Statements in the New Year Meeting with Thousands from Various Social Classes

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited One among the inhabitants of the earth.

Welcome, and God willing, this beginning of the year heralds a blessed year for all of you and for the entire nation of Iran. This year, Nowruz and the beginning of the year have taken on a more spiritual atmosphere due to their coincidence with blessed days and nights. Of course, let us remember that in all years, Iranians have a spiritual outlook during Nowruz, accompanied by supplication and attention to the Divine Essence; thus, we always begin the New Year with prayer. Many who travel during Nowruz often visit holy places. This year, you saw the large crowd that gathered in Mashhad at the holy courtyard at the moment of the New Year; or the night before, the people of Tehran filled Behesht Zahra with crowds; this signifies that our Iranian people, our dear people, even consider Nowruz a spiritual occasion and begin their year with attention and supplication to the Almighty God. We must be grateful to God that despite the poisonous and venomous propaganda of the enemies aimed at separating the Iranian nation from spirituality, these efforts of the enemy have failed, and our nation has become closer to spirituality, attention, monotheism, and supplication to the Imams (peace be upon them), and their devotion, expression of love, and sincerity have increased.

These days belong to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him); this is also a lesson for us. Amir al-Mu'minin is the pinnacle of justice, the pinnacle of piety, the pinnacle of forgiveness throughout history. If the Iranian nation and the Muslim nations wish to benefit from the lessons of this great human being, the greatest of humans after the Noble Prophet, they must refer more to Nahj al-Balagha. I recommend that this year, cultural activists pay special attention to studying and teaching Nahj al-Balagha.

What I wish to convey to everyone is that do not miss the opportunity for prayer and supplication during these nights. The coming night is the twenty-first night, and then there is the twenty-third night; these are opportunities, these are precious; each hour of these nights is worth a lifetime for us. You can — especially the youth, especially the youth — with attention, with a prayer, with sincerity, change the destiny of your life and perhaps the destiny of a nation; with a prayer. The Almighty God has promised, "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me"; God Almighty says, I am near, I hear, I respond. "And let them believe in Me" means believe. Believe this, know that your prayer, your request, your supplication is heard by the Almighty God and is answered, provided that we do not create obstacles ourselves. This prayer is a means of success, not only in matters of the Hereafter and for Barzakh and Resurrection, but even for your worldly life, for your personal life; even in great struggles, in great works, prayer is effective, prayer is a means, a tool; this tool has been provided by God for us and is at our disposal; like supplication to the Imams (peace be upon them). The Imams are the vicegerents of God, manifestations of divine power, manifestations of divine knowledge; we ask from them; the service that God Almighty has entrusted to His righteous servants, the work they do, the help they provide, is the help that God is giving us; "And you did not throw when you threw, but it was God who threw". (2) Supplication to the friends of God and the Imams of guidance (peace be upon them) and supplication before God is at our disposal; we must appreciate these.

The prophets of God, in their great difficulties, would resort to supplication and prayer. The Quran narrates from Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) that in his struggle against Pharaoh with such intensity, he says, "Our Lord, indeed You have given Pharaoh and his nobles adornment and wealth... Our Lord, let them lead astray from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts..."; (3) he prays and seeks help from the Almighty God to overcome Pharaoh. God Almighty responds, "Your supplication has been answered, so remain steadfast"; (4) you prayed, you asked God to be victorious in the struggle against Pharaoh, you asked for this, very well, your supplication has been answered; remain steadfast, firm, with hope. Musa (peace be upon him) acted upon this divine recommendation and command and in the struggle of blood against sword, blood triumphed over sword. The struggle of the Iranian nation has been the same — with supplication, with prayer, with attention and steadfastness, with resilience — and it will continue to be so.

Of course, the front of truth in these struggles also incurs costs. I wish to emphasize this point; look at the events of the year 1403 — last year — with this perspective. In the struggle of truth and falsehood, victory belongs to truth, but the front of truth incurs costs. In the eight-year war during the Sacred Defense, we were one side, and the other side was a global coalition behind Saddam! The war lasted eight years, and after eight years, the whole world acknowledged that Iran — alone and impoverished Iran — was victorious over the opposing side; everyone understood this, everyone said this, everyone confirmed it, but we lost many heroes in this victory; we lost Bakri, we lost Kharrazi, we lost Chamran; these are losses, these are costs, but they are in the path of ultimate victory. In the events of last year, we lost great personalities; valuable Iranian and Lebanese figures were lost to us; these were tragedies for us, like the case of Musa; it was the same there. When Prophet Musa came to Egypt, he did not have a calm and comfortable life; he and the Children of Israel were in utmost hardship: they said, "We were harmed before you came to us and after you came to us"; (5) the Children of Israel told Musa that before you came as a prophet to stand against Pharaoh, we were under torture, and now that you have come, we are still under torture! Prophet Musa told them, "Seek help from God and be patient"; (6) seek help, ask the Almighty God for assistance, be patient, be steadfast, matters will be resolved; and they were resolved. Those who complained that they were being tortured saw with their own eyes that Pharaoh and his followers were drowned in the water with utter humiliation, destroyed, and no trace of their power and sovereignty remained; only their bodies remained in front of their eyes, for admonition. Look at the events that arise, at the hardships, at the difficulties with this perspective. Not only in the context of struggle; last year — year 1403 — we also had bitter natural disasters. In Tabas, in a mine, more than fifty people lost their lives; (7) these are bitter incidents. The response of Prophet Musa is: "Seek help from God and be patient"; seek help from the Almighty God, ask for assistance, and be patient. Do not doubt that the end of these steadfastnesses will be the defeat of the enemies, the defeat of the wicked, corrupt, and sinful Zionist regime.

An important point that I mentioned yesterday in the first message of the New Year to the Iranian nation (8) and I wish to emphasize this point is that in the bitter events of the year 1403, the spiritual power of the Iranian nation became evident; the patience of the Iranian nation, the steadfastness of the Iranian nation, the bravery of the Iranian nation, the valor of the Iranian nation became evident. Nations bend under an incident like the martyrdom of their president and a number of their statesmen; the Iranian nation showed the response to this incident in that great epic farewell; [that is] the grand display of the people's presence in the funeral of their beloved president. (9) Or in the Friday prayer of Nasr (10) that astonished the world; that historic Friday prayer took place throughout the country, and the people participated. The enemy threatened, wanting the nation to feel danger; the nation stood firm, came out; unprecedented crowds. Or in the presidential elections, (11) the enthusiasm of the people and their readiness to ensure that the country's affairs do not come to a standstill; they participated in the elections and elected a president within fifty days, forming a government. In the funeral of martyr Haniyeh (12) and in various funerals, in dealing with the events in Lebanon and Palestine and beyond, the Iranian nation demonstrated its spiritual power, its spirit; the pinnacle of all this was the February 22nd march. The February 22nd march in the year 1403 was one of those historic marches; after 46 years, in remembrance of the revolution that America cries out against, that it tries to undermine, that Europe tries to undermine, that the hypocrites of the world, in all their forms, the arrogant, the sinful, the wicked wherever they are and can reach, act against the Islamic Republic, the Iranian nation carried out this massive popular movement on February 22nd. The Iranian nation introduced itself to the world. Dear ones! Let us also recognize ourselves; the Iranian nation must recognize itself. We are a strong nation, we are a valiant nation. All these issues, this valor, this presence, this entering the field, occurred while economic problems surrounded the people; such economic problems usually discourage and depress the masses; our people, despite all these problems, entered the field and defended the system. The enemies of the system saw with blind eyes that the Iranian nation is fond of the Islamic Republic.

In terms of work for the country, the people also showed enthusiasm. Of course, I mentioned yesterday, and I repeat that the slogan we raised last year (13) was not fully realized; that is a matter in itself; however, in the field of work, in the field of construction and development and progress, the people have truly not held back; great works have been accomplished; some of them were reported in that meeting where entrepreneurs gathered in this Hosseiniyeh; (14) some of the works that had been done were broadcast. Now, you can see that in just the past few months, a large number of beneficial projects for the people have been inaugurated across the country — some large, some small, but numerous and varied — this indicates that the people are active in the field of work, thanks be to God. Of course, we are not satisfied; there are many works that need to be done, one of which I have set as the slogan for this year; I will explain a little about it.

The issue of production is something I have been repeating for several years; a leap in production, people's participation in production, and similar matters; all related to production; why? Because production is one of the key elements for improving the country's economy and the livelihood of the people. Domestic production is very important. However, production requires investment; when we say investment, some people's minds go to foreign investment; no, it is the investment of our own people; this liquidity that is in the hands of the people, the same liquidity that some spend on coins, on land, on housing, on currency, and create problems for the country — in addition to not bringing profit, they create problems — if this liquidity is invested in production, the country will progress. Small investments to large investments; from a small limited poultry farm to a large factory; all of these are investments; these works can be done.

This year, I said "Investment for Production" is the slogan of the year. Everyone — the people and the government — should pay attention to this slogan and help as much as they can. Each has a duty; the people have one duty, the government has another duty. The duty of the people is that anyone who can, has money, has the ability to create a production, even if small, should do so — those who have made efforts and taken action have benefited, and both the country and the people have benefited — up to those who are the creators and employers and large job creators who can employ thousands of people through production; all of these [have duties]. This belongs to the people.

What is the duty of the government? The duty of the government is to prepare the ground for this work. The duty of the government is to prepare the ground. Thanks be to God, we have an established government — we have an established government; it is not like last year when changes and transitions occurred — this government can plan to prepare the grounds. Increasing production requires preliminaries, the most important of which is increasing investment. If investment increases, production will increase; this is my recommendation for this year to all people.

Of course, the people and those who have the ability, if they want to invest, need to feel that their investment is secure; this is my message to the responsible supervisory forces in various agencies, whether in the government, the judiciary, or the parliament; security of investment. Those who want to invest must feel secure. If there is no sense of security, work will not proceed, [they will not] invest. Sometimes we see in some places that supervisory agencies seem to be completely absent, [thus] illegal activities occur; this is wrong. However, in some places, supervisory agencies also impose undue strictness, this is also wrong; this is one issue. Another issue is the stability of laws and regulations; regulations, circulars, and guidelines should not change every day; so that the investor can be assured that they can trust and invest.

Another need that is again the responsibility of the officials is to shorten the investment process. Sometimes we receive letters and complaints that we want to invest, and we are delayed for two or three years to obtain a permit! This is also not correct; they should reduce intermediaries and be able to expedite this work.

Another issue is the issue of imports. Sometimes a company, an entity, with great effort manages to produce a commodity domestically, at the same time, another agency — governmental or non-governmental — imports the same commodity from abroad! This strikes a blow to domestic production. All of these must be monitored by the government.

One of the requirements of investment is to introduce opportunities. People say, "Very well, we now have some money, what should we do, how should we invest?" They should be guided on this. Various governmental agencies should introduce job opportunities in their respective fields, inform the people, utilize television, explain, and guide the people on how they can invest; for example, investing in knowledge-based companies is one of the things that can be done in this regard.

In any case, if the country's officials want to solve the issue of the people's livelihood — which of course they want; we know this; the country’s officials, the government officials, truly want and insist on improving the livelihood of the people — this cannot be achieved solely through supportive measures; of course, supportive measures are good, [but] it is achieved through fundamental works, one of which is the issue of production and investment; this is what you should pursue. Now, there is much to say in this regard.

Informed individuals about economic issues and responsible ones should explain to the people, clarify the paths and works, inform the government, and help the government. Some have solutions, they write letters to me and suggest to me. Well, the leadership does not interfere in economic planning; I mean, it has no right to interfere; this is the duty of the government, the government must do this, and we send it to the government. The main thing is that government officials should know what duties they have, what expectations there are from them, and they should fulfill them, God willing. This is the issue of the slogan of the year.

One issue regarding the political discourse these days is the statements of the Americans and the American officials, one says one thing, one completes it, one denies it, one affirms it. I will only mention one or two points. The first important point is that the Americans should know that in dealing with Iran, they will never achieve anything through threats. The second point: they and others should know that if they commit any malice against the Iranian nation, they will receive a severe blow.

The next point: a big mistake that American and European politicians and their ilk make is that they refer to the centers of resistance in the region as Iran's proxy forces; they insult them! What does proxy mean? The nation of Yemen has motivation, the centers of resistance in the countries of the region have motivation; the Islamic Republic of Iran does not need proxies; what does proxy mean? They are themselves. At the beginning of the occupation of Palestine, one of the countries that was at the forefront of opposing this act was Yemen; its ruler at that time rose and went to participate in an international gathering and opposed it in this manner; these people oppose, protest, resist against the wickedness and oppression that the evil usurping Zionist regime has been committing against the people today and yesterday; this is not a matter of proxy. Their big mistake is that they think these actions are being done on behalf of Iran; no, it is not on behalf of anyone; our stance is clear, and their stance is also clear.

Today, the wickedness of the Zionist regime, the merciless Zionist regime — which truly the term merciless is a small term — has pained many non-Muslim nations. Protests against the Zionist regime are taking place in America and in some European countries; they do not want to see this; Western politicians do not want to see, understand, and know how their nations think. They say that the university in America, whose students have protested in favor of Palestine, should have its funding cut; (15) this is also the free flow of information, this is also liberalism, freedom, human rights! This is how they behave. Today, nations are certainly opposed to the wickedness that the Zionist regime is committing, they resist in every way they can; the Islamic Republic has firmly stood against these oppressions and wickedness; we have clearly stated our positions; we support the Palestinian fighters and the Lebanese fighters who defend their country, Gaza, and Palestine; this has always been the method of the Islamic Republic. Of course, they threaten; they should know that we have never been the initiators of conflict and confrontation with anyone, but if someone commits wickedness and initiates, they should know that they will receive severe blows.

O Lord! On this first day of the year, send down Your blessings and grace upon this nation. O Lord! Make this year a blessed year for the Iranian nation, for the Muslim nations; grant victory to the oppressed nations over their oppressors. O Lord! Forgive us for the sake of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad; lead the Iranian nation to its great goals; make the heart of the holy Awaited One pleased with us; make the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) who opened this path for us and the pure souls of the dear martyrs who supported the great Imam, pleased and satisfied; send down Your mercy and grace upon them.

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