Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Officials and Administrators of the System

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, and upon his pure, innocent, and chosen family and companions. And blessings be upon your guardian and your proof over all creation.

We sincerely thank the Almighty God from the depths of our hearts for His continuous and endless kindness towards this nation, and we hope that this blessed month and these days filled with blessings will once again provide our nation with more goodness and greater blessings from the Lord.

Our message to you, dear brothers and sisters - who are the officials of the country and the managers of the affairs of this great nation - is that let us all become more committed to the heavy responsibilities that the Almighty God has placed upon each of us and adhere more firmly to our covenant with God. This is the essence of our message to you.

Without God's help, no dignity or happiness will be granted to any individual or nation. And divine assistance has its own conditions and prerequisites; as we say in our prayers: "O God, I ask You for the causes of Your mercy." Among the most important of these causes of divine mercy is that the officials of the country and the managers of various sectors feel a sense of commitment before the Almighty God and the people. The more this feeling increases and leads to better and stronger efforts and movements, certainly the divine mercy will encompass us more. We must move forward and accompany this movement with divine intention and with the intention of seeking closeness to God, knowing that in that case, God's support and divine favors are certain. Now, the month of Ramadan is a suitable opportunity; because "so that you may attain piety"; indeed, the Almighty God has ordained fasting with this goal; at least one of the obligatory objectives of fasting in this month - which is a significant characteristic of this month - is to attain piety. In this daily prayer, after the prayers, we recite: "And this is a month that You have magnified, honored, and preferred over the other months"; the Almighty God has granted this month superiority over other months. One of the things that has given this month its superiority is fasting; one of the things is the "descent of the Quran"; one of the things is the "Night of Decree"; which are mentioned in this prayer as characteristics of this month. This is a favorable environment for our growth and development; it is like spring; just as each of the seasons of the year has a natural requirement for the movements of the natural world, so too do certain seasons of the year, certain times of days and nights, weeks and months have requirements for the spiritual and inner growth and elevation of human beings. Friday night has a particular characteristic; Friday has a particular characteristic. One should not be surprised by these times; just as they have characteristics in the material nature, in this spiritual nature, in the soul of man, in the elevation of man, in the acceptance of deeds and in the impact of worship, they also have their own characteristics; just as we mentioned, like Friday, the night of the 15th of Sha'ban, and times that have been specifically designated by the sacred law; "a few days" which refers to the month of Ramadan or the days of Dhul-Hijjah and similar ones. The selection of these days is not coincidental, that now Ramadan is the same as Rabi' or Dhul-Qi'dah in terms of nature and impact; no, it has its own characteristics; just like the characteristics of the seasons we mentioned. Utilize this.

There is a narration that the noble Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) addressed the people at the threshold of the month of Ramadan, saying: "Glory be to God! What are you approaching and what is approaching you!" This is the same glorification of the month of Ramadan with this language. The discerning and insightful eye of the noble Prophet sees the blessings of the month of Ramadan. Fasting is an opportunity, with all the effects and blessings that you have heard and know about fasting.

There is a narration from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) that divides fasting into the fasting of the body and the fasting of the soul. Regarding the fasting of the body, he says: "The fasting of the body is abstaining from food with intention and choice"; the fasting of the body is that a person does not consume food with his own will and choice; "out of fear of punishment and desire for reward"; with this motivation, a person refrains from food. This is the fasting of the body. But the fasting of the soul: "And the fasting of the soul is to restrain the five senses from all sins"; this is the fasting of the soul, which prohibits the five senses from all sins and restrains them. "And to keep the heart free from all causes of evil"; this is the fasting of the soul. Now, what are the causes of evil? Restraining from the sins of the five senses is easy for someone who has the intention to restrain; that is, for a person's hand, eye, ear, and tongue not to commit sins; but that restraint of keeping the heart free from the causes of evil is much harder; it requires more effort and struggle. And dear friends! You and I are the addressees of this command; this struggle is upon us; truly, the impact of a sin that arises from us differs from the sin that arises from an ordinary person - who has no responsibility in society. We must be very careful regarding both heart sins and personal sins. The sins that are causes of evil, "envy", "greed" - greed for the world, greed for accumulating wealth, worldly avarice - "ill will towards others" - malice, ill will, suspicion - "arrogance and pride" - self-superiority, belittling others, humiliating people - arise from these. This evil that arises in the world comes from these things. In individuals, their arrogance, pride, greed, envy, stinginess, and lust drive them to actions whose profound impact at the beginning does not seem significant, but gradually, as it progresses, it turns into human and historical catastrophes that remain. When we look at these great historical catastrophes and seek their source, we reach such characteristics that exist in a person; avarice, greed, stinginess, and lust in an individual and in a collective of individuals that have become the source of all dimensions of this great catastrophe. "Hypocrisy" and its opposite, "indifference, shamelessness" are also causes of evil. These are things that a person must keep their heart free from.

The month of Ramadan is the month of training and education for us regarding these matters. We must take steps in this direction and move forward. The burden that has been placed on the shoulders of the officials is a heavy burden and, of course, a very honorable responsibility. The Islamic Republic system is a system that seeks to secure the happiness of human collectives with the same message that the prophets have brought throughout the history of prophethood and conveyed to humanity; and it is practically confirming the message of the prophets against the message of the tyrants of the world. The tyrants today also exist, and they are burdened by this and resist and oppose. The path to victory in this challenge and confrontation is nothing but "standing firm with faith and belief in oneself and belief in one's path"; we must believe in the path: "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers"; that is, the believers in this path must unite and stand firm; show steadfastness. This is the path of progress and victory. If they do this, victory is certain. We have experienced this over the past twenty-seven years. In various fields, where we have believed in our words and stood firm on those words, we have advanced. This happened in the Sacred Defense; in preserving the foundation of this sacred system, this has happened; in the daily progress, indeed hour by hour, of the country in various fields, this has happened. Today, if we look at the indicators of progress and development in our country and compare them with the early days of the revolution, they are not even comparable. At that time, it was not even conceivable that, despite the problems that exist, we could reach this point; but by God's grace, we have reached it. This is due to steadfastness accompanied by belief; and the way is just like this. If the officials fall short, this is among the sins whose impact will not only be detrimental to themselves but will also have a destructive impact on the nation.

The sins of the officials, in addition to the personal sins of individuals, constitute a list of sins that are specific to the officials, and one of them is this: "falling short"; not doing what can and should be done. Among them is "reaching for public funds", which is among the sins of you and me; that is, it is we who can commit this sin; but the general public cannot. Its impact compared to the theft that an ordinary person might commit is much greater and multiplied. "Slowing down the public movement of the country by creating despair" is another of our sins. We make the people hopeless, we make the driving force hopeless, and we darken the horizon for those who should move forward with enthusiasm and hope; this slows down the movement of the people; this is a great sin. One of the things that slows down the movement of the country is division, conflict, and grappling with each other; this creation of division or exacerbating division is among the sins specific to us, the officials and politicians. Or economic corruption; whether participating in economic corruption or turning a blind eye to economic corruption, these are things that slow down the public movement of the country. Economic corruption is both a slow-down in itself, in that it is corruption and causes the public finances of the country to face problems, and its reflection in the minds of the people from another perspective causes corruption, which creates despair; therefore, whether participating in a corruption - God forbid - or turning a blind eye to a corruption; or leading the people to corruption; the type of discourse, the type of words and actions that embolden people regarding corrupt matters - whether financial corruption, sexual corruption, and the like - slow down the movement of the country, and these are our sins.

We must be vigilant; "so that you may attain piety"; that is, have piety. We have repeatedly stated that piety means being careful of oneself. Piety means being vigilant over yourself and keeping a watchful eye on yourself so that you do not err. Many times, our eyes are open to the faults of others; we look to see where someone has made a mistake, an error, or a quasi-error - which we carry in our minds as an error - but our eyes are closed to our own faults; this is bad. As individuals, as officials, as managers - at any level - we should look at our own shortcomings and errors. Of course, this is hard. For a person, acknowledging their own faults, finding their own faults, and condemning themselves is not an easy task; but we must do this hard work. The Almighty God will hold us accountable on the Day of Judgment, in that difficult and harsh court, and will question us; and if we do not think about it now, we will be left without answers there.

These prayers and the words of the Imams (peace be upon them) during these days and nights teach us the type of relationship we should have with God so that we can constantly influence ourselves and correct ourselves. In the supplication of Abu Hamzah, we have: "O God! Have mercy on me when my argument is cut off and my tongue is mute in response to Your questioning me"; O God! At that moment when I am unable to argue in response to Your questioning - why did you do this action? Why did you not do this action? Now, when they question us, we argue one after another; but there, our hands will be empty of argument; because the truths are clear; there is no place for excuses there - have mercy on me; because "and my tongue is mute in response to Your questioning"; the human tongue becomes tied in the face of divine questioning. "And my mind becomes confused at Your questioning me"; and the human mind becomes disordered. We must think about that day. Today, you and I, in the opportunity of life and in the opportunity of breathing, can; and the way is this vigilance, and vigilance can be achieved in this month, and this vigilance can be obtained. This is our main message. Of course, the primary addressee of these recommendations is myself; because I need this vigilance more than all of you. Now we say, perhaps God willing, the Almighty God will place an effect and put these words in our hearts; so that they may affect our hearts and yours.

And now we have a few recommendations to present:

One recommendation is this issue of division. Officials, politicians, various managers, and different sectors - in the government, in the parliament, in the propaganda sectors, in the judicial sectors, and various groups - should be vigilant; because division harms the country. Fortunately, over these years, we have stood firm against the hammers of division and resistance. They have struck hard hammers to create a gap in this dam; but the system has resisted. Throughout all periods from the early days of the revolution until today, there has been discord, dialogue, and disputes, whether during the blessed life of Imam (may God’s peace be upon him) or after him until today; but a strong belt of belief and faith has always prevented both sides from falling and collapsing. If some have, in rare cases, been exceptions to this general rule, they have actually harmed and kicked themselves and have not been able to destroy the unity of the system. At one time, it even became the official policy of the enemies; they said we must create a rift at the higher levels of the system; it did not happen, and they could not. Of course, they put a lot of pressure; but the officials, with divine assistance and grace, resisted. Now, the unity that is observed in the system is better and greater than ever. The unity and coalition and deep heartedness are deeper than ever; but this recommendation of mine is still a necessary recommendation; be vigilant! The enemy is awake and is trying to create division and rifts. This is one of the things that we believe everyone should be vigilant about. Now, there are certainly differences of opinion, even differences of thought and principles in some areas; these are not problematic. There may be differences of opinion in economic matters, there may be differences of opinion in political matters; we do not condemn these; there may be differences of opinion; but this difference of opinion should not lead to discord, hypocrisy, grappling with each other, or bringing each other down. In the face of the enemy, everyone must be united and agreed. Wherever the system speaks with its entirety, everyone must stand behind that statement; even if they have differences in ten other matters. This has been the case until today, and God willing, it must continue to be.

Another point is that everyone must strengthen the executive bodies; that is, the bodies that are in the middle of the field: the three branches and primarily the executive branch and the government - which bears the heaviest burden of the country's executive affairs and has the heaviest responsibility - everyone must be vigilant.

Helping the government is helping the country; from any faction it may be. You all remember, you saw that various governments since I have held this responsibility have been supported by me. This does not mean that I agree with the policies of those governments everywhere, no; I have also stated and said that I do not agree with some of their policies in various fields; but I have always supported the overall governments.

Be careful that the government is not weakened due to differences of opinion, differences of taste, or factional differences. The government must be maintained. Everyone must respect the President and consider this a principle.

That individuals come and their effort is to portray the government as ineffective is not serving the country. Even if their belief is this, they should convey this belief in some way to the government officials or those who can be influential; but promoting the ineffectiveness of the government among the people, especially unfairly, is not correct. Even if it had reality, it should not appear in a promotional and shouting manner in the streets; let alone when it has no reality and is unfair. The government is doing serious and good work, based on calculations, now even if it has a view on a certain economic issue that may not align with that of a certain expert; it may not be good; this does not diminish the importance and value of the government's work. Today, everyone sees; we see and others witness that the volume of work that the government is doing is truly commendable and praiseworthy; it is very good work. Unfair criticisms should not occur. The approach towards other bodies should be the same. The parliament is the center for decision-making regarding the fundamental and comprehensive programs of the country, and the parliament should not be weakened. The judiciary should not be weakened either. Correct and wise criticism is different from speaking in a way that portrays a body as ineffective and unsuccessful; whether it is right or wrong, it is wrong.

First and foremost, everyone must help the government and other bodies. They should not engage in excessive grievances against each other. Since I am in the position of being approached - now privately to me, there is no problem - individuals and officials come and one complains about this, another about that, they have grievances; sometimes justly, sometimes unjustly, it is not a problem; it is good for them to tell us; but these grievances should not be placed on the table of the people. What fault have the people committed?!

Getting into fights in front of the people and grappling with each other breaks the hearts of the people. Why should we break the hearts of the people? The people who are so good; the people who are the greatest support of this system that enabled it to stand like a mountain in the hardest fields. The people did this; we had nothing from ourselves. The people should not be heartbroken.

Some of the disputes also show that these disputes, to the extent that they matter, some of their advertisements multiply their importance! Then the heavy burden falls on the shoulders of the nation; just like the discussions that occurred regarding the end of the war and the resolution. Of course, if these disputes do not happen, it is better; but when they do, one should not exaggerate their impact to the extent that it seems a great incident has occurred; no. The truth regarding the issue of the war is known to all our people and officials. In the war, the military and political officials all made efforts and all served. We have observed these closely; they all had weaknesses. These are not things that can be denied. Politicians also had weaknesses, the military also had weaknesses; but undoubtedly, their services have been greater than their weaknesses. The outcome of these weaknesses and services was what happened that Imam made the decision. These details will certainly gradually be made known to the people over time, and the people will know, but what I am saying is that this is the reality that now, God willing, will be substantiated one day. The outcome of all these abilities and weaknesses and successes and good deeds and shortcomings was what happened; and this does not mean defeat and absolutely does not mean seeking surrender. Imam was the embodiment of steadfastness and resilience and the embodiment of hope for the future and progress towards the future. He acted the same way in the war; he acted the same way in accepting the resolution; he acted the same way in his declarations and statements; this path has taught us, and we have also stepped on this path, and by God's grace and assistance, we will continue to advance in this direction; without any delay or collusion; by the grace and power of God.

What can be clearly said about the essence of the Islamic Revolution - of which Imam was the complete embodiment and symbol - is the courage accompanied by prudence. In the Islamic Revolution, there has never been and will never be blind shooting into the darkness - in the programs of the Islamic Republic from the beginning until now, there has been nothing like this - and today there is not, and by God's grace, there will not be in the future. That we close our eyes and swing the sword around our heads, we do not have. With open eyes and prudently; but with bravery, with a correct assessment of the ability that the Almighty God has placed in the body of a believing and determined nation, and we move according to various tactics and methods, as required.

In war, retreat is a tactic; retreat is not flight - those who have seen war know this well - just as advance is a tactic, retreat is also a tactic. At a certain point, the commander deems it necessary to make a tactical retreat, which if he does not, it is treason; just as if he does not advance where he should, it is treason. What is the difference between tactical retreat and flight? The difference is that it is under the command of a commander and a disciplined action. Flight is an undisciplined action and arises from letting go of that strong rope that a person has clung to and arises from emptiness and void. Where it is necessary, we move forward; where it is necessary, with speed; where it is necessary, with slowness; where it is necessary, one step back, two steps forward. God Almighty also helps. In the nuclear issue, the same has been done and will continue to be done.

Those two years, two and a half years, that approach we had, if we had not taken that approach, today we might blame ourselves, saying why did we not experience that path? Now, no, with a firm heart and clear vision, we know what we are doing. We have also experienced that path and seen; no one has any objection against the device and system regarding this approach that the President has explained regarding the nuclear issue. The way is this. We have also experienced that other path; it has become clear. Of course, it was clear; now the documents of these will one day, God willing, be published. Every word of the events of these various days has been recorded and noted; one day it will be made available to the thoughts of this nation, and God willing, it will become clear what has happened during this time. That day was also known, but well, it was necessary. That movement was a necessary movement and it took place. Today, this movement is also the right movement. Our policy regarding the nuclear issue is a clear policy: progress, insistence on the rights of the Iranian nation without retreat; of course, with a clear logic that we have. The goal is also a human and clear goal.

In that context of disputes, I would like to say that be careful of those who have laid their ears to find excuses against the revolution and the system, and against Imam himself. We must not give them an excuse. Everyone should pay attention to this.

Regarding domestic issues, I will briefly mention one or two small points and conclude our remarks.

One is the issue of elections. Elections are very important; both elections; both the Assembly of Experts elections and the city council elections are important in their own right, in their own level, and in their own place. Everyone must feel a duty regarding these elections; both the officials and the general public and various political and social groups, and activists in the country. First of all, the integrity of these elections is important, which fortunately the officials of the country are paying attention to, and we have always emphasized this and still do. The votes of the people must be fully protected. In this regard, the importance of maintaining the integrity of the electoral atmosphere, before the elections begin - like now, as the registration is gradually starting and the preparations for the elections are being made and there is not much time left until the elections - is that the integrity of the atmosphere must be maintained. Some spoil the electoral atmosphere; defaming, insulting, and belittling various personalities are all contrary to the requirements of electoral integrity. Both the media, radio and television, and those equipped with various collective communication tools - computers and computer methods - and those who have a platform for speaking; like Friday prayer leaders and representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly; all must pay attention that "defamation spoils the electoral atmosphere". You can defend the one you like; there is no obstacle; but do not attack the one who is his rival; do not defame. This defamation and this speaking and insulting have neither authority for the listeners nor is it permissible; because it spoils the atmosphere. Therefore, the issue of maintaining the integrity of the elections themselves and maintaining the integrity of the electoral atmosphere is very important.

Everyone should strive to ensure public participation and help realize it. All individuals are addressed, that now, God willing, we will have several meetings with the general public and with the entire nation during Eid al-Fitr and before it - if there is life - and we will convey this to them. We also say to you now, everyone should help in this regard.

The issue of military forces interfering in elections has been spoken of by some politicians, which is not true and is an injustice to the military forces to accuse them. You see, for many years in elections, at the request of the Ministry of Interior, only the police forces assist them in protecting the ballot boxes, and there is no other interference; however, at the same time, we emphasize - it is not specific to the military forces, but to all government forces - that in electoral matters, they should not interfere; let the people and groups be free in preparing the lists of electoral candidates. Government officials and those whose hands are tied to executive matters should not interfere. And let the people do this work themselves; that is, the personalities of government officials should not affect the results of the elections. Let them promote and let the people act with prepared competition.

The last point also relates to international issues. In the region, with the issues of Lebanon, with the issues of Palestine, and previously with the issues of Iraq, all signs indicate the failure of American policies in this region. Since the issue of Iraq began, one after another, signs of the failure of American policies have been seen. Then, in the issues of Palestine and the elections in Palestine and the Hamas government, and then in this heroic and passionate issue of Lebanon and the bravery and sacrifice of the faithful youth; these are the failures of American policies. America is seeking to compensate, and one of the things they are doing - which must be noted - is that in the region they are trying to isolate the central hub of this epic and movement, which is the Islamic Republic. Of course, so far they have not been able to, and God willing, they will not be able to; but both we and our neighboring governments, and all regional governments, and political activists in the region must all be vigilant. This issue of the Shiite crescent that they have raised was to scare the Sunni community. This issue of Iran's extra-regional power - which the Americans and their media keep repeating that Iran has become a great power, an extra-regional power - more than they want to fairly state a reality, their intention is to scare the Gulf states, the Arab states, and neighboring countries; to say be careful, Iran has come! Iran has not become a power today; Iran has been a power since the day the sun of the revolution rose; there is no doubt about this.

What has happened in these years are signs of this power that has gradually emerged and will continue to emerge; however, this power does not threaten any country or any government; it is not a threat to any country or any government; it does not have a conflict with any government or any country; rather, it is an advocate of truth and justice; it defends justice; it is disgusted by the oppression and transgression and tyranny that is observed on the international level and confronts it. It is not a threat to the peoples and governments of neighboring countries; this must be noted. The Islamic Republic, thanks be to God, is a powerful government, country, and system whose power is due to its adherence to religion and Islamic principles and reliance on the people; and any country and government that relies on its people will also be powerful. We also ask the Almighty God and strive that our adherence to religion increases day by day and that our connection and bond with our people becomes stronger day by day.

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