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

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الحمدلله ربّ العالمين

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و الصّلاة و السّلام علي سيّدنا محمّد و آله الطّاهرين

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سيّما بقيّةالله في الارضين

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We praise the Almighty God from the bottom of our hearts

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for the good elections, which were held across the country with massive participation of our dear people

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and, thank God, an honorable and respectable assembly was formed.

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I welcome all [of you] dear brethren, respectable gentlemen, [as well as] esteemed clerics and scholars;

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especially the newcomers and those who have entered this respectable assembly for the first time,

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and thank God, there is a number of vibrant youths, [as well as] young and active mujtahids [religious jurists] among them.

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I hope that the Almighty would assist all of you and us to be able to fulfill our duties.

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We also commemorate the deceased members of this assembly. Dear ones, [and] dignitaries were present in this assembly for years,

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took [important] steps, [and] provided services, may the Almighty would, God willing, elevate their ranks [in the Afterworld];

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the last of them was my dear brother, the late Mr. [Abbas Vaez] Tabasi (May God’s Mercy Be Upon Him),

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and God willing, the Almighty would give him the reward for the troubles

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which that serving and perseverant man took in this difficult and perilous stage [of his life] and [I hope that reward would] be the apple of his eye.

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The holding of this meeting, has coincided with the [lunar] month of Sha’ban, which is the month of great eids (festive occasions) and also the month of supplication and humbleness and asking for forgiveness;

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[and] we take this as a good omen as well. [Sha’ban] was an important month, which well is ending;

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I hope that the Almighty would not have denied us the blessings of this month, and [as they say it is a month when]

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“the Prophet [Mohammad] (PBUH) endeavored with all his power to fast and say prayers in its nights and days as long as he was alive.”

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The material that I have prepared to say [in this meeting] includes three points:

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one point is about the identity of this assembly;

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one point is about the course of this assembly and the duties that it shoulders,

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[that is,] how orientation and course of this assembly should be;

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[and] one point, which if there is time and my speech does not take too long I will offer at the end,

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is about the general duties that are incumbent on everybody in this term [of the assembly], including incumbent on us and you and this assembly and others.

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As for the identity of this assembly, when I think,

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I see that this was a divine bounty that the Almighty God bestowed upon the Islamic Republic;

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the Assembly of Experts is a bounty from the Almighty, [and] is a huge thing.

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Although this assembly is meant for a special goal, which has been stipulated in the constitution, [even] regardless of that goal,

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this assembly is a very big incident; [and] is a phenomenon.

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Why? Because this is a gathering of ulema as well as religious and scientific experts and scholars from across the country,

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who every year – now twice [a year and] more if need be – come together for the sake of that responsibility

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and create a huge capacity for exchange of views, for thinking, [and] for becoming coordinated.

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I don’t forget that in early [years of the Islamic] movement [in Iran] – [in the Iranian calendar] years (13)41 and (13)42 [1962-63] – the honorable late Imam [Khomeini] (May God’s Mercy Be Upon Him),

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recommended, [and] sent messages to ulema in provinces that ‘you get together once in a while, even if for drinking [a cup of] tea;

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[it would suffice that] you come together and meet with one another, even if no serious discussion is going on’;

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I mean, gathering of ulema and religious and scientific experts in the country is so important.

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Today, [when] you look at the world, you see that

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they bring people, who have commonalities, together under different excuses and under different names – in the name of union, in the name of association, [and] in the name of syndicate –

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and these gatherings do big things, which sometimes is not very related to their profession either.

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Assume the union of economists, the union of international legal experts, [or] the union of international artists,

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[and] you see that they express [their] viewpoints about that given political issue in the country or the world, [and] at international level.

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I mean, they establish unions in order for people who have a common denominator – now in any way –

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even when they have different tastes and different tendencies, to come together; this gathering per se provides them with an opportunity

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in order to be able to do great things

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and have an effect on the course of events in their own country or even the course of international events; this is usual in the world.

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Now, we have this; the Almighty God has bestowed this [gathering] on this country.

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A group of religious ulema and creditable and respectable clerics, who are trusted by the nation,

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come together and this creates a huge capacity; this [gathering] can do a big job.

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They cannot be expected to just sit down, awaiting for that responsibility stipulated in the constitution to become an issue and then act upon it;

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no, they can do many other things.

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These gatherings and get-togethers and unions that I said are created in the world,

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they have no popular support and backing; [their members are] economists or legal experts;

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in their own field [of expertise] some people pay attention to them, but within societies, they have no popular backing;

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[and this is] quite the opposite of this assembly. People who are in this assembly, all of them have popular backing, more or less;

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for some of them, the circle of their popular backing is very wide. Clerical dignitaries of a province,

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or a city or a seminary who can have an effect, come together;

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they can consult on various issues; they can focus on a [certain] point of the country’s problems and follow up on it.

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It should not be said that ‘Sir, we do not have the executive [powers]’; yes, execution is not in the hands of this assembly, [because] it is in the hands of [the executive] officials;

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however, something superior to [simple] execution [of laws] is in your hands and it is the public opinion.

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You are either a Friday prayers leader or representative of the Leader or a high-ranking seminary teacher or a prominent and respectable cleric;

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[therefore,] you can make an impression on the public opinion. When the public opinion takes shape, [and] a discourse is created in the society about an issue,

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this will naturally drag the executive officials, and lawmakers and [other] officials behind it; this is something natural.

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Therefore, I believe that this assembly is an extraordinary thing from this viewpoint;

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[and] is a phenomenon; we must pay attention to this importance.

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Therefore, we reach the conclusion that in view of this prominent and exalted identity,

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this assembly can do great things in line with the goals of the [Islamic] Revolution.

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A few years before this – perhaps a couple of [the assembly’s] terms before this one – I said in [a meeting similar to] this meeting

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that you can issue resolution(s) on different issues [of the country];

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[you can] focus on a specific issue, [and say] this is what the Assembly of Experts demands; the [members of the] Assembly of Experts are elected by people,

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[and] they themselves are not ordinary and conventional people,

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[because] they are related to people, people trust these [experts], [and] they [themselves] are experts, have viewpoints [of their own], have discretion

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and when they apply their discretion to an issue, they can have a demand, [and] have a request;

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either from the Leader or from the administration or from the Judiciary, or from the Majlis (parliament), or from [other] different organs.

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This [would suffice] about the first point, which is the identity of this assembly and in my opinion, this is a very important point.

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We must all appreciate the value of this assembly, both you should appreciate, and we must appreciate, and officials must appreciate;

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this assembly can be the origin of big effects.

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And [now] about the second point, which is the course and orientation of this assembly.

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In my opinion [and to sum it up] in one sentence, the course of the revolution and goals of the revolution are the course [and goals] of this assembly;

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I mean, this assembly must move along the course of the revolution and [toward achievements of] the goals of the revolution.

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What are the goals of the revolution? In the first place, [the goal of the revolution] is [to realize] the rule of Islam;

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basically, the revolution was carried out for this purpose; in order for Islam to rule [the country], [and] have governance in its own special sense.

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The goals of the revolution [include]: the rule of God’s religion, freedom, social justice, public welfare, eradication of poverty and ignorance,

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[and] resistance in the face of the destructive flood of the moral corruption that is flowing from the West to the entire world,

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and you are seeing its characteristics today. They legalize homosexuality in countries,

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[and] not only legalize it, but [also] strongly boo those who have [any] objection to this;

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can corruption go any higher than this? Some people thought – in past years – that since there is freedom for women and men and contacts between women and men in the West,

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[carnal] desires are less [intense] and motivations [for corruption] are lower; [but] here, where there is restriction [in this regard], [as said in the famous proverb:] “humans become greedy over what they are prohibited from!”

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Now, it has been made clear that no, it is quite the opposite; in that place, where there is freedom, [and] there is no kind of limit and border for contacts between women and men,

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the sexual passion is becoming evident and expressed with more strength, more actively, more violently, and more aggressively on a daily basis.

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And it will not stop at this level; in a future, which we don’t know when it would be, this situation will reach [to the level of] marrying one’s own kin!

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[And they] will [even] do more sensitive things; that is, the world of moral corruption is moving in this direction;

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these [comments] are [only] about its moral problems. The topic of economic issues [is also like this].

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Money laundering [is an example]; now they talk about money laundering and consider this as a crime, but

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what the most important companies and big companies of the world do is these very monetary and financial games

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and accumulation of riches that they have;

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and [the outcome of this process] is naturally discrimination, [and] is naturally widening class divide.

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This is a destructive flood, [and] this is flowing toward all countries and all societies;

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one of the goals of the revolution is to resist in the face of this destructive flood.

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Resisting against the hegemony of the Arrogance is one of the goals of the revolution.

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Hegemony is the nature of the Arrogance, [because] it seeks hegemony,

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it seeks to spread its domination; [and] any nation and any system [of government], which does to resist [against the Arrogance] will fall into captivity and fall into their noose.

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These are among the goals of the revolution. The course of this assembly’s movement is the course of the goals of the revolution.

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And this is a hard thing to do; [in fact,] this is one of the most difficult things to do.

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Note that an object, which is the subject of rivalry or subject of hostility,

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is difficult to obtain, but it is [even] more difficult to keep.

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Assume that [there is] an expensive commodity, [or] a precious stone, which is in great demand,

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[and] you enter this competition and obtain it with a lot of trouble; keeping it is more difficult than obtaining it.

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The reason [for this] is clear because when you enter the field to struggle [for that precious object], [you] are aggressive;

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you enter [the arena] with an aggressive spirit, enter with motivation, know what your goal is, [and] pursue a clear goal;

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however, when you obtain it, the opposite side, who wants to rob you from it, has an aggressive spirit,

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[and this time] he is the aggressive [party], [because] he has motivation. You don’t know from which side he would move, [and] from which side he would attack,

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but he makes plan, designs a plot and attacks you.

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The revolution was a difficult thing to do; it was not an easy task to create a revolution;

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it needed initiative, it needed effort and needed perseverance; well, the honorable Imam [Khomeini]

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moved this nation and these active, struggling groups with his slogan, with his spirit, with his piety, with his faith,

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[and] with the honesty that he showed, and this difficult task was done and this revolution built an [Islamic] establishment and succeeded and triumphed.

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However, it is more difficult to keep it; keeping it is more difficult.

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Enemies, those who were being struggled against in order to bring about this revolution, they have not remained idle,

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[and] they have not quit [their ominous efforts]; they seek to rob you from this revolution;

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just in the same way that you saw in a number of countries – during these past few years – that people took great steps,

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[but their enemies] came and stole [their revolutions] from them, took [the result of their efforts] away, and reduced them to total misery.

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Without a doubt, Islam is router of oppression and the Arrogance;

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[as said by the Quran:]  لِيُظهِرَهُ عَلَي الدّينِ کُلِّه

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certainly, Islam can defeat the infidelity, [and] the opposite front; but which [variety of] Islam is able to do this?

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That [variety of] Islam could rout infidelity and the Arrogance and oppression,

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or [at least] restrict it, or stop its aggression and encroachment,

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which would have a system [of governance], would have a government, would have police force,

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would have media, would have politics, would have economy,

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[and] would have numerous tools at its disposal; an Islam, which has been able to build a system and build a government,

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this Islam can resist [against the Arrogance]; otherwise, a person, even if he is a prominent Muslim,

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or an Islamic current like [the existing] currents which are in the world, if they do not move toward [achieving] the goal of [establishing a] government, they would pose no threat to the Arrogance,

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because in this state, they would not be able to do anything; [and] cannot rout infidelity and oppression and the Arrogance.

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You have earned this Islam, this Islam, which is able to counter [the enemies], is able to resist [against the enemies], [and] is able to stand

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tall against the disbeliever front, [and] have earned it

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through great effort, but how are you going to keep it?

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This [Islam] should be kept [safe] in the face of the enemy, this [Islam] must be protected, [because] this is not something, in case you leave it alone, it would remain [safe] on its own;

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[because] the enemy will attack [it] The enemy attacks [you] in a number of ways:

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one way is hard attacks; [that is,] the hard war. The enemy experienced this and was defeated;

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the eight-year [Iraqi imposed] war, which was waged against us was as such; it was an international war;

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one [country] gave chemical weapons to [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam [Hussein], one [country] gave [him] MiG aircraft, one [country] gave [him] Mirage aircraft,

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one [country] gave antiaircraft equipment, one [country] gave [him] war maps; [yes,] even [drawing] war maps

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and construction of bunkers [for soldiers] were [done] with the help of others. These [countries] all helped him

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so that he would win this war, and he could not [win it]. One example of the hard attack is the eight-year [Iraqi] war [against Iran].

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One instance is ethnic insurgencies, which they launched in the country

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– along all borders of the country – and you remember

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that they waged war everywhere and instigated insurgency; [despite all these efforts, the enemy] could not triumph [over the Islamic Republic]; these were [examples of] hard war.

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[Then the enemies] either activated or fostered terrorist activities, [and] terrorist groups;

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America attacked our oil platform; America shot down our passenger plane;

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they did everything they could; these are [all examples] of the hard war.

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[Despite their efforts, the enemies] failed in all these [cases]; they were defeated in the face of the Iranian nation and in the face of the honorable Imam and became more awestruck.

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The honorable Imam, with the power that the Almighty God had bestowed upon him, due to the reliance [on God] and piety that he had,

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due to the insight that he had, [and] due to his infatuation with the goal, which was quite evident and obvious in that honorable man, the Almighty God put in him formidableness

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so that others were scared [of him], [and] the enemies of the Imam were awestruck in the true sense of the word:

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[as put by the Quran:] کَاَنَّهُم حُمُرٌ مُستَنفِرَةٌ * فَرَّت مِن قَسوَرَةٍ

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like the roaring of a lion, which scares animals, the cry of the Imam and the call of the Imam scared these [enemies]; [and] they were awestruck.

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Well, these [enemies] were defeated in this stage.

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Another stage of their confrontation and opposition [with Iran] was the soft attack.

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One sort of soft attack is these things that you have observed:

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economic sanctions, tempting propaganda and the likes of these. These are those steps, which the enemy started to take from day one and continued;

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they imagined that they had imposed paralyzing sanctions on the Islamic Republic,

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but this [measure] did not work [either]; this [measure] failed [to achieve its goal]. They wanted to paralyze the Islamic Republic through these sanctions and through this economic embargo,

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[but] the Islamic Republic was not paralyzed. Big steps were taken during the same period of sanctions;

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I read a report quoting a general of the Zionist regime [of Israel],

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which had been published in foreign magazines at that time; he had said, “I am the enemy of Iran, [and] I do not like Iran, but I admire it;

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these [Iranians] managed despite [all] sanctions to make that given missile – at that time, a missile had been just tested [by Iran]

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and these [Zionists] had tracked it with satellite and the likes of that and were aware of it

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– [therefore,] I admire them!’ [These steps were taken] despite sanctions, under sanctions, without help from others and in spite of economic pressures.

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One of the [examples] of the soft war that they waged [against Iran] was to hit the Islamic Republic’s backers in some other countries;

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they routed those groups who were considered as backers of the Islamic Republic

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and were considered as the Islamic Republic’s strategic depth, and hit them in many countries;

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either routed them [totally], or hit them one way or another; [but] this [measure] had no effect

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and could not [defeat Iran]; none of these [measures] got anywhere. Therefore, they were defeated both in their hard war and in their soft war [against Iran].

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What is being done in the third stage – which is not specific to the present time,

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[but] has been underway for a number of years, [and in fact] it had started many years ago, but has been developed on a daily basis –

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is a different type of soft war; this [new form of soft war] is very dangerous. This is what I have been warning different officials about and on different occasions time and time again,

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and that is infiltration [by the enemy] into decision-making and decision-taking centers [of Iran];

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it is infiltration for the purpose of changing people’s beliefs;

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it is infiltration to change calculations [of our officials].

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We, who are official and are sitting here, have a calculation for our works, [and] make a calculation [before doing anything].

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The result of this calculation is that we take position in a specific manner;

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if they could change our calculation, then our position would [also] change.

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One of their basic steps is this: to change calculations of [Iranian] officials; to change people’s beliefs;

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to make changes to decision-making and decision-taking centers, [in those] organs, which make decision and take decision.

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This is that dangerous step in which is ingrained an aggression against the fundaments of the [Islamic] Revolution,

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[in addition to] aggression against those fundaments that guard and protect [this revolution];

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they attack the IRGC [Islamic Republic Guards Corps], [in the form of] propaganda attack; they attack the Guardian Council;

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[and] they attack the faithful forces and the faithful devout youths.

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At present, foreign radios and foreign televisions and foreign propaganda are full of such attacks;

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I do not know how much access you respectable gentlemen have, [and] to what extent you see [such propaganda attacks],

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especially through these new tools of communication, which have been created, [the enemies] are constantly working in these fields

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in order to make their audience reach this conclusion. They attack revolutionary clerics;

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[and] pound [any] revolutionary cleric by [using] such titles [as] government cleric and the likes of that.

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In short, the main effort in this soft war is to provide [necessary] ground to strip the [Islamic] establishment of the elements of power;

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they want to do something that the Islamic establishment would become devoid and empty of those elements, which exist in it and are source of its might.

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When it becomes weak, when elements of power no more exist in it, when its might is lost,

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then eliminating it and dragging it to this side and that side would not be a difficult task for superpowers;

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[therefore,] they want to make it comply [with their demands].

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This is a place for the same Greater Jihad about which I talked a few days ago;

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[as said by the Quran:]  فَلا تُطِعِ الکٰفِرينَ وَ جٰهِدهُم بِه‌ جِهادًا کَبيرًا

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it has been said in interpretations of the Quran that the phrase “with it” [in this Quranic verse] refers to the Quran.

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Of course, now the word “the Quran” has not been used in this phrase so that the pronoun [“with”] would refer to it, but

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both the late [cleric,] Tabarsi [has said this] in [his book] “Majma’ul Bayan,” and the late Allameh Tabatabaei [has also said this];

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the late Allameh Tabatabaei says that [in this Quranic verse] the style of the [God’s] words shows that the meaning of “with it” is “with the Quran;”

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I also said this there in my speech; when I thought about it [later], it occurred to me that

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there is a clearer explanation for this, which [in this explanation]

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“so do not obey the disbelievers and do jihad against them with it [the Quran],” would mean that “[do jihad against the disbelievers] by refraining from obeying them;

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” this “lack of obedience” [in this verse] is actually the infinitive from which the verb [is] derived and is hidden in that verb;

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“so do not obey the disbelievers and do jihad against them with it,” means that “do the Greater Jihad [against the disbelievers] with this lack of obedience;

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therefore, lack of obedience is the Greater Jihad; this meaning is closer to one’s mind;

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now, of course, I did not delve into [this issue] to see if any of the interpreters [of the Quran] has come up with this possibility or not,

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but at any rate, this possibility is an important possibility. This is the Greater Jihad;

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doing jihad through lack of obedience, [and] through not following suit with the enemy.

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Therefore, this is the course and orientation of this assembly;

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a revolutionary course, [and] the course of revolutionarism,

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[which requires] pursing the path of the revolution, strengthening Islam and strengthening the God’s religion.

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If we do not pursue to promote the divine command and the divine religion, why we are here? Why I should be here?

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Well, the same people who were [here before us] – either them or the likes of them – could run the government.

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We are [here] because we want to strengthen the God’s religion;

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the rule of the God’s religion must be realized; we pursue this [goal];

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it is this [goal] that if somebody is killed for its realization, he would be [considered as] a martyr on the path of God;

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it is this [goal for which] our people gave their young ones so generously

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and are still giving [their youths]; otherwise, if it were not for this, well others and others [could bring about] economic prosperity;

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why me, as a cleric or man of the cloth, should engage in such activities? I would go [and] pursue my studies and discussion;

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well, others can do such things and do it; [and] they are doing it in [other parts of] the world as well.

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If the God’s religion and strengthening the God’s religion and the divine rule is not an issue,

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there would be no need for me and you to be here at all. So this is [the main goal:] to strengthen Islam. [

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And] innovation [is also important]; what I emphasize is innovation;

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however, disciplined innovation, [and] innovation by educated people,

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not by illiterate or semi-illiterate people; [and] innovation in religious matters.

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Religion can be expanded, because it has come for all times, [and] because it applies to all conditions.

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Therefore, God’s religion, can be expanded in certain instances

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by a mujtahid with expertise in the field of inference and ijtihad; just in the same way that the honorable Imam [Khomeini] showed examples of it

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and some [of those examples] were acted upon and some of them were, at least, stated in his own time.

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And] healing the wounds inflicted by the enemy [is another task for us]; this is one of the steps [to be taken].

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The enemy is inflicting wounds on the body of this revolution [and] we must heal these wounds;

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[one problem is religious and sectarian division – [for example,] between Shia and Sunni –

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[and] one problem is the issue of factional differences;

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one problem is creating artificial bipolarities in the society; these are the wounds that are being inflicted [on Islam by the enemy]; [and] these [wounds] must be healed.

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At any rate, what on which I put high emphasis [is that]

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the principle of development and progress must be always before our eyes.

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Statism is not allowable; we must continue to advance and progress, however, in the direction of the goals of the revolution and the goals of the religion.

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This is the second part [of the remarks] which I said about the course of this esteemed, and in the true sense of the word, grand assembly.

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There are, however, general tasks, which now I explain briefly so that our meeting would not take too long.

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In short, we must make our country powerful; [and] the country must become strong.

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The way to survival of the revolution, the way to progress of the revolution and the way to realization of the goals of the revolution,

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in the expanded sense of the word, is that we make the country powerful.

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If we managed to fulfill this duty

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– that is, [if] the government could, the Majlis (parliament) could, the judiciary could, the Armed Forced could,

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revolutionary institutions could, [and] this assembly could do anything in these fields and help –

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then we would make sure that we would be able to protect the revolution in the true sense of the word.

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If the country becomes strong, concession(s) can be taken [even] from the Arrogance; let me tell you this.

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If the country becomes weak, not only the Arrogance, not only the superpowers,

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but also inefficient and weak and insignificant governments will have demands;

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if we become weak, it would be like this [but] if we become strong, no [this would not happen].

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Power is also a relative issue; at any stage of power, one can do some activity.

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Now, for example, assume that in these issues of nuclear negotiations

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– of course I don’t want to discuss this issue now – our dear friends said that we have taken concession [from the opposite side]

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and those enemies who would not accept up to the present time that we could have a nuclear industry,

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now have signed the deal [according to] which we can have the nuclear industry.

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Well, how this was earned? This was earned after we showed our power

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and we could do something that they did not imagine we would be able to do;

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that is, 20-percent enrichment [of uranium].

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They themselves know as well, [and] experts in this field know [as well] that the difficult part [of enrichment] up to

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99-percent is to achieve 20-percent [enrichment];

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[therefore,] if a country manages to do 20-percent enrichment on its own,

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it would be easy [to advance] from there to 90-percent and 99-percent enrichment, [and] it would not be a long way; these [countries negotiating with Iran] know this.

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The Islamic Republic went forward on this path; that is, it managed to master 20-percent enrichment,

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managed to produce 19,000 first generation centrifuges,

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managed to make operational about 10,000 first generation centrifuges,

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managed to produce the second and third and fourth generations of centrifuges;

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managed to operate that heavy water reactor in [the central Iranian city of] Arak;

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[and] managed to launch the heavy water production plant – which they are buying from us today.

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We managed to do all these things, so that the enemy [finally] accepted that minimum that we could have nuclear industry;

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if we had not taken these steps [they would not accept our nuclear industry]. I remember and friends [here] all remember that ten [or] twelve years before this,

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during which we were engaged in previous rounds of negotiations [over the nuclear program], our argument was that, for example, to allow five centrifuges to operate, [but] they said no;

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first we said 20 centrifuges, then they said no. [Therefore,] we backed down [and] said five centrifuges, they said no;

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we said [just] one [centrifuge and] they said no! When we are not able, when we do not have, when there is no power,

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the enemy behaves like this; [however,] when you make 19,000 centrifuges operational in spite of [the opposition from] the enemy,

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[when you] produce its second and third and fourth generations,

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[and] when you take many other steps on its margins, well, [the enemy] will have to accept; this is [true] power.

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When there is power, one can even take concessions from the Arrogance.

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This was not a concession that Americans gave us,

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[but] this was a concession, which we took [from them] with our power, not that anybody gave [any] concession to us.

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It is like this in all [different] fields; [and] it is like this in the field of economy.

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This Economy of Resistance, which I keep repeating and emphasizing and, well, thank God, [our] friends [in the administration]

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have established an operation and command headquarters and steps are being taken, and I hope, God willing,

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we would see their results on the ground, is this.

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In [the field of] economy, if we become strong and become powerful, sanctions would mean nothing anymore and [imposing] sanctions would become a meaningless thing to do;

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if we could obtain economic power inside the country,

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they [our enemies] would come [here] begging, will come to have economic relationship [with us], [and] will not [only] refrain from imposing sanctions [on us],

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but if we [decided to] impose sanctions [on them,] they would come [here] and say ‘do not impose sanctions on us’; this is the normal course of events.

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It is the same in the field of politics, [and] it is the same in [other] different fields.

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The elements of power should be pursued by the administration and the Majlis (parliament) and others

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and this assembly can demand [realization of] these [elements of power].

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You can demand [this] from this humble one,

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demand this from our dear [President] Dr. [Hassan] Rouhani, you can demand [this] from gentlemen [who are lawmakers] at the Majlis,

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you can demand [this] from the Judiciary; [and in any way] you can demand [realization of] these elements [from various authorities].

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This grand gathering and this exceptional gathering, which I said is a phenomenon and a divine bounty,

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can do such things. Focus on one point, follow up on that point,

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[and] accompany [the demands set forth by] the public opinion; this would be that situation which is really befitting [this assembly].

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Now, of course, if I wanted to be more straightforward

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and say what the criteria for being revolutionary in these organs is, in my opinion, the criteria for being revolutionary include piety,

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courage, insight, candor, [and] not being afraid of [what the Quran has described as] “the blame of the blamer;”

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these are [major] criteria for being revolutionary. If we have piety,

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have necessary courage as well, have necessary candor as well – [of course] where candor is needed;

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[but] not in that place where innuendo [and ambiguity] is needed; candor would be harmful in that place –

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[and] if we could do [all] these, [then we would be revolutionary].  [We must] have correct knowledge of the enemy.

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The enemy is a front; the enemy is not a person after all, [and] is not a specific government after all, [but] is a front;

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we must know this front and see who is affiliated with this front

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and from what place this front is moving in such a way that it can conceal itself from us.

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[We must] know the enemy front, know the methods of [its] animosity as well; [and] know how [the enemy] conducts its enmity.

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There are times when an enemy enters, starts taking a step

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toward an evil goal and we do not correctly know what that goal is;

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[in that case,] we look at the appearance of that step and we see it is a good step and welcome it,

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while it [the enemy] is pursuing its [own] goal. We have had [such cases]; we have had [such cases] in the country and we still have these cases

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in which they have started taking a step to achieve a goal,

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[and] we have looked at the appearance of that step and said “wow! Well this seems to be a good step, [and] there is no problem [with doing this];”

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while if we have insight, [and] if we know the enemy’s goals, we would not be deceived like this.

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We must not be afflicted with psychological collapse in the face of the enemy either;

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this is also one of the main issues [which should be taken into account]. Psychological collapse is detrimental;

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any person who collapses within himself, he would be certainly defeated.

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The first defeat for any person is to be defeated within himself,

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which he would feel that he cannot [do anymore], feel that [what he is doing] is of no good, feel that the opposite party is much stronger than he is,

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[and] feel that ‘I cannot do anything’; this is psychological collapse.

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If this collapse takes place, then we will be certainly defeated in the [real] arena.

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This situation should not come about; [so, we must] be careful, not to allow this happen.

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May God’s mercy be upon our honorable Imam, [and] upon our martyrs, and greetings be upon [Prophet] Mohammad (PBUH) and Mohammad’s Household