Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in Meeting with Workers and Activists of the Production Sector on the Occasion of Labor Week

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

I welcome you dear brothers and sisters, the valuable forces of the flourishing and progress of the country; the noble and committed faces who have taken on one of the most difficult sectors of managing the country and advancing the nation, and you carry the heavy burden of work for the happiness of this nation on your shoulders. May God appreciate your efforts and endeavors, and God willing, may you all receive divine reward and blessings.

On the occasion of Labor Day, it is customary for writers and speakers to address the merits of the working class; which is certainly appropriate. Regardless of how much speaking and writing is valuable and important in elevating the status of workers, the main and central merit for the workforce in a society is that the worker, with their body, soul, and mind, secures the progress of the country and the comfort of the people. It is true that other factors are also effective in this area - such as capital and management - and they should be appreciated in their own right, but the worker does this with their body and soul; this is an additional value.

If a country lacks a human workforce, or if it is weak, or unskilled, or if their thoughts and minds are influenced by various political currents, that country will be paralyzed. You, the working class of the country, are the backbone, and it is mainly you who prevent the paralysis of the country; this must be understood, and all people should know and comprehend this. In the cultural sphere, people must recognize the value of work; and in practical terms, lawmakers and executors must constantly pay attention to these elements. If the working class in a country enjoys welfare, hope, and job security, the movement of that country towards progress will be facilitated; this is a reality; we must all understand this.

I believe that in our country, the importance of the working class is even higher than this. What has been said applies everywhere, to all countries; but here there is an additional factor, which is that workers, in addition to fulfilling their professional duties, have also performed their revolutionary and national duties well. Both at the beginning of the revolution and during the victory of the revolution, the massive movement of workers was one of the keys to victory - the workers of the oil company and others - and also during the imposed war. In the front lines, wherever one looked, young workers and middle-aged workers were filling the gaps. In various political currents, workers did not fall prey to the seduction of those who wanted to position the working class against the revolution and the Islamic system. These are not trivial matters. Of course, many do not know these truths; we have felt them closely.

In those days of the victory of the revolution, I personally attended a workers' assembly in the western part of Tehran; I saw what the enemies of Islam and the enemies of the revolution were doing; what schemes, what plans, what plots they had; to ensure that at the very beginning, with the first rays of the revolution, they could strengthen their political influence over some powers through the working class. I saw this up close. And in contrast, I saw that our faithful working class, by the grace of faith, by the grace of trust in Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the clergy, stood firmly and bravely against them; and this was repeated over the years. Today, thirty-four years have passed since those days. Many wanted, tried, and spent money to position the working class against the Islamic system; but the working class stood firm; this is very important. These facts clarify the value of our working class, their human value, their revolutionary value, and their civilizational value for us; this must become a culture; everyone must know this, everyone must understand this; and you workers should take pride in it.

Well, last year we said to support Iranian work and capital. This issue does not conclude in one year. Now friends and officials are providing reports that these works have been carried out; very well, may God bless every action done with a sincere intention; but work must be pursued seriously and centrally; this is the responsibility of all people. This cultural development that we mentioned, a significant part of it is here.

We said: domestic production; Iranian work, Iranian capital. This means that the glitter of foreign names should not attract attention. Everyone should know that this product they are buying can support an Iranian worker; it can deprive them and support a foreign worker. Of course, we love all humanity, but the Iranian worker is striving for the dignity of this country; they are a precious and valuable part of this nation; they must be supported, they must be strengthened. Some do not understand this and do not realize it, or for them, the sign of Iranian production and foreign production does not differ; or even worse, instead of seeking the sign of Iranian production, they look for signs of foreign production; this is deviation, this is error. All people are the audience of this statement.

I emphasize, I insist, I request from all the people of Iran, go towards consuming domestic products; this is not a small task, this is not an insignificant matter; this is a great task. Of course, governmental and state institutions - state in the general sense - have a double duty in this regard. When a certain ministry, organization, or office wants to procure its domestic goods, it must absolutely not use foreign goods; they should seek domestic products. Of course, on the other hand, domestic producers - whether managers, workers, or investors - are also asked and urged to present their work cleanly, correctly, and completely. Both of these are indications of Islam and the commands of our holy religion. God has asked us for the strength of work, respect for the worker; God has asked us for the security of the worker's life and job, and the security of capital.

When these are considered together, the excesses and extremes that have arisen under various names, whether in the realm of liberal economic activity and what they call free - free means free for the capitalist, but prison and pressure for the oppressed and poor class; which today you are witnessing the reactions and repercussions of in Europe - and whether in the realm of socialism, would not have occurred. The greatest evidence of the incorrectness of so-called liberal economics is the events that exist today in Europe and in a different form in America. In practice and in the realm of experience, capitalist economics has shown that it is wrong, it is unsuccessful; even to the benefit of those classes that this economy was created to support. Now the working class, which has been trampled for years there, is not even benefiting the capitalist, banker, and owners of cartels and trusts; and this is just the beginning, it will get worse after this. They keep promising that they will fix it; they will not be able to fix it. This path is a slippery slope; they are going down, and this is part of the instability of the material and erroneous civilization of the West; the moral, ideological, and theoretical aspects are separate. These are lessons for us. That aspect of socialism and these things have also shown their incapacity and failure years ago.

Islam has a balanced, human-centered, and justice-centered view of all realms, including this realm; both sides must be respected; their brotherhood, not their conflict; and everyone must be aware of their divine duty and that God Almighty is observing and present. This must become our culture of life, and we must act accordingly.

We have mentioned "political epic" and "economic epic." The economic epic is not solely the responsibility of the government; of course, government planning is effective. Epic means a jihad-like and fervent event; this must be considered by the Iranian nation and the officials of the country; they must fill the weaknesses and gaps; first, they must recognize them. In all planning, the lives and livelihoods of the weaker classes must be taken into account; then they should plan for them. This is what becomes an epic. All people, whether in their consumption or production; productive sectors in one way, consumer sectors in another way, service sectors in another way; they must know that for the progress of the country, a leap-like movement is necessary, creating an epic is necessary; then the country will advance, and stability will be established. The political epic and the economic epic are two intertwined; each strengthens and preserves the other.

When we first mentioned the political and economic epic, we understood what we were saying; the enemy also understood what we were saying. The enemy, with sanctions and various economic pressures, tried to remove the people from the field. They say that they are not enemies of the people. They lie; easily, shamelessly! The greatest pressure is to make the people uncomfortable, to put the people in distress, to put the people under pressure, perhaps they can create a distance between the people and the Islamic system. The goal is to pressure the people. If this massive economic movement, this economic leap, this correct planning, whether in the legislative or executive sectors, at various levels, is given attention, all these pressures will be neutralized. The Iranian nation and the officials of the country must, with firm determination, dishearten the enemy.

The political epic is the same. The political epic means the conscious presence of the people in the political arena of the country and the management of the country; a prime example of this is the upcoming elections, which, God willing, will take place at the appointed time with the enthusiastic participation of the people. Since they understood what the goal of the political epic and the economic epic is, they have started to destroy from now on in their own minds. Today, there are various types of propaganda to instill despair and hopelessness in the people in the economic sphere; in the political sphere, to reduce the motivation of the people to participate in the political arena and especially in the elections. They do not know the Iranian nation. This massive movement of the Iranian nation in various arenas has not been able to awaken the negligence and ignorance of the designers and policymakers behind the scenes of global arrogance; they do not know who they are dealing with. Throughout these thirty-some years, this nation, with all this opposition, with all this enmity, has stood firm. If the officials showed resilience at any point, it was backed by the people, supported by the people. The initial praise belongs to the people, the great admiration belongs to the people; they were the ones who gave their hearts to the officials, provided support so that they could stand against the bullying, pressures, and greed of the enemies and the arrogant powers; where they stood firm. Today is the same, and in the future, God willing, it will be the same.

The issue of elections is an important matter. The arena of elections is the arena of the emergence of national power in a country. A nation that is alive, vibrant, relying on divine will, and confident in divine support will succeed in all arenas; it is the same in this arena.

We have said that various preferences and anyone who feels capable should come to the forefront; the masses and the vast population of tens of millions of the nation will, God willing, enter the field; but in calculations, those who volunteer should not make mistakes; they should know what executive management of the country means. They should not err in assessing the needs that the country has for an executive power, nor should they err in assessing their own capabilities. If they make a correct assessment, they should come to the field; the nation will observe and choose.

The electoral mechanism in our country is a solid mechanism. That some people make complaints here and there is truly illogical; it is truly unreasonable. The presence of the Guardian Council in the Constitution - which Imam repeatedly emphasized - is truly a blessed presence. The determination of the Guardian Council is the determination of a group of just, impartial, and insightful individuals regarding qualifications; this is a blessed thing for us and for all segments of the nation. Then among those who are determined to be qualified, the people search, investigate, ask trusted individuals, look at backgrounds, look at slogans, look at words and statements, and then make decisions.

Candidates for elections must, first, have faith and belief in God, this revolution, the Constitution, and this people; secondly, they must have a resilient spirit. This nation has lofty goals, great tasks, and is not submissive; no one can speak to this nation with the language of force. Those who take the helm of the executive branch must be those who are resilient against the pressures of the enemies; they should not be easily frightened, nor should they exit the field quickly; this is one of the necessary conditions. Thirdly, they must be wise and prudent individuals. We have said in foreign policy "dignity, wisdom, and expediency"; it is the same in managing the country, in internal matters, and in economics; they must observe matters with planning, wisdom, prudence, a long-term and comprehensive perspective, and a correct geometry of work, look at them, and enter the field.

Thinking day-to-day in economic matters is harmful; constantly changing economic policies is harmful - in all sectors, especially in economics - relying on unprofessional opinions is harmful; trusting in the injected methods of imposed economies from the East and West is harmful. Economic policies must be policies of "resistance economy" - a resilient economy - it must be an economy that is resilient in its internal structure, able to withstand; with various changes in this corner of the world, that corner of the world should not become turbulent; these things are necessary. A president who wants to manage this great country, to traverse this glorious path with the help of the people and for the people, must have such characteristics. Fourthly, they must have moral refinement; they should not get involved in side issues. These are necessary things. My advice to all governments has always been the same. You know I have always supported governments and presidents over these long years; I have advised them, and in many instances, I have sought explanations from them. The emphasis has been that they should not create costs for the people, should not create problems, should not cause anxiety for the people; of course, they should not make baseless and unfounded promises, nor should they open the doors to illogical green pastures; they should move forward logically, reasonably, in accordance with reality, and with trust in God Almighty; God willing, it should be the same in the future.

What we have learned from the long experience of the revolution is that God Almighty, with His grace and guidance, will grant this nation victory over all its enemies; the enemies will themselves acknowledge - just as they are acknowledging today - and anyone who confronts this nation, with this massive movement it has made, with this deep faith motivation that exists in this nation, will certainly fall.

We ask God Almighty to make the future of this dear nation and this country better day by day than its past and to grant you dear people successive victories. God willing, the working class, the working sector, and the vast working communities can multiply the honors they have created until today, and God willing, the brilliant face of the workforce and the worker will shine even more among our people.