Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with government officials on the occasion of Government Week

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

I congratulate you dear friends on the auspicious birth of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) and the arrival of Government Week, as you feel the weight of this great responsibility and are engaged in activity and effort.

The statements made by friends and the report provided were very good and useful for me. The elaboration and clarification of these reports and the provision of accurate information and correct statistics to public opinion is very beneficial and necessary work. We thank the friends for preparing and presenting these reports; especially the statements of Mr. Khatami were very good, correct, and clear.

What I want to convey is that the government is essentially the main actor in the country, and any success that comes to the government is a success for the Islamic system. If, God forbid, the government faces stagnation, halt, or failure in its various activities, this failure and lack of success will also be perceived as a failure for the system itself. This truth has several dimensions. We cannot separate the system from the executive branches of the system; we cannot say that we have an unsuccessful and unplanned government, but our system is efficient and successful. The successes of the system manifest in the successes of the government—as the main body managing the country. One aspect of this issue is that no one should overlook the fact that wishing for the success of the government is a revolutionary and national aspiration. All those who are concerned and interested in the fate of the country and the system should have the wish, prayer, and effort that the government achieves the successes that are worthy of the time and the needs of the country. If we assume that someone, due to differences in taste or thought or some politically incorrect analyses and conclusions, wishes for the government to fail in its work, or acts in a way that leads to the government's lack of success, this is absolutely unacceptable.

Of course, this does not mean that we should say no one has the right to criticize the government; because criticism does not mean weakening. If criticism is sincere and fair, it also helps. Even if the criticism is not sincere, it will eventually be recognized. In the face of the government's actions, if there is an unfair fault-finding, it will not be able to influence public opinion and external realities. Therefore, I do not want to prohibit criticism; however, I do prohibit destruction. Destruction is not in anyone's interest. With no justification can anyone convince themselves to destroy the government.

Of course, you government officials, who have various sectors at your disposal, should neither fear criticism nor become angry and hopeless. It should not be the case that if a newspaper or an individual criticizes a part of the government or an action taken by the government, the officials of that sector or the government officials become flustered. Sometimes one sees a state of fluster among them; no, do not be flustered at all; criticism exists. It is well-known that they say: "Whoever writes a book is targeted." Now, writing one book is one thing, and engaging in dozens of activities and actions is another. Ultimately, the way to avoid being criticized is to crawl into a corner of isolation and not take any action, or if one accepts a responsibility, God forbid, not to fulfill the requirements of that responsibility so that, for example, no one criticizes them and nothing contrary to their expectations occurs. No; ultimately, actions will take place; there may be opponents and critics. Your actions may rightly or wrongly anger some people, and they may say something. When your work is based on logical premises, you should continue it.

Of course, there are obstacles in the way of the government and in the way of any constructive work; just as there have been obstacles in the way of the entire system from the beginning of the revolution until today. Obstacles should not frighten anyone. The art of management is to overcome obstacles. Obstacles should not stop a person—let alone drag them backward—or make them hopeless and say that because this obstacle has arisen in front of us, we cannot move forward. No; the obstacle should be removed, or one should pass through the obstacle, or seek a path that does not confront the obstacle. One should not exaggerate the obstacle and say we cannot work. No; work and effort should be made.

In my opinion, the essence of the matter is that if we feel a sense of responsibility in our work and base our work on logical foundations, if there is a flaw in the work, in addition to the fact that God Almighty will not hold us accountable—because "God does not burden a soul beyond its capacity"—the people will not hold us accountable either; it will not be contrary to their expectations. We must make our efforts and base our work on logical foundations. When we say a logical foundation, it does not mean that it is necessarily and absolutely correct; no, our logic may not be correct; but we must begin our efforts to seek a correct logic and base our work on correctness and also seek the necessary consultations.

Of course, the role of the Cabinet is very important in this regard. I have repeatedly told both Mr. Khatami and, before him, the previous respected president and other friends: the Cabinet can play a significant role in logical discussions and effective decision-making. The Cabinet should be valued. Of course, there are sometimes legal obstacles; that is, either we have a deficiency in the law—which naturally the legislative bodies must address—or there is legal friction. For example, suppose an action is the duty of the judiciary that must be carried out; an action is also the duty of the minister or the Cabinet or a certain governmental center that must be carried out; these may create friction. In human law, such frictions are not uncommon; this too has a solution; such obstacles can be removed. It is possible to resolve these obstacles through understanding between the branches, dialogue among the officials of the branches, and sincere and realistic regulation of relations—not merely formal regulation to fulfill what is stated in the constitution. Our experience shows that in cases where it seemed that there were difficult and blind knots, when senior officials entered the field with honesty and a sense of responsibility, problems gradually resolved and can be resolved. Some obstacles are of the type of frictions that arise. These can be removed.

My impression is that today, from every angle we look at our country, what is needed is to multiply and optimize efforts. We have good capital. Government officials—meaning you brothers and sisters who are present here—are faithful, revolutionary, and interested in work and the revolution, and the respected president is, thanks be to God, a personality whose endeavor is to realize the goals of the Islamic system. Work is indeed being done; that is, the government has made many efforts during its term—whether this government with this composition or with a slightly different composition that existed in the first government of the president.

Of course, I repeat: many of the works you have done have not reached the people's attention. From the statements made by the people, from the complaints they write, and from the visits they make, one understands that many of them are not aware of the vast and comprehensive activities that this large factory—called the government—is undertaking. Even some knowledgeable individuals, elites, and those whose opinions are respected and trusted make statements that indicate they are unaware of many works; this is a deficiency in your publicity. Although work has been done on public relations, it seems to me that accurate information dissemination about the many works that have been carried out is not being done. I believe that the same efforts being made, by reducing the frictions among the sectors within the government and the necessary cooperation among various governmental sectors, should be multiplied and optimized; otherwise, you are working hard, making efforts, spending many hours, and pursuing the work. It should be seen where the lack of coordination exists among different sectors; where the policy of one sector slows down or possibly neutralizes the actions or policies of another sector. One observes such cases. I see such cases from the statements of Mr. Khatami, from the statements of mutual friends in the government—in the meetings they have with me—and also in various reports that these things should be minimized; that is, there should be coordination among different sectors.

Sincerity and a sense of responsibility must exist in managers. The art of a manager is to have a sense of responsibility. Based on a logical foundation, carry out the work and take responsibility for it; say, "I did this work, and the responsibility is mine." One should not fear responsibility. What is considered a real excuse before God Almighty, before the senior officials of the system, and before the people is that one says, "I have done this action based on this logical basis." Therefore, there must be a logical legal basis, which is also based on the law. Thus, there should be no problem.

Today, there is an obvious propaganda current in the world whose main effort is to portray the system and, consequently, the government as ineffective. These propagandists, who sometimes divide various sectors of the system into conservatives and reformists and say we support this sector and oppose that sector; we approve this and what do we do with that; it has never been heard that, for example, they come and say the Ministry of Industries of Iran has carried out these successful actions. Have you heard such a thing in foreign radios and propaganda? Or they come and say that in Iran, for example, one hundred and twenty dams are under review or construction. They never come and say that the number of students in the country has had this strange increase or that the country has had scientific successes. They never state these; although these are the works of the same group that they want to place in a separate section and say we support that. What is the goal? The goal is to use the whole against the wicked intentions and hostile objectives of the Islamic system. If there is even a success in one sector, they are not willing to acknowledge it; but if there is a weakness, they magnify it—belonging to any faction—and attribute it to the system. Therefore, today there is a propaganda current whose goal is to portray the system, the government, the judiciary, and officials of various sectors as ineffective; it wants to discourage the people and demoralize the officials and managers of the system at various levels. You must fight against this current.

Within your organization, give vitality and hope to the managers under you and compel them to increase their work. Of course, a little follow-up will also correct the work. Fortunately, in the overall government apparatus, there are sectors for follow-up, and I have learned that Mr. Aref is carrying out some follow-ups. These are very necessary. If an order is issued by you, if an action must be taken, if a resolution must be implemented, you should not allow them to keep you uninformed about its progress; that is, you must constantly ask and follow up. This itself creates vitality and circulates blood in the veins of the government.

One of the points I want to emphasize once again—of course, I have raised this in private sessions with various officials of the executive branch, but I want to reiterate it now—is that you should take the issue of combating corruption seriously. Look! You sit down to plan for constructive works, secure funding, save resources, to create jobs in industrial, agricultural, service, construction, and other activities; but then, from a corner, a person or a greedy gang may enter the field and suck away all or a significant part of what you want to extract as national capital and use for the benefit of the country, and destroy it for their own benefit. This is very dangerous and truly concerning, and it exists.

In various sectors of the country's work, some want to justify corruption; some, conversely, want to exaggerate corruption. In my opinion, both are wrong. Ultimately, everywhere in the world, humans are susceptible to corruption. Every human being, if they are not careful, is susceptible to corruption. This is why so much emphasis has been placed on piety in the Quran, Nahj al-Balagha, and narrations. Piety means being vigilant of oneself, so that one does not become corrupt and deviant. When there is no self-vigilance, every human has the potential to slip into corruption. Therefore, we must consider the existence of corruption as a possibility in various corners. Of course, in some places, it is clear that it exists.

We should not justify corruption or exaggerate it in our statements. Some think that corruption has taken over everywhere; this is something that, unfortunately, foreign propaganda hands pursue. When the issue of combating corruption is raised, they talk about it in a way—saying this is political, it has political goals, and it is political maneuvering—to undermine the essence of combating corruption. Another chapter is the false propaganda about the spread and expansion of corruption. It is evident that the goal is to both discourage public opinion and prevent real combat against corruption. When the movement to combat corruption begins, anyone who stands against it and says no, this is not the case, and this work is political, and if there is a confrontation somewhere, they accuse it of political maneuvering, in my opinion, they have aided this propaganda current. I want this work to be done by the government itself.

On the occasion of Government Week, one of my friends wrote a note to me—I do not remember from where and when—and said that in all parts of the world, combating corruption is the work of the government; why do we make the judiciary responsible for this? I believe in this statement. I believe that combating corruption is primarily the work of the government itself; especially since our high-level government officials—meaning you respected ministers, respected vice presidents, and other high-level officials of the country—are pure individuals. You want to work cleanly; therefore, you can combat it yourselves. The judiciary is related to the final stage of the work. In the past, they used to say: the last remedy is cauterization: "The last remedy is cauterization." Before reaching cauterization, one uses various remedies; if it does not get better, then they cauterize the wound; otherwise, as long as one can treat the patient with ointment, care, and cleaning, they do not cauterize the wound. In economic, monetary, industrial, service, and other productive sectors, especially where foreign and large transactions exist, your presence should truly be perceived as a claimant and opponent of corruption and corruptors. When you seriously pursue the eradication of corruption, you will see that in some cases, you must tell the judiciary that we ask you to address this issue. In this case, with your will and demand, the judiciary will enter the field. When you do not combat it, the situation will naturally be different.

I want to ask you to take the issue of combating corruption seriously and pursue it. The fact that we said two or three years ago that real reforms in the country are combating poverty, corruption, and discrimination, with each passing day, my belief in this matter becomes stronger. No reform in the country can occur without addressing these three fundamental and essential issues; these are the mother of all reforms, and ultimately, you must address this issue in your work.

The last point I want to convey is that take the presence of the enemy behind the scenes of culture and politics seriously. This is a reality, and as time goes on, the truth that the enemy has great hope in the realm of culture and political issues becomes clearer and clearer. We should not naively and foolishly consider some phenomena as separate from their cause and disconnected from their main factor and attribute them to this or that. Truly, the enemies want to use the cultural atmosphere of the country against the revolution, the system, and the government. I emphasize again: inform the people, let them know, and tell them about the advancements; also, if there are indeed obstacles, share them transparently with the people. Merely stating that there are obstacles does not convince the people, and they will not accept it. If there are indeed obstacles and there are individuals or a current that prevents you from working, state this transparently and clearly to the people. Either it will become clear that this person or these individuals are committing a criminal act and preventing the officials or the government from working, in which case this crime must be addressed, or the other side also has logic. Ultimately, either they must convince you or you must convince them. Present this to public opinion and speak clearly, openly, and transparently with the people in these matters. In my opinion, this will help advance the work.

God Almighty has placed His unwavering power and will upon the victory of Islam and Muslims; all signs indicate this. Our dear nation, through its efforts and struggles, and with the sacrifices and selflessness it has shown, has been able to attract divine mercy both in the victory of the revolution and in the continuation of the revolution and the ever-increasing strengthening of the system until today. All evidence indicates this. If we observe weakness, deficiency, or flaw within ourselves that, God forbid, prevents the attraction of divine mercy, we have no doubt about the sincerity of these people, which is what attracts divine mercy. Our people are good, faithful, and sincere. God's will is that, God willing, the banner of Islam will shine more and more in the eyes of the people. I have repeatedly heard from informed individuals—those who are present in cultural, academic, and scientific circles around the world, especially in Islamic countries—that without exaggeration and without seeking to flatter, they state this truth that today, in the world—especially in the Islamic world—the manifestation of the Islamic system is becoming more and more prominent. The colossal global powers are making all this noise against the revolution and trying to undermine it; yet, you look and see how much the enthusiasm of the entire nation and the youth for the revolution and their affection for the principles of the revolution has increased; how much they express their respect and affection for the officials; how they participate in the fields where their presence is necessary. All these are great divine blessings; we must be grateful for them and appreciate them and move in accordance with divine will and tradition, utilizing all our strength in gratitude.

I thank each and every one of you for the efforts you make, the endeavors you undertake, and the concerns you show. I hope that God Almighty grants you strength and assistance so that you can, God willing, focus your efforts more and more towards the goals of the revolution.