Statements at the Gathering of the People of Shirovan

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 chosen family, the infallible and honored guides, especially the Remaining of God among the people of the earth.

I express my gratitude to the Almighty God for granting this humble servant the opportunity to meet with you, the faithful, dear, and warm-hearted people of Shirovan, in this enthusiastic and sincere gathering. Our memory of your city and your people is a good one. In times of difficult and great trials, Shirovan has been one of the regions that has passed the test well and has left a good name behind. In addition to the hundreds of martyrs and disabled veterans that the dear people of Shirovan and its surroundings have presented during the Sacred Defense, the names of seven commanders are among the martyrs of this land. The training of commanders and sending them to manage difficult situations, followed by their martyrdom, are events that cannot be forgotten in the course of history. Today, there are also several thousand Basij members present in this city, active religious groups in this county, and cultural and sports elites in this city. These are indicative of and shape the identity of every region in the country. Our dear youth - both in this county and in other counties of this province - should take pride in their successes and prepare themselves for great tasks in the future.

One of the prominent features of this city and this province - which is very noticeable in Shirovan County - is the coexistence of various ethnic groups with one another; Kurds, Turks, Persians, and Tats live together, brotherly and in a Muslim manner. God willing, your youth, both men and women, will be able to present more brilliant faces to their dear country and for the glory of their revolution in the future; and this hope is not out of reach.

What I wish to convey to you, dear brothers and sisters of Shirovan, is that the efforts of our dear nation and the intelligence, awareness, and insight of our dear people in this province and throughout the country have resulted in our country enjoying a continuous political stability; this is a great blessing. The arrogant and oppressive powers use one of their weapons to create instability in countries, which you can observe; both in our region and in other parts of this vast world. You see that wherever the powerful have been able to covet a country, in order to establish their dominance in those countries and regions, they have created instability among the people of that country or between the people of that country and neighboring countries; they have created discord, they have instigated conflicts, so that instability arises in the systems; from this instability, arms manufacturers, cartels, trusts, and large economic enterprises dominating the political apparatus of the West benefit. Today, one of the policies of the system of domination is to create instability. In such conditions, the Islamic Republic, thanks to the faith of you people, and due to the insight that, by God's grace, exists in our nation, has been able to establish a stable and secure country, to the chagrin of the enemies.

The people themselves are the backbone of the stability and security that exists in the country; and of course, conversely, the greatest benefit of this stability and security in the political system of the country accrues to the people themselves. If a nation has security, political stability, and enjoys the tranquility of the governing apparatus, that nation will have the opportunity to enter various fields and be at the forefront of the great human competition. Security and tranquility for a country are among the most important demands and beneficial outcomes for a nation.

In the Holy Quran, the Almighty God in Surah Al-Fath - which introduces the victory of the Muslims for the Prophet and for the people as a great blessing - says: "So Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and made them adhere to the word of piety, and they were most deserving of it and worthy of it"; as a great blessing, He mentions the descent of divine tranquility upon the Islamic community. Tranquility means peace, it means assurance, it means that calmness that exists. At times, among a nation, there is turmoil, there is no tranquility; everyone is suspicious of one another, everyone is hostile towards each other; the governing apparatus is against the people, and the people are against the governing apparatus; such a country that lacks security cannot advance in science, economy, industry, or national dignity; but when there is stability, security, and tranquility in a country, the nation has the opportunity to showcase its readiness and talents; just as you see that despite the threats of the enemies, the sanctions of the enemies, and the malice of the enemies, the Iranian nation and our dear youth have been able to demonstrate themselves in various fields; to showcase their greatness, their talents, and their readiness in various areas to the world; this is thanks to stability.

Our enemies have repeatedly tried to disrupt this political stability through various means. At the beginning of the revolution, by creating ethnic conflicts in the east and west of the country, in the north and south of the country, they tried to prevent the Islamic revolution from achieving tranquility and to take the country out of the turmoil of the revolution; but they did not succeed. After that, they tried to disrupt the security of the country with the invasion of a mad neighbor - Saddam, in the true sense of the word, was a wild, mad, and dangerous man - and from within, groups helped him; the same groups that later sought refuge in his arms. You saw that what they wanted turned out to be one hundred and eighty degrees contrary to their wishes. The imposed war, the enemy's attack, not only did not disrupt the stability and security of the country, but it further united the nation.

You see in your own regions, in the northern Khorasan region, which is now North Khorasan Province, with the great distance from the battlefield - where is the south and the northwest of the country? Where are North Khorasan and Shirovan and Bojnourd? - but these same people united in the face of the enemy; the issue of Turks, Persians, Kurds, Kormanji, Turkmen, and other ethnicities was no longer relevant, the issue of Shia and Sunni was no longer relevant; everyone united together, stood against the enemy; their young men went to the battlefield, men went. Sometimes four young men from one family would go to the battlefield. The father of these four young men would say, let one of you stay behind to manage the house while I go to the battlefield. Where else can we find such a competition in self-sacrifice?

The enemy wanted to create turmoil in the country, wanted to take tranquility and stability away from the Iranian nation; exactly the opposite, the Almighty God, in response to the enemy's schemes, decreed that "And they plotted, and Allah plotted, and Allah is the best of planners." Thanks to the Sacred Defense, the nation advanced from where it was; its readiness increased. The plots of the arrogant enemies and the man-eating wolves had no effect on the Iranian nation.

Then they tried to disrupt this stability from within. I will just make a reference; I do not want to go into details. Both in 1999 and in 2009 - with a ten-year gap - the enemy's plan and plot were the same. In both cases, their attempt was to disrupt the political stability in the country; their aim was to create turmoil; to take this public tranquility, this stability away from this nation.

We must appreciate this stability and tranquility. The nation appreciates it. When I speak to you, I am actually addressing those who want to be ungrateful in the face of this stability that exists; those who, with their actions, with their wrong deeds, with their deviations, try to disrupt this stability and tranquility, this calmness and stability in the country. Of course, the officials of the country are aware and vigilant; I also emphasize; both to the officials of the executive branch, to the officials of the legislative branch, and to the officials of the judiciary, to be careful that the ill-wishers and enemies cannot disrupt this tranquility that exists at the national level - which is a sign of the greatest power of this nation, which can attract all good things towards them.

In a few months, we have the issue of elections. Before and during the elections, the effort of all officials should be to maintain the political tranquility of the country; not to allow the political atmosphere of the country to become tumultuous and chaotic; this is one of the things that the intelligence of the country's officials, God willing, should be able to realize.

Of course, the people are truly vigilant and insightful. What can one say in the face of the vigilance and insight of the people? The general public has always looked at the interests of the country with a correct perspective; this is our experience. Over these three decades, wherever responsibility has fallen on the people, they have performed it in the best way. The enemies wanted to keep the people away from their necessary fields, they could not; they wanted to create discord among the people, to make them grab each other by the throat, to make them oblivious to the interests of the country and its progress, they could not. The people have shown insight. Truly and fairly, the insight of the people is exemplary; this is also God's work. Hearts are in God's hands, wills are subdued to the divine will. The people are believers, aware of the truths; our recommendation is more to the officials, to the politicians, to the various managers; they should be careful that the enemy cannot disrupt this tranquility and stability and calmness that, by God's grace, exists in the country and that the enemy has tried to disrupt but has not been able to; they should strive to maintain this tranquility and stability; not to allow turmoil to arise. Sometimes a word, sometimes an ill-considered action, sometimes an inappropriate measure can cause turmoil in the political environment; they must be very vigilant.

Of course, these dear people truly deserve that all officials devote all their time and efforts to advancing their affairs. I look at the issues of North Khorasan Province - the same issues of Bojnourd, Shirovan, Esfarayen, and other counties and districts of this province - I see that there are many tasks to be done; these are the responsibility of the officials. Both the representatives of the legislative branch and the representatives in the executive branch are all obliged to work for the people, to serve them. In this Shirovan County, there are also many tasks that need to be accomplished.

Of course, I want to tell you people, trust your officials. The officials want to take action, they want to strive. Their intentions are good. Today, there is a desire to serve the people; of course, sometimes preferences are not right, sometimes the resources are not complete. Everyone must strive and work hand in hand to resolve the existing problems, whether in economic fields or cultural fields.

In this county, like other counties in this province and like some other provinces in the country, the fundamental and important problem is unemployment; which, God willing, efforts should be made to create jobs. Another issue is the addiction of youth in this province and in this region. During this trip, I warned and asked the youth; I said, dear youth! We see you as enthusiastic, determined, and resilient. This is the reality. The youth of this province, in terms of cultural level, understanding, and wisdom, are among the pioneers. One sees pioneering youth in this province. These brave and pioneering youth must also be at the forefront in combating the deadly danger of addiction and contamination with drugs; they themselves must resist, they themselves must fight. This is a struggle that is jointly and simultaneously on the shoulders of the officials and the people themselves. I am very optimistic about the youth. My belief is that if our dear youth decide, they can confront and fight against great dangers, including the danger of drugs in this province.

Thanks be to God, the people of Iran are lively, energetic, and enthusiastic everywhere; let our enemies see and know this. Those who wanted to depress and subdue the people with sanctions, to tire them out, let them see this movement of the people, these massive gatherings, this spontaneous and enthusiastic movement of the people of this province - like other provinces - let them see how present the people are in the scene and how strong their will is to defend the system. All of this is a lesson. They always say the people of Iran. Apparently, those who mention the name of the people of Iran - from the leaders of America and others - do not consider you the people of Iran! The people of Iran, in their view, are a mythical being and a false conception about whom they speak: the people of Iran oppose the system, the people of Iran oppose Islam. The people of Iran are those who you saw in these great scenes. In these past few days, the people of Bojnourd, Esfarayen, Shirovan, and other areas of this province have shown a great epic to all the people of the world. Of course, they try to downplay the news in their news agencies, in their media; but they themselves understand and see the reality.

What we recommend to the respected officials of the country regarding economic issues - which are fundamental issues and the enemy is also focused on the economy - is that in advancing the economy, they should pay attention to these three elements: First, in economic matters, as in all other matters, one must look at the issues with a scientific perspective. Secondly, prudent planning is necessary, which should neither be hasty nor slow and negligent. This is the case in all matters, and it is also the case in sensitive economic issues. Thirdly, stability and continuity of policies are necessary. If, God willing, the officials consider these three elements in the economic advancement of the country, which is of course taken into account - the officials are distinguished both scientifically among them and in terms of compassion, they are compassionate and prudent - by God's grace, the enemies, just as they have not been able to do anything in other areas, will not be able to do anything in economic confrontation with this nation.

Thanks be to God, with divine grace, the people of Iran are vibrant, energetic, and enthusiastic, and they are present in the scene; their presence is accompanied by insight and combined with a firm will and determination. The enemies try to portray the people of Iran as tired and despondent. The people are showing with their movements that the enemy is lying; the enemy is making biased judgments. Of course, unfortunately, some of the internal speakers also speak according to the enemy's wishes - we do not say intentionally; inadvertently - Some have become tired themselves, saying the people are tired! The people are not tired. The people are present in the field and in the scene; they are ready to work. The field must be prepared for the people, opened up, and then you will see that wherever the people feel there is a duty, with what motivation, with what diligence, with what firm determination they enter; just as they have done today.

We ask the Almighty God to bestow His grace, mercy, goodness, and blessings upon you, the dear people of Shirovan County, and God willing, may your dear youth be encompassed by divine grace and success and may each day be better and happier than the previous day, accompanied by greater success, and may God unite the pure spirit of the martyrs and the spirit of the Imam of martyrs with His friends. I sincerely thank you for your enthusiastic and warm gathering and for your expressions of affection.

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