Statements in Meeting with Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One on earth.

I extend my greetings to dear brothers and sisters, the hardworking and compassionate officials of the country; God willing, may this blessed month be a blessing for all of you and for the Iranian nation. We thank God for granting us another year to once again hold this warm and sincere gathering and to hear and discuss important and pressing issues of the country.

I will divide my remarks into three parts: the first part consists of reminders that I, myself, need to pay attention to, which, God willing, will be inspired by the spirituality of the month of Ramadan. One part will address the issues of the country from a broader perspective. In the last part, if time permits, we will touch upon issues surrounding ourselves and regional matters.

The late Haj Mirza Javad Agha Maleki Tabrizi - a well-known mystic and esteemed jurist - states in his esteemed book "Al-Muraqabat": fasting is a divine gift that God Almighty has bestowed upon His servants and the believers. His expression is that: "Fasting is not a duty but an honor"; do not view fasting as a mere obligation; rather, see it as a form of honor and respect, which "requires gratitude according to its worth"; this attention to the obligation of fasting - which is a divine respect towards the servants - itself necessitates gratitude; we must be thankful to God. He mentions numerous benefits of the hunger and thirst that believers commit to during the month of Ramadan, which are derived from narrations and stem from the luminous heart of this great man. Among them, or most importantly - as he himself states, this characteristic is the most significant - is that he says this hunger and thirst grants a purity to the heart that prepares the ground for contemplation, that "a moment of contemplation is better than a year of worship". This contemplation is of the type that refers to the inner self and the spirit and heart of man, which clarifies the truths and opens the door of wisdom for man. This must be utilized.

Let us think about life. Life is the main capital of every human being. All good deeds are achieved through life - these fleeting hours - this capital can prepare eternal happiness and everlasting paradise for man. Let us reflect on this life. Let us observe the passage of time. Let us feel the impermanence of the hours of life and the days and nights of our lifespan. Let us pay attention to this passage of time; "Life is like snow and the sun of summer". Moment by moment, this capital is diminishing; and this is while this capital is everything for us to achieve eternal happiness; how do we spend it, where do we spend it, in what way do we expend it?

Contemplation about death, the transition from this world, the moment of the soul's departure from the body, and the encounter with the Angel of Death; this moment will come for all of us; "Every soul shall taste death"; we all experience this. How is our state at that moment? What is the condition of our heart at that moment? These are points worthy of reflection and contemplation. Thinking in these areas is among the necessary and fundamental contemplations.

Another area for contemplation is the supplications. The themes present in the authentic supplications are extraordinary. He states in the same "Al-Muraqabat": the truths and knowledge contained in the supplications received from the Infallibles (peace be upon them) do not exist in one-tenth of all the narrations and speeches received from the Infallibles (peace be upon them); except for those monotheistic narrations and monotheistic speeches. These supplications are of great importance.

Now I have a passage from a supplication that I would like to present for a few minutes, which may be repetitive for those who have heard it, and a reminder for those who have not: the twentieth supplication of Sahifa Sajjadiya; the esteemed supplication known as Makarim al-Akhlaq.

The beginning of this supplication states: "O God, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and adorn me with the adornment of the righteous and clothe me with the adornment of the pious"; grant me the adornment of the righteous, and bestow upon me the adornment of the pious. This means make me among the righteous and pious and God-fearing servants. Then it mentions characteristics of the pious, which when we say grant me the adornment of the pious, what does it mean? In what aspects do we gain the adornment of the pious and the God-fearing? Usually, when the subject of piety arises, avoidance of individual sins and performing acts of worship comes to mind - which of course are certainly present; there is no doubt about that - but here Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) mentions twenty-two or three points under this passage that draw our attention to new dimensions of the meaning of piety, the concept of piety, and the instances of piety.

"And clothe me with the adornment of the pious" in these aspects: first, "in spreading justice"; let us establish justice among society; judicial justice, justice in the distribution of the country's vital resources among the people, justice in the fair distribution of opportunities among the people. The piety that is expected of us is among the foundations and principles of this piety.

"And suppress anger"; there is a time when you are an ordinary individual, your anger is directed towards a religious brother, towards a family member, towards one of your employees - suppressing anger is a great virtue; "and those who suppress their anger and pardon the people" - there is also a time when you are a social official, you hold a position; your actions, your affirmations and denials, your words and deeds have an impact on society; in such circumstances, your anger is no longer equivalent to that of an ordinary person. We become angry against certain individuals, against a movement; the effects of such anger differ greatly from the effects of an ordinary anger where a person, for instance, becomes angry and beats someone. Suppress anger; do not act out of anger. You may disagree with someone, with a movement, with a group; here reasoning and logic should prevail; if this reasoning and logic is mixed with anger, it ruins the work; it leads to transgression beyond limits, it results in waste; "Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs". Waste means excess.

"And extinguish the fire"; one of the actions that is necessary for our piety is to extinguish the fire. This igniting of the fire - meaning the fires of disputes that exist among groups, among factions, among institutions - is like a burning fire. Everyone should strive to extinguish it. We should not pour gasoline on the fire, we should not ignite the flames. The reason we repeatedly advise friends, officials, those who have a platform, those whose words are reflected either generally or in parts of the country's atmosphere, to control and monitor their statements, their words, their expressions, is because of this. Sometimes a statement not only does not extinguish the fire, but rather ignites it further; it is not extinguishing, but rather against extinguishing.

"And unite the people of division"; those who separate from the Muslim community, who distance themselves from the community of the country, strive to bring them closer, to unite them. Those who are in the middle of the path, bring them to the desired destination. Let us not allow our behavior, our actions, our statements, our demeanor to cause those who have a half-hearted faith to completely sever their faith; those who have a half-connection with the system to become disconnected from the system. Let us do the opposite; those who are in the middle of the path, let us attract them. The instances of piety and branches of piety are these.

"And reform between the people"; if there is a disagreement among individuals, let us reform it. "And disclose the good and conceal the bad"; regarding individuals, let us disclose the positive points, the good points. If you know of a good deed by someone, by an official, mention it and say it. The opposite point: if you know of a negative point, do not disclose it. Not disclosing does not mean refraining from enjoining good and forbidding evil; yes, it should be said to the person whose actions are problematic and need to be addressed; however, disclosing such matters is not beneficial. There is much to discuss on this matter. This is a part of this supplication. There were twenty-two or three points, and now we have briefly mentioned six or seven of them. Let us direct our hearts towards this. Let us ask God to "clothe me with the adornment of the pious"; ultimately, there is no alternative. Fasting is also in the Quran "so that you may attain piety"; fasting was made obligatory so that we may practice piety. Among the instances of piety are these. This is the first part that we mentioned.

The second part is a general assessment of the state of the country. Well, this very good and detailed report that the esteemed President provided was clear. There were prominent and bright points in this report, and it is very good that this information reaches the people so that everyone knows what efforts have been made, what services have been rendered. I will present the general issues of the country from another perspective, and this is important for us. Why is it important? First, awareness of the overall state of the country and where we stand, how far we have come, from which direction we should proceed is very important, always important; but today, particularly, it has greater significance and perhaps it can be said that due to the prevailing conditions in the world, it has added importance. First, the situation in the region is completely unprecedented. The Islamic awakening and the great event that has occurred in the region is something that has no parallel in the life of the Islamic Republic since the beginning of the revolution; a great work has been done, a great event has occurred. The fact that a nation like the Egyptian nation has carried out this great movement, toppled the regime, and then raised Islamic slogans, threatening the existence of the fabricated Jewish and Zionist government in the region, these are things that do not fit into conventional evaluations; it is a very significant matter. Well, we find ourselves in such circumstances that it outlines a strange bright horizon for the Islamic Republic.

The state of the world, beyond the region, is also in an unprecedented situation. The strange economic crisis that has gripped the governments of the arrogant West so tightly and is shaking them is also extraordinary; this is something that cannot be easily overlooked. The analyses that you observe from the West regarding the economic crisis in America and some European countries and the warnings they issue about the future are part of the matter; not all of the details are disclosed. The think tanks and policymakers behind the scenes, the designers of global issues in the powerful countries of the world - most of the media is also in their hands - are not willing for the dimensions of this crisis to be revealed to the people of the world; otherwise, the dimensions of the crisis are much greater than what is being said; if God willing, if there is time left at the end of the talk, I will mention a few sentences.

Another issue is the rise of extremist movements and terrorist groups in the West, especially in Europe; from the neo-Nazis in Europe to the neocons in America, who were part of the previous American government; these openly declare extremism. The previous reckless President of America openly announced that a crusade is ahead; he announced the beginning of a crusade! There is no greater meaning of extremism than this. Then they attacked two Islamic countries. They had other plans that God did not grant them time for, and they failed. Well, these are important issues. The incident that occurred in Norway should not be viewed as a mere isolated incident. Such incidents are often the result of long-standing movements that manifest themselves at a certain point, and it has manifested. Now how much they can control it, prevent its continuation, this is left to the future; it must be seen and confirmed; they cannot either. Just as the neo-Nazis started in one point in Europe, they gradually expanded, and today in many European countries, these neo-Nazi movements are expressing their existence with terrorist methods, with violent methods.

Well, in such circumstances, we must re-evaluate ourselves, see what state we are in. Important conditions prevail in the world that can present great opportunities before us. If we do not recognize these opportunities, if we do not utilize them correctly, if we do not approach these opportunities in a timely manner, we will suffer losses. Sometimes losing an opportunity itself becomes a threat, it leads to backwardness. Therefore, it is not a bad idea to take a collective and general look at the issues of the country from this perspective. Of course, in this general view, we must look realistically; we should not deceive ourselves; we should not be one-sided. We have positive points, we also have negative points; we must see both. Sometimes only the negative perspective is emphasized. Today, unfortunately, one observes that among some officials and political elites, it seems to have become fashionable to have a negative outlook; to have a negative view; to overlook the positive points; to focus on the negative points. In the media and non-media, negativity is constantly being propagated. Whenever one says why, they say, "Sir, you do not allow us to state the realities." They say, "You are being pessimistic, you are saying this or that; we want to state the truths." No, this is one-sidedness. Well, if, for instance, a production unit encounters a problem and you want to express it as a realistic view, very well, alongside it, for example, two production units have also been established. If we express this positive point, we understand the issues of the country in one way; if we do not express this positive point, we will understand the issues of the country in another way. If we only observe the negative points - which of course exist - this is not realistic; this will not give us an accurate assessment of the state of the country; it will lead to despair; its social harm is this.

I usually skim through ten to twenty newspapers daily. Some newspapers have four or five headlines every day, each of which is enough to shake the heart of a weak person; negative, negative, negative, negative! They love this. Now whether it is political motives, whether it is motives to attract customers; whatever it is, we do not know; we do not accuse anyone; but this is a reality, this is wrong. Emphasizing a negative view is contrary to realism; it leads to despair.

The opposite point is also the same. That is, emphasizing a positive view, without seeing the negative point, this is also misleading; it creates a satisfaction in a person that sometimes this satisfaction is false satisfaction; this is also not correct. Negative points must also be seen alongside positive points. This is what the country and the system have been able to achieve, this is what they have not been able to achieve; let us see these two together. Therefore, if we want to accurately assess the state of the country, we must observe both the negative and positive points together.

Well, this discussion requires a lengthy discourse. My request is that officials, elites, university scholars, and seminary scholars sit down and work on this discussion. Today I am presenting a brief outline, but this requires a lengthy effort. They should prepare a list of positive points, a list of negative points. These positive points will show us the capacities we have in the country. The column of negative points will show us the priorities that we need to address. When we place these two together, it can illuminate our path; we will understand what we should do.

Here I have written five or six points, which are the result of a continuous interconnected movement of the Islamic Republic over the past thirty-two years, which has had its ups and downs; that is, some years, some periods, some governments have been better, some have lagged behind; but overall, during this time, we have had these positive points.

The first positive point and strength of the system is that the system has proven its ability to overcome threats; this is very important. Over these thirty-two years, we have faced numerous threats - political threats, security threats, military threats, economic threats - the necessity of these threats has been that the system would be harmed. Of course, they wanted to overthrow the system - now this was beyond their reach - at least they wanted to hold the system back, to hold the country back. The system has overcome all these threats; one example is the imposed war, one example is the American movements, one example is the various sanctions. Some of these were directly from foreigners; like the sanctions. The sanctions have existed for many years, but in recent years they have intensified; they themselves said they were crippling sanctions. Whether with the help of the United Nations - which was in their control - or independently, they imposed these sanctions. These pertain to foreigners, who directly intervened. There were also threats that had internal backgrounds; although the enemy could also exploit them; like the issue of ethnicities in the country. The system has overcome all of these. Today, the various ethnicities of our country live together as brothers; the feeling of connection to the system and attachment to the system is palpable and evident among all of them. In my opinion, this is one of the most important strengths. We must consider this in assessing the strengths of the system. A system alone, without international support, facing the enmity of the most powerful material powers in the world, has been confronted with continuous and successive threats over thirty-two years, yet has overcome all these threats; this is a very important point. In my opinion, the first strength of the system is this.

Second: trust between the people and the system. There are very few countries in the world where the trust that the Iranian people have in the Islamic Republic is matched by the trust that the people have in their governing system. The reason for this trust is the clear phenomena that are before everyone's eyes. Still, some do not see these; they keep talking about the people's distrust; no, the people trust the system. One reason is the elections two years ago, where more than eighty percent of the people who had the right to vote and were able to vote participated in the elections. Where in the world is there such a thing? One example is the two annual rallies we have; the rally of the twenty-second of Bahman and the rally of Quds Day. These rallies pertain to the system; they do not pertain to any government, nor to any specific movement; they belong to the system. You see what the people do in this great movement; in the cold of the twenty-second of Bahman, in the month of Ramadan with their mouths fasting; at times when the weather was cold, and now when the weather is hot. God willing, you will see what the people will show on Quds Day. This demonstrates the people's interest and attachment to the system. Trust in the system cannot be clearer or better than this. This presence is a very meaningful presence. In addition, in specific instances, like the ninth of Dey in 2009, as soon as the people felt that the movement that had begun was directed against the system, against the revolution, and not against a specific person or a specific government, they showed that great movement. It was not just the enthusiastic youth who came to the field; everyone came. The incident of the ninth of Dey is a remarkable incident; it was due to the people's attachment to the system. These are indicators of the people's trust. Unfortunately, we hear in various opportunistic statements, they repeatedly say: "Sir, restore the lost trust of the people!" What lost trust?! The people trust the system, they love the system, they defend the system; these were examples that we mentioned.

Third: progress under sanctions. One of the important strengths of the country is this. In the most difficult conditions of sanctions, the country has progressed. In what areas has it progressed? One is in the field of science and technology, which the esteemed President referred to in his report. We have made progress in the nuclear field, in biotechnology, in nanotechnology, in new energy technologies, in aerospace industries, in the construction of supercomputers, in the very important issue of stem cells, in simulation, in radiopharmaceuticals, in anti-cancer nanomedicines; all of these are among the high-level sciences of the world. The few cases I mentioned and some other cases are among the first-rate high-level sciences of the world, of which only five to ten countries in the world possess; we have made progress in these areas; this was while the doors for the transfer of knowledge from all over the world were closed to us.

I read an article that was quoted from an American newspaper that was published just a few days ago. It states that Iran is an exception in the nuclear issue. China reached the nuclear issue, from whom did they take it? Pakistan reached it, from whom did they take it? India reached it, from whom did they take it? Iran reached it, from whom did they take it? The article states: from no one. This was in a situation where there were sanctions, and they did not provide the means for nuclear advancement, and they were also fighting against it; like the computer virus they sent into our systems. Our scientists, our youth stood against these, advanced, and thwarted the enemy's plans. It even refers to the assassination of our nuclear scientists. These are things that our enemies are saying. This article was published in the Washington Post. Well, this is progress in science and technology.

Progress in creating the infrastructure of the country - these statistics you have heard - in roads, highways, dams, silos, factories, production of important industrial products, steel, cement, and similar items. The creation of numerous infrastructures in the country, technical and engineering capabilities in various industries, is progress.

Progress in national self-confidence. Today, especially our youth have more self-confidence than ten years ago, than twenty years ago. They are right, I also know; in scientific fields, any task for which the infrastructure exists in the country, our youth are ready to undertake it. That is, there is nothing that we tell our knowledgeable youth to pursue, and they cannot do it after a short while; provided that the infrastructure is available. We, thanks be to God, have such a situation. Extensive developmental works have been carried out in the country; these are progress. We have made significant progress in these areas.

The fourth positive point: international credibility. I do not agree with the view that our situation is negative internationally today; by no means. Sometimes this issue is heard in some statements, it is said. No, today our situation internationally is very good. Today, the Islamic Republic is recognized in the international political arena as a respected, influential, and credible country in the world. This international dignity, which arises from its specific factors - the presence of the people, the steadfastness of the people, the clear and explicit slogans of the revolution in the hands and mouths of the people and officials - cannot be undermined by any movement of a government in a corner of the world that now makes a derogatory remark. Such movements have always existed. Some think that if today a certain arrogant government, whether in Europe or elsewhere, makes a statement against the Islamic Republic, it means a decline in the status of the Islamic Republic; no, they have always done this whenever they could. At the time when we unfortunately somewhat yielded to the enemy, they did such things. It is not that now that we have stood firm, that we have shown resilience, we say we have provoked them; no. Once upon a time, the merits of America were mentioned in the speeches of our officials; on those days, the then President of America, with complete recklessness, introduced Iran as the axis of evil! Once upon a time, one of the European governments expressed interest and connection with the Islamic Republic; the same government formed a court over the Mikonos café incident, accusing high-ranking officials of the country in that court! The European governments colluded with them, all of them recalled their ambassadors from Tehran; we have not forgotten these. They wanted to slap us, but of course, they received a much harder slap. From this Hosseiniyeh, they received such a slap that they sought treatment for it for a long time! Whenever they could, they sought to slap us. Whenever we yielded, whenever we acted weakly, they became bolder. No; the steadfastness of the Islamic Republic, the emphasis on the slogans of the revolution, the emphasis on the principles of the revolution have increased our dignity in the world.

Today, thanks be to God, our international credibility is very good. Conversely, the United States - which was the explicit powerful enemy in front of us - is today the most hated country in the Islamic region. In the world, they conduct polls - they themselves announce this - they say the credibility and reputation of America in Islamic countries, in this region, is declining day by day. Of course, if the peoples of Europe realize that their problems stem from America and from the domination of the Zionist regime over their policies, this decline in America's popularity in Europe will be even greater, and all these movements against America will be mobilized; and this is something that will happen in the not-so-distant future.

Another bright point is the stability of the country; despite all these plots, all these schemes. Of course, stability is different from stagnation. We do not have stagnation in the country; we have movement, we have progress, we have vitality; but the system is a stable and established system; it has solidity. These are our positive points. Of course, there are many other positive points: inspiration, modeling, the weakening of our enemies in the international arena, the enemy's despair of neutralizing the revolution. Although the methods of our enemies have become more complicated, their resources have increased - this internet and these various strange organizations that exist in the world, the network that dominates the world - nonetheless, they have despaired of the passivity of the Islamic Republic.

Accumulated experience in legislation, in execution; this is also among the bright points of the country. The population of the country is seventy-five million. Of course, I would like to state here; I believe that our country, with the resources we have, can support a population of one hundred and fifty million. I believe in population growth. Any action or measure that is to be taken to stop population growth should be done after reaching one hundred and fifty million!

Well, these were positive and bright points that, thanks be to God, exist. Of course, our positive points are more than these. But we also have weaknesses. If we do not see the negative points, if we do not recognize our weaknesses, we will certainly suffer blows. Our weaknesses are in both economic and cultural fields. We have made mistakes, we have had weaknesses, we have not been able to overcome some challenges; this is a reality. Even in those threats that are directly from the enemy, if we suffered a blow, it is our fault, our shortcomings. The Holy Quran states in the case of the Battle of Uhud: "And when a calamity befell you, although you had inflicted twice as much, you said, 'From where is this?' Say, 'It is from yourselves.'" In the case of Uhud, that bitter incident occurred: the Muslims initially triumphed, then some forgot their missions, abandoned the pass, went after collecting spoils; the enemy was able to bypass the forces of Islam, attack them, kill some of them, and defeat them; to the extent that the Muslims were forced to seek refuge in the mountains. The blessed life of the Prophet was endangered, and the Prophet was struck. Then the Muslims said: well, why did this happen? God had promised us victory. God Almighty says that we granted you victory, the promise of God was fulfilled, but you are the ones who ruined the work. First, if the enemy struck you, you also struck back at the enemy - "you had inflicted twice as much" - do not be surprised; after all, in the battlefield of war, both striking and being struck occur; it should not be unexpected. But "you said, 'From where is this?'"; you say, where did we receive this blow? Then the Quran states: "Say, 'It is from yourselves.'"; it was from you, you made mistakes. We made mistakes in some areas - "Indeed, God is capable of all things" - in some areas, we did not act according to our duty; in some areas, we did not carry out the necessary precautions; in some areas, we did not set aside our attachments; these have led to problems - we must also keep this in mind - to things we should avoid and be cautious of, we became preoccupied; we became preoccupied with political disputes, with quarrels; we became preoccupied with seeking comfort, with aristocratic behaviors; these are our weaknesses. When you and I make our lives luxurious and aristocratic, people learn from us. Some are waiting for an excuse; they look at us and say, "Sir, look how they live, we want to live like this too." These are people who can afford it. Some believe that one should be frugal in life, should not waste, should not be excessive; when they see you and me wasting, they say, well, we are not above these; these are our leaders. Such actions are dangerous. The method of the revolution and revolutionaries, following the teachings of Islam, was to turn away from a life of luxury for oneself. For the people, create as much comfort as you can; increase national income as much as you can; produce wealth in the country as much as you can; but for yourselves, do not turn to a life of luxury. Officials, at least while they are in office, should not turn to a life of luxury. Neglecting the spirit of jihad and sacrifice, neglecting the cultural onslaught of the enemy, neglecting the enemy's lurking presence, neglecting the enemy's infiltration in the media space of the country, negligence regarding the preservation of public assets; these are our sins, these are our weaknesses.

The inclination towards tribal behaviors in the political arena, in the economic arena, is another of our weaknesses. Tribal behavior means that the criticism or approval I make regarding someone's actions should not stem from the nature of their action; it should stem from their relationship with me. If someone from our tribe commits a mistake, it should easily be overlooked; but if someone from the opposing tribe commits the same act, it should be pursued and followed up. A good deed performed by someone from our tribe should be praised and encouraged; if it is from another tribe, no. Tribal behavior is not Islamic, it is not revolutionary. Unfortunately, we have such behavior among ourselves. I do not say it is widespread; but it exists.

In the economic field, many valuable activities have been undertaken; however, the issue of employment remains unresolved, the issue of inflation remains unresolved, the issue of work culture remains unresolved, the issue of productive working hours remains unresolved. The culture of work in the country should be such that people consider work as worship; each hour of work should be added with enthusiasm in the duration and quantity of work they perform. Work must be done. With unemployment and unwillingness to work and laziness, the country will not progress.

In the cultural field, we have problems with public morality and the lack of promotion of moral virtues. Moral virtues must grow among us day by day. Our patience, our gratitude, our remembrance, our kindness towards others, our avoidance of harming others, our inclination to serve others must grow day by day in society. These do not come by themselves; they require work, they require effort. We have shortcomings in these areas. The spread of a culture of waste and extravagance in society, the growth or lack of cessation of the inclination towards violence in some segments of the youth of the country, is harmful. We broadcast films that even those who produce these films warn themselves and want to stop the danger of these films that produce violence in society; yet we are now broadcasting them! These are harmful. Our children become familiar with knives and weapons - albeit plastic ones - from the beginning, become accustomed to them, learn; well, these have dangers, problems, consequences, and we see their effects in society; this is among our weaknesses.

A few years ago, I saw in one of the American magazines that reformers there suggested that the prevalent Hollywood films that either contained lust or violence should gradually be reduced, and family films, innocent and noble films should be promoted. They are thinking about this, and now we have just learned from them!

The lack of a proper and logical response to the corruption of the youth is another of our problems. One plan is to corrupt the youth. We have not had a proper response to this so far and have not succeeded. Also, industrial drugs and the stimulation of sexual instincts and such things. A proper plan for the foundations of belief; whether the foundations of belief related to Islam, or those related to the revolution and the Islamic Republic. We have stated; the strengths increase our hopes, show us our capacities; the negative points show us the priorities that we need to address.

Regarding regional issues, time has passed; I think it is now around the time for prayer. In a word, I must say that the situation in the region is moving in a direction completely opposite to the policies of the Western powers and America and international Zionism. They had plans regarding Iran; exactly opposite to what they wanted, God Almighty decreed and it happened. They imposed sanctions on Iran, but the economic crisis gripped themselves. They strengthened the sedition of 2009 to undermine the Islamic Republic - or prepared it, or at least supported and strengthened it - but the regimes and governments dependent on them have fallen or become unstable one after another. They attacked Iraq and Afghanistan to besiege Iran - their leaders said this was to besiege Iran - but they themselves became besieged; their feet are stuck in the mud, they have fallen into a trap. What they planned and executed against us, God Almighty decreed the opposite and it did not happen.

As for the region, the events - as I said - are extraordinary. Truly, the dimensions of what is happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and some other regions are now beyond calculation; the dimensions of this are very vast. The bringing of the unfortunate Egypt into a cage and putting it on trial is an incredibly meaningful and strange incident. The issue is not just that a regime has fallen or a power has gone and another one is coming; it is much deeper than this. Today, the occupying regime of Jerusalem is besieged among countries that have the motivation to confront it. The events are strange events. Of course, they are constantly trying to ride the waves of crisis in this region and control the awakening in some way; but they have not been able to, and God willing, by the blessing of the awakening of the nations, they will not be able to; just as the Islamic slogans that were raised in Egypt have once again disturbed their sleep.

Of course, I am worried about the situation in Libya. In Libya, the West's policy is very vile and insidious. They have exploited the people's uprising. For them, staying and establishing a foothold in Libya is very important. First, the issue of Libyan oil is important to them, secondly, the vast space of this country where they can establish bases in various places, thirdly, oversight over the countries of Egypt and Tunisia; two revolutionary countries. In the east of Libya is Egypt, in the west of Libya is Tunisia; in addition to the fact that from there they can dominate Sudan and Algeria and all the countries of this region. They want to establish a foothold there. They want to destroy the infrastructure of this country so that if other routes become impossible, they can establish themselves in Libya through this. They are now destroying the infrastructure. In the name of supporting the people, roads are being destroyed; refineries are being destroyed; the few factories they have are being destroyed. These must be built. The Libyan people do not have this capability; they come under the pretext of building. I am worried about the situation in Libya.

O Lord! Save the people of Libya; save the people of Yemen; save the people of Bahrain; make the people of the region and the Muslims of the region more awake and steadfast day by day. O Lord! Include us among those who please You. Be pleased with what we have done, with what we have said, with what we have heard, and accept it from us. O Lord! Make the sacred heart of the Awaited One pleased and content with us. Make our life and death for Islam and in the way of Islam.

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