Televised Speech Addressing the Iranian Nation on the Nineteenth Day of the Blessed Month of Ramadan 1442

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 Muhammad and his pure and virtuous family, especially the remaining one of God on earth.

Peace be upon the Commander of the Faithful, the Imam of the Pious, the best of the successors, the proof of the Lord of the worlds, and God's mercy and blessings.

The days of divine hospitality and the necessity of readiness to receive God's mercy The peak of the month of Ramadan is the nights of Qadr (Destiny) and the blessed nights of Qadr; we have reached this peak. We must take advantage of this unparalleled opportunity for supplication, humility, and prayer to the Lord of the worlds. This month is divine hospitality, and the best of divine hospitality is during these blessed days. The prayers you recite, the supplications you make, the tears you shed, all of these are the divine hospitality granted to you; appreciate them and pray for yourselves, all your religious brothers, your country, and your community, and ask God with certainty of acceptance. It is narrated that when you pray, be assured that this prayer will be answered; there is no shortcoming from the Lord; He is pure generosity; however, sometimes our vessel is not ready to receive that divine grace and mercy; let us strive to prepare ourselves for receiving divine mercy through seeking forgiveness, greater attention, and more humility. Two nights of the nights of Qadr remain; appreciate these nights. I also request prayers from all of you dear ones who hear and see me.

Well, our discussion today begins with a brief expression of respect to the Master of the Pious (peace and blessings be upon him), and then, on the occasion of Teacher's Day and Labor Day, we will say a few words about our dear teachers and a few words about our dear workers; God willing.

The spiritual and lofty leadership of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) Regarding the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and introducing the character of this great man, one stage is the stage of his leadership; leadership not in the sense of the presidency of religion and the world and the things we say about leadership; these are not the point; rather, the leadership that the Almighty God said to Prophet Abraham: "Indeed, I have made you a leader for the people." (1) Well, when was this said to Abraham? This was undoubtedly said in the old age of Prophet Abraham; because in response to the Lord, he says: "And of my offspring?" (2) It is clear that he had offspring; and the offspring of Prophet Abraham is from his old age. "Praise be to God who has granted me, despite my old age, Ishmael and Isaac." (3) The Prophet did not have children in his youth, middle age, or even early old age; the child is from the later part of his life. So this leadership is related to the later part of Prophet Abraham's life; while Abraham was a prophet many years before that, and prophets are the leaders of religion and the world; there is no doubt about this, but this leadership was given to him later by the Almighty God. Thus, this leadership is another stage, something higher, a spiritual matter. The issue of leadership cannot be measured and weighed with our ordinary scales; this is what Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) [in explaining it] shouted in Mina in front of crowds of people: "Indeed, the Messenger of God was the Imam;" (5) the Prophet was the Imam; the Imam in that sense is what is meant.

Well, this is a high and lofty position, and honestly, understanding it is beyond our reach; now, apart from the infallibles (peace be upon them), there have been elites and great figures who have grasped the lofty concepts of leadership; perhaps in our time, there are also those who have understood these concepts, and before us, there were those whose names we have heard from afar or seen their works; [like] the late Haj Mirza Javad Agha Maleki Tabrizi, who passed away nearly a hundred years ago, who wrote about the Commander of the Faithful and this position of leadership in his book "Muraqibat"; we cannot reach these things.

The unparalleled character of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) according to worldly criteria Apart from this very high and important spiritual rank, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) is also an unparalleled character according to worldly and human criteria; after the Prophet Akram (peace be upon him), perhaps no one else can be shown with the qualities that the Commander of the Faithful possesses; hence, you see that both his followers and non-followers have respect for the Commander of the Faithful, many non-Shiites, non-Muslims, and non-religious people have great affection for him; those who have recognized him and have knowledge of the concepts related to this great man have respect for him, love him [and this] is due to the qualities that exist in this great man, which, of course, among these qualities, the most prominent is his justice; that justice without any hesitation and extensive and without any consideration; this incredible justice that one is truly astonished to hear about its instances; or his asceticism and indifference to the world for himself; this great man built the world, led people to material and spiritual growth but wanted nothing for himself, which what has been narrated from him is truly astonishing; or his courage, his compassionate heart towards the weak, his firm resolve against tyrants and oppressors and the arrogant powers, his self-sacrifice in the path of truth, his ocean of wisdom - his words are an ocean of wisdom, his actions are a steadfast mountain - truly, there are astonishing things in the life of this great man, and these strange and extraordinary qualities [in him] have been acknowledged even by his enemies, which now is not the time for me to mention. [For example] Urwah ibn Zubair said to his son, who spoke ill of the Prophet, a sentence that is astonishing and surprising; he said: "God has exalted him, and whatever they do, his elevation and growth will increase."; while the family of Zubair, especially the children of Abdullah ibn Zubair, were entirely against the Commander of the Faithful. Well, this is related to this great man, and in all these qualities, this great man is at the peak of perfection; that is, these qualities in him exist in the utmost abundance and brilliance; and these are what we must take as a model.

Striving for progress and following the personal qualities of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) Of course, we are very behind in these areas; both personally, we must emulate these qualities of this great man and follow him, and in the etiquette of governance. Well, today the government is in the hands of the followers of the Commander of the Faithful; we must adhere to this same method, this same approach, these same qualities, this same justice, this same courage, this same asceticism in our actions, in our behavior, which, of course, we are very behind; we must strive, we must make efforts to advance ourselves in these areas.

An example of the self-sacrifice and eagerness of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) for martyrdom Well, since today is the nineteenth and the day of the strike of this great man, I will mention a sentence about the self-sacrifice of this Imam and his eagerness for martyrdom; this is in Nahj al-Balagha; sermon 156 of Nahj al-Balagha. The Imam says when the verse "Do people think that they will be left alone after saying, 'We have believed,' and they will not be tried?" (6) was revealed and the discussion of trials arose, I understood that as long as the Prophet is among us, this trial will not occur; this trial is for after the Prophet; I spoke to the Prophet, and he has statements that are now mentioned in that sermon. When the Prophet Akram (peace be upon him) conveyed these matters to the Commander of the Faithful, his chosen disciple, apparently that enthusiasm and eagerness to feel the duty and responsibility in the Imam is stirred, and he speaks a sentence to the Prophet that I will read for you. I said, "O Messenger of God! Did you not tell me on the day of Uhud when many Muslims were martyred and I was not martyred despite all the wounds inflicted upon me, that this was hard for me, and you told me, 'Rejoice, for martyrdom is ahead of you'?" He says, "I told the Prophet - now in our language - that, 'O Messenger of God! Do you remember on the day of Uhud when Hamza was martyred, our friends were martyred, and I, with all the injuries inflicted upon me, was not martyred, it was very hard for me that I fell behind and was not martyred, you noticed, you told me, 'O Ali! Rejoice, for martyrdom is ahead of you.' Do you remember?" The Prophet replied, "Indeed, that is true; you will be martyred." Then he said, "How will your patience be then?" Now that your destiny is martyrdom, how will you endure martyrdom? Well, martyrdom in the battlefield is not difficult; for example, suppose that on that day a spear or a sword strikes, today a bullet strikes, and one reaches martyrdom; it is not a significant matter. Martyrdom in the great battles that one endures hardships is very important. The Commander of the Faithful was martyred after a difficult period, and that too in the prayer niche and in a difficult manner. Therefore, the Prophet said: "How will your patience be then?" When martyrdom is destined for you, how will you endure martyrdom? I said, "O Messenger of God! This is not a place of patience;" this is not a place of patience; patience is for bitter matters, for undesirable matters, one endures. "But this is from the places of glad tidings and gratitude;" this is from the places where one must give oneself good news and thank God. This desire for martyrdom is a characteristic of the Commander of the Faithful, and the Imam reached this goal like last night when a loud cry was raised that "By God, the pillars of guidance have collapsed, and Ali the Chosen has been killed!" (7) This martyrdom, from the blow that resulted in martyrdom, occurred last night for the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him); peace be upon him.

The existence of examples of followers of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in the present time Well, thanks be to God that there are self-sacrificing men in our time, and there have been many who have followed the Commander of the Faithful and [from him] have emulated; they were in love with martyrdom, sought martyrdom, had the desire for martyrdom, and God Almighty granted them martyrdom. Martyr Soleimani was threatened by the enemies that they would kill him; this great man told his friends that they threaten me with something that I am pursuing in the mountains and deserts; they threaten me with that! Well, God willing, may He place us among the followers of this path; may He make us among those who benefit from this great advantage, God willing.

The prominent and important features of Martyr Motahhari: 1) Producing and disseminating thought alongside mastery of intellectual issues But now regarding Teacher's Day. Teacher's Day in the Islamic Republic coincides with the martyrdom of the great teacher, the late Martyr Motahhari (may God be pleased with him). There is a quality in Martyr Motahhari that all teachers - whether teachers in religious seminaries, teachers in universities, or teachers in schools and education - should truly take as a model and should be a model for them. Well, the late Martyr Motahhari was a knowledgeable man, a thinker, truly a scholar, a philosopher, a jurist, and had complete mastery over intellectual issues; these qualities existed in this great man, but that very important quality and feature of his was that he both produced thought and disseminated thought; disseminating thought is very important. This great man did not sit idle, he was restless; we had seen; he was always thinking, always concerned about disseminating correct, sound, and deep thought among his audience; and he had started a soft warfare in every sense over many years; he faced invading waves and confronted them and overcame them. The issue was not only for him the Marxist and Eastern ideological waves; whether Eastern or Western; whether the prevailing Marxist thoughts or the liberal thoughts in the West; he confronted all of these. If one looks at the books of that great man [they will see]; well, we have also witnessed his activities up close.

2) Guiding the audience, bringing intellectual and scientific capacities closer to the needs of society He guided his audience and provided them with tranquility, calmness, and assurance in the path of correct thought. Martyr Motahhari was responsible, duty-oriented, and truly had a concern for duty. He never remained idle; he had the scientific heritage of his predecessors at his disposal, and he himself had added many treasures to it, and he made all of these available to his audience; whether in university classes and at one time in the seminary - in Qom seminary, he had classes - and whether in writings and in speeches he had given in numerous university and student meetings and various gatherings. In any case, the intellectual and practical situation of this great man was this; and he transferred these to the next generation. And importantly, he brought all the intellectual capacities of thought and science closer to the stage of need and the needs of society; that is, the priorities of society were the criteria of his efforts; he looked for the intellectual priorities of society and recognized them well, and honestly, he made good judgments and brought all these intellectual capacities towards these priorities.

Transferring scientific treasures to the next generation and safeguarding the thoughts of the audience; the heavy responsibility of teachers Well, our valuable community of dear teachers must set this as the framework of their work. The work of a teacher is to transfer scientific treasures and the scientific heritage of humanity to the next generation. They must transfer these with complete trust, with all their ability and skill to the next generation and prepare their audience, their students, to be thinkers and to add to these treasures; this is one of the important tasks of a teacher; this is a heavy responsibility and requires a great sense of responsibility; the concern of a teacher must be this. Also, teachers should pay attention, and this is also one of the important responsibilities of teachers that they must safeguard the thoughts of their audience - students and young people and seminarians and others - just as Martyr Motahhari did.

Teachers; the officers of the army of the country's progress and the necessity of this role being recognized by them Well, fortunately, today in our country, there is a very wide opportunity for education. In the past, certainly, this amount of educational opportunity for young people and adolescents and even children was not available as it is today, thanks to the Islamic Revolution, thanks to the Islamic Republic, this opportunity is at hand. This opportunity is available to teachers, and our dear teachers are also an important part of these opportunities; that is, truly, the opportunity for education has gained richness thanks to the increasing number of teachers, their high literacy, and their preparedness. Therefore, we can say that teachers are the officers of the army of the country's progress. If we want to liken the general movement of the country's progress to the movement of an army, the young officers of this group are the dear teachers; and they themselves must recognize this role. Now I said young teachers; because many of our teachers today are young, but there are also elderly, hardworking, and experienced teachers who have worked for many years and do not abandon teaching. They do not abandon it because they value teaching so much, they do not abandon it and are busy with work, even in their old age. After all, the teachers themselves must recognize this vital and important role. When they recognize it, naturally, they will feel responsible in that way.

The necessity of continuous and permanent jihad of teachers to confront the ideological onslaught of enemies against the youth Another side of this page is that in our country, our young people and adolescents have rarely been subjected to such ideological and moral threats and assaults. Of course, during the Pahlavi regime, this assault was created by the officials of the country themselves [but] today it exists from foreigners, from enemies, from deviants. Well, our teachers are faced with that immense capacity on one side and with this all-encompassing assault on the other side; they must undertake a real, continuous jihad between these two and truly strive. They must work to ensure that the dropouts are close to zero and the growths are at maximum.

The responsibility of various sectors towards teachers and introducing their lofty status Of course, others also have heavy responsibilities towards the community of teachers. We all have heavy responsibilities towards the community of teachers. The main issue is to elevate the status of teaching. I have emphasized this topic in various discussions, and I will emphasize it again that the status of teaching is high; this must be understood by all, and this must become a part of public culture. The same issue exists regarding workers, and I will mention it. The status of teaching must be recognized; teaching is a very great, very important, and very valuable task. The Ministry of Education must play a role, the media must play a role; cultural and promotional institutions must play a role, and the goal of all of these must be to introduce the lofty status of teachers to the people. Of course, resolving the economic knots is also a very necessary and important task that must be done, which is primarily the responsibility of the government and the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

The prominent role of teachers and mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic It is worth mentioning that I would like to acknowledge the commendable role of teachers during this period of widespread illness and pandemic, who did not suspend educational services and provided the best services remotely, and the efforts of teachers in some cases were doubled; that is, they truly endured the hardships of this work - which has its own difficulties - they must be thanked. Families also helped, honestly; especially mothers, and I sincerely thank the mothers of students. This is regarding the dear teachers.

And now regarding the issue of Labor Day. Well, last year we had a good program on Labor Day; it was a remote program, but we connected with various workshop and labor centers; we spoke with both workers and entrepreneurs; we listened to their words and conveyed messages to them. Our meeting last year was a very good and memorable meeting. Unfortunately, this year, due to the recent spread of this malicious virus, this [program] could not take place; that is, it was not possible for workers to gather in one place and talk to them, even from a distance. And as they say, the danger of this English variant of this virus is apparently greater than that of the other types!

Well, regarding workers, one issue is to see what the status of workers is; one issue is to discuss support for workers; one issue is the creation of work, the creation of employment, and work in this regard; we will say a few sentences about each.

Workers; the main pillar of production and the economy of the country As for praising workers, it is enough that the hand of the worker is a hand that God Almighty and His Prophet love. The Prophet of God kissed the hand of the worker; for the value of the worker, this is enough. The working community has a great right over all members of society; because in an independent economy that is production-oriented and wants to stand on its own feet and is not dependent on this and that and does not rely on foreign countries in essential economic matters, in such an economy, the worker plays a major and principal role; one of the most important roles is played by the worker, and he is the main pillar. An independent economy is dependent on domestic production, and domestic production is dependent on the worker; therefore, the worker is a main pillar. This role is one of those roles that people must pay attention to and must become part of public culture. Just as we said regarding teachers, in these areas, the media, cultural institutions, and promotional institutions must work.

The great right of workers in the Islamic Republic Of course, in the Islamic Republic, the rights of workers are greater than in other places; the reason is that from the very beginning of the formation of this system, enemies, foreigners, and ill-wishers have tried to set the working community against the Islamic Republic; they tempted them a lot, and the working community stood firm, stood by the system, stood alongside the system, and truly participated in the sacred defense; and this great right is owed to the Islamic Republic by them; and some of our dear workers sacrificed their lives in the sacred defense.

Support for workers and its effects and blessings However, the issue of supporting workers is a very important issue, and I have always emphasized this in my discussions about workers, and I emphasize it today as well. Our slogan this year was: "Production, Support, and Removal of Barriers"; (9) well, one of the most important types of support for production is supporting workers and helping workers; if we want to support the domestic production of the country, the national production of the country, we must support workers; this is an important aspect of support. Of course, let us also keep in mind that supporting workers is, in fact, supporting national wealth; that is, if a country's worker is active, lively, and works well, this country reaches national wealth, and this national wealth gives him dignity, this national wealth brings him power; therefore, workers bring independence to the country, they bring power, they bring dignity; if you support the worker, these are the effects and blessings of that.

Types of support for workers: 1) Skill training Of course, when we say support for workers, it is not just that, for example, every year or every two years, we raise their base salary in accordance with inflation; this is one type of support; however, there are other types of support that must be considered. One is the issue of skill training for workers; a wide-ranging program must be developed to teach our workers - whether industrial workers, agricultural workers, and various types of workers - skills and to raise their skill level, to raise their specialization level, which is extremely beneficial for them, and it also gives quality to work and makes work valuable; this is a form of support.

2) Insurance and health care The issue of insurance and health care is also an important issue in supporting them; the insurance of workers and their health care is necessary, which, of course, in some people's businesses, this [issue] is well observed; all must observe this, and this must be considered one of the main issues of labor.

3) Job security Another type of support is job security and guaranteeing job retention; that is, the worker should not have concerns about whether his job will remain or be taken from him. One of the important reasons we are so sensitive about the closure of factories is because of this - that now I will mention a sentence about this - the worker must have job security and know that his job and occupation are guaranteed.

4) Housing Another important issue is the housing of workers; today, a significant part of workers' income is spent on housing rent; fundamental solutions must be found for workers' housing. Of course, I have heard that this year the Islamic Consultative Assembly has included this in the budget, and if God willing, this is the case and is implemented well, it is a great help.

5) Creating a logical and fair relationship between the worker, employer, and government Another support in general is to create logical and fair relationships between the worker and the employer and the government; creating fair relationships is also supporting workers; and this, of course, is one of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Labor, which must work in these areas.

Another important issue that must be addressed regarding work and workers is the issue of creating employment and producing work, which is another important topic; if governments have proper planning regarding job creation and follow this planning with precision and discipline and utilize the capacities of the country and the capacities of the private sector for job creation, in our opinion, this will be a great help to the economy of the country and to the progress of the country, and the health of the economy and economic growth depend on this [issue].

The economic, social, and political blessings of job creation, and the negative consequences of unemployment I want to say that job creation does not only have economic blessings, but it also has social blessings, political blessings. Work and employment for people, especially for the youth, is a source of vitality, movement, eagerness, and being alive and energetic. You see a worker or entrepreneur who can work and strives and works and is successful, how lively and energetic he is! On the contrary: unemployment is a breeding ground for corruption, a breeding ground for pessimism and slander, a breeding ground for addiction, a breeding ground for moral deviations, and even a breeding ground for security deviations. Therefore, the issue of work is not merely an economic issue; job creation, creating work, is a comprehensive and multifaceted issue and is very important. Governments must make one of their important programs how to create employment; these programs must be in place; these are expected economic issues.

Factory closures, a blow to production and a betrayal of the independence of the country At this point, I must give a warning to those who caused factories to be closed. Unfortunately, many factories have been closed, and we have seen reports of some of them, and we are becoming more aware of some of them. Some people take over a factory for their own interests, then to use the land of that factory, they dismiss the workers in some way and convert the tools and machinery of the factory into money, and then keep the land to convert it into buildings at an appropriate opportunity and gain invalid and unlawful added value for themselves, whether they know it or not, this is in fact a betrayal. Some do not intend to betray and only seek their personal interests, but this is betrayal; betrayal of the independence of the country, betrayal of the economy of the country, betrayal of the people, and betrayal of the workers; this is a blow to production. When the worker becomes unemployed and the factory ceases to operate, the product of that factory must be imported from abroad; then the same problems we face today in imports arise; in addition to the fact that the financial resources of the country and the foreign currency resources of the country must go abroad, we will face the problems of sanctions and the things that exist. This [issue] is also because some people are closing the main capital of the country, which is the capital of production.

Unemployment of workers, injustice to the employed Moreover, when a large number of workers become unemployed, injustice is done to those who are employed; because when the supply of workers increases, the value of their work naturally decreases; when there are many unemployed, even those who are employed do not benefit to the extent of their entitlement. Therefore, these are very important issues. Relevant agencies must seriously think about this. In the government, the relevant agencies in this matter are mainly the Ministry of Industries, the Ministry of Agriculture, and those ministries that work in production, and they must play a role. Of course, the dimensions of this issue are broader than these; now I have briefly stated it. One of the main programs of the economy of the country is this, and those who lead existing facilities to closure in any way must be dealt with.

Activating small and medium workshops across the country, one of the ways to produce wealth and create employment One of the things I have previously recommended - which, of course, is the opinion of economic experts; we have heard from them, we have learned from them - [is that] small and medium workshops across the country must be activated; of course, these large workshops are important for the country, but expanding small and medium workshops, which benefits everyone and all, is both wealth production for the general public, for the middle class, for the lower class, and it creates employment in all aspects of the country and regions of the country, which includes thousands of cases across the country; these must be revived.

Real strengthening of national production; the most successful way to neutralize and lift sanctions The last point regarding labor issues is that [since] these days there is talk of sanctions and sanctions and such things - of course, this has been discussed for a long time and for several years, the issue of sanctions has been raised, and these days it is also raised - in our opinion, the best and most successful work to neutralize the sanctions is this real effort - not a rhetorical effort; real effort - to strengthen national production. If we can truly strengthen national production, we have genuinely strengthened it and pursued it with planning and follow-up, be assured that the sanctions will first be neutralized, and then they will be lifted; that is, when the other side sees that the country has not been harmed by the sanctions and has revived and its internal efforts have increased, it will inevitably have to lift the sanctions. Well, these discussions have concluded.

Elections; an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen the foundations of the country I would like to say a word about elections and the issues surrounding elections. We want to express two points: one is that elections are truly a significant opportunity, and people should not be discouraged from elections; this is one point. Another point is that elections should not be ruined by meaningless words and deceptive promises without backing. Truly, those who wish to enter this electoral campaign should think, and in the true sense of the word, present work to the people.

Regarding the first point, well, elections are honestly an unparalleled opportunity; that is, a unique opportunity; nothing else can replace elections for the country and the strengthening of the foundations of the country's power. Elections are the presence of the people, and when the people are present, no power can shake the system. The important manifestation of the presence of the people is elections. Therefore, those who participate in elections are actually striving for the power of their country, for the preservation of their country, for their own security, and for the future and destiny of the country.

Holding fair elections throughout the Islamic Republic Some people discourage the public by casting doubt on the elections, casting doubt on the type of officials involved in the elections, whether the honorable Guardian Council or other institutions; they cast doubt on their work; this is wrong. From the beginning of the revolution until today, we have had numerous elections - dozens of elections have been held - all of these elections have been conducted fairly; there may have been minor violations here and there - and in some cases, there have been - but they have never affected the results of the elections. Because I have followed the issue; in some cases, complaints were made, we followed up on the issues - I mean, there were some places where complaints were made that violations occurred, we pursued the issues, investigated seriously from close - never has a violation that contradicts trust or has affected the results of the elections occurred in our elections; our elections have been fair and accompanied by trust and integrity. This is the first point.

The necessity of avoiding unfairness towards the holding of elections Of course, some people accept elections only when the result of the elections is what they want! If their desired outcome comes from the elections, they consider the elections fair and accept them; and if their desired outcome does not come, they accuse the elections and those who conducted the elections - in any section [they may be] - they accuse them; sometimes, like in 2009, they create riots, which, of course, that accusing is unfair, and that creating riots is a crime. Some are like this. This is wrong; that is, this should not be done. Therefore, this is one issue.

The necessity of presenting programs and avoiding unsupported statements by election candidates Another issue is that some of those who enter the electoral arena make statements that are not good, deceptive words, words that have no intellectual backing and no programmatic backing; they claim something just like that, they say something, without considering the capacities of the country or even knowing them. Many of the brothers who enter this arena may not even be aware of many of the capacities of the country; without having made a proper calculation, they say something, they make a statement, they give a promise. These are not good; programs must be presented in the true sense of the word; it must be such that when experts look at the words of someone who is a candidate and speaks to the people, they confirm in their hearts that this statement is a sound and good statement.

The necessity for candidates to adhere to the Constitution Sometimes, statements are made by some that indicate that they do not seem to accept the Constitution as a whole. Well, someone who wants to enter the presidential arena and is a candidate for sitting on the presidential seat of the country must believe in Islam, must believe in the people's vote, must believe in the Constitution; they must have faith in these; otherwise, [if they do not] they are not worthy of this meaning. Sometimes, statements are heard from some that are not commensurate with this important duty; this is what we request and seriously demand that they adhere to.

The importance of officials being cautious about repeating the words of enemies Of course, some officials of the country have recently made statements that are a source of surprise and regret for a person, and we have heard that the media of the enemies and opponents of the Islamic Republic have also broadcast these statements. One truly feels regret when hearing these matters. Some of these statements repeat the hostile words of our enemies, repeat the words of America. Now, for example, suppose the Americans have been very upset and dissatisfied for years with the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the region; they were upset with the Quds Force because of this, they were upset with Martyr Soleimani because of this, they assassinated Martyr Soleimani because of this; anything that is a factor of the spiritual influence of the Islamic Republic in the region is bad for them. We must not say anything that implies that we are repeating their words; whether regarding the Quds Force or regarding Martyr Soleimani himself. The policy of the country consists of various economic programs, military programs, social programs, scientific and cultural programs, including diplomatic relations and foreign relations; all of these constitute the policy of a country. Everyone must strive together, everyone must move forward together. That one section negates the other section, that one negates this, it makes no sense at all; this is a great mistake that should not occur from the officials of the Islamic Republic and the officials of the Islamic Republic.

The Quds Force, the factor for realizing the dignified policy of the Islamic Republic in the region Honestly, the Quds Force is the most effective factor in preventing passive diplomacy in the West Asia region; the Quds Force has realized an independent policy of the Islamic Republic and a dignified policy of the Islamic Republic in the West Asia region.

The insistence of the West on the passivity and subservience of the Islamic Republic to them, and our independent policy The Westerners insist that the foreign policy of the country should be inclined towards them and under their banner; that too in the form of subservience; the Westerners' inclination is this; because it has been this way for years; both at the end of the Qajar era and during the long reign of the Pahlavi, Iran was under the control of Western policies; the revolution came and removed Iran from under that control; for all forty years, the efforts of the Westerners - whether America or Europe - have been to continue their previous control over this country; hence, you see the Islamic Republic establishes relations with China, they become angry, it establishes political or economic relations with Russia, they become upset, they become angry; when we want to establish relations with neighbors, they intervene, they pressure our weak neighbors and prevent them. These are instances we have witnessed, and I have numerous examples from Arab countries and neighboring countries where their high-ranking officials even wanted to travel to Iran, [but] the Americans went and prevented them from traveling; that is, they oppose any diplomatic movement of ours. We cannot act passively in response to their wishes; we must act independently, with dignity, with effort, and with strength, and this work has been done by some in the region, and thanks be to God, it has yielded results.

Determining the foreign policy of all countries in high-level assemblies and not in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Let everyone know that foreign policy is not determined in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs anywhere in the world. Foreign policy everywhere is related to the high-level assemblies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; it is the high-level assemblies and the high-ranking officials of the country who determine foreign policy; of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participates in these, but it is not the case that decision-making is subject to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; no, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the executor; it implements foreign policies; here in our country, it is the same; in the Supreme National Security Council, where all officials are present, decisions are made, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must implement them in its own way and advance them. In any case, we must not speak in a way that implies that we do not believe in the policies of the country and do not accept them. We must be cautious; we must also be cautious about pleasing the enemy; truly, it should not be such that we please the enemy. I hope that God Almighty grants all the officials of the country who truly wish to serve the Islamic Republic, their country, their homeland, and their people, success so that they can carry out this work in the best possible way.

We hope that God Almighty will grant us success in what pleases Him and His victory, and God willing, we can walk this path, and may God keep us in the prayers of the Guardian of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) and the satisfaction of that great man. These nights, praying for the hastening of the reappearance is important, praying for the blessed existence of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him and may God hasten his reappearance and our souls be sacrificed for him) is very important; that great man will also pray for you; when you pray for him, he will pray for you, and the prayer of that great man is an accepted prayer; God willing, may God grant us the prayer of that great man and may the pure souls of the great martyrs and the pure spirit of our great Imam, whose place is truly vacant, be pleased and happy with us.

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