Statements in Meeting with Representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly

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

Thanks be to God and blessings upon the Messenger of God and his pure family.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters. As mentioned, this annual meeting is an opportunity for me as well: I get to see the esteemed representatives up close, hear reports of their activities, which are mostly good and gratifying, and I will also share a few remarks. This is an opportunity for us, and we thank God that we have been granted this blessing again this year. Today is the martyrdom anniversary of Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him), I offer my condolences; it is the time related to the Prophethood, I congratulate you; and it is the days that remind us of the great epic of the third of Khordad and the liberation of Khorramshahr and the selfless and devoted struggles of our youth, I congratulate that as well.

What is important is that wherever we are - whether you, whether I, or the other officials - we must pay attention to the fact that what we have at our disposal is a trust, and fulfilling this trust is an absolute and religious obligation. God Almighty will question us about it; both regarding what we have done and what we have not done; we must keep this in mind.

The period of responsibility is also transient. Well, you have spent two years of this recent four-year term of the ninth parliament. All the events of the world pass quickly; human life is the same. This Quranic metaphor is very striking: the greenery that sprouts at the beginning of spring from the ground or blooms from the dry branches of a tree is beautiful; a person enjoys looking at the green leaves and the spring greenery; it is young and fresh and growing; it does not take long for summer to arrive, and this greenery reveals what potential has been placed in it - whether fruit on the tree or produce in agriculture - and it does not take long for autumn to arrive; when autumn arrives, that beautiful, lush greenery turns into dry leaves and chaff; فَاَصبَحَ هَشیمًا تَذروهُ الرِّیح; (2) the same beautiful, attractive, and refreshing face turns into chaff that the winds carry from one side to the other. We are the same; this is the visual representation of our lives: it starts from one point, there is childhood, youth, freshness, vitality, energy, and great aspirations; then we reach middle age, and what potentials we have had manifest according to our efforts and endeavors; then we descend towards old age. And he said:

I have lingered long in this ancient abode Until the talk of yesterday and Bahman made me old.

We become old, we become worn out; فَاَصبَحَ هَشیمًا تَذروهُ الرِّیح; (4) we become like that chaff. This is life, the nature of existence is just this; this must be understood. While one is young, one does not understand this; at our ages, one feels this more, understands it more. The length of this life is before our eyes: greenery and freshness and vitality and readiness, and then gradually maturity, and then gradually weariness; this is what one observes before one’s eyes. With this perspective, we must work. Then, in the face of divine reckoning that "ما یَلفِظُ مِن قَولٍ اِلّا لَدَیهِ رَقیبٌ عَتید" (5), every word that comes from us is recorded, it is documented; every movement of ours, every action of ours, indeed every thought and idea of ours. We must work with this awareness; you in the seats of parliament, the esteemed presiding board - to whom we also congratulate for being trusted again by the representatives - (6) in the position of presidency and management, and I in my own place, the government officials [also] in the same way; we must look at it this way. It is a trust, we must fulfill this trust; اِنَّ اللهَ یَأمُرُکُم اَن تُؤَدُّوا الاَمانتِ اِلى‌ اَهلِها. (7) Fulfilling the trust also means that we must recognize what our duties are and, to the extent of our ability - more than that has not been asked of us - and our capacity, strive for it and run as far as we can.

Dear brothers and sisters! The point that exists is that the Islamic system was established through struggle; without struggle, this system could not have been realized; all great aspirations in the world are like this. Preserving the system and the stability of the system also came through struggle; if it were not for the struggle of the people, if it were not for the struggle of the Imam, if it were not for the struggle of the officials in various fields, this system would not remain and would perish. Just as you see in some places in the world - which are not far from us - an incident occurs, an opportunity arises, but the owners of the opportunity cannot maintain it, they lose it; see what is happening in North Africa and in some other places. This very fate could have befallen the Islamic Republic, that a door would close and a movement would arise and an Islamic system with colorful and shiny slogans would emerge, and then after a short time, the situation would completely change and it would perish. What prevented this from happening was struggle; sincere, serious, and wise struggle; we must not forget this. Our enemies do not want to admit that the Iranian nation acted wisely in its progress, but the reality is that if it had not been wise, it would not have remained, it would not have progressed, it would not have reached results; [thus] it was wise. The movement of the Iranian nation was sincere, it was honest; فَلَمّا رَأَى اللهُ صِدقَنا اَنزَلَ بِعَدُوِّنَا الکَبتَ وَ اَنزَلَ عَلَینَا النَّصر; (8) this was said by Amir al-Mu'minin. The honesty of the Iranian nation has been demonstrated in various fields. Well, now one can sit in a corner, find faults from this corner to that corner, raise objections; yes, it is clear, but this should not be generalized, it cannot be generalized, what can be generalized is this: honesty, movement, struggle. Therefore, the system was established through struggle, and it remained through struggle. I say that your and my work is a continuation of that struggle, and without struggle, you cannot achieve those goals; the reason is clear; the reason is not that the Islamic Republic is a war-seeking system; no, it is not the case at all. When you want to pass through a region in the sea where pirates are stationed, you must be equipped; that is the nature of the work. You must be able to defend yourself, have the motivation to defend; if you do not have the motivation to defend, your fate is clear: you become naked, you become homeless, you lose your ship, your life will either be destroyed or remain in humiliation and captivity; this is the issue in the world. Now the difference between today’s pirates - who are pirates of the sea, land, air, and everywhere - and the known pirates of history and stories and external events is that these are equipped with knowledge. Today, the plundering thieves of humanity - both plundering money, plundering resources, plundering dignity and honor, and plundering ethics - are equipped with knowledge; this has dignified them. Knowledge has removed them from that terrifying state in the eyes of people, and has increased their wealth; that is the only difference. They acted wisely, they reached knowledge, but not ethics; therefore, they easily commit crimes. They easily betray human ideals, easily incite wars, easily use chemical weapons, easily surrender the user of chemical weapons, and they do not care; in terms of words and reasoning, they wrap this in various names - they do not let anyone understand; that is, their crimes are worse than the crimes of the traditional pirates found in legends and films; because they commit the great sin and present it as a righteous act. We are facing such a world, facing such a front; we have no choice but to defend ourselves; this is what struggle is. Those who accuse the system of warmongering or theorizing war for theorizing submission and obedience to the oppressors are committing treason, they are lying. No, the system is a human system, it is a system of dignity, it is a system that respects human dignity, it is a system of health; وَ الصُّلحُ خَیر. (9) In all these arenas, whether in the realm of governing the country, whether in various economic, scientific, cultural activities, etc., whether in policymaking, whether in legislation, whether in foreign negotiations, etc., we must know that we are in a struggle; we are moving in the continuation of the struggles that led to the emergence of the system and the survival of the system; we must know this. This must be like a broad thought governing all our activities, whatever we do, this must be considered within it. The forces of the devils of the world are determined to destroy every place, every base of human and human civilization that is not in their service; their foundation is based on this. You see, they must be served, they must be listened to, their harsh words and shouts must be obeyed, otherwise they will oppose, they will struggle, they will fight. We must strengthen ourselves and stand against them; this is the essence of the work. You in legislation, the government agencies in execution, various officials in their respective responsibilities must pay attention to this. This is our message. The fundamental work of the parliament is the continuation of the struggles that led to the victory of the revolution and the struggles that led to the survival of this revolution.

Well, now how long will this struggle last? Struggle and jihad, in a sense, are endless - because the devil is always in the world - in a sense, with different situations, the form of jihad changes. If countries and nations can strive and pull the human community and the global community out from under the yoke of colonialism and global arrogance, the problem will be solved. That is, the main problem of humanity is this. Today, the arrogant apparatus, at the head of which is America, has fallen like a leech on the body of humanity and on the mind of humanity - like the soul of humanity - it has surrounded it, it is squeezing it, it is disturbing it, it is making its life chaotic; [if] humanity can pull itself out from under this heavy shadow, from under this nightmare, then it will breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, this is not easy, it is a difficult task, it requires long and enduring struggles. The Iranian nation has taken significant steps in this path. The very establishment of the Islamic system was the highest step; the continuous formation of the legislative parliament, which is the manifestation of Islamic democracy, is the greatest work; the very act of your sitting in this position, your presence as representatives of the people and the manifestation of religious democracy is a struggle; this must be appreciated and advanced.

At the beginning of this year, I mentioned "jihad management"; this jihad management is not exclusive to the government, it includes the parliament as well; naturally, in the area of the parliament's responsibilities, namely legislation and oversight, which are the most important responsibilities of the parliament. These responsibilities, if carried out seriously, free from personal motivations, free from anything other than the motivation to serve the interests of the country, will be the greatest jihad work; this is what jihad work means; various motivations should not interfere, priorities must be considered. I emphasize resilient economy. At the beginning of the year, I also mentioned, and I will now advise you, in the sixth program that is ahead, you must focus on economy, culture, and science. Resilient economy is a significant step that can be taken in these areas, and government agencies and the management apparatus of the country - whether in the parliament, in the government, or in various sectors - have responsibilities in this regard. The remedy for the problems of the country is resilient economy. The remedy for the problems of the country - whether economic problems or political problems - cannot be found outside these borders. They should work; everyone should do whatever effort they can; we also agree, we have repeatedly said, we support all those who have initiatives and movements in various sectors - both external and internal - we support them sincerely and genuinely, not superficially; but we believe that what remedies the problems of the country is within the country, within the existence of you and me. We are the ones who can take action; we must know what to do and understand which path is correct and courageously and boldly carry out that work; then the problems of the country will undoubtedly be solved. A significant and high step is this resilient economy. Of course, since the day these resilient economy policies were announced and repeatedly mentioned, (10) various officials - government officials, the esteemed parliament, various agencies, various officials - have come forth in support and praise of these resilient economy policies and have repeatedly stated, but my experience tells me that praise is not enough; defining is not enough; action is necessary. Yes, some come, sit in public platforms or in private meetings and express some advantages of this resilient economy, and mostly it is correct, but we must take action, we must act. What has been done in the esteemed parliament - which I had previously received a report on, and today the esteemed president of the parliament mentioned - (11) is commendable; the government officials have also made efforts, but it must be followed step by step; both in legislation and in oversight. In legislation, providing appropriate laws or eliminating obstructive laws - the importance of this second task is not less than the first; some laws are truly obstructive or contradictory - eliminating contradictory laws and approving laws that assist various sectors of the resilient economy is one of the important tasks. In oversight, monitoring the performance of the government, which is the executor of this great movement and enters this field, is the responsibility of the parliament. Of course, regarding legislation, the esteemed government must bring appropriate bills; the parliament cannot rely solely on proposals; they must bring bills. I also want to mention and emphasize that no other place can intervene in the approval of laws regarding resilient economy and similar matters; it is the parliament that must approve the law - determine and approve what is necessary - or eliminate a law and remove it from circulation.

Another important task in the oversight responsibilities of the parliament is the issue of genuine struggle against corruption; genuinely fighting against corruption [is important]. Let us not allow filthy centers to form that their remedy becomes difficult. If there is proper oversight, sometimes in the early steps, one can prevent a wrong and sinful movement; if we do not prevent it in the early steps and this disease progresses and this wound becomes incurable (12), then the remedy for that problem becomes hard, becomes difficult; even if it reaches a remedy - which there is a fear that due to these consequences it may not reach a remedy - it will reach with difficulty and with hardship and with enduring losses; we must prevent it from the beginning. Fortunately, in political and economic matters in the system, we have this experience as well.

However, regarding the sixth program, which must be prepared for this sixth program to be drafted, prepared, and come. The sixth program means that the policies of the country for five years will be formulated; you will, God willing, draft the practical roadmap for the country for five years in this sixth program. There are three main points - of course, the program must be comprehensive - one is the economy, which must reflect the focus on resilient economy in that program. One is the issue of culture; whenever we say culture, we mean revolutionary culture, Islamic culture, meaning creating a cultural movement based on Islam and based on Islamic values and moving society in the sense of a cultural movement towards Islamic goals, strengthening Islamic culture and Islamic beliefs and Islamic ethics and Islamic traditions; this is culture. It is not that in any form cultural tools have emerged in the country, we should be happy that yes, culture has advanced; no, the advancement of culture and focusing on culture means revolutionary culture, Islamic culture, religious culture, strengthening revolutionary and Islamic values; this is our meaning and this is what is expected of me and you - as soldiers of this revolution - that we must shield our chests and work for the revolution. And the third is science; the scientific movement in the country has started well; thanks be to God, in these years, a good movement has emerged in the country; this movement must not slow down at all, but must accelerate and gain momentum. Many of the national honors and a significant part of national dignity and a considerable portion of national wealth come from the blessings of science; the issue of science and research and progress in various scientific fields and discovering unknown territories of knowledge is very important for the country; this must also be considered in the program.

One issue is the issue of population, which now the population policies have been announced; (13) fortunately, the officials have responded (14) to these population policies. I heard that in the parliament there is also a proposal regarding increasing fertility and preventing population decline; this is very important. There is no contradiction in that we take care of the health and well-being of mothers and children and infants - which is very important - while at the same time ensuring that we do not continue the mistake we made previously; the issue of population decline is a very important issue. For those enemies I mentioned at the beginning, the best thing is for Iran to be a country with twenty or thirty million population, half of which are elderly and middle-aged and disabled; this is the best thing for them; [if] they can plan for this, they will certainly do it, if they can spend money, they will certainly spend it; we must ensure that our movement in response to this movement is correct, logical, wise, and scientific, and fortunately, I have heard that in the parliament, friends are pursuing this issue, and we hope that God will assist you.

Finally, my remarks with the faithful, sincere, and devoted brothers and sisters like you are not finite; we have much to say, just as you have much to say to us, which unfortunately there is not enough opportunity for. We hope that God Almighty grants you success, assists you, and that you can continue your work in a manner that is pleasing to God and brings you satisfaction at the end of this responsibility and also at the end of this life.

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