at the top and most important of which was the war. It is true that the war imposed many problems and incapacities on us that perhaps were not part of our nature. Many tasks can be done by many assemblies; but when an affliction comes, it takes away the possibility and even the efficiency of that work from them. This was a reality that existed and was bitter, hard, and accompanied by suffering and discomfort; however, due to the fact that it was in the path of service, love, and a goal that is beloved to a person and to which one is passionately attached, every hardship is in a sense a pleasure.

When I look at this eight-year period and recall those hardships, experiences, and difficult hours, the same feeling comes over me as when I look at the period of struggle before the revolution. That is, although we are pleased that the struggles that the Iranian nation and the fighting elements undertook, thanks be to God, reached such a good result; but the pleasure of the struggle period, accompanied by hardship in the path of God, is something that cannot be forgotten or exchanged for anything else. Truly, during the struggle period, those hardships, sufferings, anxieties, and fears brought with them a special pleasure that is inconceivable in a period of comfort and ease. That spiritual pleasure arises from the love, passion, and devoted effort of a person towards a goal that is their beloved and adored.

We have the same feeling about this eight-year period of war. Last year, following the treacherous attack that the Iraqi regime made after accepting the resolution, I went to the war zone and spent these days — like these days of the month of Muharram — there. Incidentally, just today before coming to this session, I was thinking about those states, hours, moments, and feelings of those days and hours, and I saw that they truly cannot be exchanged for anything else. The moments when a person endures hardship for God and in His path, bears a heavy burden, and accepts anxiety and suffering upon themselves, truly cannot be exchanged for anything else.

These eight years that we were with your assembly are truly irretrievable. Of course, not all of you were present during the eight-year period; some were there from the beginning, some joined in the middle, and some came towards the end. They were special days and an extraordinary and unforgettable period. Days when, as Mr. Engineer Mousavi put it, the brothers truly worked hard and exerted effort, and all efforts were mobilized to achieve what was their work goal, and this was while the atmosphere of the country was imbued with a great national hardship — not belonging to one class, one assembly, or one corner of the country. The hardship of war was imposed on it, and alongside this hardship, the surge of sacrifices, selflessness, and the beautiful manifestations of the revolutionary presence of the nation in various scenes were visible, and over all of this, we were comforted and encouraged by the illuminated tent of the Imam's presence and his all-encompassing vision and ever-present will — which truly stood like a mountain behind us.

We worked hard, understood the public hardship, were excited by the feelings, efforts, and sacrifices of the people, and lived in an atmosphere mixed with spirituality, mysticism, epic, will, and determination that arose from the existence and presence of the Imam. This is truly something that cannot be repeated or renewed.

We should preserve these eight years well in our lives and memories. It was an extraordinary and eventful eight years and is considered one of the great periods of the Iranian nation, and now God Almighty had decreed that during this time, our assembly together would undertake one of the most important and fundamental tasks of this country and be engaged in performing that task together.

We should look at the past with this perspective; that is, with satisfaction and a sense of fulfilling a duty, which every believer is happy when they fulfill a duty, and this happiness is not a flaw, but a merit. This happiness should not be mixed with arrogance and conceit and such things. This is a different feeling. A person says: Thanks be to God, I was granted the success to fulfill my duty during this time. We should truly keep and preserve the beautiful memory of those days in our minds and, if possible, put it on paper to remain for the future.

What we discussed pertains to the past; but what should be said about the future is that we do not know what it is like and we are not aware of it. Everything is based on guess and analysis. The past is our realities and sensations, and our existence with all its life experiences has perceived and touched it; but we perceive the future by guess. However, this guess is mixed with our will; that is, we do not allow the future to move in a direction separate from our will and desire. We want to involve our will in the future. This is also a characteristic of a faithful person with a goal. If we have a goal and if it is clear where we want to go and if we are determined to go, then the future is predictable, and this guess arises from our will.

We will move in this path, and of course, along the way, incidents may occur, and afflictions, calamities, and problems may arise. These are what turn certainty into guess. If there were no possibility of these incidents, when we have the will and want and know where we are going, then we would reach certainty; but since there are also possibilities, it turns into guess. Therefore, in forming the guess we make about the future, our will is involved. I say we should set this will in such a way that we feel it causes God's satisfaction. Naturally, our guess will also be this.

Our assembly must decide to continue the path of the revolution in the true sense of the word and without any deficiency or acceptance of erosion in any corner of these goals, with decisiveness and power towards the goals of the revolution. The scene is vast. It is possible to be present everywhere and feel this; whether in the position of ministry or in the position of executive management of the country — high or low management — or even if someone does not want to work in the assembly and government (which, of course, is less preferable compared to the other option), wherever they want to work in this country, they can be useful.

If the high and efficient executive managements do not want to take on a task, we do not consider leaving the executive apparatus of the country advisable. Everyone can be useful; but in this assembly, they can be more useful. Everyone should ultimately, as much as possible and feasible, God willing, accept responsibilities in this assembly.

Wherever we are, we should decide to move towards the goals with complete coordination and with the memory of the Imam. Now that we do not have the Imam, but his memory is alive and clear for us. We should see what the Imam thought and how he moved, so that God willing, we can shape the future in this way. Perhaps if a few more years pass and we are alive, this assembly will again feel that it has gone through an important period and has done important work during this period and has passed through a decisive time. Our guess is also that it will be so.

Of course, the type of this period and the coming years that we guess may be different from what was in the past; but we have no doubt that the importance of the period ahead of us, in terms of determining the fate of this country and the revolution, will be almost no less than what we went through and left behind. This period must also be passed, God willing, with determination, effort, and reliance on God.

In any case, I find it necessary to thank each of our dear brothers; especially those with whom the cooperation period was longer, and primarily Mr. Engineer Mousavi himself, and then some other brothers whom I now see and are before my eyes. Some brothers were there from the very first days of forming this government, and some joined and connected along the way, and we moved together. Now some have separated again; but in our minds, we see the assembly as a unified assembly.

I sincerely thank all of you for what has passed between us and has been very good, and I hope that God willing, our connections will always be good, sincere, and based on faith and love, and that God Almighty will grant success so that we can perform our fundamental duties with these cooperations.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings