Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with the President and officials of the Judiciary and families of the martyrs of the Seventh of Tir

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

I extend my greetings to all dear brothers and sisters, both those working and responsible in the Judiciary and those related to the tragic incident of the Seventh of Tir and the dear families of the martyrs of that bitter event.

I thank Mr. Shahroudi, the esteemed and knowledgeable President of the Judiciary, for his enlightening and useful statements.

When we look at the incident of the Seventh of Tir, there is a great meaning in this bitter event, which, despite all its bitterness, is sweet; and that is the vitality, dynamism, and flourishing of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic system. This is precisely the example of the noble verse: "Have you not seen how God presents an example of a good word like a good tree, whose root is firm and its branches are in the sky, yielding its fruit at all times by permission of its Lord"; this is a divine Qur'anic example that is manifested in our time, the Revolution, the Islamic system, and the leadership, and its embodiment is our dear Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), who are alive; they are a flourishing tree whose roots are healthy, facing various trials, encountering numerous and diverse problems; but after the shedding of leaves and after a winter, the freshness of another spring comes to it, it bears fruit and shows its leaves and branches, proving its vitality to all. From the beginning of the Revolution until today, we have had these issues; from the cowardly assassination of martyr Motahhari and then the figures of the Revolution; the assassination of Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, the incident of the Seventh of Tir, the martyrdom of the President and the Prime Minister on the same day, and various other large and small events. In this context, the presence of destructive forces with weapons; whether political weapons or military weapons against the people, against the Revolution has continued until today, until the elections of the 27th of Khordad and the 3rd of Tir. All these are signs of the health of this sacred root that causes every pressure, every shedding of leaves, every winter that comes in its way, cannot question the greatness and flourishing of this sacred sapling and tree. Sometimes a healthy tree with deep roots catches fire; but after the fire subsides, you see from among the burnt stumps of this tree, a green sprout rises. Why? Because the root is alive. Sometimes you see that some people attack this tree, they cut its branches and leaves, they wound it; but you still see that in its season it blossoms; it bears fruit; it shows leaves and branches. This is a lesson. The incident of the Seventh of Tir was such an incident. In that incident, they thought they burned this tree. On that day, a personality like martyr Beheshti and other prominent figures, great managers and officials in the nascent Islamic system, were killed in one assembly; some were martyred; some became disabled; families were left in mourning; the hearts of the nation were set ablaze - it was a bitter incident - but that incident could not bring this sapling down, rather it made it even more steadfast. It is strange that those who today wave the banner against terrorism in the world, at that time when this incident occurred, faced the Iranian nation with a victorious mocking smile in their statements and news and positions; meaning they thought you were finished(!) but their mistake became clear very soon. Of course, other events have also been like this until today. The Revolution is alive, these principles are alive; there is no obstacle to the changing of leaves and fruits. Winters are on the way; this is a natural movement for living beings in the world. There is always shedding and growing; what matters is that alongside shedding, there should also be growing; and today it is like this. Thanks be to God, the Revolution, despite all the propaganda, all the destruction, all the blows, all the attacks from various sides - political attacks, economic pressures, cultural invasions - has progressed; this living Revolution is vibrant and busy progressing; however, many superficial observers do not understand and do not grasp the truth; unless the truth imposes itself on them with heavy reality; and it is just like that. Today, you look and see that despite the fact that the opponents of the Iranian nation, the enemies and conspirators against the Iranian nation, saw the greatness of this nation and the greatness of this thirty-million presence and the greatness of this election and were humiliated in their hearts, they are still not willing to admit it; but the reality of the matter is that this nation, with its movement, with its presence, with its vitality, has drawn a line through all conspiracies, and it will continue to be so; however, the condition is the continuation of piety, which brings about divine mercy. Let us not become arrogant. The arrogance of nations and their leaders has always been the cause of their downfall and collapse. No one should say, "I did it." God Almighty in the Qur'an says with a mocking tone: "He said, 'I was given it only because of knowledge I have'"; it was me who, with my own ability, was able to reach this point! God Almighty caused him to sink into the depths of the earth. We must strive; we must struggle. No nation reaches anywhere without struggle, without effort, without innovation, without conquering various stages of progress; but blessings are from God, success is from God, and piety is the provision for the journey; therefore, the recommendation of all prophets has been piety.

This election that took place was a very significant event; it was a sweet event. All this propaganda against this election in the world for several months, and their hope was that twenty percent of the people would participate; they explicitly said this; but they did not imagine this determination. We have repeatedly said in public and open discussions to the policymakers of the global power blocs not to listen to the words of these misguided and wrong-thinking analysts who mislead you about the situation of the Iranian nation, because the Iranian nation is not what they say. The Iranian nation is alive, the Iranian nation is faithful, the Iranian nation is committed to the principles of the Revolution, the Iranian nation is in pursuit of independence and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and in pursuit of its national and Islamic dignity; but they did not believe it and spoke and analyzed and decided based on their wrong analyses of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation showed itself in this election. The high participation of the people, nearly thirty million; and the following Friday, twenty-eight million, is a tremendous event that occurred in this country; it is an unprecedented event. This is the dignity of the Iranian nation; this is the greatness of the Iranian nation; the greatness of the Revolution, which everyone must understand this greatness in the world and recognize the logic of the Iranian nation and speak with these calculations, and take a position against these people. I once again congratulate this greatness to this nation. It was a very good election; it was a very great movement; it was a very honorable work.

Considering the presence of the officials of the Judiciary, I must also say this: during this election, some actions were taken that I am suspicious of the factors that carried out these actions; these destructions that occurred. Some of the destructions were certainly due to negligence; some gentlemen and candidates or their supporters made statements about the system that were not realistic; many of the positives of the system, the great works of the system were overlooked and blackened; and the tremendous advancements that have been made by the governments in these years were ignored; these were due to negligence, but some of these destructions were not due to negligence. A number of presidential candidates were unjustly and dishonorably destroyed; even a reputable figure like Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is a respected and experienced personality, was not spared from these destructions. This was a bad incident. Divine mercy should not be tainted by such actions; despite our emphasis on this. Today, since it has passed, I advise; but judicial and non-judicial officials have other duties besides advising; they must pursue and identify the factors behind these destructions. A number certainly acted out of ignorance and negligence, which of course was a sinful act; but many of the actions that were taken were by those who had no interest in any of the candidates and their destruction was carried out to undermine the electoral atmosphere; they destroyed to question the Islamic system. We have seen in major religious, ideological, and political disputes that some people enter the field of incitement and attack this through the language of that; while they have no interest in either! Identify these people; the main culprits must be identified, as the enemy is certainly involved. Some statements, unfortunately, questioned the dearest segments of this country, the faithful and Basij youth! It is not like this, but the hands of the enemy are at work to incite and create corruption.

This nation is a faithful nation and a nation committed to justice and thirsty for justice. For years and centuries, justice has been suppressed in this country. During the tyrannical reigns of kings, especially when foreign power and influence entered alongside despotism and foreign intervention combined with dictatorship and despotism, what did these people endure from the combination of these two evil and satanic forces in our country? The people are thirsty for justice, thirsty for truth, and are enemies of corruption; the people want these things, and the votes and slogans of the people reflect this. We have a duty to work in these areas. The officials of the country must understand and comprehend what this nation needs and carry it out.

The Judiciary is one of those centers that the people are intensely looking to for the establishment of justice. What has been done is valuable - the programs that have been stated; and today they also mentioned - and is valuable; but these must show themselves in practice; the output and result of the Judiciary must be a sense of peace and security for the people.

Once, I mentioned in one of the previous meetings to you brothers and sisters who were present, that it should be such that every oppressed person, every rightful owner, anyone who believes their right has been violated, as soon as they are oppressed, should say to themselves that I will now refer to the judiciary and will claim my right; this assurance must resonate in the hearts of people and individuals in society; this must come into existence; we need this. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic must truly be a dispenser of justice. Direct these actions in this process and expedite the programs. This program that was raised last year, we also raised it, and then it was formulated, must proceed as quickly as possible.

The issue of nurturing active elements in the Judiciary - as you say, cadre-building - must be taken seriously; the expansion of knowledge and awareness among all levels of the Judiciary is also very important. I told the esteemed President of the Judiciary that the gap between some of the rulings of the primary or appellate courts before going to the Supreme Court, and the rulings regarding the same case after being overturned in the Supreme Court is astonishing; sometimes there are two rulings! Two courts that are both affiliated with the same institution; one has given the harshest sentence and determined the punishment, while the other has acquitted! The gap between these is very large. What is this due to? Who has made a mistake in this? That too a mistake of such magnitude. Ultimately, after the ruling is overturned, there may be some fluctuation, but that there should be this much of a gap is a sign that we need to expand judicial knowledge at all levels.

Another point is adherence to the law. The Judiciary must welcome legal oversight. The law is one of the tools of oversight. The law itself is a foundational element within the Judiciary that is a very important and effective factor for oversight over the Judiciary. The criterion must be the law, and laws must not be violated; they must not be restricted; they must not be excluded from the scope of the law for various reasons. In any case, the Judiciary must welcome any kind of oversight. Fortunately, you have a knowledgeable, wise, and very good group of honorable judges, pure-hearted, and faithful elements in the Judiciary. The more oversight is done, the more opinions are expressed, even fair criticism, must be welcomed. This is very good. Those whose accounts are clear - whether in financial matters or non-financial matters - have no fear of scrutiny. Let the designated elements for this work; like the inspection organization and various oversight organizations, as well as elements outside the Judiciary; like scholars from the seminary and university, legal experts of the country, express their opinions, make suggestions, and criticize; these strengthen the Judiciary and hone it.

Thanks be to God, the pillars of the Judiciary are good pillars; its foundation is very good and has arisen and emerged from the sacred roots of the Islamic Republic system and is based on Islamic rulings and has no fear of anything and is a solid Judiciary; the more legal challenges and oversight challenges are conducted, the better it will be for it and will make it more resilient.

We must have our eyes on divine assistance; let us not despair of divine assistance; let us appreciate divine successes; let us value the attentions of the Awaited Savior (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and know that the foundation of this Revolution and the pure blood of the martyrs who have been shed for the watering of this sacred root has created a very magnificent apparatus that no storm, by God's grace, can shake or destabilize.

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