Statements of the Supreme Leader in Meeting with the President and Cabinet on the Occasion of the Commemoration of Government Week

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Firstly, the advent of Government Week, which always brings hopeful tidings and good news for our people and is a time for our responsible brothers in the government to renew their covenant with the past and their pledge to Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and his sacred and lofty Islamic goals, God willing, may it be blessed for you and the Iranian nation. We also honor the memory of those two dear martyrs who were truly two faithful and striving individuals in the path of God and are considered the true embodiment of the noble verse "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with God." They entered the field of responsibility sincerely and acted, and divine success was granted to them. Although their period of service was short and although their era was filled with the ideals of the revolution and the early days of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, if it were not for divine success, they too could not have acted in such a manner and attained the great success of martyrdom. May God, God willing, elevate their ranks and keep their memory alive in our society.

This year, fortunately, Government Week began under very good conditions in terms of the general atmosphere of our country. The people are witnessing good successes from the Islamic Republic system and the benevolent serving government. Politically, during these days close to this week, the great powers, specifically America, engaged with our revolution, nation, and country in three incidents and politically failed in all three: first, the issue of Iran's nuclear contract with Russia, then the matter of efforts to economically besiege the country, and finally our contract with South Africa, where America came against us with all its might but was practically forced to retreat. All three incidents were brought about by the Almighty God, and the American government, with its claim of superpower status and its vast propaganda and political capabilities, created a commotion in the world against the Islamic Republic and confronted the Islamic Republic system face to face, but in all three cases, it did not achieve its desired result. In these three incidents, it became clear that when a system possesses true power and strength and does not rely on others and does not derive its power, existence, and legitimacy from outside itself, it succeeds. In major global issues, when a country unjustly confronts other countries, it is the one that is forced to retreat, and today, the Islamic Republic government, thanks be to God, continues its work and path with strength and does not fear the plots of global arrogance. The people see these successes, and our friends around the world observe them. Therefore, in terms of boosting morale, this success was an achievement for everyone and indicates divine favor.

Economically, we have also been successful. Some important economic indicators show this truth that, thanks be to God, the Islamic Republic government has had successful efforts in the field of economic activities, as reported to me by the gentlemen. Regarding major indicators such as the positive balance of foreign trade or the increase in foreign reserves or the reduction of imports, I recommend that the brothers strive to ensure that the reduction of imports does not harm certain sectors and yields good results. The brothers should explain these points to the people in simple language. Of course, some roundtables are formed, which is very good, but make sure that what you present to the people is not in scientific and technical formats but is expressed in a way that all people understand and know what has happened. This work makes people hopeful and pleased. Making people happy with real progress and informing them about the course of affairs is a good task and a right of the people that must be fulfilled.

Last year and early this year, many projects across the country were completed in the economic field, and what the media reported this week, people saw with their own eyes through television and observed what is happening across the country. The implementation of all these projects leads to the prosperity of the country, increased production, employment, and reduced living costs, and those who were unemployed find work and gain the possibility of a dignified life. Stabilizing the exchange rate and preventing smuggling and serious combating of smugglers—whether goods or currency—has also had a significant impact on people's lives. These positive achievements must be communicated to the people, and the various services of different sectors must be presented. Thanks be to God, what has been presented to the people so far has created a good atmosphere in their minds.

The Islamic Republic government, with two factors of real connection with God and the attention of the people, possesses true power. In fact, the power of the government is the same as national power. What is mentioned as national power in a country is that a powerful, caring, and interested government is at the helm of affairs, correctly identifies the interests of the people, and pursues paths with strength and vigor and does not fear external threats, various hostilities, and possibly some internal sabotage. This situation, thanks be to God, is observed in our country.

National power, which is essentially the power of the government, has two pillars: one is a real connection with God, meaning that work is done for God and no one does it for material reasons and personal issues. We do not mean to say that by "no one" we mean that at the level of government employees, no one is like this. Naturally, this is a distant wish, but we mean the officials and those in charge of affairs who must improve their relationship with God. If we see that national power exists and the government has the ability to work, we must discover that this matter has been secured. The other pillar is the attention of the people, which is: "Whoever is for God, God is for him," "Whoever rectifies what is between him and God, God will rectify what is between him and the people." If a person corrects his relationship with God, God will correct his relationship with the people. All these have sociological and psychological scientific connections and mechanisms that we do not want to explain at the moment. What the statement of the Shariah is responsible for is not the scientific explanation of these issues. What the Shariah states is wisdom. Wisdom means stating truths. This is a truth that if you connect yourself with God, your relationship with the people who believe in God and are His servants will be good.

The point that Mr. Hashemi mentioned is a very correct point; that is, from the day the incident of the martyrdom of these two companions of the revolution occurred, many advancements have taken place in the country. We must see why we have reached the current conditions and position from that situation. At that time, we did not have resources, money, or bank reserves. I remember how the country's reserves and oil sales were at that time. Mr. Hashemi himself remembers what concerns we had in these areas. The country's income was almost zero, there were many problems, and the costly and burdensome war weighed heavily on the country and the people. What factor, power, and capable hand brought this country to this point? This was the divine favor and attention of the Lord and God's will. He strengthened wills, made hands capable, brought hearts together, and neutralized hostilities and divisive plots. If one of these divisive whispers had come to fruition, our country's situation would have been like the situation of countries where you sometimes see two groups opposing each other and forgetting the country in between. If unity was established and if things progressed and if divine success included us and the enemy's plots were thwarted, all these were due to divine favor; of course, His working tool was the support of the people for the officials, the revolution, and the servants, which we see today. Efforts must be made to preserve this tool.

Thanks be to God, you who are the top officials of the country have a popular nature and are part of the middle classes of the people and do not have an aristocratic nature and do not distance yourselves from the people. This is a very great blessing that must be preserved and extended to all parts of the workforce. If occasionally someone is found in your group whose method is different, hold him back. I remind you of an important recommendation on this occasion: one of the duties today is to fight corruption; because the country has reached fruition and it is time to reap the fruits. Your past efforts are gradually bearing fruit, and resources in the country are increasing. Such a season has always been a dangerous season throughout history. It is the season of the entry of opportunistic, crooked, and black-hearted people who enter and, if they can, exploit negligence. Be very careful in this regard. Perhaps ten years ago, we did not need as much care—although care is always necessary—because at that time, there was not much to take and steal; but today, there is a lot to take and steal. I consider the sensational trials these days as one of the honors of the system. The existence of corruption is not surprising; not fighting corruption is surprising. These trials mean that the Islamic Republic system has no reservations or jokes with anyone and suppresses any motive for corruption wherever it sees it; especially that corruption which, like a worm inside a tree, is intended to rot and hollow out the foundation and destroy it. Wherever you encounter this issue in your group, fight it with full power and without any hesitation and relying on the same legal methods and procedures—which, thanks be to God, we have laws for all these essential tasks.

Therefore, do not forget the two points of accompanying the people and moving in the direction of God's will. The issue of God's will is not an incomprehensible and ambiguous matter. In every task, do what you think is a divine duty. If the divine duty conflicts with personal desires, set aside personal desires. This is the true piety and work that is necessary for officials. Do not consider positions, jobs, and the like as having intrinsic importance. Thanks be to God, you are not of this mindset, and thank God that the top officials of the country are truly free from such things. If there are such people, you should completely exclude them from your calculations.

Another point is that, thanks be to God, the country is moving in the direction of growth and development. This is a tangible matter. Truly, construction work in the country has been taken seriously, and anyone who denies this is undoubtedly being unfair; because the country is moving towards construction in an astonishing and admirable manner, and wherever you look in this country, the flame of work is high, and useful work is being done for these people in various sectors. So growth and development are ongoing, and you are pursuing it with proper planning and movement. What you should pursue with care and precision is the issue of "social justice," which is compatible with growth and development. Some thought—and perhaps still think—that we should spend a period on growth and development and when we reach the desired point, we will address social justice. This thought is not Islamic. "Justice" is the goal, and growth and development are the prelude to justice. On the day when there is no social justice in the country, if we can, we should not tolerate that day. If you see that there is still inequality and class disparity in the country and some people are still in poverty and deprivation, it is because the country's officials cannot do more. The destruction that has occurred over many years is deeper and more extensive than can be remedied in this short period, otherwise, if we can, we should not tolerate it for even one day. The second program, thanks be to God, was well executed and is now progressing well. In future planning, place the issue of eliminating poverty and deprivation from the country as a top priority, as this is one of the pillars of justice. Of course, the entire concept of justice is not just about eliminating poverty and deprivation; although it is truly and fairly a significant part of that concept. Include this matter in your work and in all your sections and planning. In the policies that were announced and communicated for the second program, this point was among the important items of that policy-making.

Another recommendation I have is to rely on internal forces as much as you can. Of course, I know this recommendation is considered by you, as it has been implemented to a large extent; but I want to emphasize it more. Talent in our country is prominent and above the usual and average level. I have repeatedly said that the average talent in Iran is higher than the average talent in the world. The achievements we have made in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other Olympiads have shown that we have young people with high talents. Those who achieved high ranks in these competitions were not exceptional individuals; they are the children of this country. Certainly, there are thousands and hundreds of thousands like them in this country. Train them in education, development of science, and research. Pay real attention to cultural work. When they grow, they can manage the country and even the world with their own hands. Relying on internal capabilities and resources is also part of this category. As much as we can, we should separate the country from the issue of oil, which is also tangible. As I saw in the statistics, I think the growth of our non-oil exports in the year seventy-three had a growth of about twenty percent, which is a very high growth. Continue in this direction and do something so that we can benefit from diversity in economic production and exports and domestic use of the country, and God willing, use all the country's capacities.

Extraordinary global conditions are ahead of us. Despite the propaganda that superpowers, Zionists, and the world's whispering agents make against the Islamic Republic, our country is a model in the world today. Not only for populations or nations but even for governments—even some of today's major governments—are also a model. The fact that you see some countries in various parts of the world daring to stand against America's excessive demands is due to modeling from Islamic Iran. These boldnesses and courages did not exist in the past. Even in the era when there were two powerful blocs in the world and one bloc confronted the other hostilely, those who were not dependent on the Eastern bloc, even if they claimed independence, did not dare to stand against America; even though America had a rival in the world of that day, but today it has no rival in the world. Nevertheless, you see that there are countries in Asia and Africa that stand against America's demands with complete audacity and power. This is due to modeling from Islamic Iran. Of course, our opponents and enemies consider this as one of the evils of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian government. Those who, in their imagination, counted the evils of the Islamic Republic and listed its crimes, one of the items they mentioned was that Iran has become a model for other countries. They are right. Today, Islamic Iran is in such a position in the world. From the perspective of international politics, thanks be to God, it has global power, prestige, and influence in many regions, and within the country, it also has excellent resources, people, and a very good future.

Thanks be to God, you are serving. Continue this service with full power. This thread is a continuous thread. All these transformations have occurred in the world; but since the revolution, the Islamic Republic has been in complete stability and has pursued a specific line and has continued that line straight to this day without any hesitation. You see such perseverance and continuity in policy in very few countries. These are divine blessings; we must make maximum use of these blessings. We also pray that the Almighty God, God willing, grants you success; keeps our dear people successful and increases this bond and love and trust that, thanks be to God, exists today between the government and the nation and this affection that people have for the country's officials and especially the devotion they have for our dear and respected president, day by day, and makes hearts warmer and bonds stronger so that you can, God willing, fully realize the Islamic aspirations of this revolution and become a complete model for all Muslim nations.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings