Message on the Occasion of the Arrival of the Year 1372 Solar Hijri

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

O Transformer of hearts and eyes. O Director of night and day. O Changer of conditions and states. Change our condition to the best of conditions.

I extend my congratulations on the joyous occasion of Nowruz and the arrival of the new year, as well as the blessed Eid al-Fitr, to the Iranian nation and all nations that hold these two celebrations in high regard. Especially to those whom the entire Iranian nation is obliged to respect and is indeed indebted to; namely, the honorable families of our dear martyrs; our dear veterans and their families; the freed captives and their relatives, and those missing or prisoners still in the clutches of the enemies and their families; I sincerely offer my congratulations and ask for divine mercy and blessings for the pure soul of our great Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified).

Another year of our lives has passed, and we stand at the threshold of another year of our lives. What has passed was a divine test; if we have been able to fulfill our duties during its hours, moments, and instances, we will not regret what has been lost and passed. We hope this is the case; and if, God forbid, we have been negligent and careless in what has passed and have not given importance to our duties, and what leads us to perfection has been neglected, or God forbid, we have moved in a direction and path that is a source of loss and regret for mankind, then what we have lost is a source of double regret! It is a life that has been lost, an asset that has been destroyed, and a dark record that, God forbid, may have been created.

We hope that the coming year will be a year of servitude, piety, and good deeds for us, and a year of acceptance and divine attention to us and the descent of His blessings upon us. In these few remaining days of the blessed month of Ramadan, we must make the most of it and benefit from the moments of this blessed month, and place ourselves in the direction that pleases God.

As for the year that has passed, it was a very eventful year in terms of global issues. Everywhere in the world and in the four corners of the globe, countries and nations faced difficult tests. Especially Muslims, who went through severe trials this year. Although we could not completely stay away from the general problems of the world and the specific problems imposed by the great powers and the arrogant powers on developing countries, we can be assured that, thanks be to God, the country's officials were blessed with divine success and, with the help and cooperation of the nation, managed to keep the country away from the great global problems as much as possible.

Within the country, what we can say and clearly feel is that, thanks be to God, the country's officials have advanced with ability, power, and great effort towards the goals and the five-year plan that has been outlined and approved by the legislators. We witness this and hope that what they do will be accepted by God and reach its results and the goals set for it, and that our people will benefit; and God willing, the officials will succeed in putting all their efforts into it.

Thanks be to God, the sincere and devoted efforts of the top officials of the country have resulted in visible signs of movement, construction, and serious material efforts to build the country throughout the country.

When we look at the quality of the movement and actions of our dear nation in the past year, we feel a sense of satisfaction and contentment. From the beginning of the year, the people participated in the great test of elections and formed the Islamic Consultative Assembly for the fourth term, sending their representatives to the assembly with sincerity, warmth, interest, and seriousness. At the end of the year, during the times of Bahman and the blessed Fajr decade, they also participated in that great and magnificent march, and we observed signs of strong popular presence everywhere in the political and social arenas.

The popular presence in places where the people had to assist the government, in places where they had to help their Muslim brothers who were in distress and calamity, in the events related to Bosnia; in the recent internal incidents and the great destructive flood that occurred, was truly satisfactory, enemy-defeating, and problem-solving.

I take this opportunity to mention the great and devastating flood that occurred in various parts of the country at the end of this year. This incident was very regrettable, and we are saddened and sorry for the needy and affected people who faced problems in this incident. I hope that, by the blessing of the days of the blessed month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and the joy of the new year, God will resolve their problems with His power and with the problem-solving hand of our dear nation and government. Of course, the people have cooperated and helped; however, as I have been informed, the dimensions of this disaster are much greater than what we could observe in the media. Therefore, helping the government in this matter is very necessary.

And now, let us look at the year that is beginning, the year 1372, which we hope will begin with blessing and prosperity, God willing. We expect the government and dear statesmen to pursue the same powerful and diligent movement they made last year towards achieving the announced goals of the government and to increase their efforts. This year is a year of planning. The second plan will also be prepared by the government this year and submitted to the Islamic Consultative Assembly for approval.

What I strongly recommend to planners and government officials is to ensure that the main goal of this plan is to help the deprived classes of society. This is what brings us closer to 'social justice.' The main goal in our country and in the Islamic Republic system is to ensure justice, and economic prosperity and constructive efforts are a prelude to it. We do not want to construct in such a way that the result of this construction or the result of economic prosperity is that some enjoy more wealth and others become poorer. This is by no means acceptable to God, Islam, or us. We want construction to happen, and for the country to achieve economic prosperity and material progress and grow economically so that it can get closer to social justice and we have no poor; so that the deprived classes in society do not feel deprived and are not deprived; so that there are no deprived regions in the country and the gap between rich and poor decreases day by day. This is the main goal. This should be considered in the plan. These five-year plans are each a significant figure for the movement of the nation and government towards the goals of the revolution. This direction, which is a revolutionary orientation, must be emphasized and insisted upon and preserved.

Another point I would like to make to the officials and our dear nation is that if we examine it, we will see that wherever we have been successful in the past, it is because we have respected and adhered to the principles of the revolution. Wherever we have failed, it is because we have deviated, more or less, from the divine, Islamic, and revolutionary principles. Our progress is due to the principles of the revolution. Of course, the enemies from outside and their agents inside try to show the opposite. They write and advertise insidiously and maliciously that revolutionary adherence is problematic! No; this is a lie and slander. Revolutionary adherence is problem-solving and path-opening for the nation and government, and it resolves problems. What creates problems is deviation from the principles of Islam and the revolution; whether in our actions or in our thoughts. Sometimes the thought may be revolutionary, but the action is not revolutionary. This too creates problems.

Look at the eight-year war, the imposed war. There, this issue clearly and obviously shows itself. Look at foreign policy. There too, this issue clearly reveals itself. It is the same in all other matters. In planning, we must observe this.

For this reason and for all other reasons, I recommend and advise our dear nation to strive in the coming year, and in the current year, which has thankfully begun with blessing and prosperity, to maintain the same revolutionary and Islamic orientation, the same spirit of helping and assisting the government and officials. Maintain the same unity and national cohesion and solidarity. These are things that are problem-solving for our society and country.

If you pay attention to the propaganda and efforts of the enemies, you will see that their efforts are focused on destroying unity among our nation. Of course, the enemy wishes us ill. Therefore, unity is problem-solving and a remedy for this nation. The enemies want to create separation between the government and the nation, the officials, and the people. We must move in the opposite direction. They want the people to distance themselves from Islam and the goals of the revolution. Therefore, this is something that is detrimental to our nation, and this distance must be reduced, and they must move more towards Islam and the revolution.

On this basis, I emphasize that dear and faithful youth, all Muslim men and women should not forget enjoining good and forbidding evil, which are two divine duties and part of the values that can be a very useful, effective, and advancing tool for our nation in this direction, and various state and revolutionary institutions should strive to bring themselves closer to revolutionary and Islamic standards and principles.

I hope that with divine grace and the blessings and attentions of the Guardian of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him and may God hasten his reappearance), the life of the Iranian nation will become brighter, more flourishing, and more mixed with divine blessings and mercy day by day, and this Eid will be blessed for all of you, for all families, youth, and all our nation's people.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings