Norooz Message of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on the Occasion of the Arrival of the Year 1372

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 blessed Norooz 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 Eids in respect and esteem. Especially to those whom the entire Iranian nation is obliged to respect and is truly 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 request God's 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 in 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, a capital 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 divine acceptance and 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, from the perspective of global issues, it was a very eventful year. 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 in the turbulent sea of today's world and this stormy world, thanks be to God, the country's officials were granted divine success and, with the help and cooperation of the nation, succeeded in keeping 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, in the direction of the goals and the five-year plan that has been outlined and approved by the legislators, have advanced with ability, power, and great effort. We witness this and hope that what they do will be accepted by God and reach the results and 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 result of the sincere and devoted efforts of the country's top officials has been that we see signs of movement, construction, and serious material effort in building 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, 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 political and social arenas.

The popular presence in places where people needed to rush to the aid of the government, in places where they needed 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 - and everywhere, was truly satisfactory, enemy-breaking, 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 arrival of the new year, God will solve their problems with His power and with the problem-solving hands of our dear nation and government. Of course, 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, God willing, will begin with auspiciousness and blessing. We expect the government and dear statesmen to pursue the same powerful and diligent movement they made last year in 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 emphatically recommend to planners and government officials is to ensure that the main goal of this program is to help the deprived classes of society. This is something that 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 effort are its prelude. We do not want to build so 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 take place, and the country to achieve economic prosperity and material progress and grow economically so that it can approach social justice and we have no poor; so that the deprived classes in society do not feel deprived and are not deprived; so that we do not have deprived regions in the country and the gap between the rich and the poor decreases day by day. This is the main goal. This should be considered in the program. These five-year programs, each of which is a significant figure for the movement of the nation and government towards the goals of the revolution, must emphasize and insist on this revolutionary orientation and preserve it.

Another point I would like to make to the officials and our dear nation is that if we search, we will see that wherever we have succeeded in the past, it has been because we have respected and adhered to the principles of the revolution. Wherever we have failed, it has been because we have deviated, more or less, from the divine, Islamic, and revolutionary principles. Our progress is due to the blessings of the principles of the revolution. Of course, the enemies from outside and their agents inside try to show the opposite. They write and propagate 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 solves 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 scene - the imposed war. There, this issue clearly and evidently shows itself. Look at foreign policy. There too, this issue clearly manifests 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, thanks be to God, has begun with auspiciousness and blessing - to maintain the same revolutionary and Islamic orientation, the same spirit of helping and assisting the government and officials. Maintain the same national unity and harmony. 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, between officials and the people. We must move in the opposite direction. They want people to distance themselves from Islam and the goals of the revolution. Therefore, this is something that is detrimental to our nation, and we must reduce this distance and move more towards Islam and the revolution.

On this basis, I emphasize that dear and faithful youth, all people - 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 regard, and various state and revolutionary institutions should also strive to bring themselves closer to revolutionary and Islamic standards and principles.

I hope that with God's grace and the blessings and attentions of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him and may God hasten his noble 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.