Statements in Meeting with the Chairman and Members of the Assembly of Experts on the Occasion of the Start of the Fifth Term of the Assembly of Experts

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, especially the Awaited One among the people of the earth.

We express our utmost gratitude to the Almighty God for the successful elections that took place across the country, welcomed by our dear people, and for the establishment of a dignified and respected Assembly, thanks be to God. I extend my greetings to all the dear brothers, esteemed gentlemen, scholars, and respected figures, especially to the newcomers and those who have entered this esteemed Assembly for the first time, among whom, thanks be to God, there are a number of energetic young scholars and active jurists. We hope that God grants us all the success to fulfill our duties.

We honor the memory of the deceased members of this Assembly; those dear ones and great figures who have been present in this Assembly for years, who have worked and served. May God, God willing, elevate their ranks; the last among them was our dear brother, the late Mr. Tabasi (may God be pleased with him), and may God grant him the reward for his efforts during this difficult and perilous phase and be a source of light for his eyes.

The formation of this session coincided with the month of Sha'ban, which is a month of great festivities, supplication, humility, and seeking forgiveness; we take this as a good omen. It was an important month that is now nearing its end; we hope that God has not deprived us of the blessings of this month, which was the month in which "the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) used to strive in fasting and praying during its nights and days."

The matter I have prepared to discuss consists of three points: one point relates to the identity of this Assembly; another point pertains to the path of this Assembly and the responsibilities it bears, meaning how the direction and path of this Assembly should be perceived; and a third point, if time permits and I do not take too much of your time, I will discuss the general responsibilities that lie upon all of us, including us, you, this Assembly, and others.

Regarding the identity of this Assembly, when I reflect on it, I see that it was a divine blessing that the Almighty God granted to the Islamic Republic; the Assembly of Experts is a divine gift from the Lord, it is something immense. Although this Assembly has a specific purpose as stated in the Constitution, even aside from that purpose, this Assembly is a significant event; it is a phenomenon.

Why? Because it is a collection of scholars, experts, and religious and scientific authorities from across the country who gather around each other every year—now twice, and if necessary, more—on the occasion of that responsibility, creating a tremendous capacity for exchanging ideas, for thinking, and for coordinating.

We do not forget that in the early days of the movement—in the years 41 and 42—Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) used to advise and send messages to the scholars of the provinces, urging them to gather every so often, even if just to have tea together; just being together and seeing each other, even if there is no serious discussion among them; this gathering of scholars and religious experts in the country is of such importance.

Today, if you look at the world, you see that for various reasons, individuals with commonalities are gathered under different names—under the names of unions, associations, syndicates—and these groups accomplish significant tasks that sometimes have little to do with their professions. For instance, you see the Union of Economists, the Union of International Lawyers, the Union of International Artists expressing opinions on certain political issues in the country or in the world at the international level. They create unions so that individuals who share a commonality—regardless of their different tastes and rhythms—can gather together; the mere act of gathering provides them with an opportunity to accomplish great tasks and influence the movements of their own country or even international movements; this is common in the world.

Now we have this; this is a gift from the Almighty God to this country. A group of respected and trusted religious scholars gather together, creating a tremendous capacity; this can accomplish great tasks. It cannot be expected that they sit and wait for the responsibility explicitly stated in the Constitution to arise and then act upon it; no, they can accomplish many other tasks.

These gatherings and unions that we mentioned in the world have no popular backing or support; they are economists or lawyers; there are people who pay attention to them in their fields, but they lack popular backing within societies; unlike this Assembly. All the individuals in this Assembly have some degree of popular backing, whether little or much; some have a very wide circle of popular backing. The prominent religious figures of a province or a city or a seminary can gather together; they can engage in discussions on various issues; they can focus on a particular issue concerning the country and pursue it.

One should not say, "Well, the execution is not in our hands;" yes, the execution is not in the hands of this Assembly, it is in the hands of the officials; however, there is something above execution that is in your hands, and that is public opinion. You are either a Friday prayer leader, or a representative of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, or a high-ranking teacher in the seminary, or a respected and well-known cleric; you can influence public opinion; when public opinion is formed, a discourse regarding a particular issue arises in society, this will naturally draw the executors, lawmakers, and stakeholders along with it; this is a natural phenomenon. Therefore, in my opinion, this Assembly is extraordinary in this regard; it is a phenomenon; we must pay attention to this importance.

Thus, we conclude that given this distinguished and exalted identity, this Assembly can accomplish great tasks in the direction of the goals of the revolution. A few years ago—perhaps in one or two previous terms—I mentioned in this very Assembly that you can issue resolutions on various issues; you can focus on a specific issue, [saying] this is the demand of the Assembly of Experts; the Assembly of Experts is also elected by the people, they are not ordinary or common individuals, they are connected to the people, the people trust them, they are experts, they are knowledgeable, they are discerning; in the issues they discern, they can have a request, a demand; either from the Supreme Leader, or from the government, or from the judiciary, or from the Assembly, or from various institutions. This was regarding the first point, which is the identity of this Assembly, and I believe this is a very important point. Everyone must recognize the value of this Assembly; you must recognize it, we must recognize it, and the officials must recognize it; this Assembly can be the source of great impacts.

Now, the second point is the discussion of the path and direction of this Assembly. In one sentence, in my humble opinion, the path of the revolution and the goals of the revolution is the path of this Assembly; that is, this Assembly must move in the direction of the revolution and the goals of the revolution.

What are the goals of the revolution? First and foremost is the sovereignty of Islam; the revolution was created for this purpose; for Islam to govern; to have sovereignty in its specific sense. The goals of the revolution include: the sovereignty of God's religion, freedom, social justice, public welfare, eradicating poverty and ignorance, and resisting the devastating flood of moral corruption that has poured from the West into the entire world, which you are witnessing its characteristics today. In countries, homosexuality is legalized; not only is it legalized, but those who object to it are severely punished; what greater corruption could there be! Some thought—in previous years—that in the West, the freedom of men and women and their interactions would lead to less lust and fewer motivations; in places where there are restrictions, "man is greedy for what is forbidden!" Now it has become clear that, on the contrary, where there is freedom, where there are no limits on the interactions between men and women, sexual desires are becoming stronger, more active, more violent, and more aggressive. And it will not stop at this level; in the future, which we do not know when it will be, the discussion will reach incestuous marriages! The world of moral corruption is heading in this direction; these were the discussions regarding moral issues.

The discussions regarding economic issues are the same. Money laundering; now they mention the term money laundering and consider it a crime, but the most important companies and large corporations in the world are engaged in these financial games and accumulating wealth that they possess; and naturally, discrimination and the ever-increasing class divide. This is a devastating flood, and it is pouring into all countries and societies; one of the goals of the revolution is to resist this devastating flood.

Resisting the domination of global arrogance is one of the goals of the revolution. The nature of global arrogance is to dominate, to seek dominance, to expand its control; any nation or system that does not resist will be enslaved and will fall into their trap. These are among the goals of the revolution. The path of this Assembly is the path of the goals of the revolution.

And this is a difficult task; it is one of the most challenging tasks. Please note that acquiring something that is contested or opposed is difficult, but maintaining it is even more difficult. Suppose you acquire a valuable item, a precious gem that has many competitors; you enter this competition and with great effort, you obtain it; maintaining it is more challenging than acquiring it. The reason is clear; when you enter the battlefield, you are the attacker; you enter with a spirit of aggression, with motivation, you know what your goal is, you move towards a specific target; however, once you have obtained it, the opposing side that wants to take it from you is the one who has the spirit of aggression, they are the attackers, they have motivation; you do not know from which direction they will move, from which side they will attack, but they plan, strategize, and attack you. The revolution was a difficult task; creating the revolution was not easy; it required initiative, effort, and deep sacrifice; well, the Imam (may his soul be sanctified) led this nation and these active and fighting groups with his slogan, his spirit, his piety, his faith, and the sincerity he demonstrated, and this difficult task was accomplished, and this revolution established a system and succeeded and triumphed; however, maintaining it is more difficult; maintaining it is more difficult. The enemies, those who were actually fought against to create this revolution, have not sat idle, they have not given up; they are seeking to take this revolution from you; just as you saw in some countries—in recent years—people carried out great movements, but the enemies came and took these from them, leading them to despair.

Islam is undoubtedly the eradicator of oppression and global arrogance; "to manifest it over all religions." Certainly, Islam can defeat disbelief, the opposing front; but which Islam is capable of this? The Islam that can eradicate or limit disbelief and oppression or prevent its transgressions is the one that has a system, has a government, has military power, has media, has politics, has an economy, and has numerous tools at its disposal; the Islam that has been able to establish a system and governance can resist; otherwise, an individual, even a prominent Muslim, or an Islamic movement like those that exist in the world, if they do not move towards the goal of governance, pose no threat to global arrogance; because they cannot accomplish anything in this manner; they cannot eradicate disbelief, oppression, and global arrogance. You have acquired this Islam that is capable of resistance, capable of standing firm against the front of disbelief; you have obtained it with effort, but how will you maintain it? In the face of the enemy, this must be preserved; it must be safeguarded; this is not something that will remain on its own if we abandon it; the enemy will attack.

The enemy attacks in several ways: one type of attack is hard warfare; this is what the enemy experienced and failed; the eight-year war that was waged against us was of this kind; it was an international war; one provided Saddam with chemical weapons, another provided him with MiG aircraft, another with Mirage aircraft, another with anti-aircraft capabilities, and another with war plans; even the war plans and the construction of trenches were aided by others. All of these helped him in hopes that he would win this war; and he could not.

One example of hard attacks is the eight-year war. Another example is the ethnic rebellions that were instigated in the country—across all borders of the country—that you remember, where rebellions broke out everywhere; [the enemy] could not prevail; these were hard wars. They activated or created terrorist operations; America attacked an oil platform; America shot down a passenger plane; they did everything they could; these are hard wars. In all of these, they failed; they were defeated against the Iranian nation and against the Imam (may his soul be sanctified) and were increasingly intimidated. The Imam (may his soul be sanctified) with the power that the Almighty God granted him, due to his reliance and piety, due to his insight, and due to his evident dedication to the goal, God placed awe in him, to the extent that others were afraid; the enemies were truly intimidated by the Imam; "as if they were wild donkeys fleeing from a lion." The roar of the Imam frightened them, and they were intimidated. Well, they failed at this stage.

Another phase of their confrontation and opposition was soft warfare. One type of soft warfare is the very things you have observed: economic sanctions, seductive propaganda, and the like. These are actions that the enemy began from day one and continued; they thought they were imposing paralyzing sanctions on the Islamic Republic; this also had no effect; this could not work; they wanted to paralyze the Islamic Republic with these sanctions and this economic blockade, but the Islamic Republic did not become paralyzed. During the same period of sanctions, great works were accomplished; I read in a report from a general affiliated with the Zionist regime, which was published in foreign magazines at that time; he said, "I am an enemy of Iran, I do not consider Iran a friend, but I admire them; they were able to create a missile—one that had just been tested at that time—and they tracked it with satellites and so on; I admire them!" In the midst of sanctions, under economic pressures, these works were accomplished. One of the instances of soft warfare they conducted was targeting the bases of the Islamic Republic in some other countries; they destroyed the groups that were considered the bases of the Islamic Republic and the strategic depth of the Islamic Republic in many countries; either they destroyed them or at least struck them; this also had no effect and could not succeed; none of these led to any results. Thus, both their hard war failed and their soft war failed.

What is currently taking place in the third phase—which is not something new, it has been going on for years, but it has been expanding day by day—is a different type of soft war; this is very dangerous, and this is what I repeatedly warn various officials and different sectors about; and that is infiltration into decision-making and decision-making centers; it is infiltration to change the beliefs of the people; it is infiltration to change calculations. We, who are responsible and sitting here, have a calculation for our actions, we make a calculation; this calculation results in us taking this position; if they can change our calculations, our positions will change. One of their fundamental tasks is this: changing the calculations of the officials; changing the beliefs of the people; changing in the decision-making and decision-making centers, the groups that make decisions and policies. This is the dangerous work that attacks the foundations of the revolution; it attacks the foundations that protect and safeguard; they attack the Revolutionary Guards, they conduct propaganda attacks against the Guardian Council; they attack the faithful forces and the young, faithful Hezbollahis; now foreign radios and televisions and foreign propaganda are full of these statements; I do not know how much access you esteemed gentlemen have, how much you see; especially with the new communication tools that have emerged, they are constantly working on these areas to lead their audiences to this conclusion. They attack revolutionary clerics; they vilify revolutionary clerics with various titles, such as "government clerics" and the like. In a word: the effort in this soft war is to create the groundwork for emptying the system of its power elements; they want to make the Islamic system devoid of the elements that are its sources of power and strength. When it becomes weak, when there are no power elements within it, when there is no strength, then eliminating it and dragging it this way or that way will not be difficult for the superpowers; they want to force it into submission.

This is where the great jihad I mentioned a few days ago comes into play; "So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with a great striving." In the interpretations, it has been said that the pronoun "be" refers to the Quran, even though the word Quran is not mentioned in the phrase, but both the late Tabarsi in "Majma' al-Bayan" and the late Allameh Tabatabai have said; the late Allameh Tabatabai says that the context of the speech indicates that "be" means "by the Quran"; I also mentioned this in my speech; later it occurred to me that there is a clearer interpretation here that "So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with it," meaning "by non-obedience"; non-obedience is that source from which the action emerges and is hidden in that action; "So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with it," means that non-obedience becomes a great jihad; this meaning is closer to the mind; now, of course, I have not investigated whether any interpreters have suggested this possibility or not, but in any case, this possibility is an important one. The great jihad means this; jihad for non-obedience, for not following the enemy. Thus, the path and direction of this Assembly is this; it is the revolutionary path, the path of revolutionary action, pursuing the path of the revolution, strengthening Islam, strengthening God's religion.

If we do not pursue the establishment of God's command and God's religion, why are we here? Why should I be here? Well, those who were here—either they or their likes—should come and govern. We are here because we want to strengthen God's religion; the sovereignty of God's religion must be realized; we are pursuing this; this is why if someone is killed in this path, they are a martyr in the way of God; this is why our people have generously given their youth in this manner and continue to do so; otherwise, if this were not the case, well, others would carry out economic prosperity; why should I, as a cleric or a religious figure, engage in these matters? I would go after my own studies and discussions; well, others can do these tasks and are doing them; they are being done in the world as well. If the discussion is not about God's religion, the strengthening of God's religion, and the sovereignty of God, then my and your presence here is entirely unnecessary. Thus, this is: strengthening Islam.

[And also] innovation; what I emphasize is innovation; however, disciplined innovation, innovation by educated individuals, not by uneducated or semi-educated individuals; innovation in religious matters. Religion is expansive, because it is for all times, because it is for all conditions. Therefore, God's religion, through a jurist with expertise in deduction and jurisprudence, can expand in certain matters; just as Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) demonstrated examples of this, and some were acted upon, and some at least were mentioned during his time.

[And] healing the wounds inflicted by the enemy; one of the tasks is this. The enemy is inflicting wounds on the body of this revolution, and we must heal these wounds; one is the issue of sectarian and religious division—Shia and Sunni—one is the issue of factional disagreements; one is the issue of artificial polarization in society; these are wounds that are being inflicted; we must heal these.

In any case, what I emphasize is that the principle of transformation and progress must always be kept in mind. Stagnation is not permissible; we must always move forward and make progress, but in the direction of the goals of the revolution and the goals of religion. This is the second part regarding the path of this esteemed Assembly, which is truly significant.

However, there are general responsibilities that I will briefly mention so that our discussion does not become too lengthy. In one sentence, we must empower the country; the country must become strong. The path to the survival of the revolution, the path to the advancement of the revolution, and the path to realizing the goals of the revolution, in the broadest sense, is that we empower the country. If we can fulfill this duty—meaning the government can, the Assembly can, the judiciary can, the armed forces can, the revolutionary institutions can, this Assembly can do something and help in these areas—then we will be assured that we will be able to preserve the revolution in the true sense of the word. If the country becomes strong, we can also gain concessions from global arrogance; I want to tell you this. If the country is weak, not only global arrogance but also weak and insignificant governments will demand something from us; if we become weak, this is how it will be, but if we become strong, no.

Power is also a relative matter; at every stage of power, a person can carry out an activity. Now, for instance, consider the recent nuclear negotiations—of course, I do not want to delve into that topic—our dear friends said we have gained concessions, and the enemies who until now did not accept that we could have a nuclear industry have now signed on paper that we can have a nuclear industry. Well, how did this come about? This came about after we demonstrated our power and were able to accomplish something they thought we could not do; that is, producing 20% enrichment. They themselves know, and the experts in this field know that the difficult part of enrichment up to 99% is the path to 20%; if a country can advance itself to 20%, then from there to 90% and 99% is easy, it is not a long way; they know this. The Islamic Republic advanced this path; it was able to achieve 20% enrichment, it was able to produce nineteen thousand first-generation centrifuges, it was able to set up about ten thousand first-generation centrifuges, it was able to create the heavy water reactor in Arak; it was able to establish the heavy water production plant—which they buy from us. These works were accomplished so that the enemy accepted the minimum that we could have a nuclear industry; if we had not done these works, they would not have accepted it. I remember, and all friends remember, that twelve years ago, when we had the previous negotiations, our discussion was to allow five centrifuges to operate; they said it was not possible; we initially said twenty centrifuges, then they said it was not possible; we compromised and said five centrifuges, they said it was not possible; we said one, they said it was not possible! When we cannot, when we do not have time, when we do not have power, the enemy enters like this; but when you have created nineteen thousand centrifuges despite the enemy, when you have set them up, when you have produced the second, third, and fourth generations, when you have accomplished many other side tasks, well, [the enemy] is forced to accept; this is power. If there is power, a person can even gain concessions from global arrogance. This was not a concession given to us by the Americans; this was a concession we gained with our power, not that someone granted us a concession.

It is the same in all areas; it is the same in the economic sphere. This resistant economy that I constantly repeat and emphasize, and thanks be to God, friends have formed an operational headquarters and are carrying out tasks that we hope, God willing, to see the results on the ground, is the same. In the economy, if we become strong and empowered, then sanctions become meaningless and sanctions become a redundant task; if we can achieve economic power domestically, they will come begging, they will come seeking economic relations; not only will they not impose sanctions, but if we impose sanctions, they will come and say do not impose sanctions; this is the nature of the work. In politics, it is the same; it is the same in various fields.

The elements of power must be pursued by the government, the Assembly, and others, and this Assembly can demand these. You can demand these from this humble servant, you can demand them from our dear Mr. Rouhani, you can demand them from the gentlemen of the Assembly, you can demand them from the judiciary; you can demand these elements. This magnificent gathering, this exceptional gathering, which we said is a phenomenon and a divine gift, can accomplish these tasks. Focus on one point, pursue that point, and accompany public opinion; this will be what is truly worthy.

Now, of course, if we dare to say what the criteria for being revolutionary in these assemblies are, it seems to me that the criteria for being revolutionary are piety, courage, insight, clarity, and not being afraid of "the blame of the blamers"; these are the criteria for being revolutionary. If we have piety, if we also have the necessary courage, if we also have the necessary clarity—of course, where clarity is necessary; where ambiguity is necessary, not; there clarity is detrimental—we must be able to accomplish these [to be revolutionary]. We must have a correct understanding of the enemy. The enemy is a front; the enemy is not an individual, it is not a specific government, it is a front; we must recognize this front and see who is affiliated with this front and how this front operates in a way that can confuse us about it. We must recognize the enemy's front, and we must also recognize the methods of enmity; we must know how the enemy acts. Sometimes the enemy enters, starts a task with a malicious goal, and we do not correctly understand what that goal is; we look at the surface of the work and see it is a good task and we welcome it; while they are pursuing their own goal. We have had such instances in the country, and we have cases where they started a task with a goal, and we looked at the surface of the work and said, "Wow! Well, that is a good task, that is not problematic;" while if we had insight, if we recognized the enemy's goals, we would not be deceived in this way.

In confronting the enemy, we must not fall into spiritual defeat; this is one of the main issues. Spiritual defeat is harmful; anyone who is defeated within themselves will certainly be defeated in the field. The first defeat of any person is the defeat within themselves, feeling that they cannot, feeling that it is of no use, feeling that the other side is much stronger than them, feeling that they cannot do anything; this is spiritual defeat. If this spiritual defeat occurs, then in the field, we will certainly be defeated. This must not happen; we must be careful that this does not occur.

May God's mercy be upon our great Imam, upon our martyrs, and blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.