Statements in Meeting with Representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly at the Beginning of the Fourth Year of the Ninth Parliament

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and may God's blessings be upon Muhammad and his pure family.

We extend our warm welcome to dear brothers and sisters, and we congratulate all on the blessed days of Sha'ban and the entirety of this month, which is a month of remembrance, worship, attention, and humility. These opportunities - the opportunity of the month of Sha'ban, the opportunity of the month of Ramadan, the opportunity of the month of Rajab - are precious moments, especially for us and you, the officials. In the Islamic system, the essence of the Islamic community consists of the devotion, faith, and righteous actions of the individuals of the nation; as you observed in the verses recited by our excellent reciter, this is the main issue. What causes the divine angels to say to individuals, "We are your allies in this world and in the Hereafter" - is the faith, devotion, and righteous actions among the people, but the officials are doubly addressed by this call. The heavier the responsibility, the more intense and severe this call becomes. We must cultivate this within ourselves; that is, representation in the parliament, responsibility in the government, responsibility in the armed forces, responsibility in the judiciary are things that first and foremost require us to establish a stronger connection and bond with God the Exalted, to create a purer and better servitude; we must not neglect this.

Yes, when a responsibility is given to us, the realm of that responsibility is the realm of our fundamental duty, and we must pursue it, but before that, alongside it, and ultimately, what should be important for us and in our consideration is what we should do to fulfill our divine duty; our devotion, our sincerity, our actions, our righteous actions must be secured. This is the duty that officials must pay great attention to.

Well, these months are a great opportunity - the month of Sha'ban, the month of Ramadan - they are significant opportunities. The supplications that have been transmitted in these months open the way for us. If you and I want to speak to God the Exalted and have a request, we truly do not know how to do it correctly. These supplications teach us in the most eloquent language what to ask from God and how to speak with Him. This noble supplication of Sha'ban, the phrases from the beginning to the end of this supplication, each of them is an ocean of knowledge. In addition, it teaches us how to speak with God and what to ask from Him. "O God, grant me a heart that is drawn to You by its longing, and a tongue that raises its truth to You, and a gaze that brings it closer to You in truth." See, three key points in a short phrase of supplication; grant me a heart that longing brings closer to You; this longing must arise in the heart. Our pollution with materialism, our pollution with sin, our pollution with various greed and desires extinguishes this longing in the heart. Our connection with the Quran, our connection with supplication, our connection with the supererogatory prayers, properly performing the obligatory acts, ignites and kindles this longing in the heart. "Longing brings it closer to You"; then this longing brings the heart closer to God. "And a tongue that raises its truth to You"; a truthful tongue, speaking with sincerity. This sincere speech rises towards God. "To Him ascend the good word and the righteous deed raises it"; the correct word, the sincere word, the heartfelt word, a word that has no hint of materialism, selfishness, and desires, is a word that rises towards God. "And a gaze that brings it closer to You in truth"; a truthful and reality-based gaze, a rightful perspective on issues, not a biased gaze, not a desire-driven gaze, not a profit-driven gaze, let us look at issues with a rightful perspective, supporting the truth, following the truth; then the heart will draw closer to God. See, they teach us the way to speak with God; they tell us what to ask from God.

The duty is heavy; if we want to fulfill these duties, we need this strengthening of connection. We must strengthen the connection; day by day we must maintain this connection. Constant remembrance is for this purpose; the establishment of prayer every day and at intervals is for this purpose so that we do not fall into negligence. One of God's greatest blessings is making prayer obligatory upon us. If prayer were not made obligatory upon us, we would drown in negligence; in the morning, upon waking, we remember God; at noon, amidst the engagements of life and livelihood, we remember God; at night, at the end of a day in which you have strived and worked, we remember God.

With the remembrance of Your face, I took my place in bed, With the longing for You, I lifted my head from the bed.

This is the arrangement and program that has been set for us. Do we act? If we do, then we can be assured that "Bring me out of this world safe" - it is in our supplications - we can be confident that we will leave here safely. In the supplication of Sahifa Sajjadiya, it is stated: "O God... let us die guided, not astray, obedient, not coerced, repentant, not disobedient, and not persistent"; let us die in a state of guidance; let us die in a way that we turn to that world willingly. The disbelievers do not die like this, the sinners do not die like this, angels come above them and with pressure and force say: "Bring out your souls." But the believers do not, the believers are assured from that side and go willingly; they close their eyes to the transient things but suddenly open their eyes to the extraordinary blessings that make them forget the world. A pleasant journey that you take, at the garage, you might think your child, your brother is distancing from you, causing your heart to worry; but when you travel, these magnificent sights, this good life, the variety and such things, you completely forget that worry. When you enter there with God's pleasure, God's satisfaction, God's reward - a hospitality from the Forgiving, the Merciful; the verses that have just been recited - when a person faces this, all those things that were here and temporary and we were killing ourselves for them, we forget; this is how a person should leave the world. This is our duty. Of course, these words are primarily addressed to this humble servant; my burden is heavier than yours and my problems are more than yours, but we all must pay attention. This is the first thing that is intended.

Well, three years have passed since the beginning of this responsibility and this opportunity that you had; this is the last meeting of this humble servant with your assembly - it is the fourth meeting and the last meeting - meaning you have only one more year, you have no more time for service. Three years was an opportunity; this three years of opportunity has ended, now the time for accountability has begun. When a task is entrusted to a person, it is finished and they come out, now they must say what they have done; this is the heavy responsibility. The question is not the question of the people, that can be managed in a way; no, the question is from the highest assembly, the question of those who "not even an atom's weight escapes Him in the heavens and the earth"; the question of the One who governs our hearts, who is knowledgeable, let alone our actions; this begins; we must prepare ourselves for accountability; we must prepare ourselves for accountability; we must strive. Now, after all, God the Exalted is also "Forgiving, Merciful"; however, this forgiveness and mercy is very unlikely for the lazy, the indifferent, the careless; it is for those who strive, who make an effort. After all,

To walk the path of the desert is better than sitting idly, For if I do not seek my desire, I will strive as much as I can.

Value this year; one more year of this opportunity is still left; you do not know and we do not know whether this opportunity will come again for me and you or not. This year that is now an opportunity - apparently there is an opportunity; now death is also in God's hands - let us value it, strive, work, and make an effort. With these criteria, with these measures, with the measure of observing God's rights, a truthful tongue, a rightful gaze, a longing heart, let us move with these measures.

Thanks be to God, in these three years, good works have been accomplished, which the respected Speaker of the Parliament mentioned in their report - in this very speech today - I had previously seen the written report; good works have been accomplished that, God willing, with sincere and righteous intentions and with the intention of closeness to God, will certainly be accepted at the divine threshold, and we hope that, God willing, the works you have done, the agreements you have made, the laws you have passed for the benefit of the people, for the benefit of the country, for the benefit of Islam and Muslims, will be enduring laws, will be acted upon, and will have their effects in society; the people will feel the effects of your work, God willing. This is the hope we have. The essence of our remarks was what we have stated; that is, in fact, in the language of advice to you, I advised myself so that perhaps, God willing, our hearts may be influenced by these words and we can do what we must do. I will also present a few recommendations:

One recommendation relates to the behavior of friends - gentlemen and ladies - in this last year; be careful that the factor of the elections at the end of the year does not affect the actions you take this year; this is very important. The work you do, the words you speak, the endorsements you make, the oppositions you express, the speeches you give, should not be influenced by the factor of the elections at the end of the year; let us assume that such elections do not exist, let the criterion be the truth in this remaining year; this is the first point.

The second recommendation relates to the sixth program; the sixth program - whose policies are in the final stages and, God willing, will soon be communicated to various agencies - must be carefully considered. The last year of responsibility is usually at times afflicted by a lack of patience - this is not specific to you; the government is the same - at the end of the work, a state of impatience can set in; this affliction should not affect the sixth program. The sixth program is important; you are legislating for the next five years of the country, and you may be a member of parliament, you may not be, but your law remains; the governments are obliged to comply with that law, the people are affected by that law. Draft this law - the sixth program law - with this perspective; in all sectors: economic sectors, cultural sectors, service sectors, health and treatment sectors, defense and security sectors, and so on. Do not fall into impatience in drafting the sixth program law.

Another recommendation is about interaction; interaction with other powers, especially with the government; well, the government has the responsibility of mediation. Those who are familiar with traditional sports understand well what we are saying; well, others are also exercising, but their gaze is towards the mediator of the arena. If the government has strong, good, and successful behavior, other agencies will inevitably move positively; the government has such a situation. Therefore, interaction with the government, in our opinion, is a necessary thing; interaction with all powers, with all various agencies of the country, especially with the executive branch and the government, which this interaction is the true manifestation of what we presented to all the people and to you at the beginning of the year: "unity and mutual understanding." Of course, I also give this recommendation to the government; this recommendation is not only for you; I also give this recommendation to the respected President and to the ministers, but you must also have this interaction.

Well, now if we want this interaction to take place, there are two or three points regarding this interaction that we will present: one is that this interaction is contingent upon goodwill. If there is suspicion towards each other, interaction will not take place. If two people who are supposed to cooperate have one of them from the beginning assume that the other intends to stab him in the back, well, this interaction will not happen; interaction based on suspicion is impossible; goodwill must be present. Interaction must be accompanied by goodwill. Without goodwill and positive assumptions about the other party, this is not possible. Of course, goodwill does not mean naivety; it does not mean being deceived. We must be vigilant; a person must always be vigilant everywhere and in all matters. I do not recommend anyone to show naivety; no, but we should not base our assumptions on suspicion. That we accuse the other party from the beginning that their intention is for such wrongdoing - or their intention is for collusion or their intention is for betrayal or their intention is for personal misuse - this cannot be; with this perspective, interaction will not be possible; we must interact with a favorable perspective. This is one point regarding the issue of interaction.

The next point is that interaction should not be a form of hostage-taking. You see, this has a very fine line; you know, I have been in the parliament, I have represented, and I have experience of your situation; I have also been in the government and have experience of the government. When we say interaction, it does not mean that there should be a kind of hostage-taking between the representative and the minister, for example, saying "let go so I can let go"; this should not be the case, both - the representative and the minister - should look at their legal duties and the interests of the country and look at it as if God the Exalted is watching us; interaction based on this premise; this is another point. So, interaction should not be confused with hostage-taking.

The next point regarding interaction is that in the parliament, especially in the committees, ministers should not be insulted. Some of the respected ministers complain to me that when we go to the committee, we are treated with a disrespectful tone; I, of course, believe that everyone is brothers; that is, there should not be a royalist attitude that now we say "we are members of the government, we are such, everyone must bow and submit to us"; this is certainly not the case, but conversely, there should not be a look of humiliation and insult and "I have the power" and "I will make your life miserable"; this look is also not correct; we must treat with respect, we must treat with politeness; politeness is necessary at all stages. This is the third recommendation. Well, then the third recommendation was about interaction.

The fourth recommendation is the important issue of resistant economy. Regarding the resistant economy, fortunately, there is a common language in the country, but our problem is in mutual understanding; one fears that there is a common language but no mutual understanding. It is possible that Hindus and Turks speak the same language, It is possible that two Turks are like strangers.

So, the language of mutual understanding is different. Mutual understanding is better than common language.

Well, there is a common language, mutual understanding must also take place, meaning that from the bottom of our hearts we must believe in the issue of resistant economy; we must believe that the key to solving the country's problems lies within; its backbone is strengthening domestic production, which now the work you have done - the law for removing barriers to production - is a good work, and I have heard - as it was reported to me - it has been a well-researched work; these must be pursued; everyone must believe in this. My belief is that if we can strengthen production domestically, if we can truly utilize internal capacities, solving external issues will become easier; solving the nuclear issue will become easier.

Well, the nuclear issue has become a knot; this issue has solutions, but those solutions depend on our internal strengthening; if this strengthening occurs internally, that work will become easier. Besides the nuclear issue, there are other series of issues awaiting us; it is not the case that all our issues with the West, with America, with Zionism, with the economic bullies of the world are only this nuclear issue; this is not our only issue; it is followed by various issues - human rights and so on and so forth; solving all these issues will become easier, I do not say it will solve itself; no, effort is necessary, but solving those issues will become easier. If we can solve this internal issue. This resistant economy must be fully reflected in the sixth program law; in the budget law of the year 95, this must be fully reflected.

Of course, the policies have been communicated; the governmental agencies have done a lot of work. Good works have been accomplished, but look and see where this table is incomplete. After all, if a medicine is prescribed that is the definitive cure for a certain disease and this medicine has, for example, five components, if one component of these five is missing, this is not the medicine even if the other four are present; all these components must exist for a person to be able to expect healing and results. Look and see which part of this table - as the Westerners say, this puzzle - is empty and must be filled, find that. In the program law, in the budget law of 95, look at this completely.

Well, of course, I know this, our brothers in the government also repeat that you keep repeating what and what, well, we are facing a shortage of resources. Yes, I also know that we are facing a shortage of resources and sanctions have also affected this shortage of resources - we have no doubt about this - but when a person has a shortage of resources, what should they do; should they beat themselves on the head? Should they cry? No, find the remedy. There is a remedy; one of the remedies is saving, save; in the distribution of internal resources, prioritize; these are remedies. There is no dead end. A shortage of resources is our problem, not an unsolvable knot; it is a problem that must be resolved; well, this has solutions. We sometimes spend money in places where it should not be spent. We know some agencies - I know some agencies closely - that have managed to increase their services several times without adding a single rial to their budget; with correct management, with a proper perspective, by reducing unnecessary expenditures; this, of course, includes the government, it also includes the parliament, it also includes the armed forces. Besides the armed forces, we have seen in some areas of the armed forces that their capabilities and performance have doubled without their budget being increased; that is, this work can be done. Therefore, this shortage of resources should not be an excuse for us to say that we cannot work; no, if there is financial discipline, everything is solvable. These matters are also solvable. Of course, I repeat that this financial discipline is not specific to the government; the parliament is the same, other places are the same; everyone must have financial discipline.

Another matter I want to mention is regarding the principled positions in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Thanks be to God, the principled positions of the parliament are good. The respected Speaker of the Parliament also mentioned this; I hear, I see, I observe that when fundamental and principled issues and those things that are the main foundations of the Islamic system and revolution are raised, the positions of the parliament are acceptable, positive, and sometimes completely advanced; this must be the case, this must be in all parliaments. The structure of the Islamic Consultative Assembly must be built on elevated principled positions. The criterion is the statements of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and his will and these twenty-some volumes of his statements; this is the criterion. Let us look and see what behavior, what direction the collection of Imam's statements outlines for the revolution and for the Islamic Republic system; we must stand on these positions; the structure of the parliament must be this. If this happens, then we will not fall into the terrifying abyss of the system of domination; otherwise, if this does not happen, the dangers in this regard are numerous.

The last point is regarding the nuclear issues, the positions are the same as what we have publicly stated, the same as what we have said. Of course, there are some things that a person does not publicly express, but privately expresses - there are cases of this kind; not all words can be said publicly; "Not everything that is known is said" - but the things that have been publicly stated are exactly the same things that have been conveyed to the officials; they have been said both verbally and in writing; these are the fundamental positions of the system. And we believe that our brothers are working, they are striving, they are truly sweating, they are working in these areas; they must, God willing, with hope in God and reliance on God the Exalted, insist on these positions and be able to secure what is in the interest of the country and the interest of the system, God willing.

We hope that God the Exalted grants you success, and that you can, God willing, use this good opportunity to gain God's pleasure.

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