Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, met Wednesday morning with thousands of people from different social backgrounds. Speaking at the meeting, His Eminence called on all the people, particularly the youth of the country, to benefit from the great capacities of the month of Rajab. Referring to the hostile goals of the enemies of the Iranian nation in the upcoming elections, he stated that the elections on the 24th of Khordad are another glorious test for the people of Iran. He added: "In order to achieve their goals and frustrate the enemy, the people should choose a competent, suitable, religious, revolutionary, determined and steadfast candidate - from among the candidates which the Guardian Council introduces on the basis of legal standards - who benefits from a jihad-like determination and who is better than other candidates in undertaking the heavy responsibility of helping the country achieve dignity and progress."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the upcoming elections as the most important issue of the country in the present time. Pointing to the short-term and long-term effects of this event, he stated: "In these elections, as a result of the votes that people will cast, one individual will rule over the fate of the people and the major issues of the country for four years. However, a number of the decisions that this individual will make and the good or bad things which he will do can influence the future of our country for even 40 years. And this fact shows how important presidential elections are."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the elections on the 24th of Khordad are very important, saying: "Despite the fact that we are still one month away from the elections, this issue has turned into an internationally important issue and international think tanks and the enemies of Iran carefully follow up even the introductory stages of this event."

His Eminence said that, in these elections, the enemies pursue goals which are completely different from the goals of the Iranian nation, further adding: "The people of Iran are looking for a person who can help the country move forward at a faster rate in material and spiritual arenas. They are looking for a person who can increase the dignity of Iran and preserve its independence - in the shade of the enthusiasm, excitement and hopes of the people - as well as solving the current problems and helping the people have better and more prosperous lives."

He stated: "In order to cool down the elections, the enemy is looking for a person who does not enjoy these characteristics and who can drag Iran towards being dependent, weak and backward in different arenas and towards treading the path of policies which are developed by foreigners."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated: "Of course, at first, foreigners were looking for a way to prevent the elections from being held, but now that their hands have been cut off from achieving this goal, they are trying to discourage the people, undermine the elections and influence the votes of the people."

Ayatollah Khamenei described the effort to discourage the people from participating in the elections as one of the main tactics of the enemy. He said: "They want to instill the idea in the minds of the people that voting and participating in the elections is useless. They want to make the people ask themselves, 'Why should we participate in the elections?'"

His Eminence referred to the role of the large Zionist networks and news agencies, adding: "Describing the conditions of the country as critical, magnifying problems, instilling despair into the hearts of the people about the existing problems and picturing the future of the country as dark are among the methods that these large networks, which lie and distort facts, are using in order to undermine the elections in Iran."

He said: "Of course, there are certain problems, such as high prices and unemployment, in the country, but which country exists that does not have any problems? Does the fact that the people of Europe shout slogans on the streets every day not show that European countries have many problems?" 

Comparing the situation of Iran with the situation of other countries, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated: "Which country enjoys the national independence, solidarity and unity as the people of Iran? Which country has all these energetic young individuals who can conquer the peaks of great scientific achievements? Which nation has managed to enjoy significance, greatness and influence that the Iranian nation enjoys in international and regional events? And which nation has managed - like the dear people of Iran - to frustrate the evil moves of its enemies and continue its path in a hopeful and glorious way?"

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the political confrontation between the Iranian nation and the opposing camp, stressing: "The people should know that their enthusiastic and strong presence in elections will bring about immunity for the country and will reduce the greed of foreigners for transgression and wrongdoing."

Addressing the officials and political activists, His Eminence stated: "Dear people! Dear youth! Dear officials! Dear promoters of the Islamic Revolution! Dear public speakers! You should do the opposite. You should give hope to the people. This hope is not a vain hope. This hope is a genuine hope."

He stressed that the Iranian nation will emerge victorious out of its confrontation with the enemies, saying: "Because we know our people from experience and because we have constantly witnessed divine blessings and kindness, we are sure that - like previous elections - this time too the Iranian nation will deal a hard blow to the enemies."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution highlighted the characteristics that future executive officials should have, adding: "We should think carefully in order to make a good choice. We should know the standards. By Allah's favor, I will discuss certain points in this regard in the future. But the main standard is that those who will hold executive positions should make efforts to preserve the dignity of the Iranian nation and continue the movement of the country towards achieving the goals of the Revolution."

Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the necessity of choosing those candidates who are determined to preserve the dignity and progress of the country. He added: "Whatever blessings we have had over these long years is because of the goals of the Revolution. Whenever we could not go on, whenever we fell behind others and whenever we were defeated, it was because of our negligence to follow the goals of Islam and the Islamic Revolution."

His Eminence called on candidates to be careful about their slogans, reiterating: "Sometimes, in order to win votes, a number of candidates use slogans that are beyond their legal powers. Of course, they are making a mistake. Our wise people can identify these slogans and they can be vigilant about them. In their slogans, they should include issues which are crucial for the people, which are more urgent than other issues and which are compatible with the realities and the resources of the country and which will lead to the inner strength of the Iranian nation."

His Eminence mentioned that different people are running for the elections, adding: "By Allah's favor, the honorable members of the Guardian Council will introduce to the people - based on their legal responsibilities - those candidates who are qualified. After all, the honorable members of the Guardian council are pious and wise people. They will make a decision based on the law and as a result, a number of people who are righteous will be introduced to the people. You and I should take a look and see which of these qualified candidates is the most qualified, which candidate can realize the goals of the people and which candidate can undertake this heavy responsibility and continue this path with complete trustworthiness. You and I should understand and pay attention to this issue."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed the need for following the law in a strict way, adding: "The law is a very good standard. It is a tool for preserving national unity and the peace and tranquility of the country and for following the public path."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the harmful events of the year 1388 resulted from violating the law. He stated: "In the year 1388, the problems that were created, the harm that was inflicted on the country and the efforts of some people to prevent the country and the people from enjoying the results of their 40 million votes were the consequences of violating the law. Some people violated the law either because of their personal motives, their illegal political motives or whatever else - I do not want to make a judgment in this regard. They made a mistake by choosing illegal ways and they harmed themselves, the people and the country."

His Eminence stated that the right path is the path of the law, adding: "Sometimes, a law may not be one-hundred percent right, but it is better than lawlessness."

He reiterated: "It is possible that the enforcer of the law carries out an illegal action and you and I may find out that he has acted in an illegal way. But if we fail to correct this mistake with legal actions, then it is better for us to tolerate this mistake rather than taking another illegal action and correcting what we consider as illegal by violating the law."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned that acting according to sharia standards to choose an individual candidate will bring us tranquility both in this world and in the hereafter. He stated: "When one acts according to sharia standards, even if later it turns out to be an incorrect choice, one can feel proud and say, 'I carried out my duty'."

Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei described the month of Rajab as an opportunity for developing our spiritual capacities, saying: "The month of Rajab is an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the month of Ramadan which is the month of divine celebration."