In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al-Qassem Al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, immaculate and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth
You are very welcome dear youth and beloved and dear children of this nation. You are a new and enthusiastic generation which is thirsty for hard work. Today, the new generation in our country thankfully has these characteristics: they are full of energy, power and motivation and they are ready to do every task towards which they feel responsible. This is what we witness in most youth of the country. Well, this is a great provision and it is very valuable. The existence of an abundance of youth – millions of them – in a country that has so much capacity for work and endeavor is a great blessing.
I would like to reiterate the issue that I have repeated time and time again. There is a policy to deprive the Iranian nation of this blessing: the blessing of an abundance of youth. In ten, fifteen years’ time, the consequence of the decrease in population will be that you will not see an abundance of youth in the country and this is the reason why I repeat and stress this matter and issue warnings about it. There are some dangers and some perilous measures whose consequence will manifest itself in 10, 20 years and that will be the time when nothing can be done about it. Of course, the honourable officials have promised me to pursue this matter in a serious way and to eliminate the problems. By Allah’s favor, they will do that. And I will pursue it as well.
In any case, the existence of you youth and dear ones is a blessing for the country. You should preserve yourselves on the straight path because this country needs you. It needs you in the real sense of the world. You should build your country and help it move forward. The young generation should do so. Of course, the youth who tread the wretched path of materialistic desires, drugs and the like cannot be expected to do so. It is motivated and enthusiastic youth with a sense of responsibility – in other words, you young and pious forces of the country – who will build the country.
Today, I will raise a point about America – because the occasion of our gathering and our meeting is related to America – and if there is time God willing, I will raise another point about our domestic issues and the issues of the country.
As for America, I will tell you that America has not changed in any way since the Aban of 1343 – during which time, the regime installed by the US, drove our dear Imam into exile – until the Aban of 1398 which is the present time. America is the same America. The same wolfish qualities which existed in those days, exist in the US in the present time as well. The same global and international dictatorship exists in the US today as well. That day, the US was an international dictator who had certain gendarmes in different parts of the world. Its regional gendarme and mercenary was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In other parts of the world, there were other individuals. Today, the same dictatorship exists, but with newer methods and tools.
There is the same wolfish quality, the same international dictatorship, the same malevolence and the same desire for having no limits – it has no limits and borders. The US is the same US. Of course, it has weakened today. The US has become weaker compared to the year 1343, but it has also become wilder and more brazen. This is what the US is.
America showed enmity towards Iran. Throughout the history of US-Iran relations, the US has always shown enmity towards Iran. This even happened during the time of the taghuti regime. Its enmity towards Iran before the Revolution involved overthrowing the national government in the year 1332. An American agent came to Tehran with a suitcase full of dollars and he went and hid in the British Embassy. From there, he began spreading money and distributing dollars in order to employ certain individuals, launch a coup and overthrow the national government.
Of course, that administration was to blame too. Its mistake was that it placed too much trust in the US, but the Americans did that anyway and they installed a corrupt administration which was dependent on them. There is no worse form of enmity. They dominated our armed forces, our oil, the policies of our country and our culture: it was a complete domination. This continued from 1332 – when the coup d’état of the 28th of Mordad took place – to the victory of the Revolution in the year 1357. Such was its enmity towards the Iranian nation and our country at that time.
And after the Revolution, it is clear how it has shown enmity. Until today, it either issues threats and imposes sanctions or utters hostile words, creates problems and tries to infiltrate the country. They have always been on bad terms towards Iran and the Iranians.
Some people distort history, the Americans themselves do that. The year when I was president and went to the UN, a then well-known journalist in the US interviewed me at the UN, citing the capturing of the embassy – the Den of Espionage – as the starting point for the differences between Iran and the US. He said, since your youth went and captured the embassy, Iran and US have begun to have problems. However, this is distorting history and this is not the truth of the matter. The differences between the Iranian nation and the US began on the 28th of Mordad and even before that. On the 28th of Mordad, the differences reached their peak. It was they who behaved in a treacherous and malicious way by making the Iranian nation suffer from a corrupt and dependent regime as a result of a coup d’état. That was not a minor event!
For many years, our country would be trampled upon by the regime which had been installed by the US. So, the starting point for the hostilities was the 28th of Mordad of 1332, it was then. Of course, prior to that, there were certain plans as well. Truman’s plans during our teenage – I remember it to some extent – had a friendly appearance, but were hostile in reality. However, on the 28th of Mordad, everything became clear. They came to the middle of the arena and they launched a coup d’état in an independent country with a national and popular administration which had trusted the Americans – Mosaddeq trusted the Americans and he was punished for that – and they installed a corrupt, malevolent, oppressive and cruel regime.
On those days, the Iranian nation adopted a realistic position towards the US based on their heart-felt experiences. Notice that our magnanimous Imam said in the year 1342 – ten years after the coup d’état of the 28th of Mordad during which time Islamic and popular activities had already begun – that the Iranian nation hates nobody in the world more than the US President. Imam knew his people in the year 1342. That was the state of affairs.
The Islamic Revolution was basically against America. You dear youth should know this. When the Islamic Revolution achieved victory in the year 1357 with the leadership of Imam and with the presence of the masses of the people – who entered the arena, who destroyed the corrupt monarchy and who established the Islamic Republic – it was basically against the US. The slogans of the people and of the groups who would pour onto the streets, embracing danger by doing so, were anti-American slogans. And during this time span – from 1357 to the present time: this has lasted 41 years – the US has done whatever he could in showing enmity towards the Iranian nation. It has done whatever it could and whatever it knew, against the Iranian nation.
These plots include coups d’états, various schemes, secession plots, sieges and the like- and you are witness to all these. Thankfully, today’s youth are smart. During our youth, young individuals were not aware of the developments like you are. You can see that the Americans have done whatever they could during this period. They have shown enmity as much as they could.
Of course, we did not sit idle either. We too have done whatever we could against the US. We have managed to corner the opponent in the ring on certain occasions and it has failed to defend itself. This is completely clear and the whole world sees it.
I want you youth to pay attention to the fact that the most important response that the Islamic Republic has given to the US in the face of its plots, is that it has shut the door to another political infiltration by the US. The Islamic Republic has shut the door to re-entrance and re-infiltration of the US inside the country and in the foundations of the country. When it is said that we should not negotiate, this is one of the requirements and tools for preventing the US from entering the country.
Of course, this is very painful for the Americans. Arrogant and conceited America – which makes the heads and officials of other countries feel obliged to it just for agreeing to meet with it – has been insisting for many years on negotiating with the heads of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Republic refuses to do so. This is very difficult for the US.
This signifies that there is a nation and government in the world which does not accept and give in to the usurping and taghuti power of the US and its international dictatorship. This ban on negotiations is not merely an emotional course of action. There is a solid logic behind it as it shuts the door to its infiltration, it shows the power and magnificence of the Islamic Republic to the world and it makes the empty greatness of the other side visible to the whole world because it does not sit at the negotiating table with them.
Some people think that negotiating with the US solves the problems of the country. This is a grave mistake. They are one hundred percent wrong! The other side considers Iran’s accepting and sitting at the negotiating table as bringing the Islamic Republic to its knees. It wants to say that they have finally managed to bring Iran to its knees with severe sanctions until it agreed to sit at the negotiating table with them. It wants to say this to the whole world. It wants to prove that the “maximum pressure” policy is a correct policy that has worked because it has succeeded in bringing the Islamic Republic to the negotiating table. And I will tell you that it wants to say that the US gave no concessions to the Islamic Republic.
If the officials of the Islamic Republic had shown naivety by sitting at the negotiating table with American officials, they would surely and definitely have gained nothing. Neither sanctions nor pressures would have decreased. As soon as they negotiated with them, new expectations and impositions would be brought up. For example, they would say that we should have such and such missiles, that we should not have missiles and that the range of our missiles should not exceed 100, 150 kilometers.
Today, by Allah’s favor, our youth build exact missiles whose range is 2,000 kilometers. At 2,000 kilometers, they strike every target with an error range of one meter! Well, this is very difficult for them. They say that we should destroy these missiles, that their range should not exceed 150 kilometers. They are bringing up these matters. If you accept these terms, you will be ruined! If you do not accept them, it will be the same story you see. They will begin to say the same things that they say today: that the other side will not give any concessions to you.
The Cuba and North Korea experiences are in front of us. They went as far as exchanging words of love with North Korean officials, let alone negotiations. He said, “I love you”, the other one said, “me too” [Audience laughs]! What was the result? They did not reduce even a little bit of the sanctions! They are like this. They do not give concessions. They make you abandon your position and then they show that they have brought Iran to its knees and that they have succeeded in their maximum pressure policy. Then they will say that we Iranians gained nothing in the end. This is how negotiations work.
Amid this, certain governments – such as the French government – act as intermediaries, insisting on this matter by writing letters, making phone calls, visiting our country and organizing numerous meetings in New York. They insist that we should meet with the Americans.
The French president said, if you have one meeting with them, all your problems will be solved! One really wonders at this. Either he is very naïve or we should say that they are collaboratiing with the Americans! It is one of these situations.
No problem will be solved with meetings and with negotiations. No problem whatsoever! I was confident that this would not be practical, but in order to clarify the situation for everyone, I said fine, they should correct the mistake that they made by leaving the Bar-Jaam [JCPOA] and they should return to it. They should lift all sanctions and then they should participate in the Bar-Jaam group. If they do this, I have no objections. I knew that this would not happen. Well, it did not happen and they did not accept it.
If they are not sick and if they are sincere, they should accept these terms, but they do not want to solve any problem! They will bring up new demands which will surely not be accepted by the Iranian side. It is clear how the situation is. They will say that we should not be active in the region, that we should not help the Resistance, that we should not be present in such and such a country and that we should not have missiles. They will impose such things and they will gradually touch on other areas.
They will say that we should not insist on the issue of hijab and on the issue of religious rules. They will bring up such demands because there is no limit to their demands! A few years ago, I asked officials in this very Hussainiyah to show me the point where the US will stop and where he will not make new demands. Their demands are infinite!
They are after restoring the condition that existed before the Revolution in the country. This Revolution was against the US. They want to restore the same condition, but the Revolution is much stronger. The Islamic Republic is much more powerful than such claims. By Allah’s favor, the willpower ruling over the Islamic Republic is made of steel and it has firm determination. It will not allow the US to return to the country with these tricks. Well for the moment, this much is enough for the US [Audience laughs]!
Let us attend to domestic matters. I would like to say something related to domestic affairs. This issue has also received attention by the honorable officials and the different divisions of the administration which really like to work. Of course, we have many issues regarding domestic affairs. We have certain issues in the area of the economy, culture, science and research and social matters, but I wish to stress one particular issue which is what I discussed with the Iranian nation in my New Year speech as the New Year slogan: the issue of boosting production. Eight months have passed since then!
Of course, I will tell you that good measures have been adopted in these last eight months. Good tasks have been carried out. There are areas that need to be worked on. In the beginning of the year, I said to the Iranian nation that the key to solving the economic problems and issues of the country is production. I am not an economist. This is what economists say. This is something which all economists agree on. After that, when I announced the slogan of the year, all those economic experts who expressed their viewpoints in newspapers and in cyberspace confirmed this. They said that boosting production is the key to solving the economic problems of the country because it creates employment.
Youth unemployment, which is a grave problem, will be eliminated with employment. There will be national wealth, public welfare and even scientific progress. When production is boosted, factories and industrial and agricultural organizations will feel that they need scientific methods. Universities will enter the arena as well. So, science will be boosted as well. The key to solving the economic problems of the country is boosting production, which I discussed this year.
Well, I want to say that we have problems in the area of the economy of the country. Issues such as prices, inflation and the devaluation of the national currency are placing the people under pressure. If we want to eliminate these problems, the only way is to attend to domestic production.
One of the honorable ministers – the honorable Minister of Industry – made a very good remark which made me happy. He promised that they would help every production and industrial unit on the verge of being closed down. Very well, this is a promise. They should honor their promise and pursue it. This is superb! This is related to industry, but the officials of the country should behave in the same way in different areas. There is no other option.
We cannot wait for others – foreigners – to come and solve the problems of the country because this wait will harm the economic progress of the country. If we wait some time for the Bar-Jaam, if we wait to see if the US President will sign a waiver every three months – this has unfortunately been inserted in the Bar-Jaam: in other words if his waiver is renewed or not – if we wait for some time to see what will become of the plans of the French and the French President, this is all waiting! During this period of waiting, economic investors will not make investments because they do not know what to do. Economic activists do not know what to do. Well, this wait drags the country towards stagnation and backwardness. How long should we keep waiting? You should let go of it!
I am not saying that you should break off the relations. You can maintain relations. If someone can do something, they can do it, but you should not pin your hopes on them, rather you should pin your hopes on the inside. Inside the country, capacities are abundant!
The governor of a certain province said some time ago that he has managed to sign contracts worth 90 thousand billion tomans! Do you know what 90 thousand billion tomans means? It is one fourth of the overall budget of the country! This is being said by a governor. Well, our capacities are these. Even if half or two third of it fails to materialize, the other 30 thousand billion tomans is no small figure. This is about one province only! So, you should follow up the matter and research. These are the capacities of the country and they should be utilized.
As for boosting production, one of the ways to boost production is preventing the importation of those products which are produced inside the country. Why do they not prevent it? This is my serious question to the honorable officials! There are some individuals who breathe with imports. Their life, their windfall wealth and their resources depend on imports. That is why they do not allow unnecessary imports to be prevented. Is it they or unemployed youth who come first? The country’s jobless youth stay unemployed with unnecessary imports which drag domestic production towards defeat!
The definite cure is to research the correct policies which have been announced to the honorable officials – whether to the administration or to the Majlis – and to implement them in practice. This is the way to resolve the problems of the country.
At the end of my statements, I wish to say to you that our capacities are many. The capacities of the country are numerous. By Allah’s favor and grace and despite the foolish desires of those who cannot see our achievements, we will emerge victorious out of the problems of the country.
May God preserve you for the country. May He preserve you youth. May God help all the diligent officials of the country so that they can carry out their duties in the best way possible, God willing.
Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings
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Muqawamalogy 