New Year Message on the Occasion of the Beginning of Year 1403

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

O Turner of hearts and sights, O Manager of night and day, O Transformer of years and conditions, transform our state to the best of states.

I congratulate the dear nation of Iran on the occasion of Nowruz and the new year, which this year coincides with the blessed month of Ramadan and the spring of hearts and spirituality. I extend my special congratulations to the families of the martyrs and to all the nations that honor Nowruz.

I remember the dear martyrs and the Imam of the martyrs who opened this path for the nation of Iran. I wish for the nation of Iran to benefit from both springs, the spring of nature and the spring of spirituality.

Let us take a look at the year 1402, which has just ended, and reflect on the year we have entered. The year 1402, like all other years of life, was filled with sweetness and bitterness, with desires and undesired events; this is the nature of the world and the nature of life. In the internal affairs of the country, there were remarkable scientific advancements, technological progress, and foundational productions that took place across the country, which were among the sweet news. On the other hand, the economic and livelihood problems of the people were among the bitter news. The epic presence of the people in the gatherings on Quds Day and the 22nd of Bahman, the secure holding of these large demonstrations, the safe and sound elections at the end of the year, and other public participations were among the good news and sweet desires of the past year. The bitter incident in Kerman on the anniversary of martyr Soleimani, the floods in Sistan and Baluchestan at the end of the year, and the incidents that occurred for the security forces and guardians of security during these months were among the bitter events, and the bitterest of all was the incident in Gaza, which is one of our important international issues, and there has been no event more bitter than that this year. In foreign affairs, the international movement of the government in various economic and political arenas was among the sweet news and desirable events, while the incident in Gaza, as mentioned, was among the bitterest events, indeed the bitterest of our foreign issues. We beseech the Almighty God to compensate for the bitterness and to continue the sweetness for the nation of Iran and the Muslim nations, and to bestow upon them what is a source of goodness and blessing for the Islamic Ummah and for the nation of Iran.

Regarding the slogan of the year 1402, which was about controlling inflation and increasing production, good work was done. In both areas of the slogan, actions were taken, and progress occurred, although not to the desired extent — which, God willing, I will elaborate on in today’s speech to the nation of Iran — and what has been done is good but must continue. This slogan is not one that we expect to be fully realized in one year; it will continue.

In the year ahead of us, there are many tasks that must be accomplished, and we must commit ourselves to them, both the officials of the country, the government, the parliament, the judiciary, and others, as well as all individuals; we must all commit ourselves to these tasks in various fields. However, in this year, the main issue of the country is the economy. The fundamental weakness of the country is the economic issue; we must act actively in this regard.

Through studying the opinions of experts, I conclude that a fundamental key to solving the economic problems of the country is the issue of production; domestic production, national production. This is why we have emphasized production over the past few years. If the growth of production and the forward movement in national production are carried out satisfactorily, many significant economic problems such as inflation, employment, and the value of the national currency — these fundamental economic issues will progress towards resolution. Therefore, the issue of production is important, and for this reason, I emphasize production again this year, and I expect, God willing, that there will be a leap in production this year, and I firmly believe that this leap will not occur without the participation of the people and without the presence of the people. If we want to have a leap in production, we must make the economy participatory; we must significantly open the door for the people to enter the production arena and remove the obstacles to their participation. There are great capacities in the public sector that, God willing, I will explain in this regard, and these capacities must be activated; they must be utilized for the benefit of the country and the people. Therefore, on this occasion, I have set this year’s slogan as "Leap in Production with the Participation of the People." This is the slogan for this year. We hope, God willing, that this slogan will be realized in the best possible way. The planners of the country should plan, the experts should collaborate intellectually, and economic activists should practically participate in this work, God willing.

I beseech the Almighty God for the success of the great and dear nation of Iran, and I humbly extend my greetings to the presence of His Holiness the Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and beseech God for the hastening of the reappearance of that great figure, who is the salvation of humanity.

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