On
the commemoration day of the army, a group of IRI's army commanders and
staff met with Ayatollah Khamenei --the commander-in-chief-- this
morning (Wednesday) April 19, 2017.
At this meeting Ayatollah
Khamenei pointed to the upcoming presidential and city council
elections, stating that everyone should appreciate the elections. "We
should commemorate the elections: The elections should be healthy, safe,
lucid and massive," said Ayatollah Khamenei.
His Eminence added: "If this is
achieved—which God willing it will happen by His grace, despite how the
enemies and the mainstream media tries to spoil the results of the
elections, in some way or another— if the Iranian nation continues to
take part in the elections with vigilance and awareness, as they always
have, then a massive, lucid election, coupled with enthusiasm and
eagerness, as well as health and safety will be held, and this will be a
significant resource for the country which will safeguard it."
Ayatollah Khamenei stated: "I
highlighted economic slogans over the past two-three years, because I
felt the enemy sought to strike a blow against this great national
system by targeting our economy. When we have economic problems, various
sectors of the establishment will not be able to carry out their tasks
properly; hence, we need to see what the top priorities are in order to
address them adequately, one at a time, when it comes to the officials’
set of duties."
The Leader of the Revolution
declared, "Today the economic capacity of the country is a crucial, key
issue, and it is the first priority; thus, I emphasize on it. I place
stress on the people’s living conditions; I put stress on the living
conditions of the employees of various sectors; and the living
conditions of the staff belonging to the armed forces: These issues
should seriously be followed up. This is a duty of the officials."
Ayatollah Khamenei made the
point that if the officials look at the enemy’s motives, they may gain
motivation to work harder, further stating, "When we hear what the
enemies say and examine their words we realize that they stress on the
same points, so that they can use weaknesses and flaws to sabotage
others and exert harm.
Ayatollah Khamenei said: The invasive superpowers’ technique is to
threaten and bully. We have reiterated this fact several times. The
invasive powers want to interfere everywhere. They overestimate
themselves, they threaten and frown upon others. Remember the
aggressiveness that previous US administrations would pose? And now,
too, they do the same, but in a different manner.
Ayatollah Khamenei further asserted: "The worst situation for a country
is that the officials fear the enemy’s threats and bullying techniques.
If they fear them, they have actually opened up a way for the enemy’s
invasion and aggression. Tasks should be done with wisdom, logic and
prudence—there is no doubt about that—but they should also be done
courageously. Fearing or worrying, or becoming affected by the threats,
frowns, and mistreatment that arises from the world's superpowers, is
just the beginning of [a country's] misery."
"If there is an official who
fears the superpowers in his heart, then it is up to him, but he has no
right to talk on behalf of the people and say our people are fearful.
The nation is standing. Had the nation not stood firm, since 1979 to
this day, there would be no trace of Iran or Iranian left," he asserted.
Ayatollah Khamenei further stated: "The enemies--whether the United
States or greater than the United States--cannot do a single thing
against an establishment that is linked to its people, an establishment
that has admiration for it's people and the people admire it back."