Statements in Meeting with a Group of Producers, Entrepreneurs, and Economic Activists

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, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and his pure progeny, especially the Awaited Savior.

Welcome; this meeting is very important and significant. I regret that there was not enough time for some friends to express their statements here; like them, I am sorry. The way is for you to provide us with what you have noted or written to read or say here. Some brothers also raised their hands from the crowd to speak, but since the authority of this meeting is in the hands of the respected moderator, I did not express any opinion regarding them, nor will I.

This evening's meeting is primarily to honor producers; that is the essence of this session. We wanted the public opinion in the country to understand that the Islamic Republic, in the truest sense of the word, values and honors domestic producers and promoters of domestic industry, agriculture, and services; and this has, thanks be to God, been achieved. Now, whether I say something or not, what we intended has been realized up to this hour. The statements made by the friends here, which I listened to carefully, were very important and noteworthy. Of course, to make decisions on suggestions, it is necessary to reflect, think, and consult with experts; however, what you must be assured of and know is that I am wholeheartedly committed to this movement. I believe that the remedy for the country's problems, the key to solving the country's dilemmas, lies in promoting domestic production in various sectors. Fortunately, tonight, the number of those who spoke—ten people spoke tonight—means we have something to say in ten important production sectors of the country. The points raised by the gentlemen were very important and very correct. I am also an experienced listener; many come here and speak, and I sit here and listen to their words; the words were measured, good, and significant. In this meeting, a number of respected officials are present, but this is not enough; I wish more government officials—from various sectors of the government—and also some members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly were here to hear these words; or those who think differently about production or the country's economic prosperity, who look elsewhere, should come and see that this is the way, the window that transmits life, light, and energy to the country is this window opened by the responsible and committed producers; there is no other way.

Let me say this: we emphasize economic issues because, in the Islamic system, the economy plays a very important role. The notion that some may have that the Islamic system is indifferent to the issue of wealth production and the expansion of public welfare and the production of significant wealth-generating enterprises is a great mistake; this is not the case. One of the important pillars of the Islamic system is to enrich society and the country; national wealth. Of course, the Islamic system's perspective on wealth differs from that of materialistic governments and materialistic systems—whether what is known in the world as capitalism and under the title of liberalism, or what is recognized under the title of Marxism and socialist systems and the like. In the Islamic system, producing national wealth is a value, and distributing national wealth fairly is also a value. The equality that was claimed in the socialist system, which, of course, was never realized, is not accepted by Islam. In Islam, equality in its socialist sense does not exist at all, but public benefit does; everyone should benefit. Those who also shouted equality practically, with the clear and complete information we have about communist governments—both the main and mother communist governments like the Soviet Union and others, and the satellite communist governments, Latin American and some African and Asian governments—there was absolutely no equality in them, and it was not achievable at all. Islam does not accept these; Islam believes in producing national wealth and raising the level of public welfare in society. Of course, in society, some have more, and some have less; this is not a problem; however, public resources must be distributed fairly; this is Islam's view of wealth. Naturally, in the Islamic system, class gaps do not arise; that gap and those class chasms do not materialize; there are differences, but that class gap does not exist.

What I want to tell you primarily is that this arena of production, economic prosperity, and the elevation of national wealth and public welfare in the country, like all other arenas, requires pioneers, commanders, and front lines; those pioneers and commanders and front lines are you; you producers. I do not want to refer only to the present gathering; this type, this movement, these gentlemen who spoke, shared their activities, they are the front lines and pathbreakers of this arena and this field; this field is also an important field, a perilous field, a battlefield.

The economic war in the world exists in various forms. Those whose hands are in the international economic issues clearly see that countries and powers, and the whole world are at war over economic issues; for example, in this period of the U.S. presidency, this war and conflict have manifested; with China in one way, with South Korea in another, with Europe in another, and with others in another way, but it has not been that in times other than his, it has not existed; why, in various forms; however, this war sometimes takes on a savage and vengeful aspect; like the war being waged against us in the economic sphere, where these sanctions have taken on a vengeful and criminal aspect; of course, sanctions have existed since the beginning of the revolution, but in the last ten years, they have certainly intensified; and these sanctions will currently continue; that someone hopes that now in a year or two, these sanctions will end, is a vain hope, I tell you. With the familiarity I have with the issues of this front, what I understand is that these sanctions will be around for a long time, they must be, and they will be. We should not pin our hopes for saving the country's economy on when these sanctions will be lifted or when this person will not be here or that group will not be here or this country will do such and such; no; these have no effect, these sanctions exist. Of course, some are clever and circumvent the sanctions, which is very good, there is no problem with that, may their hands be blessed, but the fundamental task is to safeguard the economy of the country from being harmed by sanctions; that is the fundamental task. Circumventing sanctions is a tactic, safeguarding the country against sanctions is a strategy; this must be done, we must do something so that we are not vulnerable to sanctions. Right now, it is not like that; our economy is dependent on oil; fortunately, with the oil sanctions, it has decreased a bit, the trade balance composition has changed, but fundamentally, our economy is dependent on oil. Well, oil is a vulnerable thing; when we want to use oil money for the government budget—not just for the developmental and construction budgets of the country, even for our current budget—this situation arises, we become vulnerable, we must remedy this.

What I am saying is not just my statement today; I have been saying since the 1990s, from the time of the late Mr. Hashemi (may God have mercy on him)—our dear brother and friend—that we must do something to gradually reduce our dependence on oil; this National Development Fund that you see was created for this purpose. The meaning of the National Development Fund is that every year, a percentage of oil revenue is taken out of the control of the consuming agencies and placed in a fund; of course, that fund is also under the control of the government, but its consumption is no longer for current affairs; it was supposed to increase gradually so that this year, if it were to proceed according to the legal arrangement, about 35 percent of oil revenue would go into the development fund, but the government officials in all periods—not just the current government—insist on withdrawing it for various reasons; it is not legal; because it is not legal, they refer to me; if it were legal, they would withdraw it; because it is not legal, to make it seem right, they refer to me and insist, plead that this is a necessity and you allow us to withdraw, for example, a certain amount from the development fund. Unfortunately, the development fund has become less effective, less functional. I have also said that when the President writes to me that this is necessary, urgent, I accept, I agree to this being done. Of course, the fund is under the control of the government; they appoint its head; they manage it, it is not under our control, but I must bear the burden of allowing this illegal withdrawal; therefore, the problem is only this. We must choose a path that is new, a new path, and move seriously along this path; the path of domestic production.

The idea that one of our dear friends mentioned here that "the safest thing is not to decide" is one of the most dangerous thoughts; one of the most dangerous thoughts is this idea that one says, "Because if I decide, that supervisory body will say this, that obstacle will say that, so it is easier not to decide"; this is very dangerous; no, you must decide, you must act, you must endure difficulties; obstacles must be removed; many obstacles have been removed until now; well, you see. Many of the groups that spoke tonight have successful operations in various sectors; it was not like this ten years ago, it was not like this fifteen years ago; rather, gradually, facilities have been provided; I am also standing behind this issue; you should know that I defend, I help; production must progress in the country; this is the remedy. Well, then our fundamental strategy is to safeguard the economy from sanctions; to make it resilient and, in fact, to arm the revolution with the weapon of domestic production and internal will and such things.

One of the blessings that follows from this meaning, that is, that we move towards internal dynamism, is that the country's economy will be freed from conditionality; one of the worst problems in the country is that we condition the economy. Unfortunately, our economy has been conditional in recent years; "let's see what happens; what will happen in six months; what will happen with the JCPOA" and so on. Now some are trying to condition the economy again; "let's see what the French President's initiative will be; what this initiative will be"; these must be set aside. If they want to do something, let them do it; they should do what is not prohibited and does not cross red lines, but do not stop the economy because of that, do not direct public opinion towards it. Public opinion should know:

It is better to adorn one’s own old garment than to ask for a borrowed one.

We must take care of our own affairs.

And internally, the capacities are very high, very high. You know better than I do; I am not uninformed, but you who work in various production sectors know well how high the capacities of the country are. The gentlemen and this lady who spoke here actually outlined part of the country's capacities in the field they work in. The complaints and concerns expressed mean that in this sector, there are unused capacities that we cannot utilize due to these obstacles; we must remove the obstacles so that we can utilize them. So see, all the talk in our meeting tonight is that the capacities of the country are infinite, abundant; some of them have been utilized and, thanks be to God, have had an effect, many have not been utilized; if we can utilize those capacities [the economy will be safeguarded]; that, God willing, will be achieved thanks to these sanctions; this sanction can—one of the friends also said here; it is a correct statement—turn from a threat to an opportunity for us.

Also, let us pay attention to this: we, the Iranian nation, we economic activists, we thinkers of the country's work, if we can neutralize the sanctions by relying on internal capabilities, the sanctioning factor will also lift the sanctions; that is, when they realize that the sanctions are ineffective, they will lift the sanctions, because they too are suffering losses. Right now, the Europeans and others are suffering from our sanctions, but the complex and intertwined international economic relations do not allow them to do certain things; when they see that the sanctions are ineffective, they will also lift the sanctions. Of course, when they lift the sanctions, we should not change our policy of relying on internal resources. Some are waiting for the way to open up on that side, and then turn the steering wheel in that direction; this is wrong. We must keep the policies of relying on internal resources so firm and stable that even if, hypothetically, the sanctions are lifted—very well, more opportunities will be available to us; we will use the issue of exports and various facilities and so on—but the movement of relying on internal resources should not be harmed.

One of the great advantages of the country is the opportunity of the young population—how much I enjoyed that this brother said: I have employed four thousand young people in this sector; one truly enjoys—according to these demographers, "the demographic window." Today, we are in the midst of this opportunity. [According to] what has been reported to me, people who are specialized in this work and are experts say this opportunity will continue for another twenty years; we have twenty years of this opportunity; if in these twenty years we can solidify the foundations of our work, we have succeeded; if we neglect and this twenty years of opportunity slips away from us and the country enters the phase of aging and decay, then nothing can be done.

Well, in these twenty years, what should we use this opportunity for? There are two essential matters: one is the issue of population, that we should not let the population decrease, we should not let the young population decrease, we should increase births; the second is to create sustainable wealth for the country; these two tasks must be accomplished. The fact that I insist so much on births and the issue of childbearing and such things means this; that is, if attention is not paid to this issue—which unfortunately has been neglected for a long period—if this neglect continues and everyone does not think about childbearing and this massive movement that is necessary in the country is not carried out, in twenty years— which will come like lightning; twenty years is not a long time—we will enter a path that will make things very difficult for us. One is also the issue of wealth creation.

The advantages of the country are many, the capacities of the country are many; everyone has a duty. Here, I have noted recommendations for economic activists, for the general public, for university elites, for non-governmental public institutions, and for media organizations—of which one of the gentlemen also complained—and for government agencies; I have noted that I want to say all of these, but certainly time will not suffice, I must shorten it.

Regarding economic activists, I will say just one word: you are the audience of the policies of Article 44; you are the audience of this issue of Article 44 and its framework that we came to open with a legal perspective, with a wise perspective, and we articulated the policies of Article 44 for the people, we clarified them for the people. Of course, the day these policies were announced, everyone approved; I do not remember that even one of those who are among the economic critics, economic experts, objected; everyone approved, everyone said it was the right thing, and it is indeed correct, government officials also said the same. Of course, it has not been implemented correctly; that giving a factory to a profiteer who dismantles it and builds a tower in its place under the pretext of Article 44 is not strengthening the private sector; and this has greatly damaged the atmosphere. Among economic activists and those to whom state companies have been given, perhaps one percent did such work, the rest acted honestly, but that one percent, when it was mentioned, repeated, and pursued, caused a mistrust to arise that "why is it like this." I tell you, you are the audience; the policies of Article 44 create both rights and obligations for you; you have responsibilities; go and pursue the matter.

Here I have noted: form specialized chains with operational programs and a roadmap; that is, from the production of knowledge, technology, design and engineering to the manufacture of equipment, to machinery, to the provision of raw materials, to product production, marketing, distribution; these are all tasks that are your responsibility and must be done, God willing.

Of course, let me also say this: I have a strong belief in cooperatives. The statement made by the respected head of the cooperative is completely accepted and confirmed by me. Cooperatives are a very desirable phenomenon for our economy; they gather small investments, empower individuals, create abundant employment; then if these cooperatives can be networked, a large entity will be formed. It has many blessings; these cooperatives should be pursued. The respected minister is also here; he must seriously pursue the issue of cooperatives and resolve the problems mentioned regarding cooperatives.

Regarding the general public, my recommendation to the dear people has been repeatedly stated. My message to our dear people is to definitely use domestic products and those who can, should participate in productive investments, including in these cooperatives or in some places in the stock market.

The culture of jihadist work and cooperation should be promoted among the people, among those who can, who have influence among the people. Fortunately, our people are ready. You see, when a flood comes, when an earthquake occurs, people themselves, without anyone telling them, enter the field. This is our experience; it is not just today; it has been like this since before the revolution. I have several successful personal experiences in the matter of public assistance and popular cooperation for such incidents. In the recent incident three days ago, when there was ice and rain in the streets of Tehran, the television showed that I saw several people, several Muslims, bringing sand and salt! They are neither members of the municipality, nor members of municipal services, nor members of the police; they are ordinary people, this street does not belong to them, the cars they have are not theirs, but a car is stuck, it cannot move on the ice, they come and spread sand! This is how our people are; they are ready. This spirit should be used to promote jihadist work. People should honor productive work, respect the producer and the honest economic activist. Wrong behaviors should be condemned by the people, but they should not generalize. What we emphasize is that if they see a wrong act, a disgraceful act in a place, they should not generalize it to everyone; well, in every gathering, there may be a bad person, which there certainly is.

One thing is also observed in the products of individuals, in these small works and productions, that sometimes something is produced, and it is a very good production, but it bears a foreign label; I am astonished; a foreign label. A certain amount of goods was ordered for a deprived area, it was prepared, one sample was brought to me, I saw that it had a foreign label; I said, did you not say this is domestic production, it was supposed to be produced domestically; they said no, this is domestic, the tailor is so-and-so, but this label is on it; I said, remove this; this is one of the bad acts to present domestic production with a foreign label to the people.

Regarding scientific and academic elites, I have repeatedly said: [first] it is necessary to address the main economic issues. We have many issues in the country regarding the economy; universities can work on these and solve them.

Second, they can collaborate with production units, synergize; they help the production unit, and the production unit rewards this work and pays for it and helps advance academic research. This is a very fruitful and necessary work; of course, it has started in recent years; it must continue.

Training creative and innovative human resources that meet today’s needs. And scientific work regarding the banking system and budgeting issues; these are our problems. We currently have real problems in budgeting. I have also recommended, emphasized, and given four months from the beginning of the year as an opportunity for this four months, to reform the budgeting system; well, it has not happened. There is a scientific knot; this must be solved by universities; the same goes for our banking system. During the months of Ramadan, when I have sessions with students and professors, they come here and talk for hours, expressing very good opinions; not only professors, even students; master's students, doctoral students come here and speak, making statements that one benefits from; I truly benefit; they are experts, they can solve; government agencies should use them, ask them, and they should also take action.

My strong recommendation to non-governmental public institutions is that they should absolutely not compete with the private sector in economic matters. This is the message we have given to all non-governmental public institutions and continue to say. In places where the private sector either lacks the necessary capacity and resources or lacks interest, they should enter; if after a while the private sector enters there, they should migrate from there to a more distant and difficult point and work there, invest; and they should seriously avoid competing with the private sector.

[Regarding] government agencies, our main recommendations are these: the first thing I insist that government agencies should seriously pursue is the issue of improving the business environment; all the things that these gentlemen mentioned stem from the lack of improvement in the business environment; obstructive laws, obstructive regulations, occasionally incorrect performance—not out of malice, but sometimes it may be out of malice. They must create a favorable environment for production in the country; that is, an environment favorable to production movement and direction, against the direction of imports and reliance on the outside. Unfortunately, we have a very bitter and ominous legacy from the tyrannical regime; there, the basis of the economy, the basis of economic and commercial movements, and so on was based on reliance on imports; this has not been eliminated, the revolution changed many erroneous foundations, but unfortunately, it has not been able to change this correctly; seriousness is needed in this matter. The country’s environment, the economic environment of the country, the financial and monetary environment of the country, the banks, customs, budgets, social security, and their regulations must be directed in favor of production; imports, intermediaries, and speculation should be isolated; this is the most important issue.

Respectful interaction with honest and reputable activists; fortunately, a large number of our economic activists are honest, reputable, and rooted people, they are truly working, some work for God as well. Of course, the private sector seeks personal profit, and there is no problem with that, but some alongside this [work for God]; I saw someone who was wealthy, one of our acquaintances from Mashhad, who said that I could put this money in the bank and get a huge profit from it without any hassle, without taxes, without problems, without scrutiny, etc., but I did not have the heart to do it—in the business of poultry farming and the like—so I went and put it there; a laborious, productive work, but purely for the sake of God; he said I saw that this is necessary for the revolution. You see, he also profits, but God rewards him.

One issue is that obstructive laws and regulations—this pertains to the parliament—must be repealed and replaced with facilitating regulations. In some laws, this has happened; that is, laws have been changed in favor of production, but they have not been implemented; good laws have been put in place, some have been legislated, but they have not been implemented; this must be done quickly; they must pursue this to ensure it is done.

Some errors occur in the production sector; these errors are not all on the same level; it is not that every error leads to the supervisory bodies coming down on that production unit and creating problems for it; this is our recommendation to [these] bodies. Of course, some betray; that is a separate matter, but some errors and mistakes must be resolved with reminders and opportunities. Fortunately, the respected head of the judiciary told me a while ago, perhaps last week, that we went and prevented a very high number of production units that were on the verge of closure from being closed. Well, that is very good; the supervisory bodies must pay attention to this matter.

One matter also in the necessary recommendations to the government is the stability of monetary and financial policies; stability in policies. Policies that change every few months or once a year deal severe blows to the country's production.

Another point that exists—this also stems from the experience of dealings with foreigners and the like—is that experience has shown that foreign companies are not willing to transfer basic and essential technologies to the country; now here, our friend said that we exported technology to certain countries; we said, blessed be your generosity that you are exporting technology! Others export products, they do not export technology to us; I do not say you should do this; no, sometimes you also need to export technology, that is very good, it is also a credit for the country, but others do not do this; especially in essential areas; oil, automotive, petrochemicals, in these matters. Domestic devices must seriously make the country and government self-sufficient. The same plan that last year—the Ministry of Oil had that foreigners come to extract oil from wells in this way, well yes, we have some backwardness in this area, but I say that the precise thought, the precise idea that can produce stem cells in the country without any help—on the day we produced it, we achieved a very complex and rare industry in the world—or can enrich uranium from three percent and three and a half percent to twenty percent while no international body and holders of this industry are willing to help even a little, cannot help the government in better and more extraction from oil wells? It certainly can; one of the essential tasks is this. We must plan for basic technologies and take advantage of this historical opportunity.

See, oil companies and automotive companies were the first to leave the country; some were upset; one can be upset, but one can also be happy about this incident; very well, they left, we have all these capabilities in automotive parts; now they said, one of the friends mentioned here; the necessary parts in the oil industry, in automotive, in [important] industries, in machinery; we can use these. Of course, government officials can play a very effective role in this area. Parts manufacturing in various fields—oil, automotive, household appliances, transportation, machinery—should be consolidated, these should exchange with each other, synergize, and a permanent exhibition should be established to showcase these. I have said this before; a few months before this, I said that the needs of various industries in the sectors that have bottlenecks in their industries should be identified, given to knowledge-based organizations or universities, and they should showcase the work they have done in this area; this happened, fortunately, a step was taken, but it is not enough. A permanent exhibition of parts manufacturing in various sectors should be established, and this work should be done.

Another task is that the very high engineering and technological capabilities of military devices should be transferred to non-military devices; our engineering activity level in the military sector is fortunately very high. The important work that is currently being done is very significant and has not just started today; it has been about ten to twelve years that important work has been done in military industries. I may have mentioned this in public speeches once or twice that I read an article by an Israeli general a few years ago about a missile that our boys had tested; he wrote an article somewhere—that was translated for me and brought to me—that I am bad with Iran, I am bad with Iranians, but in the face of this movement, I bow: [a country] like Iran, which is under severe siege, can do such a thing! Of course, after that work, many more better and more important and interesting works have been done; that you see a ballistic missile with a range of two thousand kilometers, hitting the target with a maximum deviation of one meter, two meters, five meters, is a very big thing, a very important thing. Well, this engineering capability, this technological capability can be applied in automotive, in oil, in various sectors, in non-military issues; this work can be done. Of course, the military devices themselves are fortunately also well connected with universities, they make maximum use of universities, this should also be known.

One issue is the support for exports and the active presence of economic activists in the foreign arena, which some friends have also mentioned, is completely correct; we can use our diplomatic capacity. Around us, there are three to four hundred million people connected to us, [that is] our neighbors, with some of whom we have normal and good relations; we can have good relations with them. The diplomatic officials of the country should highlight Iranian symbols abroad; for example, when you participate in a certain international meeting, the suit you are wearing has a label from an Iranian tailor—[for example] a tailor in Semnan made this, and it is very beautifully made—when this goes, this label is promoted; [they should] promote Iranian labels. Iranian words and concepts should also be promoted; some do the opposite. One of our complaints from some officials in the country in past years was that they go abroad and speak in front of Europeans, and the words they say are European words, words that a European thinker said a hundred years ago and now it has reached us, they go and present it to them; well, that has no value in their eyes, we have our own new words, we have new unheard words; we should say these. The same issue exists in these Iranian labels that should be used. The barter method should be used in some goods.

The issue of Article 44 policies that we mentioned, we emphasize again that the policies of Article 44 were not about replacing the private sector with the public sector; the private sector has its own dignity, the public sector also has its own dignity; they should help each other, they should not be obstacles to each other. We said, "the public sector should not obstruct the private sector"; what does this mean? It means that the work that private sector capital can do, the public sector should not enter that; if it is there, it should step aside and leave it to the private sector; these should complement each other. However, this does not mean that the public sector completely withdraws from economic activities; no, there are some tasks that only the public sector or non-governmental public sectors can perform; they must enter and do them, just as we mentioned.

The private sector and cooperatives must definitely be developed. In the oil and gas sector, the private sector and cooperatives can have a comprehensive presence. A law has recently been passed in this regard—in the field of downstream oil and gas industries—this law must be implemented. Some laws are passed in the parliament, but they are not implemented; that is, the necessary regulations are not prepared, and it remains as it is. This work must be done quickly; they must pursue it to ensure it is done.

And increasing the production capacity of oil and gas, creating strategic reserves of oil and gas, these are things that are necessary and have been mentioned in the resistant economy policies.

Regarding the media, I recommend that the media reflect these successes. The media reflect some of the problems with some concerns; very well, there is no problem, they should also reflect the problems so that officials, if they watch television, understand where the problems are; but alongside that, they should also mention the successes. The very statements you made, the works that have been done in the field of oil, in the field of aquaculture, in the field of chemical works, these should be reflected, tell the people, let the youth understand, and then introduce the various abundant capacities that exist at the national level so that those who have talent and readiness can pursue them. Of course, they should also pursue the reasonable demands of economic activists so that the government pays attention. Tonight, another point we used from these brothers regarding the media is that foreigners come with large sums of money, bringing thirty million dollars inside and advertising their goods through, for example, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting—they pay money, after this supply finds customers, the price goes up; when the price goes up, then this domestic producer who wants to go to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting must pay the same amount, and he cannot afford it. My recommendation is this: I do not say they should not take that thirty million dollars; take it, take as much as you can; however, differentiate, set tariffs with calculation; set one tariff for foreign producers and another tariff for domestic producers; that is, do not do something that prevents the domestic producer from promoting his brand in the country.

Well, our talk is finished. Everyone should know; both our friends and our enemies. We have pushed the enemy back in the military war, we have pushed the enemy back in the political war, we have pushed the enemy back in the security war—these recent actions were security actions; these were not popular actions, they were security actions; they have been pushed back—in various arenas, we have pushed the enemy back; with God's grace, we will decisively push the enemy back in the economic war as well.

We hope that, God willing, the Almighty God increases your successes. And as for the issues related to production and what has been reported to me this year, I see a bright future, God willing, in economic matters, which we have said the key to it is this production and the prosperity of production, and God willing, day by day this path will become clearer, and friends will, God willing, achieve more successes. And thanks be to God, I see the situation, the horizon, I see it clearly; that is, [considering] what is before my eyes, based on experiences and the information I have, I see the horizon completely clear.

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