Statements at the Grand Gathering of the People of Bojnord

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 beloved, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and virtuous family and his chosen companions, and peace be upon the righteous servants of God.

O God, send blessings upon Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the chosen Imam, the pious and pure, and Your proof over those above the earth and those beneath the soil, the truthful martyr, with abundant, complete, growing, pure, continuous, and repeated blessings, as You have sent upon any of Your servants and Your friends.

I sincerely thank God for the opportunity to meet with you, the dear people of North Khorasan, whose city and province are known as the Gate of the Ridha, on this special pilgrimage day of Imam Ridha. Although we do not have the blessing today to be close to the holy shrine of the eighth Imam, we send our greetings from this region that belongs to him.

This region, known today as "North Khorasan," is one of the important areas of Khorasan; both in terms of geographical and natural position, and in terms of the characteristics of its people, humanity, cultures, temperaments, and behaviors. We have recognized these characteristics in the people of this important and sensitive region for a long time; a province with beautiful nature, rich and diverse natural resources, with a depth and richness of culture that is completely prominent and distinguished, with abundant agricultural and livestock potential and other related activities, with unfortunately unknown tourist attractions - many people in the country still do not properly recognize the tourist attractions of this region - and one of its greatest characteristics is the annual passage of millions of eager pilgrims to the shrine of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him). With these geographical and regional characteristics, North Khorasan has a sensitive position. However, more importantly, are the characteristics of its people. We have long recognized the people here as lively and energetic in all fields. In all areas where the presence of the people is evident, we have known the people of North Khorasan, the people of Bojnord, and other regions of this province as lively, energetic, and ready for action; they have shown this everywhere.

Here, I express my gratitude for the presence of the people in the streets today - that this vitality and energy and readiness were palpable in the movement of the people during the hour and a half or two hours we were in the streets; we have recognized this in these people for a long time - and I also apologize. The dear youth in the streets created such a crowd that, truthfully, I who was sitting inside the car became worried about the pressure that was being placed on these dear people. Ultimately, we are both grateful and apologetic.

This vitality and energy are seen in all aspects of the lives of these people. On the twenty-eighth of Safar, when people from all over the province set out towards the shrine of Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him), more than from any other city, the travelers and vehicles are from Bojnord. The people of Mashhad know this; I myself, being from Mashhad, know this. In pilgrimage, this vitality, presence, and readiness are palpable.

In the field of the Sacred Defense, we observed the same spirit. Fifty prominent commanders of the divisions related to Khorasan and the Jawad al-A'imah Brigade (peace be upon him) are from the region of North Khorasan. Two thousand seven hundred seventy-two martyrs from this region have given their lives for God. This province has more than six thousand disabled veterans; there are also many freed prisoners, warriors, and self-sacrificers. This is the same spirit of presence, readiness, vitality, and energy.

The people of this province are like this in everything. When it comes to traditional wrestling, tens of thousands of spectators stand there, sit there, and watch the wrestling. These characteristics are important. The pride of border guarding in this region is also related to these characteristics. Of course, these are not the only things; the distinctions of this province are more than these.

This province has brilliant talents. As I have been informed, this province is among the top ten provinces in the country in terms of talent and scientific capability. In student Olympiads, it is considered among the best in the country. These are talents. Of course, I myself have seen examples of these brilliant and distinguished talents during my time in seminary in Mashhad, which I do not need to elaborate on here; God willing, I will mention them in the gathering of scholars and students. The people of this region are proud; they are religious; they are border guards; they are lively, energetic, and courageous. These characteristics are prominent traits.

Why do we mention these? Because it is good for the people of various regions of our country to know their distinctions and take pride in these distinctions. A young person from Bojnord should take pride in being from this city. A young person from this province, regardless of which ethnicity they belong to, should take pride in being from this province; belonging to this region; belonging to these people. One of the other distinctions of this province is the kind and brotherly coexistence of different ethnicities - Kurds, Persians, Turks, Tats, and Turkmen - who live together with health, kindness, and brotherhood; this is completely evident in the region; and this should be greatly appreciated.

Well, from here I will enter the main subject of my concern. My dear ones! Brothers! Sisters! You have heard these merits. This vitality and energy and readiness have existed throughout the country since the revolution until today; and this is a great blessing for a nation that seeks to move forward, to progress and elevate, and to pursue a good life. This state of readiness, vitality, and being on the job is a great blessing; but it is not enough. To reach the peaks, other conditions also exist. First, there must be a roadmap; that is, the goal of the movement must be clear, the vision of the movement must be clear, the course of this movement must be outlined, and there must be a constant and correct understanding and monitoring of this movement. This is necessary for a nation. Today, these are among our main issues.

I insist that especially our dear youth and the elites of the country pay attention to the main issues of today; we need these today. The goals of this movement were outlined from the beginning of the revolution; both in the slogans of the people and in the statements of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified), the roadmap was generally outlined; then over time, in these thirty years, the roadmap was developed, matured, and completed; today the Iranian nation knows what it wants and what it is pursuing.

If we want to summarize the goals of the Iranian nation in one concept that can largely express the public demands of the country and the nation, that key concept is progress; but with the definition that Islam gives to progress. Progress in the logic of Islam is different from progress in the logic of Western material civilization. They see one-dimensional; they look at progress with one direction - the material direction. Progress in their view, primarily and as the most important, is progress in wealth, progress in science, progress in military, and progress in technology. This is the notion of progress in the Western logic; but in Islamic logic, progress has more dimensions: progress in science, progress in ethics, progress in justice, progress in public welfare, progress in the economy, progress in international dignity and credibility, progress in political independence - all of these are included in the concept of progress in Islam - progress in servitude and closeness to God the Exalted; that is, the spiritual aspect, the divine aspect; this is also part of the progress that exists in Islam and is our ultimate goal in the revolution: closeness to God. Both "this world" and "the hereafter" are considered in this progress that is intended; Islam has taught us that "he is not one of us who abandons his world for his hereafter, nor his hereafter for his world"; we should not abandon the world for the hereafter, just as we should not sacrifice the hereafter for the world. In a narration, it is said: "Work for your world as if you will live forever"; that is, do not plan for your world only for the few days of your life; plan for fifty years. This is what the officials of the country, the officials of the public programs must pay attention to. Do not say that we do not know if we will be alive in fifty years, so why should we plan? No, plan in such a way that you will live until the end of the world; just as if you want to plan for yourself and for your own benefit, with what seriousness and precision you do it, plan for future generations as well, for whom you will not be present at that time, in the same way; "Work for your world as if you will live forever". The opposite point is: "And work for your hereafter as if you will die tomorrow"; that is, work for your hereafter in such a way that it is as if you are going to leave this world tomorrow. This means that you should give your all for both the world and the hereafter. Islamic progress, progress in the logic of the revolution, means this; it means comprehensive.

The goal is progress; however, monitoring step by step is also necessary, which is the task of the elites. Today, what are our conditions, what are our obstacles, what are our strengths, what are our weaknesses, what are our opportunities, what are the threats, what should we do, how should we plan to benefit from opportunities and prevent threats; these are tasks that the elites must perform at every stage; they must apply this in planning and also inform the people; because the people want to move with open eyes and insight, to know what they are doing, to know where they are going. When this happens, the people will enter the difficult fields with all their being.

Well, now if I want to make a judgment regarding this goal that has been mentioned, my judgment is a positive one. Throughout the thirty-year period of the revolution, we have made continuous progress. Of course, there have been ups and downs, speed and slowness, weakness and strength, but the progress of the country and the nation towards that desired peak has never stopped. There have been weaknesses; the nation, the officials, and the elites - political elites, scientific elites, and religious elites - must decide to eliminate these weaknesses.

Let us accelerate the progress of the country. Today, what can help us succeed and what can create problems for us? Let me give an example: consider a group of mountaineers who want to reach the prominent peak of this mountain, which has benefits and honors. Their primary concern is to move forward, to work, and to strive. Of course, problems may arise along the way, dangers exist. What is primarily necessary for them is to strive, to work, to have movement, to have a resolute determination, to not lose hope, to not become discouraged regarding reaching their goals, to have patience, to have planning, to have awareness and readiness to face problems. Problems and dangers may arise on any path, and I will refer to what has arisen in the thirty years of the revolution in front of our dear people and how the people have overcome these problems. Therefore, the main equipment of this great and massive movement is this resolute determination, this hope, this continuous work and effort, this planning, this readiness and awareness. If this main equipment exists, if these main pillars are present, this collective that is moving - in our example, the mountaineers; and in reality, the Iranian nation - will overcome all problems and can bring all its enemies to their knees. This is fundamental. If this equipment exists, no problem in the true sense of the word is a problem; no danger is a danger. What is the real danger? The real danger is that the nation loses this main equipment; that is, it loses the spirit of work and effort, becomes lazy; loses the spirit of hope, becomes despondent; loses patience and resistance, becomes hasty; forgets planning, becomes disorganized and confused; these are dangers. If a nation can maintain this prominent spirit, which is a mixture of hope, determination, faith, effort, and movement, no problem is a problem for it.

Now let us return to observe the scene of our dear Iran and the great Iranian nation. I wish that what I say, what I think about, is in accordance with logic; we do not want to speak slogans. Let us see what is logical, what the realities are.

The Iranian nation is facing a confrontation with a set of enemies, and they started the enmity, with the dangerous and wicked Zionist network at the forefront, which unfortunately some Western governments, especially the United States, are influenced by this network. From the very beginning of the revolution, they opposed the Islamic revolution and the Islamic Republic; they have harbored animosity towards this people who have revolted; and this is still the case. Now, in this confrontation scene, on one side is the Iranian nation, and on the other side are some powers that are hostile to the Iranian nation with animosity. When we look at the scene, if we take a look at our dear nation, we see that our nation has determination, hope, superior talent, and a motivated and hardworking young generation. The presence of the young generation is evident in all fields: in the field of science, which today is acknowledged worldwide; in technology, in various social fields; when it arose, in the Sacred Defense; today also in various preparations. These are what the Iranian nation has today; it also has a twenty-year outlook, the necessary tools for moving forward, natural resources, and valuable mines.

What we have in our country in terms of essential resources is more than the world average. I have said many times: we have about one-hundredth of the world’s population, and our country is also about one-hundredth of the world’s area; but the essential resources we have are much more than one-hundredth. In some resources, we rank first among all countries in the world; like energy resources - oil and gas - which today we are at the top of the list among all countries. These are our characteristics.

Our climate is diverse. Our country is vast. Everything exists in accordance with our needs. We have good nature, good mines, good people, good talents, and we also have caring officials in all three branches, and we have armed forces that are ready, brave, and prepared, as well as knowledgeable and caring clergy, and we have populous universities and schools - four million university students and millions of school students - these are our capabilities, our talents; determination, will, and hope also exist in our nation.

Our movement from the beginning of the revolution until today has had an upward trajectory. The result of this upward movement is the progress that has been achieved until today. The amount we have achieved in proportion to the years, considering the hostilities that have been directed against us, is remarkable, and the progress is evident to all. In infrastructure, the country has progressed; in public services, the country has progressed; in spirituality, the country has progressed; in knowledge and technology, the same is true. The infrastructures in which we are prominent and distinguished are primarily political stability in the country. Various governments have come to power, despite differing opinions and political tendencies, but the stability of the country has continued from the beginning of the revolution until today, and the country has moved towards its goals. Factional and political disputes have not been able to undermine the political stability of the country; this is the most important infrastructure.

Of course, there are also very important economic infrastructures, both legally and practically. The policies of Article 44 are among the legal infrastructures. The infrastructures of transportation, communication, transport, roads, highways, railways, airways, fiber optics, power plants, dams; these are tasks that have been accomplished from the beginning of the revolution until today; most of them have been done by the youth and the elites of our own country. These are not trivial matters; we have achieved these.

One of our most valuable assets is this educated young generation. The educated young generation has courage, hope, vitality, and movement. I would like to mention here in parentheses; one of the mistakes we made - I myself am also complicit in this mistake - is that the issue of population limitation should have been stopped from the mid-1990s onwards. Of course, the initial policy of population limitation was good and necessary, but it should have been stopped from the mid-1990s. We did not stop it; this was a mistake. I have said it; the officials of the country are complicit in this mistake, and I myself am also complicit in this mistake. May God and history forgive us for this. The young generation must be preserved. If we continue on this current path - I mentioned this some time ago during Ramadan in a speech - the country will age. Families and young people must increase reproduction; they must increase the generation. This limiting of children in homes, as it is today, is a mistake. This young generation that we have today, if we can preserve it in ten years, twenty years, and in the future stages of this country, they will solve all the problems of the country; with the readiness, vitality, enthusiasm, and talent that exists in the Iranian people. Therefore, we do not have a fundamental problem for progress.

Of course, problems exist - which I will refer to - there are problems at the national level, and your region also has these problems; primarily, the issue of rising prices, the issue of employment; these are among the main concerns of the people; it is not specific to this place, it exists throughout the country. Our friends consulted the people before my trip; we saw that here too, it is the same as in other places. The issue of rising prices and the issue of employment and unemployment are among the main concerns. These problems exist; however, there are no fundamental problems and consequences that the country, the nation, and the officials cannot solve.

Throughout the thirty-three years of the revolution, dangers greater than these have arisen. The country has overcome these dangers and passed through them. They wanted to ignite fires, but they did not achieve their goal. Primarily, in the very first months of the victory of the revolution, the issue of inciting ethnicities throughout the country arose. Well, our country is a country of diverse ethnicities. They tried to pit these ethnicities against each other. In your region, a number of godless communist individuals tried to oppose the faithful and noble Turkmen ethnicities with the revolution. Who stood against them? Primarily, the faithful elements of the Turkmen stood against them. Influential Turkmen scholars - some of whom have passed away, and some are still alive, thanks be to God - stood against them. The youth of other regions of the country also stood up here and in various other regions. They incited, ignited the fire, poured oil on the fire, and tried in various ways to spread the fire; but it was extinguished by the Iranian nation and mainly by the very individuals they wanted to oppose the Islamic revolution. In the Kurdistan region, the Kurdish Muslims and the faithful Kurdish scholars were also pioneers and leaders. Other regions were the same. This was the first problem they created. Then they initiated the imposed war. Eight years of war is no joke? They wanted to bring the revolution to its knees; they could not. The nation passed through this stage.

Then they raised the issue of sanctions. Today, our enemies, the radios, and some even align with them, keep magnifying the issue of sanctions. Sanctions are not new; they have existed since the beginning. Of course, they intensified them, but they did not have an effect; they devised another plan, but it did not work. Sanctions have been there from the beginning. Today, our enemies - whether the U.S. government or some European governments - have linked sanctions to the issue of nuclear energy. They are lying. When they imposed the sanctions, there was no nuclear energy in the country; it was not even being discussed. What angers them about the Iranian nation and leads them to such decisions is the pride of the Iranian nation, the defiance of the Iranian nation. This spirit of independence, this spirit of recognizing one's worth, this spirit of non-submission that has arisen in the Iranian nation thanks to Islam and the Quran, is what angers them; this is why they are hostile to Islam, this is why they insult the Prophet of Islam; they know that when Islam takes root in a country, the spirit of independence in that country will be such that it will no longer submit to them. They obtain or appoint weak and submissive individuals at the heads of countries to ensure obedience. When a place like our country has its officials determined by the people, and the presence of the people in all arenas is prominent, what can they do? The faithful people, the people who believe in the Islamic principles, the people who are empowered by Islam, do not yield to them; hence, they are angry; now they call it nuclear energy! They pretend that if the Iranian nation renounces nuclear energy, the sanctions will be lifted. They are lying. Out of the hatred and animosity they harbor, they impose illogical sanctions; sanctions that when all rational and fair-minded people look at, they see these as illogical and indeed barbaric actions; this is a war against a nation. Of course, in this war, by God's grace, the Iranian nation will be victorious.

Of course, they create problems, and some of the mismanagement also exacerbates these problems - these exist - but these are not things that the Islamic Republic cannot solve. By God's grace, the Iranian nation will overcome all these problems. The Iranian nation and the officials of the country have solved greater and more difficult issues than these; these are nothing. A minor problem arises, and they express happiness. In the few days when the fluctuation of currency and rial prices was the main headline of their news agencies, they openly expressed happiness. They do not even maintain the decorum and dignity of diplomacy; they childishly and naively express happiness that we have created problems for the Iranian nation, that we have created problems for the Islamic Republic; they state this explicitly! A few hours later, a group of people in two streets in Tehran come out and set a few trash cans on fire, and they express happiness from the other side of the world that, yes, it got chaotic, it got chaotic! Is our situation worse than yours? For nearly a year now, the streets of major European countries have been in continuous protests; in France, there are protests; in Italy, there are protests; in Spain, there are protests; in England, there are protests; in Greece, there are protests. Your problems are far more complicated than ours. Your economy is locked; do you rejoice that the Iranian economy has weakened? You are miserable, you are heading towards recession, destruction, and collapse. The Islamic Republic will not be brought down by these problems.

The main problems today are gripping the Westerners themselves. One of the primary issues in the U.S. presidential elections is economic problems; the people are miserable, they are suffering, the lower classes are being trampled there. This 99% movement that has been mentioned is a reality; of course, they suppress it. They are suffering economically; those countries are the ones that are in trouble; while here, they express happiness over lesser issues, over smaller issues!

They should know that the Islamic Republic, by God's grace, with the help and power of God, will overcome these problems and will leave them once again in the regret of failing to defeat the Iranian nation. By God's grace and with the awareness of the people and the planning of the officials, the problems will be resolved. Both the people and we, the officials, have responsibilities; everyone must fulfill their duties. When we fulfill our duties, things will progress. The awareness of the people plays a role. See, in Tehran, a group came out in the streets under the name of merchants to create chaos, and immediately the respected merchants issued a statement, declaring that these people are lying, they are not one of us. This is the right thing to do. If the awareness of various segments of the people and their timely responsiveness comes into play, this is valuable. This was a valuable action they took. My point during the events of 2009 was the same. In the events of 2009, a few days after the elections of that magnitude, a group came out to express opposition, and some took advantage of this opportunity; they took up arms, leading to chaos and unrest, and they fired upon Basij bases. Our point was that those who were being represented by these actions should have issued statements at that time, declared their disassociation, and said that these actions are not from us; but they did not. If they had done this, the sedition would have been rooted out sooner; subsequent issues would not have arisen. This awareness, this sense of timing, this ability to account for the moment is a prominent and important characteristic that our nation must be aware of in all matters; wherever the enmity and conspiracy of the enemy is felt, everyone must show sensitivity immediately. This is from the side of the people.

From the side of the officials of the country, they must have the necessary unity among themselves; they must have empathy, planning, responsibility, and accountability, and not shift the blame onto each other, and maintain the limits of the constitution regarding themselves. Our constitution has no deficiencies, no shortcomings. The role of the parliament is clear, the role of the government is clear, the role of the president is clear, the role of the judiciary is clear; each has their responsibilities, and they must fulfill their duties; they must have empathy with each other, accompany each other, and speak the same language. "For the language of empathy is different from that of others / Empathy is better than mere verbal agreement."

Thanks be to God, we do not have a problem in this regard either. The officials of the country are caring. We are all human, we all make mistakes, mistakes occur; but all mistakes are correctable. Fortunately, the officials are caring; in the heads of the branches, in the bodies of the branches, there is no shortage of care, there is no lack of interest in the fate of the system; they are all caring, they are all interested; they will, God willing, move things forward, and they are currently engaged in efforts.

My recommendation is this: let us not forget that work, effort, hope, patience, and planning are essential for moving along these important paths. The path we are moving on is an important one; it is a path that can transform the history of the world; as it is transforming the history of the region; you see. Who would have thought that in the important and sensitive region of North Africa and West Asia - the very region that Europeans like to call the "Middle East" - such significant events would occur? They have occurred, and it is not over yet. The events that are happening are to the detriment of the West and especially to the detriment of the American regime and the threat of the Zionist regime. Now, the nonsensical statements of the officials of the Zionist regime are not so important that one would want to respond to them. They say a little, and some Westerners say a little. The main ones are the Americans and their followers; the Europeans have little motivation. The European alignment with America in this matter is not a wise and prudent alignment; they are sacrificing themselves like America's vanguard, committing folly. Our people do not have bad memories of many European countries. We do not have bad memories of France, Italy, or Spain. Yes, we have very bad memories of England; we call England "the wicked England"; but not of other European countries. With what they are doing - aligning with America - which we consider completely unwise, they are attracting the enmity of the Iranian nation; they are making themselves despised in the eyes of the Iranian nation.

We will pass through these challenges. Our nation is more agile, braver, and more capable than to remain stuck in these paths. For thirty-three years, we have been navigating through these problems; day by day, our muscles have become stronger, our readiness has increased, and our experience has become more valuable. We do not get stuck; you get stuck. By inciting the hatred of the Iranian nation, you create problems for yourselves. They are making mistakes. The Iranian nation will overcome these challenges. Of course, the condition is this: the people, various segments of the population, their steadfastness, their readiness, their stability, their awareness, their sense of timing, must remain as it has been throughout all periods after the revolution until today; the officials must also fulfill their duties; certainly, as the people wish, matters will progress; these economic problems will also be resolved.

Of course, the essence of the matter today is national production. The main and fundamental remedy is national production; the same that we mentioned in the slogan of the year: national production, Iranian work and capital. This will eliminate inflation, increase production, create employment, eliminate unemployment, mobilize national resources, and strengthen the spirit of self-sufficiency in the Iranian nation. The officials of the country at various levels must pay as much attention as possible to the issue of national production. Of course, our address is primarily to the top officials at the national level; whether in the parliament or in the government; but the lower levels, the provincial levels, must also pay attention.

In this province, like other provinces, the attention of the officials - whether parliament representatives or government representatives - must be focused on resolving the problems of the people; primarily, the issue of production and utilizing local resources. Certainly, in this province, with the presence of water, fertile land, a nature suitable for agriculture, and rich livestock that has been able to meet many needs outside this province as well, with the existence of industries that can have many downstream industries - there are large industries in this province whose downstream industries can be focused on - employment, production, and the vitality of the people will increase. These are things that must be prioritized by the officials of this province.

The talk has gone on for a long time. I did not want to keep you, dear brothers and sisters, waiting in the sun for so long. Of course, there is much to say, and my words are not finished; but well, in the coming days, we will be guests of you, the dear people of this province; we have many remarks that I think will be beneficial to share with you. We hope that God Almighty will bestow His blessings upon you.

O Lord! Bestow Your blessings, mercy, grace, and health upon the people of this province through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. O Lord! Protect the youth. O Lord! Cut off the hands of the enemies. O Lord! Through Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, keep us steadfast on the path that pleases You and pleases Your saints. Unite our dear martyrs and the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) with Your saints.

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