Statements in Meeting with the President and Members of the Cabinet on the Occasion of Government Week

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.

I congratulate the honorable President, the ministers, the ladies, and all the individuals present in this meeting on the occasion of Eid al-Ghadir, and we hope that, God willing, this Eid will be a source of blessings and goodness that God Almighty has placed in the guardianship of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and has granted us this great blessing.

Truly, Ghadir and the introduction of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) as the guardian of the Islamic community and the successor of the Prophet was one of the great blessings of God Almighty; just as the very essence of Prophethood and Messengership is a divine blessing and favor, as stated in the Quran: "Indeed, God has bestowed a favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves" (Surah Al-Imran, 164). In regard to the guardianship of Amir al-Mu'minin, it was indeed a great blessing and a significant favor: "God created you as lights and placed you around His Throne until He bestowed upon us through you and made you in houses which God has permitted to be raised" (al-Mizan). This is truly a great blessing. The guardianship of Amir al-Mu'minin and the issue of guardianship is a source of despair for the disbelievers, as mentioned in the Quran: "Today, those who disbelieve have despaired of your religion" (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 3). The day when the issue of guardianship was raised is the day when, according to the Quran, "those who disbelieve have despaired of your religion"; it is a source of despair for the disbelievers. The late Allameh Tabatabai has a beautiful elaboration on this in his Tafsir al-Mizan, explaining how this despair exists and the logic behind it. In another part of this blessed Surah, there is the verse: "And whoever takes Allah and His Messenger and those who have believed as allies, indeed, the party of Allah will be the predominant" (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 56). The meaning of "those who have believed" in this verse, and the preceding verse which states, "while they are bowing" (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 55) - the verse about bowing which states that they give charity while bowing - refers to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him); "believed" in this verse also refers to the same; that is, the verse after "Indeed, your ally is Allah" (Surah Al-Ma'idah, 55). Here, the "party of Allah" is introduced as those who follow this faith and this movement, and they are the "predominant"; meaning, in one place it is the issue of despair for the disbelievers, and in another place it is the issue of the victory of the people of truth. The grounds for the movement of the Islamic community and the Islamic society, especially the Shia community, are these that are the source of victory and the source of despair for the disbelievers and the source of capability and power at our disposal.

What we must always keep in mind as the Islamic government and Islamic rule is that we must set the Alawi government as our standard, and we must measure ourselves against the Alawi government; any distance between us and that government should be considered as backwardness. If we are doing good deeds, making spiritual progress, or doing things that are a source of pride according to Islamic values, we should not exaggerate their importance; we should compare ourselves with the Alawi government and see how much distance there is between us and it. The main indicators in the Alawi government are justice, piety, and being with the people; this is the Alawi government. The life of Amir al-Mu'minin is a manifestation of justice, a manifestation of asceticism, a manifestation of being with the people, and living a pure life. We must set these as our criteria; we must truly move in this direction. I am not saying we should become like Amir al-Mu'minin, which is not possible; but we should consider the peak and strive towards the peak; even if someone does not reach the peak, we should move in this direction; this is our duty; truly, in the Islamic government, for those of us who are members and part of this government and state, the duty is to think about justice, to think about our own piety and asceticism, to think about helping the people, to think about living a pure life; our orientation must be this. God willing, this Eid will be blessed for all of you and your families.

I also congratulate you on Government Week. Government Week not only evokes the honorable and lasting names of those two dear martyrs - Martyr Rajai and Martyr Bahonar - and places them, who were truly and justly two outstanding personalities, before our eyes, but also Government Week itself has blessings; one of its blessings is that it is a sign of passing a period of the four-year term; every government has four years of opportunity, four years of time; this indicates that a period of this four years has passed, and it gives the government official, especially high-ranking officials like you who are present, the opportunity to evaluate their work; because our evaluation, when we evaluate ourselves internally, is sometimes different from the evaluation that one wants to express to others. Sometimes this evaluation truly makes us happy, and sometimes we may see that this evaluation is such that it alerts us and makes us think about doing something or not doing something, to compensate. After all, Government Week is such an opportunity.

Another aspect of Government Week is that it is a period for encouraging government officials; it is truly appropriate for anyone who is in any way faced with the government to encourage government officials. The work is a great task; the work is a heavy task - the task that is on the shoulders of the government - and the government, meaning the executive branch, as a whole, has a vast range of responsibilities and work; from political and economic issues to cultural and scientific issues, to social issues, to infrastructure issues like transportation and energy and such, to services and similar matters; a vast array of work is on the shoulders of the government, and from top to bottom, thousands of people are engaged in work and effort, and among this vast collection, there are many who truly use all their strength and even more than what is expected and anticipated to ensure that the work can be delivered well. Honestly, we must encourage them. In a large and vast country like ours with a population of eighty million, managing this vast array of work is a great task; it is not an easy task and is a very difficult and important task; and those who are involved understand this better than anyone else. Now, someone standing outside may think and judge differently, but when one is in the midst of it, now I, who have been involved in executive work for years, fully understand how many problems there are, how many difficulties there are; even if the problems that arise - for example, the wicked enemies that exist - are not there, after all, the work is very difficult and problematic. Well, now we, for our part, say to all of you dear brothers and sisters, we encourage you; God willing, may you be successful and may God assist you so that what you want to achieve comes to fruition easily, God willing.

In Government Week, the strengths and weaknesses must be seen - mainly by the officials themselves. Strengths and weaknesses must be seen together; some see the weaknesses but do not see the strengths. This is dangerous as it leads one to pessimism and despair. It is a flaw for a responsible person if they only look at the weaknesses and do not pay attention to the strengths that exist; it is a flaw that leads to despair and discouragement. The opposite is also true; if we only see the strengths and do not see the weaknesses, it creates other problems; it leads to the accumulation of weaknesses, the right path not being followed, and one not reaching their goals; therefore, both strengths and weaknesses must be seen; strengths must be strengthened, increased; and weaknesses must be reduced as much as possible. This is the case in all matters; it is the same in personal matters.

Fortunately, in this government - the twelfth government - there are truly and justly strengths that are worth mentioning. In this one year that has passed since the twelfth government, although some of this year was spent on selecting the cabinet and appointing ministers and the problems that arise in this regard, good work has been done, good events have occurred that the President has mentioned a significant part of them in his statements. In the economic field, a growth of 4.6 percent is a good thing and a good event that has occurred; although it is far from what we have set in our policies - 8 percent - it is still good in these circumstances; a very acceptable growth for the government. In some sectors like agriculture and energy, good productions have been made. In this three-month period of this year, the country's exports have increased by nearly 20 percent, and imports have decreased by 5 percent; these are good events that have occurred; these are noteworthy, worthy of being presented to the people, to those who ask questions, and to public opinion, and we must truly thank God for these; we hope that, God willing, this trend of increasing non-oil exports and decreasing imports continues until the end of the year; that is, we should pursue this so that it happens. Good work has also been done in other sectors, which you are busy informing about this week, and I see that it is good. Of course, we must admit, we must acknowledge that we are not very skilled in advertising; that is, truly - both the government and we all - our advertising and reporting are not very professional; but now, to the extent that work is being done, it is good to inform the people.

Today, I will present some reminders regarding three matters: one regarding these economic issues which are our fundamental issue today; one about foreign issues or foreign policy; and one about internal unity and cohesion, which the President also referred to.

Regarding the economy, we have had several meetings with friends since the beginning of this year and before this year, and I have mentioned some matters that I emphasize and insist on; I do not want to repeat them. The coordination meeting of the heads of the three branches, which has been formed with the aim of economic work and economic assistance, has had blessings and benefits; that is, that meeting has had effects on the general situation and can have better and more effects; it must continue. Gentlemen! Normally, when two people sit next to each other, they have common points and also points of difference; one cannot forget the commonalities based on the points of difference. After all, the discussion of negotiation arises in the world; they say let’s negotiate with such a government, with such a country; well, when negotiation is proposed with enemies and opponents, it is even more necessary to negotiate with friends and allies. Negotiation should take place; if there is a point of disagreement, negotiation occurs, you say one word, they say another word, and eventually, you reach a point. This work must continue and is necessary.

In terms of the economy, we must work strongly and robustly. Friends, the enemy has concentrated on the issue of the economy because there are, so to speak, gaps in the economic issues, weaknesses exist, and in military terms, there are radar blind spots that the enemy has been able to penetrate and enter from those places; we must close these radar blind spots, we must correctly identify the weaknesses and eliminate them; we can do it. All the work that must be done - now I will refer to some of these - we can do it. There are ways to manage the economy of the country; it is not that we are in a deadlock; no, there are ways, and we can tread these paths with strength, God willing. You must do it; you must enter; you must work robustly and with quality; the economic officials of the country must not know day and night.

The issue of resistant economy and the policies of resistant economy that have been mentioned, the essence of the resistant policies is to rely on domestic production; that is the essence. The policies of resistant economy, both mean defensive fortification against the enemy - that is, if these policies are fully and accurately implemented, they will fortify; it is defensive fortification - and also empowering for moving forward; that is, the policies of resistant economy have both a defensive aspect and an offensive aspect, and their core is production. Therefore, I even expect that from this coordination meeting of the heads of the three branches, one of the aspects they emphasize in the discussions and matters that are brought up there and the experts who connect with that meeting is to focus on the issue of production. Let’s see what the problems of domestic production are, and in various ways, let’s seek solutions to these problems. I am not an economist, but I read the words of economists; the economists of the country, many of whom you accept, provide solutions. It is not that there are no solutions; there are ways to save the production of the country.

One issue is the livelihood of the people, which is also related to this production; that is, one of the best ways to repair and improve the livelihood of the people - who are currently facing problems in their livelihood, a significant portion of the people are facing difficulties - is to truly rely on domestic production. Well, a comprehensive effort must be made to prevent factories from shutting down or operating below capacity.

A significant issue in the economic matters that I find appropriate to remind is the issue of economic management; the government must manage the economy of the country. Management should not be confused with direct involvement; the government’s direct involvement in the economy harms the country; we have experienced this practically in the revolution and know that direct involvement of the government is not good. The policies of Article 44 were designed to prevent this direct involvement; therefore, we should completely exclude it from our thinking; that is, this management that I am talking about should not be confused with direct involvement in the economy.

Economic management has two important pillars; one is that we open the field for the activities of healthy economic actors; the field should be opened for them, and we should assist them; economic thinkers should sit down and see what ways there are to assist economic actors - there are ways - and what obstacles exist in the way of their correct work and progress? Those obstacles should be removed; I will now give one or two examples; one pillar of management is this. Another pillar is that the government apparatus must intelligently and vigilantly monitor harmful economic activities; that is, an economic actor who is causing harm should be addressed, and the avenues of corruption should be closed and blocked. Economic management means this; it has nothing to do with direct involvement.

Now, for example, regarding that first part, that is, assisting [economic actors], I will give an example from these days; of course, there are many examples; there are people in the country who have started an economic movement; they should be assisted. Now, the example I mentioned is about domestic stationery; several young people have emerged and are producing domestic stationery; stationery is a significant item; you see what a huge volume of stationery consumption - pencils, paper, notebooks, and other supplies - we have, and we are using imports for many of these, which has both a cultural and economic burden. A group of young people has emerged who have been striving for two or three years to produce domestic stationery; well, they need assistance; they should be assisted; but assistance is not being provided; even in the face of their movement, sometimes obstacles are placed. It is not necessary for a government official or a minister to place obstacles; no, the minister may not even be aware, but there are others who are placing obstacles; this must be stopped. Some time ago, a number of these young people came to me; well, one sees that they are full of enthusiasm, full of readiness and energy, they have initiative, but their financial capability is weak; they should be assisted; assistance to them is not the kind of multi-thousand billion assistance like our banking delays; it is not like that; it is much smaller assistance; with a little help, by supporting them and moving them forward, they can be assisted. We have many of these. You see; as a person who does not have a direct involvement in economic and executive matters, I receive many requests, and I know that many officials and ministers are approached. There are many of these; they should be assisted. It has often happened to us - now when I say "often," I mean multiple times - that they have come and complained, and I have sometimes made recommendations. This is one of the tasks that must be done, and there are many like this.

One issue is opening the field, that is, improving the business environment. A report recently reached us - now I do not remember the exact details; what remains in my mind that was very prominent was this - that in a specific matter over a short period, for example, perhaps two or three months, thirty circulars were issued by the officials! Well, how can an economic actor plan for their future? Someone who wants to work in this sector and related to this issue, how can they plan? Constantly circulars are issued one after another, conflicting and sometimes contradictory decisions about one issue! These must be removed; that is, these are things that hinder work; this stability and calm that an economic actor needs must be created. Therefore, one pillar of management I mentioned is that we can assist those who are active from the popular groups, open the field for them, and remove the obstacles from their paths. I once mentioned here in one of our meetings - it was two or three years ago; I specified there, but now I do not remember exactly; for example, to establish something in a poultry farm; now I do not remember; at that time when I said this, I detailed them - I pointed out that several economic actors had given us reports that for a small task, perhaps it took several months for this person to run around to be able to establish a small task alongside an economic activity they have. These must be reduced; the way must be opened for people to be able to be active. This is the first part.

The second part is fighting corruption and closing the avenues of corruption; the managers must be vigilant; that is what is needed. You see, just recently, a report from the Ministry of Intelligence was sent to us; I looked at this report and saw that from November 2017 to July 2018, 56 warnings regarding economic corruption issues were issued to various government agencies by the Ministry of Intelligence! Well, this intelligence work is good; I do not know how much of it has been followed up and how much has not, but it is important to look and see that in a few months, the Ministry of Intelligence has dealt with such a large number; that is, 56 cases have been raised and mentioned by the Ministry of Intelligence. Regarding the recent events, now President Rouhani referred to them and provided justifications that are correct, but the reality is that alongside these justifications, a degree of negligence and managerial inattentiveness has occurred. When we want to introduce currency into the market for any reason - because we deem it necessary, as a means to lower the currency price - we must do this with open eyes so that it does not happen that in our difficult circumstances, several billion dollars fall into the hands of a few who either smuggle them, or take them to Iraqi Kurdistan to sell, or cash them in the domestic market, or act differently under the guise of tourism - which everyone knows - or register an order for one commodity but bring in another; these are things that management can monitor; I have previously discussed this with President Rouhani. It is not necessary for us to place a police officer over each person to see what they are doing; no, today there are methods, there are ways, there are advanced methods; these can be controlled. Control must be exercised; that is, it must be monitored with open eyes. This is economic management. I believe you can do this work; our government can do this work; this is not something impossible or extraordinarily difficult; no; it requires necessary attention, a committed entry into the field, and you can accomplish these tasks.

[Someone] takes the money to import, for example, the necessary goods, intermediary goods - which you allow them to do - or medicine, but they spend it on something else. [Or, for example] we said in Article 44 that state-owned factories should be sold to the people; sold for what? To shut them down? Or to ensure that work is done? This [person] takes the factory, sells the devices that have been made or imported with great effort and arranged and organized, and turns the land into a shopping center! Well, why does this happen? Who should prevent this? It cannot be said that the judiciary should prevent this; the manager must see to whom they are giving this factory. Article 44 said that factories should be given to the people to keep the factory alive, to ensure production, not to turn it into a shopping center and destroy it. These events have occurred; this is not specific to your government; this has happened before you as well. After all, this is economic management, and we must pay attention to these matters.

Of course, I have noted two cases here that there are some cases where it is not a matter of profit-seeking that this economic corrupt person has done this work, but rather sabotage. For example, suppose you suddenly see that baby diapers become scarce in Tehran or in large cities! This has happened; it is real; after all, baby diapers? This angers the people! The opposing side - the enemy - wants the people to become angry with the government and the ruling system; one of the ways to do this is through diapers! Or during the New Year when, for example, it is time for washing and such, cleaning materials suddenly become scarce; well, this is something that is sabotage. These must be followed with open eyes; this is an important issue.

Another important economic issue that I mention here regarding economic matters is that our country has outstanding economic capacities; we have high economic capacities. If we do not utilize these capacities, we have truly been ungrateful for the blessings; God Almighty says: "Have you not seen those who exchanged the favor of God for disbelief?" (Surah Ibrahim, 28); we should not turn God's blessing into ingratitude. We have extraordinary capacities. Studies have been conducted in international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and others that have brought me reports; they say that Iran's gross domestic product - which is the actual realized capacity of the country - ranks eighteenth in the world, meaning among two hundred and some countries, we are ranked eighteenth in terms of gross domestic product, which is what you have utilized from the capacities of the country, realized, and obtained. This is a very high figure; this is international research.

Another study alongside this - from the World Bank; in 2013 - states that in terms of unused domestic capacities, Iran ranks first in the world; how do you feel about this? This is not something that an economist in the country says to be interpreted in a certain way; no, this is what an international center looks at regarding the capacities of the country - geographical capacity, human capacity, climatic capacities, mineral capacities, and underground facilities - and says that the total unused capacities of our country are so high that we rank first in this regard in the world; this was said in 2013.

Therefore, not utilizing capacities is a significant issue. I have mentioned this many times in various discussions and have also mentioned some of those unused capacities, which now does not need to be stated; the discussion of these in specialized sessions is more necessary and important to be conducted regarding what the unused capacities are; there is a list of unused capacities; one of them is this.

Misusing is also an issue; one of our problems is the issue of misusing. Now, President Rouhani mentioned that we may become independent from gasoline imports; well, this is good news, but the fact that "we, who are one of the major oil producers in the world, import gasoline," is very bad news; why does this happen? Why do we even export crude oil? Why do we not convert gas into products and LNG? Why do we not convert oil into gasoline to export? This is a question; this is misusing. I have emphasized the issue of domestic refineries and the development of refineries and the production of various oil products for many years - perhaps for fifteen or sixteen years - in previous governments; well, this work should be done. Mr. Rouhani inaugurated two phases of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery; this significantly increased the production of the country; this is one of the important issues. Well, let’s follow this line; why should we import gasoline? In some cases, there have been years when we paid several billion dollars to import gasoline; a country that has important oil resources and is an oil exporter, then we must import gasoline derived from oil; well, this is very strange. We must focus on these matters, work on these, and it can be done; similarly, the issue of gas that I mentioned and discussed.

Now, within the country, one of our major problems, so to speak, in my opinion, is the misuse of domestic capacities, the high consumption of gasoline domestically; the other day, they told me that the daily gasoline consumption of the country is 105 million liters; now, I read in another report that it is more; 120 million liters. Now, 105 million liters! Why? Why should we consume this much? There was a time when officials managed to reduce daily consumption to about 65 million liters, meaning less than 65 million liters; this was done; of course, they later ruined it, but this work is possible; it can be done; there are ways; pursue those ways with strength. Now, it may be that some people - individuals or families that have five cars and have high consumption - may be upset; well, let them be! Out of this 105 million liters per day, how much falls into the hands of the masses and the majority of the people? These are, in my opinion, significant matters; stop this; do not allow it. A large part of this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Oil and the government; they must make decisions on this and not allow it. The issue of economic management of the government is also a point, and these all have various dimensions of management. Now, there is much to say in these areas; we do not want to prolong the discussion.

One of our important economic issues is the capacity of the private sector; we do not utilize the capacity of the private sector. Now, as I mentioned, sometimes we give factories according to the policies of Article 44 to people who are not suitable, but generally and commonly, we do not truly involve the private sector and do not utilize the people's investments properly. The Chamber of Commerce had a meeting with the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council and made detailed remarks that I read; I believe you should read those remarks, gentlemen, listen to them, and see those remarks; they are correct remarks; we must utilize the capacities of the private sector; the private sector is ready. Now, Article 44 has been poorly implemented by governments - both the government of Mr. Rouhani who is present and the previous government - in summary, they do not seem to have the heart to implement it as it should be; implement Article 44, activate the private sector's capabilities.

Suppose those who can help are not just traders - traders are a part of the private sector - no, producers and industrialists are also there. Now, for example, suppose in the Ministry of Energy or the Ministry of Oil, for example, you need many parts; sit down with the parts manufacturers [to discuss]. We have good parts manufacturers in the country. Once, many years ago, when Mr. Bi-Taraf - his friend - was the Minister of Energy, he needed a part for something; I told him: "Sir! You graduated from Amir Kabir University, it is just a step from here to Amir Kabir University, go there and sit down with them to produce for you;" at that time, the military had produced that part for another purpose, of course, with larger dimensions. [So] private sector industrialists can assist the government in various sectors. Sometimes we find that we lack one or two parts, and the production chain of a product completely halts due to the absence of this part and the fact that they do not provide it to us from abroad or create problems. Well, let’s produce this domestically; we can produce [it] domestically; every task we pursued domestically, emphasized, and spent a little on, we managed to create; one example is the Ministry of Defense, which has done good work in this regard.

Another important issue in the economy, which is the fourth topic I am discussing, is the management of the country's liquidity; now, the President referred to liquidity. First of all, allowing liquidity to increase from the beginning was a mistake; we should not have allowed it; from the beginning, we should have prevented the increase of liquidity; now, allowing liquidity to remain unrestrained to attack in any direction and cause destruction is another mistake; liquidity must be managed. It is not the case that we assume that "no, nothing can be done about liquidity"; no, it is not like that; liquidity can be controlled, it can be managed; of course, it requires a fully active team; a fully active team. Some time ago, the representatives of the parliament requested from the honorable President that an active economic team be appointed; very well, a team under the same structure you currently have should be established - I never mention or have mentioned the issue of change and transformation - after all, a fully active team of elements who are willing to work, that is, truly want to work, do not know day and night, and are also innovative, should be assigned to manage liquidity; you can do this work. We have, according to some estimates, four hundred thousand billion tomans, according to others, six hundred thousand billion tomans, in unfinished projects; well, create attraction for the private sector so that this liquidity is directed towards these projects; these tasks can be done; provide incentives, create attraction. We have had some cases in selling our oil where we have made some concessions in price to advance the work; for example, suppose we gave a discount to someone; well, let’s do this internally; compel the private sector; significant work can be done. The other day, I believe it was in this government meeting that I said, suppose right now these thirty-megawatt power plants that Russia is building - I thought we did not have anything less than a hundred megawatts; it turned out we have fifty-megawatt and thirty-megawatt ones too - very well, their price should not be very high; this is income-generating; encourage the private sector, urge them to take ten, twenty of these, bring them, and install them in various places; it is both energy, it attracts liquidity, and it has many benefits. My point is to attract liquidity; this excess liquidity that exists today is a great danger; economists know better than us that this can be destructive in any direction; well, it can go towards coins, it can go towards currency - like what is happening and you see - it can go towards housing and become something else. Do not allow it; this must be managed; that is, liquidity cannot be left unrestrained. It cannot be said that now this has increased and nothing can be done about it; no, this can be controlled, it must be restrained, and it must be restrained.

Of course, the issue of banks that he mentioned is a correct issue; that is, banks put the central bank in a dilemma; this also has a remedy. A bank that cannot manage itself and has put people in line, its credibility should be revoked. First of all, the central bank's oversight over the banks will prevent them from reaching this situation - if continuous oversight exists from the beginning - and when it reaches this point, the bank must be dealt with. There are so many private banks! Why do banks face liquidity problems? Because they increase branches, because they create comfort for their own individuals. I once told you that I was passing through Tehran by car, and there was a long wall that as we drove, we kept seeing this wall; I asked, whose is this? What is this big? It was a huge organization! They said yes, it belongs to such and such bank. Well, this bank is wrong to do such a thing; what does it want to do with this? This is truly an important issue; they take people's money and do such things; now, whether this is an organization that is probably for recreation and such things; no, banks are not for business. I once said here in this meeting that stop the banks from being involved in business; banks are not for business. Well, this is how people's money is spent; strong control and strong management of the central bank over the banks will prevent them from reaching this point where the central bank is caught between two dilemmas; either give, creating a problem for it; or do not increase money and liquidity, creating another dilemma. This is ultimately one of the important issues. In my opinion, pay attention to the situation of the banks and give serious importance to liquidity management and follow it up.

Well, therefore, in this regard, we have presented our remarks, and let’s not prolong the discussion further and move on to the second topic - of course, the second topic is not as lengthy, it is shorter - which is foreign policy, and our dear friend Mr. Zarif is also here.

First of all, I emphasize the increasing connection with neighbors. We have fourteen or fifteen neighbors, many of whom and most of them are those with whom we can have good relations. Let’s take advantage of opportunities. I sent you a message regarding Pakistan, and you said you are in the process of preparing to do this work. Iraq is there, Turkey is there, Pakistan is there, the countries of West Asia are there, and there are other places; after all, we can work with this large collection on various issues. This strong diplomacy with neighbors is also good for our economic issues. I have been informed that if we can engage in ten percent of the economic activities of these countries, it would be a very high figure for us; ten percent is not much. This is one issue.

Another issue is Europe. I have said before and I say now that relations with Europe must continue. Of course, Europe is not a single entity; different places in it are different; in some things, they are common, in others, they are different, they have different methods. After all, we must continue our relations with the European countries - not the European community - with the European countries, but cut hope from them; cut hope from Europe. Europe is not a place where we can rely on for our various issues, including this issue of the JCPOA and economic matters; no, they will not do anything; cut hope from them. This cutting hope does not mean cutting relations; it does not mean cutting negotiations; it means that we should make our decisions differently; this is its meaning, and we should look skeptically at their promises; look at whatever they promise with doubt. They are playing games with us regarding the JCPOA and sanctions; in fact, they do not have a proper behavior with us now.

And I should also mention: the JCPOA is not the goal; the JCPOA is a means. The JCPOA is not a goal that we must necessarily preserve; it is a means to preserve our national interests. If one day you conclude that the JCPOA cannot secure national interests, put the JCPOA aside; it has no importance; see what national interests require. I am sometimes asked why you said you would burn the JCPOA, why haven’t you burned it? The reason we haven’t burned it is that we said perhaps we can secure national interests with it; otherwise, if one understands that national interests are not secured, we also know how to burn it. After all, do not play games with us; this must be pursued seriously.

Of course, I heard that you recently wrote a good letter to these [European] officials; this is good. Writing such letters is good; of course, they must understand that behind this letter, there is a strategy, there is a decision; they must feel this; both in your statements and those of the President and some others, and in some actions that Mr. Salehi must take, which I do not know how much he has done or is doing. This is another issue.

Another issue in foreign policy is America. Now, some have started murmuring that "on the sidelines of the General Assembly, negotiations may take place"; this is definitely off the table; it makes no sense to have such a thing. Those who were the facade, acted like that with us; these are shameless, brazen, and openly aggressive; what negotiation can there be with them? It makes no sense at all. Now, the President certainly should not, nor should the foreign minister and elements of the foreign ministry; it makes no sense to negotiate with them. Of course, you know this and perhaps know it better than I do that the Americans need to negotiate with the Islamic Republic. The American governments - both the previous government and this government, and the previous government - all need to show that they brought a place like the Islamic Republic to the negotiating table; this is something they need. The day that Obama succeeded in speaking on the phone with Dr. Rouhani, they celebrated there, and the news later reached us through various channels. They need this issue; there is no need for us to fulfill this need of theirs. Now, the reason we oppose negotiations is something I have mentioned before; I will not repeat it.

The third issue is the issue of cohesion and unity. Cohesion and unity among the officials managing the country and the management of the country is always necessary; today it is more necessary than ever; I confirm Mr. Rouhani's words. The heads of the three branches, various officials, must support each other. The meaning of this [statement] is not that they must agree on everything; no, they may have opposing views, but first, they must help each other in practice - especially now that the government is in the midst of the field and, as we said before, the major works are related to it, especially to the executive branch, everyone must help - and they should not publicize their differences; this is also important. After all, you have a disagreement with another head about a certain issue; what is the necessity of this disagreement being stated in the media? What benefit does this bring? That now four bankrupt political elements may be pleased that we have taken this position does not justify it. Disagreement among officials confuses people's minds, makes them anxious, and unsettles them. Sometimes I even see that ministers speak against each other! You who are sitting around the same table in the cabinet, Mr. President is sitting at the head of that table; whatever you want to argue about, argue there; why bring it to the podium? One minister says something, another minister comes and refutes that statement; this is very strange; these media disputes are truly a very bad thing.

However, yesterday's session of the parliament, in my opinion, was a display of the power of the Islamic Republic. May God reward Mr. President and the legislative branch for jointly displaying the power and stability of the Islamic Republic yesterday; this is a very important point. The representatives of the parliament ask questions of the President who has been elected with more than 23 million votes, and the President goes without hesitation and calmly listens to the questions, then answers them with composure; these are very good signs. When we say that religious democracy exists in the country, this is what we mean; that they fulfill their duties, do not become agitated, ask questions and answer them, and do not interrupt each other; these are very important; this event occurred yesterday. If, for example, yesterday one of the representatives used an inappropriate tone, or if the President had an inappropriate tone in dealing with the parliament, how bad would that be? How detrimental would that be to the Islamic Republic! No, they asked respectfully, and the President answered with composure and calm. Now, of course, there is a gap between their demands and expectations and the realities that exist, and there is no doubt that this gap must be filled, but this does not matter; what is important is that what happened, in my opinion, was a magnificent display of the power of the Islamic Republic, of the stability of the Islamic Republic, of the self-confidence of the officials in the Islamic Republic; the parliament showed a kind of self-confidence, the President and the government showed a kind of self-confidence; this, in my opinion, was very good.

Of course, the enemy wants nothing but this; the enemy tries to portray the situation differently, but the truth is what I said, and others see and understand this; and within the country, the people see that nothing has fallen apart, no problem arose, and they went with composure and mutual respect, asked questions, answered, and returned. This, in my opinion, was a very good session, and the executive and legislative branches jointly accomplished a great task; this strengthens the President, strengthens the parliament, and, God willing, will create a ground for more cooperation and bringing opinions and realities closer together.

Of course, the recommendations we made today and the matters that have been said must be taken into account, and we must progress, including the repeated statement that an active, committed, and lively group should be responsible for solving these important problems one after another and, God willing, move forward.

Regarding the meetings of the three branches, of course, the point that Mr. Rouhani mentioned is correct, and good coordination must be established; I have also recommended it, and I will continue to recommend it, but pay attention that it should not be done in a way that the inherent duties of the other branches are neglected; I have previously discussed this with you; it should be done in a way that you coordinate. Yes, well, war requires a commander - we who have been a little involved in the war know this - but a commander consults with the staff; that is, there is never a commander who says, "Let’s go" without consulting; no, after all, they have a staff, they sit down, discuss, consult, and work, and sometimes it happens that the commander’s opinion changes completely with this consultation with the staff; that is, there are things that are part of the natural and usual customs of collective behavior; these must be observed; one of them is that we should consult, think, consider the rights of various individuals, and of course, "And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah" (Surah Al-Imran, 159) must also be followed.

Well, God willing, may you all be successful, may you be supported, and may God be pleased with you and assist you so that you can fulfill the important duties that you have. Our talk seems to have taken a long time; may God keep you safe, God willing.

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