Statements in a Video Conference with Representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on the First Anniversary of the Start of the Eleventh Parliament

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 virtuous family, especially the Remaining One of God on earth.

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for granting us the opportunity to have this meeting at the end of a year of continuous activity by you, the esteemed representatives of the people. Although it would have been more delightful and sweeter to see you in person, unfortunately, the circumstances require that we speak to you from a distance and listen.

Today, I will discuss a matter regarding the Parliament; I will also say a few words about the elections.

The acceptable performance of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in its first year Thanks be to God, the Parliament has shown in the past year that it is both hardworking and ambitious, as well as effective. The points that the esteemed Speaker of the Parliament articulated in his eloquent and substantive speech truly bring joy to one’s heart; of course, we have had other reports in this regard that confirm these meanings. Thanks be to God, the presence of young and capable forces alongside those with legislative or executive backgrounds has enabled this Parliament to achieve good successes, both in terms of approving a significant number of bills and plans on important issues and in terms of public presence; being among the people and witnessing the real scenes of their lives, which the provincial trips of the esteemed Speaker of the Parliament and the heads of the commissions and some of the esteemed representatives have undertaken, is truly a very good movement and action that must, God willing, continue. My dear ones! Do not abandon your presence among the people. One of the great successes is to be able to be alongside the people and remain with them.

The necessity for representatives to refrain from aiding the opponents of the Parliament, in speech and behavior Since the beginning of this Parliament's work, a number of individuals have set their agenda to portray a negative image of the Parliament; they have made statements and continue to do so; in various media spaces that are now available to everyone, they make statements from which one does not sense any compassion. Sometimes someone criticizes with the intention of reform and completion; at other times, based on emotions or specific opinions and without compassion, they criticize. One feels that in these hostile movements, there are no signs of sincerity; one sees this. I want to tell you not to pay attention and not to get distracted; pursue your work and follow beneficial programs; the people will discern for themselves, the elite society will discern, the youth will discern, and they will understand who is doing what. Advertisements without good intentions will often be exposed sooner or later, and their falsehood will become clear. However, the advice I want to give is that you should be careful not to assist your opponents with your actions or words; my strong recommendation is this. The behavior and speech within the Eleventh Parliament should not endorse the words and approach of the opponents of this Parliament. Based on this, I will present a few recommendations.

A few recommendations to the representatives: 1) Stand firm on good characteristics and preserve them with vigilance, that is, piety One important recommendation is that you, who thankfully possess good characteristics: you are revolutionary, hardworking, and capable, and you pursue work; preserve these characteristics, keep them until the end of your term. Now, it should be said "until the end of life," but at least keep these characteristics until the end of your term. Many have had similar traits at the beginning of their work; they were revolutionary, capable, energetic, spoke passionately, and worked passionately, but over time, they could not resist temptations; the temptation of wealth, the temptation of position, the temptation of fame, the temptation of reputation. They could not resist, the path became crooked, behavior changed, sometimes leading to a 180-degree difference from the beginning. Therefore, you see that the Almighty God says in the Quran: "Indeed, those who say, 'Our Lord is Allah,' and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them." The descent of the angels of God's mercy is for those who stand firm on this statement: "Then they remained steadfast." Stand firm on these good characteristics. Now, to maintain our revolutionary spirit, what should we do? My recommendation is that we must be vigilant, we must hold ourselves accountable. Continuous vigilance is necessary. We humans are weak, exposed to danger, and prone to slip; we must be careful, vigilant of ourselves. This vigilance, in Quranic and Islamic terminology, is called piety; piety means this continuous vigilance over oneself so that one does not get caught in the thorns around. Well, this was one recommendation, which I believe is the main recommendation.

2) The necessity of maintaining rationality and calmness in the work of the Parliament The next recommendation is that you are revolutionary elements - that is how you are recognized; the Parliament is a revolutionary Parliament, and the enmity of some is due to this - this revolutionary Parliament, which has a revolutionary approach and embraces the values of the revolution, must show that it is capable, that it has the necessary competence and effectiveness to manage the legislative affairs of the Parliament, and that it can properly set the course. Of course, the news that has been given, the reports I have seen or heard, and what the esteemed Speaker of the Parliament said today, these are good; these things are very good, but setting the course for reforming the affairs of the country requires further work; a lot of work must be done, a lot of effort must be made. If we want this characteristic to exist in the Parliament, it requires the necessary rationality and calmness.

There must be the necessary tranquility and rational calmness in the Parliament. When I say that the calmness resulting from rationality is in contrast to emotional actions; emotional, impulsive actions, and hasty decisions should not exist. The Parliament is one of the main manifestations of collective wisdom in the country. Well, if the Parliament is a manifestation of collective wisdom, then it requires wise behavior in the actions taken. Some are mistaken in this regard; you must be careful not to become this way - my reference is not to within the Parliament; we have had cases outside, we have had them in the past, and we still have them today - revolutionary spirit is confused with emotional behavior, with irresponsible words; no, revolutionary spirit is not this; revolutionary spirit is the spirit of correct action, determined and resolute in the right direction, which is characterized by rationality arising from the revolutionary spirit. You see; our great Imam is the model; Imam was the most revolutionary of all; well, we have been serving this cause from the beginning; truly, we were falling short, but Imam never fell short; he was the most revolutionary of all, and he was the wisest of all; he was the wisest, and he acted and spoke more maturely and thoughtfully; so this is also a point. The functioning of the Parliament must be wise, mature, considered, and calculated.

3) The necessity of identifying the Parliament's vulnerabilities and avoiding them My next recommendation is: My dear ones! The Islamic Consultative Assembly, by its nature, has certain vulnerabilities that I will now mention; recognize these vulnerabilities and keep yourselves away from them; they are dangerous; I have been in the Parliament; for a long time, I have been in the Parliament, and for years I have had connections with various Parliaments; the Parliament has vulnerabilities, and if these vulnerabilities are not recognized and one falls into them, then the situation of the Parliament will change, and the movement of the Parliament will take a different course. These vulnerabilities have various types; now I will mention two or three of them:

Types of vulnerabilities of the Parliament: a) Misuse of representatives of legal capabilities One of these vulnerabilities is that a representative uses the capabilities that the law has provided for him for personal, group, or ethnic matters; what are these capabilities? Interrogation, questioning, investigation; these are your capabilities, these give power to the representative of the Parliament; these must only be used in accordance with the law and truth. One of the vulnerabilities is that the representative of the Parliament, God forbid, is tempted to use these capabilities for other matters.

b) The entry of representatives into executive matters One of the vulnerabilities is the entry of representatives into executive matters; suppose entering into who the director-general of a certain organization in our city or province should be, for example; the governor, the mayor, and the like. Now, sometimes in emergency situations, there may be exceptions, which I do not address, but generally, esteemed representatives should refrain from these executive matters; entering into these matters and negotiating and agreeing with the executive official in this regard has risks; this must be avoided.

c) Carelessness in using platforms to express opinions One of the vulnerabilities is carelessness in using the platforms and loudspeakers that are at your disposal. Your statements are broadcast directly in the country or later published by the media; this opportunity is not available to everyone, it is available to the representative; be careful that there is no carelessness in using this opportunity and in presenting your criticisms and opinions. Sometimes one has harsh opinions that can be expressed in a two-person, three-person, or five-person meeting, but if you say this in front of the general public, it may cause harm instead of benefit. Some think that every critical opinion they have about any place must be announced and made known to the public, while making it known to the public sometimes has no benefit and sometimes brings numerous harms. Therefore, care must be taken in using these media, and carelessness must not occur.

d) The pursuit of executive positions One of the vulnerabilities is that a representative, from the moment he enters the Parliament, nurtures the idea of reaching a certain executive position - to become a minister, a director, or a certain official - no, the duty of representation is very important. If one works for God and does the work correctly, it is more important than executive duties, or at least in some cases, it is of equal importance. It should not be that as soon as we enter the Parliament, we start thinking about how to reach a certain position in the next stage or in the next government; these are vulnerabilities, the Parliament has such vulnerabilities. My dear ones! Be careful; you are still at the beginning of your work, thanks be to God, you have just entered, and these vulnerabilities, God willing, have not approached you and will not approach you, but be vigilant. In this regard, the supervisory board must be active; the supervisory board that oversees the behavior of the representatives must be active in this regard; but more than supervision, it is your inner piety and your internal vigilance that can be effective and keep you safe from these vulnerabilities. Well, this is also a recommendation.

4) The importance of expert work and the necessity of using it to enhance the quality of laws Another recommendation is to emphasize expert work; I have repeatedly said this before; I believe I have said it to you, and I have said it repeatedly to previous Parliaments. Expert work is very important. The quality level of laws must be raised; the law must be such that for many years, the executors are willing to use and adhere to it. The high quality of the law is related to its strength, its realism, its practicality, its clarity and unambiguity, and its non-interpretability; the quality of the law is achieved in this way. This also comes from expertise; the level of expertise must be raised. Well, fortunately, the Parliament has a Research Center, which is a good center, a good place for expertise. The specialized committees themselves are centers of expertise, but in addition to these, the representatives themselves must work; they must study. They should sit down and study the bill or plan that is presented to them, think about it; if they have access, consult with knowledgeable individuals so that this level of expertise is raised.

Of course, in some cases - in sensitive and important matters - it is preferable that a bill be presented instead of a plan. Because the characteristic of a bill is that the expertise of the government also supports it; because the government has a vast expertise apparatus. Bills benefit from this; that is, in addition to your expertise, it has been studied in the government; moreover, when it is a bill, since the government is the executor and wants to implement it, it will naturally be executed with more agreement; this is also a point.

Observing priorities and essential issues of the country Another recommendation is to observe the priorities and essential issues of the country, which I presented to you last year in a list form; fortunately, these have been included in your programs, and the Eleventh Parliament has pursued these matters, and as was reported, you have followed them. Pay serious attention to these priorities, observe them. Now this year, we have set the slogan of removing production obstacles and supporting production, which is an important point. In my opinion, production is the essential axis of the economy in the country; if we can revive production, the economy of the country will come to life and flourish. Many things depend on production. The obstacles to production and such must be removed, and support for production must be carried out; include this in your program.

Addressing the problem of the accumulation of laws Another recommendation that I have repeatedly presented to various Parliaments is to address the problem of the "accumulation of laws." We have many laws that are piled up like this; some are outdated, some are repetitive, some are contradictory and conflicting; a solution must be found for these laws. When laws are piled up like this, the one who wants to evade the law you have approved will search through those laws and find a way out; this is it. One of the harms of various laws is that if someone wants to evade work - I have said before: "the law-breakers who are legal scholars" - they search for a way out. These laws are cumbersome and prevent work from progressing. One of the tasks, in my opinion, is to set a time, give a deadline, designate a group, and have them sit down to refine and reduce the laws.

The necessity of acquiring the virtues of the nation by the Parliament and transforming into the essence of these virtues Well, these were the issues we had in mind regarding the Parliament that we presented. I will conclude the last point related to the Parliament with a profound statement from our great Imam. Imam (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him) has statements regarding the Parliament; one of his phrases is that he said: "The Parliament is the essence of the virtues of the nation"; what does this mean? It means that it must be the essence of the virtues of the nation; this is its meaning, otherwise, it is not that the Parliament is naturally the essence of the virtues. The Parliament must be arranged in such a way that it is the essence of the virtues of the nation; what are the virtues of the nation? What virtues does our nation currently possess? Struggle, dignity, self-confidence, hope, selflessness, strength, and the ability to stand against difficulties; these are the capabilities of our nation; our nation has shown these capabilities over the past forty-one or two years of the revolution; it has shown them in the imposed war, in the face of sanctions, and in the face of the bullying of Western and non-Western powers; these are the virtues of the nation. You must be the essence of the virtues of the nation. Imam, in fact, with this one word, defined the work program of all our Parliaments until the end: our Parliaments are obliged to make themselves the essence of the virtues of the nation. Well, this was regarding the issues related to the dear Parliament. Of course, there is much to say; now we do not want to take too much time; this much is enough.

Hope for holding a dignified election with the efforts of the people Regarding the elections; there are about three weeks left until the elections. I sincerely hope that with the efforts of the Iranian nation, these elections will, contrary to the wishes of the enemy, become a source of dignity for Iran. Our enemies are using all their resources; both our enemies and those inside who knowingly or unknowingly follow their words and repeat them, and they are trying to make this election a source of disgrace for the nation. I hope the people will strive and that the Almighty God will bestow His grace, and that this election will, God willing, be a source of pride for the country.

Thanks to the sense of responsibility of the disqualified candidates Well, the candidates have been specified. The esteemed Guardian Council has carried out what it deemed necessary according to its duty, and has specified the candidates. First of all, I must thank all those who entered the arena of candidacy. Many of these individuals certainly entered the field due to a sense of responsibility, thinking that they could help the country and serve it. I must thank all those who entered the field of candidacy for the elections. Secondly, I must express my additional gratitude to those who the Council did not recognize as qualified and who nobly dealt with this issue; their behavior was noble, and even some encouraged people to participate in the elections and go to the polls. This was a very good deed, a God-pleasing act that they performed.

Of course, not being recognized as qualified does not mean being unqualified. The meaning of not being recognized as qualified is that the Guardian Council could not determine that this person is qualified, not that it has determined that he is unqualified; no, he may have high qualifications, but the reports, resources, and familiarity of the Guardian Council could not determine this; therefore, [not being recognized as qualified] is not evidence of unqualification.

Various motivations for protesting the Guardian Council in the qualification review Well, there was some pressure on the Guardian Council in this regard, and some protested. The protests that have occurred do not have a common motivation; the motivations are various: some protest the Guardian Council because they say that with this situation, participation will decrease; they express concern for participation, which I will address later. Some are like this. The issue for some is that one of the candidates seems to them to be qualified, and he was not recognized as qualified; they are upset that why the one they know is qualified was not recognized by the Guardian Council. I see no objection to these; after all, they are aggrieved. Of course, they are not all the same; a few may consider Zayd to be qualified and not consider Amr to be qualified - that Zayd and Amr were not recognized as qualified - while another may think the opposite, not consider Zayd to be qualified and consider Amr to be qualified; therefore, they are opposites, but in this regard, both share the grievance that their preferred candidate was not recognized as qualified. Well, this is not [a problem]; however, there is another group that opposes the Guardian Council itself; they have taken this opportunity to take revenge on the Guardian Council; these individuals will have to answer to God. One sees; I see both the virtual space and am aware of it, and I observe in some newspapers and media that they want to take revenge on the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council has serious enemies, and this has now become an opportunity for them to take revenge. The Almighty God will not forgive these individuals.

Effectiveness and ability to solve problems as the criterion for people's voting However, regarding the issue of participation, some are worried that participation will decrease. I believe that in terms of the participation of the people - now we are not concerned with specific groups; a group may be pursuing a certain name or faction or title; we are not concerned with these - the general public and the masses are not looking for this or that name; the general public is looking to see who has management, who has the strength of action or will, who has the effectiveness to solve the problems of the country; they are looking for this. That who enters the field with what name, with what title, and from what faction is not important to the general public; it is important for specific groups, but not for the general public. If the candidates who are currently in the scene can express and show to the people that they have this effectiveness, the people will go to the polls, and there will be high participation, God willing, with divine success. The important thing is that the candidates can convince the people, make them realize that this person or these individuals can manage the country, are competent, are trustworthy; the honesty of individuals must be recognized, and they must be those who understand the pains of society.

Economy, unemployment, and livelihood as the main issues of the people I have heard it said that candidates should express their views on the virtual space or foreign policy in debates; no, the main issue for the people is not the virtual space and foreign policy and relations with this government or that government; the main issue for the people is other things; the main issue for the people is the unemployment of the youth, the main issue for the people is the livelihood of the weak classes of society, the main issue for the people is the import mafia that breaks the back of domestic production, the main issue for the people is the wrong policies that discourage the innovative youth who can do work. We hear these; I have numerous reports that an individual or a group enters with motivation, starts an important work, engages in production, and then instead of this production being encouraged and the product being purchased, suddenly the door to imports opens, and similar products are imported! These ruin them. These ruin the farmer. Just recently, I reminded the esteemed officials; for example, the farmer producing onions or potatoes works hard, and some individuals and policies bring him to the ground; the profit of his labor goes to the middleman, and he receives nothing. The main issues of the people are these; those who should come must confront these. The country will truly prosper if the head of the executive branch is someone who can resolve these issues. Of course, cultural and political issues also have their importance, which must be addressed, but for now, the urgent and main issues of the country are economic issues that must be pursued seriously, and the esteemed candidates must address these, talk to the people, convince them, and let the people know what will happen.

Various enemy propaganda to undermine the elections at different stages Of course, the enemies oppose our elections. From the beginning, [over the years]; now during the time of Imam (may God’s peace and blessings be upon him), that is, in the 1980s, the composition of the government - the presidency and the premiership - was such that these issues did not manifest much there, but after the law changed and the presidency became the head of the government and the executive head, it has always been the case that before elections, enemy propaganda is aimed at discouraging people from participating, claiming that there may be fraud, tampering, and actions like this. They propagate to prevent people from participating; after people participate and the elections are held with enthusiasm, they say, well, it is obvious, it is engineered, it is clear who comes out of the ballot box; this has always been the case, and it is not just today. They have always made these statements about various individuals. After someone is elected, whether it is the one they predicted or someone else, they say, well, this is of no use; the president has no authority. The enemy's propaganda strategy over the years has been this, and today it is the same. Today, they are doing things to reduce people's participation; if the people participate, they will say, well, your participation is of no benefit, it is obvious who will be elected; after that, whoever comes out of the ballot box - now anyone - whether according to their predictions or not, they will say, well, this is of no use. This is what the enemy is pursuing, and unfortunately, I see the repetition of these words inside. I know the people; I have been interacting with these individuals who are now in the spotlight for 42 years, I have worked with them, I know the people, and I see that some are following the enemy's words. They publish these words in a so-called theorized manner in the media, in both virtual and non-virtual media.

Well, our duty is to see what the Almighty God wants from us, what divine satisfaction is, and to pursue that. God willing, everyone will follow and are following; those who are responsible are pursuing their religious duty, seeking to answer God, and are not willing to sell or set aside their religion for the desires of this and that or the disputes of this and that. Ultimately, God willing, we will all be able to fulfill our duties.

I have a few recommendations; I have recommendations for the candidates, I have recommendations for their supporters, and I have a word for our dear people.

A few recommendations to the candidates: 1) Avoid attributing accusations to others However, [the recommendation] to the candidates. Do not turn the elections into a battlefield for power. Do not look at what is common in America and some European countries, where insulting confrontations have tarnished their reputation. In the past, whenever candidates followed the method of insult, slander, and defamation of the opponent and frightened the people from the rival, the country suffered in one way or another; it has been like this in the past. It should not be that we scare the people from the rival, saying that if he comes, such and such will happen. The election arena is a competition for service. The Quran instructs us: "So race towards good deeds"; we must look at the elections with this perspective. There should be no hatred-spreading and accusations.

2) Avoid unrealistic slogans Unrealistic slogans should not be given. Unrealistic slogans can sometimes be perceived as deceiving the people. Given the resources and realities of the country, slogans and promises must be made accordingly; this is how it should be done.

3) Adhere to ethical considerations Ethical considerations must be seriously observed; that is, if our election candidates, both in their debates and in interviews with them, in the questions and answers they have, observe Islamic ethics, this will overflow into society, and the masses will learn and observe ethical considerations; this will serve as a model for them.

4) Avoid breaking norms And do not break norms. Some individuals, to be seen more, to be heard more, think their solution is to break norms, to break the red lines of the system; no, the Islamic Republic is an established and enduring system, a well-established system, and the main lines of the system are clear. These do not pertain to me or others like me; these are God's work, relying on the masses; it is based on this establishment that the Islamic Republic has been able to resist against all this enmity over the years. It should not be that they try to create a position for themselves by breaking these important boundaries and limits of the Islamic Republic; they will not succeed, and no position will be gained. They should purify their intentions for God.

Recommendations to the supporters of the candidates: Be careful not to create conflicts with the supporters of other candidates However, a recommendation to the supporters. Supporters of any candidate they choose, if they purify their intentions for God, the Almighty God will bless their work. Now, either the one they prefer will succeed and win, or if not, the Almighty God will be pleased with them, and this work will be blessed for them. Sometimes supporters create conflicts that the candidates themselves are not even aware of; that is, sometimes, in some cases, a situation arises where they are more heated than the candidates themselves; I kindly ask the esteemed supporters of the candidates to be mindful of these aspects.

The program of the opponents - which we are somewhat aware of - is to pit the supporters against each other; the supporter of this candidate speaks ill of the supporter of that candidate, and vice versa. They are using the virtual space to achieve this; that is, in the virtual space, from the mouth of one person in this campaign, they speak against someone in that campaign, and from his mouth against this one, and they incite them against each other; this is the plan, be aware. The motivations of the enemies for disruption and creating discord are very deep, and they are pursuing this issue.

And in the virtual space, some things are highlighted that are not necessarily a reflection of the people's will. It is not the case that whatever is highlighted in the virtual space is necessarily the will of the people; no, sometimes something is highlighted and exaggerated. And everyone should commit between themselves and God that whatever the result of the elections is, they will accept it nobly and submit to it. It should not be that if the elections turn out in our favor, we say we accept; that is, we accept the republic as long as it turns out in our favor; if the republic turns out in favor of someone else, we do not accept the republic, which unfortunately is a bitter test that has remained in the history of our elections since 2009.

Recommendations to the people for participation in the elections However, a recommendation to the general public. I tell our dear people: The elections take place in one day, but their effect remains for several years. Participate in the elections, consider the elections to belong to you - which they do - and seek help from God, seek guidance that He guides you to what is right and true, and go to the ballot box and vote for the one who is deserving. Do not pay attention to the words of those who promote - whether from inside or outside - that "there is no benefit, do not go to the polls, do not go"; these are not compassionate towards the people. If they mention the name of the people, they do so in vain, they lie, they are not compassionate towards the people. Someone who is compassionate towards the people does not prevent them from going to the ballot box.

The importance of council elections and their impact on urban and rural life The last point is that do not forget the council elections; the council elections are very important. Now everyone is busy with the presidential elections, but the council elections have a significant impact on the management of cities and villages and on urban and rural life, and this must not be forgotten, God willing.

We hope that the Almighty God guides the people, guides all of us so that, God willing, we can fulfill our duties. Those who have influential words and can affect the people have the duty to use this influence to promote the elections; everyone, various sectors of the people, anyone who has an influential word must certainly use this, God willing, to please the Almighty God.

O Lord! Turn our hearts towards You; make our desire Your satisfaction; grant us success in the path of achieving Your satisfaction; may the Islamic Republic, God willing, become more dignified and honored day by day.

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