Statements at the Ceremony of the Presidential Decree for Hojjatoleslam Hassan Rouhani

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 infallible descendants, especially the remainder of God on earth. O God, send blessings upon Your guardian, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha, the chosen Imam, the pious and pure, and upon his infallible and purified ancestors and descendants.

This is a very important session and it is a decisive day. The coincidence of this ceremony and this session with the blessed birth of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (peace be upon him) is a source of optimism and blessing for the eager hearts of the Iranian nation and the present gathering. We hope that just as that great figure introduced the word of monotheism as the foundation of the religion in this very country, in the cities close to Tus, [namely] Nishapur, and narrated the famous Hadith of the Golden Chain - "The word 'There is no god but God' is my fortress, and whoever enters my fortress is safe from my punishment" - we too can establish the word of monotheism and the truth of monotheism in our lives, whether in personal life, social life, or in the foundations of the Islamic Republic, God willing.

The importance of this session is from two perspectives. One is that it marks the beginning of a new management period for the country, and there is hope that, God willing, the officials who will enter the field of action alongside the esteemed and elected President will please the nation with new initiatives and greater capabilities than before, fulfilling the desires and demands that the esteemed President expressed in his detailed statements.

The second aspect is that this session symbolizes democracy. This is the twelfth such session from the beginning of the revolution until today; that is, the Iranian nation has played a role in selecting the first-rate managers of the country twelve times since the beginning of the revolution; this is a very important matter. The elections of the people have also created ten Islamic Consultative Assemblies; formed five city and village councils; and established five Assembly of Experts; all of these are blessings of the revolution. Our new generation should not forget that we experienced the pre-revolution period with all our being; we have seen dictatorship, the marginalization of the people, and the indifference to the people in governance with all our existence; our youth have not seen it. Before the victory of the revolution, the people had no role in the management of the country and the determination of managers; the leaders, kings, and their entourages came and went, but the people were merely spectators; they had no role. The Islamic Revolution came and brought the people from the margins to the center; the people became the owners of authority. Since the beginning of the revolution, this is the twelfth time that the result of the people's selection for the management of the executive branch is specified; thus, this assembly is an important session.

Let us remember our great Imam, whose blessings of resolute determination, deep faith, endless insight, and unparalleled courage granted these achievements to the Iranian nation. We, the officials and the rest of the people, should be more proud that we are in an era where the Almighty God chose a great man among this country who was able to stir this ocean. This matter is not trivial; it is not a small issue; he was able to completely change the direction of the country and the Iranian nation. For years, indeed centuries, there was a hereditary monarchy; and in the recent times, the Pahlavi regime, which besides the disgrace of monarchy, had an additional disgrace, which was foreign intervention; the British brought Reza Khan to power in the country and they also took him away and placed his son Mohammad Reza in his place; then, in the coup of August 19, 1953, the Americans were the main actors, determining the king for us, appointing the prime minister, and designating the officials of the country; this was the state of our country; this system was changed by the great Imam; he was the one who entered this field; his resolute determination, deep faith, unparalleled courage, reliance on God, and trust in the people enabled him to create this situation.

Well, in this nearly forty-year period, there is a series of interconnected officials who have each, in their turn and to their share, made efforts, exerted efforts, and taken initiatives; they have played their roles. Today, the product of the work of the officials of the Islamic Republic system over nearly forty years is in the hands of those who will officially begin their work today, God willing. Those who take on responsibilities - the colleagues of the esteemed President - must add to this national capital and hand it over to the next generation, to the next managers, so that this movement, God willing, becomes broader and its radius wider.

In these four decades, the nation and the government have accomplished great works. Numerous scientific, executive, practical, and intellectual infrastructures have been established in the country during this period that absolutely did not exist before the revolution; before the Islamic Republic, these great infrastructures did not exist. These infrastructures are the launching pads for this nation towards the future. The accumulated experiences and capabilities from the performance of these four decades are now available to today's officials. New generations have been raised with revolutionary thought and are full of motivation and are now ready. At the beginning of the revolution, we did not have this many personalities ready for management; today, thanks be to God, there are many young people who are ready to play a role in various sectors of managing the country; these have been trained by the revolution. The efforts of this group of active men and effective statesmen over these four decades have been able to provide this great product to the nation.

What we are saying is that the officials of the country have been able, thanks be to God, to cooperate with the world during this decade. Despite the fact that the enemies have always sought to isolate the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation has not been isolated; it has cooperated with the world, while seriously confronting the system of domination and global arrogance; it has been able to stand firm against the tricks. And the enemy, of course, is still busy. One of the points that I insist on repeating and do not want anyone to forget is the presence of the enemy and the tricks of the enemy. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever sleeps, the enemy does not sleep; the brother of war is vigilant"; if you fall asleep in your trench, there may be an eye awake in the trench opposite you - which is your enemy - that may act against you; you should not let sleep overcome you; vigilance should not be forgotten; in all matters. The officials are the primary audience of this speech. The enemy is busy with enmity, doing various things; however, by the grace of God, the Iranian nation and the officials of the country have become seasoned.

They have imposed sanctions on us; sanctions, of course, create problems for the country, there is no doubt about that, but the sanctions have made us open our eyes to our own capabilities. We had many capacities, but we were unaware of them, we were neglectful of them. When we were sanctioned, we came to ourselves; we looked and found the existing internal capacities and utilized them. Today, despite the enemy's wishes and desires, we are strong; we are politically strong, we are militarily strong, we are security-wise strong. Today, the Islamic Republic is much stronger and more powerful than in the early years, despite all these sanctions, despite all this enmity; this means that we have used the trick that the enemy employed against us to the benefit of the country and ourselves. The open enmities of the enemy have made us more resilient. Not only the open enmities; some openly act as enemies - like those who are currently in power in America and some other places - but the enmity of some is in the form of a hard fist in a velvet glove, which we have previously mentioned; that is also enmity. In the face of these enmities, we, by the grace of God, with divine guidance and assistance, have become more resilient; our self-confidence has increased. Today, we are much stronger than in the early years. We also know the ways to confront the enemy. Today, by divine grace, the Iranian nation has learned the ways to confront the enemy's tricks; the officials know how to deal with the enemy, and they do so; we also have more resources, and we are not afraid of the enemy and the tricks of the enemy.

We have many shortcomings; we do not overlook this and do not deny it, but we should not deny that we also have many capacities at our disposal; we can utilize these unused and unexploited capacities with the grace of God. You, the officials of the country - especially that group which, God willing, will soon be formed around the esteemed President, and will form the cabinet and the executive branch - are the stewards of such a capacious system; know this. The Islamic Republic system and our dear country is a system full of capacity and potential; these talents must be recognized one by one and utilized. You can advance the country by relying on revolutionary identity - this is a very important point - with jihadist work, with popular support, and with the abundant material and spiritual resources that are now at your disposal, and I recommend three main orientations:

The first orientation is addressing the problems of the people - today, primarily, the economic and livelihood problems - this is the first task that must be carried out simultaneously with these three tasks; this is the first: addressing internal issues, addressing the problems of the people, the issue of livelihood and economy; this must, God willing, be brought to an acceptable point over these four years.

The second orientation is extensive interaction with the world; this is our constant recommendation, which is exactly the opposite of what our enemies and the global oppressors seek. We can have wide and extensive communications with the world, both helping other nations and governments and benefiting from their assistance; the social life of humanity progresses this way: cooperation, solidarity, companionship, interaction with the world; our climate, our geography, our abundant resources make this easy for us.

And the third orientation; appear with firmness and power against any oppressor; that oppressor, whoever he may be; today, the most aggressive and shameless is the regime of the United States of America; appear with firmness against them, appear with power; with the backing of national authority and the support of these people, you can prevent and repel their tricks. Four decades of international activity experience show us that the cost of surrendering to the bullying powers is far greater than the cost of standing against them; surrendering to the bullying of the powerful makes nations and countries miserable; it truly blocks their paths to progress; it distances them from human values; it has heavy costs. By divine grace and with divine support, we did not enter into submission against global arrogance and the system of domination, we did not surrender, we did not compromise with them over their demands, and today we are stronger and more powerful than yesterday; our resources today are much greater than yesterday. We stand against them, and we have not submitted to them; this is a very important experience. Of course, in this path, we have had martyrs, we have had sacrifices; we have lost valuable and prominent personalities, but the Islamic Republic has progressed, has moved forward, and has highlighted its slogans.

I will make a few recommendations to the esteemed President and the brothers and sisters who will cooperate with him in various sectors to keep these recommendations in mind. Consider this responsibility, this capability, as a trust; just as Amir al-Mu'minin said: "This is a trust upon you; and it is indeed a trust upon your neck"; this responsibility is a divine trust in the hands of you and me; we must be trustworthy; we must preserve the trust. This noble verse, "Indeed, God commands you to return trusts to whom they are due," is not only about tangible material trusts; this important spiritual trust - which is this responsibility - is the highest example of them.

My next recommendation is that our time is short, our work is much, priorities must be observed; both in expenditures and in planning and in all matters, look and consider the priorities. Yes, today the priority is the same point that the esteemed President mentioned; the issue of justice, the issue of eradicating poverty and eradicating corruption are our first priorities; we should prioritize these. There are also tasks that are in the next degree.

My next recommendation is to move with a plan. The sixth development plan is a comprehensive plan; this year is also the year of starting the plan. Of course, we are delayed; the year of starting the plan was last year. The sixth plan is an important plan; movement should be carried out with a plan, with complete precision and consideration of all resources; importance must be given to the plan.

My next recommendation is to consider the unity of the nation as important. Everything we have comes from the unity of the nation, from the unity of the nation among themselves and from the unity of the nation with the officials and executors of the country's affairs; maintain this unity. There should be no incitement; harmful divisions should not be created. The people have different tastes and opinions; very well, let the people live peacefully together with different tastes and opinions. Different tastes and disagreements do not necessarily mean confrontation and conflict; they can live well together and have different tastes. There should be no incitement. Do not be disturbed by opposing opinions; if the opponents have opinions, if they have criticisms, let them criticize, let them express opposing opinions; do not be disturbed; after all, these are heavy tasks. There are certainly shortcomings in our work; some may criticize us; let us accept criticism - in the sense of enduring - let us endure.

Go among the people, connect with the people directly, hear from the people; this is one of the very important tasks. The reports that reach us, even if those reports are honest, however, they differ greatly from what one observes and sees when facing the people and going among the people.

Appreciate the revolutionary and motivated forces; I recommend this to all officials. The faithful, motivated, and revolutionary forces are those who preserve the country in difficulties, defend it, and stand firm; let us appreciate them.

In international decision-making, remember that the enemy has mobilized all its power to destroy you. Some officials of the governments that confront us and oppose us openly say this today; they openly say they are seeking to destroy the Islamic Republic; remember this; some also hide this, do not say it, but the reality is that this intention exists. "International interaction" should not make us forget that there are enemies who are determined to destroy us. They use every excuse. You launch a satellite-carrying missile into space, suddenly you see they create a commotion in the world. A scientific act, a technical act, something that is necessary and very ordinary for a country, when you do it, you see they create a commotion; these are signs that you must be more vigilant.

The response to these reactions is strong, jihadist, and calculated action; the response to these enmities is to become stronger. By "becoming stronger," I do not only mean in military and security terms; of course, we must become strong in those areas, but in the economic field, we must become strong, in the cultural field, we must become strong, in preserving our Islamic and revolutionary identity, we must become stronger and deeper day by day; this is the response to the enmities of the enemy.

My final words: Trust in God, believe in the promise of divine assistance; "If you help God, He will help you and make your steps firm." In another verse, "And indeed, God will help those who help Him"; [that too] with emphasis! You are in the path of establishing the religion, reviving the religion, and creating the sovereignty of God's religion; this is divine assistance, so be assured that the Almighty God will assist you. Do not remain calm in the face of anti-religious sentiments and law-breaking; do not be indifferent and know that, God willing, the future belongs to you.

O Lord! We swear by Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, grant us success in seeking Your pleasure. O Lord! Grant success to this new government - the twelfth government - and the group of servants of the country in fulfilling the important duties that are upon them. O Lord! Make our days, our lives, our hours, our years of life a source of gain for us; do not make them a source of regret. O Lord! Unite the pure souls of our martyrs, the pure spirit of the great Imam with Your saints.

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