Statements in Meeting with the President and Members of the Cabinet

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.

I congratulate the honorable members of the Cabinet, the esteemed President, their deputies, the respected ministers, and all members of the executive branch across the country on the Government Week. As the President mentioned, Government Week belongs to the entire executive branch throughout the country. God willing, may God appreciate all your efforts and may the blessings and goodness of these actions be manifested.

I pay tribute to the memory of our dear martyrs, Rajai and Bahonar, who, as mentioned, were truly role models; in various aspects, in terms of sincerity and hard work. Unfortunately, they did not have the opportunity to continue for several years, but the year that is good is evident from its spring. The type of work they did — especially the late Rajai, who was there for a longer period — showed that this work would continue; sincerity, interest, being people-oriented, and great effort, among other qualities. May God's curse be upon the hands of the hypocrites and criminals who brought these two dear ones to the ground in blood; unfortunately, today some Western policies attempt to cleanse these disgraceful figures, to portray the hypocrites in a way that shows them as victims and create a narrative of victimhood for them; and certainly, they will not succeed; those who have killed thousands inside the country, from the prayer leader and Friday prayer leader to the market merchant, to the student, to the revolutionary guard, to families sitting at iftar — and others, thousands of people, I do not know the exact number — up to the heads of the country like martyr Beheshti and those prominent figures of that day who were martyred, and these two great men; now, the wicked and malicious political hands — whether abroad or their followers or supporters inside the country — want to cleanse them and present their faces as legitimate and portray them as victims while tarnishing the blessed and radiant image of the Imam. The image of the Imam is not tarnishable, and certainly, they have been and will be unsuccessful.

On this occasion, I must sincerely thank the efforts of the government. Today, the reports presented by the gentlemen were very good reports, both the report of the President, the report of the esteemed First Vice President, and the reports of the ministers and the President's deputies; there were truly many positive points in these reports that should be fully reflected and reach the ears of the people. As mentioned, our main asset is the people; the trust of the people and the hope of the people is a support for all governments; we need this, and God willing, this work [of reflecting reports] should be done in the national media, and others should also say so that the people can hear. I appreciate the efforts of the gentlemen.

Running the country is a difficult task; the existence of positive actions does not mean that there are no shortcomings, no problems, no weaknesses in various sectors; yes, there are, but running the country is not an easy task. I remember that sometimes some would come to the Imam and complain about various sectors and so on; the Imam would say one sentence: "Running the country is a difficult task"; he would suffice with that one sentence; it is indeed true. I was the President, I know, and now I am aware of the affairs in different governments; it is indeed difficult. This diversity, this expansion, these rightful expectations and sometimes — occasionally they may be — unreasonable across the country, the damages and things that have accumulated since the time of the tyrant, these naturally complicate the work; there are weaknesses — now I will point out what I think should be done, I will mention some points in several headings — but the works being done are valuable works.

Well, the days pass quickly; this [meeting] is apparently our fourth meeting this year. The first meeting feels like just yesterday; the passage of days is like this, the passage of life is like this, it passes swiftly; we must make the utmost use of these hours and days. I have said this in the first year of all governments — including the government of Mr. Rouhani — that this period will end before you know it; however, four years is not a short time. For example, we have a historical figure like Amir Kabir, who had a brilliant face and was in office for nearly three years. Therefore, three years and such is a period; four years is not a short time. This remaining year is the same; this remaining year of this government is also a year, and for each day of it, we can truly work and think. My request is that these opportunities be utilized until the last day of the government; that is, do not think that now, for example, this government will end, will I be responsible for this work tomorrow or not, such thoughts should not exist; until that last moment, until that last hour and last day, you must strive and work.

Do not get caught up in the margins; because these months ahead are months that gradually become accompanied by electoral challenges; that is, election advertisements, electoral speeches, political issues [arise]; opponents say one thing, supporters say another; these should not distract you, that is, do not pay attention to these issues at all, do your own work. The best advertisement for a government that is in power is its actions. That is, if you speak thousands of words in advertisement, but also present a good work, this good work has a greater impact on the people than those thousands of words. That is, if the people see, feel, and touch the work, this is the best advertisement for the government; do not think about getting caught up in the issues [and margins].

Well, this Government Week itself is a valuable opportunity; both for the elites outside the government and for those inside the government; to evaluate, that is, self-examination and evaluation of their work; indeed, "the human being is aware of himself"; all heads of agencies can evaluate their work better than others. Sometimes we may claim something about what we have done — well, it is a claim after all — but when we refer to it, we find that we are not very convinced of it; that is, this evaluation is very important in my opinion. The elites outside also look at the government's work; criticism is not harmful, it is not a fault, but it must be fair criticism. Criticism, in the sense of presenting the problematic points and the solutions to those points and opening those knots [is what] correct criticism is; in my opinion, if it exists, it is very good.

I emphasize and reiterate this point that you should explain to the people and the elites the works that have been done; without exaggeration and hyperbole; that is, present what you are truly convinced of; this sincere tone and tone indicating realism and pragmatism will undoubtedly influence the people; this is certainly the case.

I have noted several headings that I would like to present, and of course, during the remarks of the gentlemen, there were also points regarding these.

The first heading relates to economic issues; as they pointed out. In our opinion, today the primary issue of the country is the economy and economic issues and the economic knots that must be resolved. Mr. Dr. Jahangiri provided a good report from the Resistance Economy Command Headquarters; well, now that he says, "My powers have not increased," this is truly not good news for me; our expectation is that he should command in the true sense of the word; well, the President also truly trusts him, we also accept him, and therefore it is good that he can truly command in the true sense of the word; because in the context of the works that have been done, there are points that I will mention. I looked at this report; it is a good report; about two hundred projects and packages and programs to support production, the transfer of 2,500 unfinished projects to the private sector, these are things that have come in this report and are important; these are works that are presentable; however, there are several points:

First, follow up to ensure the realization of the plans; you see, we make a decision, we also announce it, we insist on it, but if we do not go to the end and do not bring this water that has flowed from the spring to the farm, the work is not complete; the work is complete when all these works that he and his colleagues in the government have done regarding the Resistance Economy Command Headquarters are brought to fruition; that is, they must pursue and follow these works step by step; this first issue is very important in my opinion and must be done, God willing.

Second, there are large-scale activities in the economy, in the country, whether in the private or public sector; the country has immense activities and is full of economic activities. [Officials] should make every effort to align these activities with these policies, and if there is an activity that is not aligned with these policies, it should be stopped; that is, this is truly one of the fundamental tasks. In the realm of real economy — that real economy — a lot of work is being done; well, some of them align with these policies, some do not; those that do should be promoted, and those that do not should be stopped or at least not supported; at least, they should not be supported. I have sent messages in one or two cases regarding some of the things that were raised to inquire what this particular case and work's position is within the framework of the Resistance Economy policies; this must be explainable; that is, each of these works being done must fit within the policies that he and the government have set.

The third point; all the capacities of the country must be brought to work. Fortunately, they have pointed out; recently we had a meeting with Mr. Hojjati, Mr. Nemat-Zadeh, who, well, their statements are broadcast in the media and one hears them — well, today we did not use them to say something — especially regarding industry and agriculture, there are truly many works that must come to work; that is, the capacities are extraordinary. Now, I have a point regarding agriculture and forestry that I will later discuss with Mr. Hojjati; God willing, I will tell him privately.

The fourth point is discourse creation; you see, in Mr. Dr. Sattari's remarks, emphasis was placed on the issue of science and knowledge-based economy and knowledge-based companies and similar topics — some other friends also pointed out — this stems from a discourse that has been ongoing for ten to twelve years. That is, when the discussion of breaking scientific frontiers and the software movement and the production of knowledge is raised, it is pursued, it is said in universities and becomes a discourse, the result is that sometimes when I sit here and, for example, a university group — whether students or professors — come, I see that they are expressing the same words that we have said as demands; this becomes discourse, this is discourse, this is good; when this happens, then scientific advancements come. Today, we have significant advancements in space issues, nuclear issues, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and various other fields; these advancements are due to this discourse creation. When discourse creation occurs, then everyone will think about it; that is, a motivation arises in everyone; it is as if a wide road and a highway is created that everyone wants to move along this highway; therefore, discourse creation is very important. Of course, merely repeating the term "Resistance Economy" does not create discourse; we should not do something that causes this word to be repeated so much that it loses its meaning; no, rather it should be expressed through explanation and clarification and similar means.

And the next point — I mention this to Mr. Jahangiri — is that in the Resistance Economy, what is expected is a leap in work. You see, the apparatus and the government have normal tasks, they have routine work in various economic sectors — in all these various economic ministries — that is being done; these works must be done; [but] among the things that are intended in the Resistance Economy is an extraordinary work, a leap in work. For example, suppose — I have noted this here — that the President said, "We will launch seven thousand industrial units"; this work is good; this is one of those kinds of works, pursue this; he said we will launch seven thousand industrial units, very well, this is good, that is, this is beyond the normal and routine work of our apparatus. Pursue these kinds of things that have a leap aspect, advancements that go beyond the ordinary; this is also the next point, that is, do not be satisfied with the routine daily works of the economic apparatus.

Another point in this economic context is that there are works that are fundamental but possible; that is, they are not difficult works: for example, "distributing decision-making in provinces" — which they have now pointed out and fortunately they are thinking about — this is a good work, that is, go and take decision-making out of the centralized state and distribute it at the provincial level. Or "guiding banking facilities towards production"; I told the esteemed Minister of Economy and Mr. Seif the other day that you should use all your knowledge and education today to guide this heavy liquidity towards production, that is, all your skill should be focused on this; if this work is done — which in my opinion is a possible task; that is, for those who are in charge, it is a feasible task — it is important. "Export incentives"; sometimes we have incentives, [but] there is no stability in these incentives; they fluctuate, change, and the exporter who is involved is not hopeful, that is, his heart trembles; because the issue of exports is very serious and important, the incentives must also be significant. One more issue is the "payment of agricultural product prices" which is also an important issue.

Serious combat against smuggling — this issue of destroying [smuggled goods] — is very important; of course, some of those related to these issues have told us that some of these items can be re-exported, [that is] returned and exported; very well, I have no objection to this, that is, I announce this now. That we said to definitely destroy the goods, the smuggled goods, this does not include those minor smuggling cases and those porters and similar cases; we are talking about the smuggling gangs and large operations [that affect] the market of the country.

The issue of bureaucracy is also an old discussion that I do not want to repeat now. Sometimes bureaucracy becomes so severe that it makes the entrepreneur and investor lose patience, so much so that they are no longer willing to do anything.

One more issue is serious support for the knowledge-based economy; well, thanks be to God, Mr. Sattari has expressed this here and has acknowledged it in fact — in a sense it was an acknowledgment — that everyone is helping him; there is truly a need for help; all must assist the scientific vice-presidency, all agencies must help. If this is indeed the case that everyone is helping you, well, thanks be to God. We must take the issue of the knowledge-based economy seriously, we must truly take these knowledge-based companies seriously. It can be said that millions of youth are currently in the country who are ready to work, and if a little help is given to them, they can truly advance in these areas and activate various sectors.

I have heard that even in some cases and some sectors of the government — which now, if Mr. President follows up, it would be good — that some of these so-called projects are accepted from foreigners and facilities are given to them, [but] this domestic knowledge-based company that can do this work is not given! That is, these are reports that have reached us, which God willing, may be untrue, but these are reports that exist; these must be pursued and followed up, and it is important. This is also regarding the knowledge-based economy. And the issue of villages. Now, there is much to say in these areas, but time is passing.

The next heading I want to discuss is foreign policy, which has been one of the priorities of Mr. Dr. Rouhani's government from the beginning, both in advertisements and in governmental actions; this has been an important task, and I agree. I have always believed in diplomatic activity and the work of diplomacy and have believed that efforts should be made in this area.

There are several points here: one is that we should properly distribute our diplomatic capabilities worldwide; that is, Asia's share should be given to Asia in proportion to its size and capabilities, Africa's share likewise, and Latin America's share likewise; therefore, [we must] distribute our diplomacy well, distribute it proportionately.

Another issue is that we must have an active position in diplomacy everywhere. We must particularly be active in issues similar to regional issues — which today are very complex; our regional issues, the issues of Syria and Iraq and Lebanon and North Africa, on the eastern side, Afghanistan and Pakistan and similar matters, are extraordinarily complex; the policies here are very intertwined and hostile and affect one another — it is very necessary to enter the field with precision, alertness, and effective power; well, in some places, thank God, we have entered, and it has been so.

The third point in the context of diplomacy is to use the capacity of diplomacy for the economy. Economic apparatuses must have permanent interaction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding economic issues. Well, do we not say, for example, suppose that the transfer of a certain advanced technology from a certain country [is to be done], or exports [to a certain country] — which we emphasize on exports — well, in these areas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be the center of work. We have heard and seen cases where a ministry in a country is negotiating economically, [but] the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is completely unaware! This is a loss, this is pure harm. Of course, this is a mutual duty; it is the duty of the agencies to cooperate and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard, and it is also the duty of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sit down and plan for this work; that is, in a special section — of course, there is apparently an economic section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has existed since before — they must plan, activate, this is also a matter. What is trusted in diplomacy is that fixed, established work that is signed and can be contested; this is important in our communications with foreign countries, and we must pay attention to this.

Of course, the issue of the JCPOA is also one of the sections of foreign policy; since I have spoken a lot about the JCPOA, I do not want to discuss it again; I have had almost continuous discussions with Mr. President Dr. Rouhani in this regard.

In any case, regarding the JCPOA, the point I want to make is that first, we must account for the defaults of the Western side — particularly the United States; we must not at all seek to justify the defaults and the capriciousness and the treachery of the opposing side; this is defaulting — it is now clear, the Americans are defaulting — we must account for this default, pay attention to this.

And [secondly] we must learn from experience; that is, now it may be that, for example, this government or another government in America or in a certain country gives us a promise and makes a statement, we cannot trust this promise and such things at all; absolutely not. Very well, he makes a promise, you also make a promise. A person had composed a poem, sent a message, came to the caliph and recited his poem; the caliph said, for example, give him a certain amount of gold — for example, one hundred thousand dinars — and wrote this on a paper and gave it to this poet and said go take it; he went to his treasurer, gave the paper and said, "Sir, give me one hundred thousand [dinar]"; he said, "On what occasion?" He said, "I have composed a poem"; he said, "Well, you composed a poem? He liked it, he wrote this, you liked it, this is not related"; get lost! [laughter of the audience] That is how it is. He makes a statement, gives a promise that we like, we also give a promise that he likes; but do not give him anything tangible that later we will be left wondering whether he will respond to his own account or repay his loan or not; no.

In any case, we appreciate those who have worked day and night in the JCPOA, who have truly put in effort. I have criticisms of the JCPOA, I have objections, I have said this; I have said it to you and I have said it publicly; however, this objection is to the opposing side, the objection is not to our own elements, our own elements have put in their efforts and worked as much as they could; the opposing side is a wicked side, an untrustworthy side.

The third heading is the issue of science and technology; well, we truly need to make the issue of science and technology a prominent issue for the advancement of the country; that is, one of the three main points and three main pillars that the country today relies on — and perhaps the deepest of these is — is this issue of science and technology, which thank God we have made good advancements; efforts have been made, work has been done, it has been pursued, [but] the growth of our advancements has decreased. Mr. Dr. Farhadi sent me a report — because I had said in a speech that growth has decreased — that no, our growth is good. I have no objection, I know, what he sent me was not new to me; what I had said and was not paid attention to was the issue of acceleration; you see, we are significantly behind our counterparts and competitors; if we want to catch up with them, if we proceed at the same speed they do, this gap will always remain; we must advance at a speed and acceleration that is several times faster than theirs to be able to catch up with them or possibly surpass them; that is my point; we had this acceleration for several years. When the acceleration increased, this is desirable; [but] the acceleration has decreased, that is my point; that Mr. Dr. Farhadi should pay attention to this. In any case, what is of concern to me is this; that is, you must accelerate growth; otherwise, I know that growth exists, well, we are growing, moving forward, it is natural, but ordinary growth is not enough. It was our growth speed that gained fame in the world, was reflected, some envied it, some became worried! In the world, some were worried about our scientific advancement; well, this was because the acceleration was good. The issue of knowledge-based companies has also been mentioned.

Now, thanks be to God, the scientific vice-presidency is satisfied; I have noted here, "they are not supported by the agencies," but now they say they are supported; very well, if you are satisfied, what can we say? Our issue is your issue.

And this discourse of scientific advancement must continue; that is, it should not be allowed to stop. You all — all friends — are university people; first, my recommendation is that responsible friends should not cut off their relationship with the university; that is, they should have interactions with the university; wherever you are, however, with any university group you encounter, emphasize the issue of discourse on the production of knowledge and scientific advancement and this software movement and acceleration of growth; it should be such that every professor, every student, every researcher feels that it is their duty to carry out this work. This is also a point regarding this issue.

One more point is the issue of research funding. Research funding is, first, low; second, even what exists is not fully provided. Of course, we have received a promise from one of the governments — I do not know which of the gentlemen it was — that they would raise research funding to one and a half percent and two percent and at most to three percent, but well, they promised one and a half percent. Then when the university people came and spoke, they said, "What is this? Six-tenths of a percent and five-tenths of a percent and such things, and even from that, not all is provided!" Well, let it be such that research funding is provided.

One more issue is the collaboration between university and industry, which I have emphasized for years, and I have insisted on this a lot. May God have mercy on the late father of this gentleman — the late Dr. Ebtekar — he came here and I told him that I had asked this from the President. He said, "How interesting! This is the main point of our work here"; he said the essence of the matter is this, and well, his life did not last; may God have mercy on the late Ebtekar. In any case, this is important; that is, incentives must be provided for both sides, both for the industry that spends on research — after all, when industry wants to use university research, it incurs a cost; this cost should be accounted for; either as part of tax exemptions or similar things — and also encourage the research institute and research center and the university researcher; both sides must be encouraged to come closer together.

Another heading I want to raise is the issue of security. Well, thanks be to God, the country today has a strong security shield. Well, you look around us and see what is happening. To our east is Afghanistan and those events and Pakistan and [these], to our west are these neighboring Arab countries and Iraq and Syria and Yemen and the events that are taking place in this region of West Asia and the events surrounding us in Libya and, for example, Egypt and other places, when one looks at these, one understands what a great blessing this security is that we have today, thanks be to God. This security shield has fortunately enveloped the country, protecting it from these security threats. The people live comfortably in terms of security; in my opinion, one of the things that is good for the esteemed officials to mention in their talks with the people is to remind them — because "two unknown blessings are health and security" — one is "security". Until security exists, no one notices that there is security. If you want to go from home to your workplace, it should be unsafe; until you go to school, it should be unsafe; university, it should be unsafe; from this city to that city, it should be unsafe; thanks be to God, security exists in the country today, and this is due to the efforts of our military and security forces; we must truly thank them and strengthen them.

And in my opinion, three sections are also noteworthy here; one is the national defense shield, which is the basis of this work; that revolutionary and religious spirit of the people is one of the three main elements of maintaining the country's security; that is, truly that revolutionary spirit of the people and the religious spirit of the people encourages and motivates our forces to be able to carry out their tasks correctly; this must be preserved.

One is our organizational section, which is our military and security organizations; these must be encouraged, appreciated, and supported; they are truly working.

One is also our technical issue and our tools, the very works that are being built, the very missile that was unveiled a few days ago by Mr. Dr. Rouhani; these are important, these are very important, these have a significant impact on maintaining the country's security. That the country can defend itself and that others know that this defensive power exists in the country is very important. You see what a commotion was raised over the issue of the S-300 that we wanted to buy, and what movements were behind this commotion. They traveled to Russia so much — come, go, etc. — to prevent this from happening; while the S-300 is not meant to hit a city, the S-300 is meant to hit the aggressor, that is it; the enemy cannot tolerate the defensive power in the country, that you have defensive power.

Therefore, one of the most fundamental tasks is to strengthen our defensive tools, and if any of these three factors — that is, the people's spirit, the preservation and strengthening of the organizational apparatuses of security, and the factor of tools and means — is weakened, it is to our detriment, and anyone who weakens it has truly acted to the detriment of the country.

The fifth heading is the issue of culture. The very important priority of the country is culture. Culture includes everything from literature and art to lifestyle to public culture to ethics to social behavior; we have obligations in these areas, we have responsibilities; our cultural institutions truly have responsibilities in this regard. Suppose now film, theater, cinema, well, if care is not taken [what happens]! I am not in favor of dogmatism and pressure and repression in these areas, you know, I firmly believe in free thought; however, free thought is different from anarchy, different from allowing the enemy to strike the country through the corridor of free thought and free action. Today, our faithful and revolutionary youth are doing the best works in the country, these knowledge-based companies, these various activities, these are mostly carried out by believing youth and similar individuals. Now suppose a theater or a film is produced that strikes at the roots of the faith of these youth; is this good? Is this something that one should not feel threatened by? There are two categories, the category of offense and defense; we are weak in both offense and defense in the field of culture; in my opinion, we must work in these areas. Culture, with the essence of religion, with the essence of the revolution, is the basis of our works that we must truly address. Cultural products, books, cinema, theater, poetry, media, and also cultural figures; suppose there is a cultural figure who has devoted his entire life to the revolution, and there is another cultural figure who has struck at the revolution whenever he could; how do you treat these two? You who are a government official or a cultural official or a minister of, for example, guidance or minister of science or the Islamic Propagation Organization — it is not only specific to government work, others are the same — or the media, how do you behave with these two individuals? This is very important. The one who has devoted his life to the revolution and religion, is it such that he should be honored and preferred over the one who has not taken a single step for religion and revolution in his entire life and has sometimes struck and bitten? Well, these are important, these are points that must be paid attention to. If we do not pay attention to these points and, due to the atmosphere, go after, for example, suppose that someone who is fundamentally opposed to the Islamic revolution and the Islamic government and the Islamic system, well, this is contrary to a wise cultural movement. Therefore, I believe that there should be a spirit of free thought, [and] there should be fair planning. Neither should there be cultural anarchy and chaos, nor dogmatism and cultural stagnation and oppression; I do not accept either side of this issue. The correct path is to plan, guide, support good growths, and prevent blows and attacks and similar things; that is, both offense and defense.

The sixth heading — which is apparently the last or close to the last — is the issue of the program, which we are delayed in the sixth program; that is, truly the sixth program is an important matter. Well, the importance of the program is clear to you and you know how important a program is; a program creates coordination, creates synergy, and the chain of programs — consecutively — leads us to the goals of the outlook; that is, if this chain of programs is interrupted somewhere in the middle, we cannot reach that result, this is clear; therefore, the program is very important. Well, now the program also has a process that is specified in the Constitution: there are policies that are announced and declared, based on these policies, the government prepares the program, then this program becomes law so that everyone is obliged to act according to the details of this program; therefore, the parliament is also involved in the program process. In my opinion, you should do this as soon as possible and advance it; do not let this matter be delayed any longer. Of course, in the program, the basis of work: in the economic section, the same Resistance Economy must be present; in the cultural section, the culture must have the same characteristics that we mentioned; and in the field of science and technology — which these three sections are very important — with the same characteristics that were previously mentioned and attention to research and attention to the development of science.

One more point is the issue of cyberspace, which I want to request from Mr. President to follow this up; because cyberspace is truly a rapidly growing world that cannot be stopped, that is, it truly has no end; the more one looks, the more it is cyberspace. The more one advances in this space, it continues like this. This provides great opportunities for any country, but it also has threats alongside it; we must ensure that we make the utmost use of these opportunities and protect ourselves from these threats as much as possible. Well, the Supreme Council of Cyberspace was formed for this purpose. For example, suppose that in Mr. Dr. Jahangiri's report, he incidentally did not address this section at all, he only mentioned in one line that we have done something regarding the section that is effective in the national information network; we have provided this. He referred to the search engines, because the search engine has started for several years, these search engines are being designed, and now the youth from this side and that side have perhaps designed and produced dozens of search engine systems, that is, it is not something new; he also emphasized that; but we have not yet advanced in that national information network — well, although Mr. Vaezi also believes in this matter and all friends believe in this matter, but this has not progressed; this must be followed up, God willing, so that we do not inflict irreparable blows.

And the last issue is the issue of astronomical salaries, which incidentally was also the last issue in Mr. Dr. Rouhani's speech. I ask you not to pass this matter lightly. Yes, inflating this issue in that sense — that as he said, constantly re-reading and reporting that so-and-so receives this much, so-and-so [that much] — may not be a very positive act; but on the other hand, the action you take in response is very important; that is, tell the people what you have done. In this matter, the trust of the people has been damaged. You see, people do not digest many of these large figures; however, they digest sixty million tomans and fifty million tomans and forty million tomans well; that is, someone who has an income of one million or one million two hundred or one million five hundred understands well what fifty million means; there are many people in the country whose salaries are this. This trust of the people — which rightly Mr. Rouhani said is our main asset, the trust of the people and the hope of the people — should not be wasted with these actions. You work so hard, strive, and then suddenly, for example, suppose someone with an unjust salary [ruins everything]. Is the gap between fifty million and one million not unjust? Do you not have anyone in your government who receives one million, one million two hundred, one million five hundred, two million? Abundant. Well, then one person receives thirty million, forty million! Is this not unjust? Sympathize with the people so that they feel that the same suffering they endure, you also endure, and show that you have a firm resolve to confront this issue and prevent it; show this to the people. In any case, this is an important point. In my opinion, there should be no excuses for the offenders; the response must be decisive; it is not specific to the executive branch. In all branches and all organizations, this meaning is flowing and ongoing; everyone must observe this. Well, the executive branch is in the spotlight and is now, for example, more extensive than others. In the response, it is not only the executive branch that must respond; the judiciary must also respond in its place — where the entry of the judiciary is appropriate — must respond.