TEHRAN – Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday received a group of Basij commanders and underlined the need to strengthen the Basij-styled spirit in the country.

Emphasizing that problems can be overcome by maintaining and strengthening a spirit like Basij, the president said, “I am honored to be a Basij member and the whole government is working with the Basiji spirit and thinking to serve and create openness in the people's livelihood and economy,” according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

Speaking on Tuesday, in a meeting with the head and a group of commanders of the Basij Mostazafin Organization, while congratulating Basij Week, Ayatollah Raisi said, “Basij is a strong, fruitful tree that was formed with the wisdom of the late Imam Khomeini (RA) and with each day passing by, it is giving more and more fruits to the Iranian nation and the Islamic community.”

Referring to the comprehensiveness and reassurance of Basij for the Iranian nation, the president said, “At the head of this revolutionary complex, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, and in its body, the people across the country are present and Basij goes beyond political, partisan and group currents.”

Ayatollah Raisi said it is necessary to strengthen the Basij's missions in order to solve people's problems and said, "Opposition movements seek deviations in thought and action in various cultural, social and political fields, but Basij is a strong barrier against these deviations.”

The president added, “The enemy, with its money, power and media, seeks to reduce the revolutionary forces and make changes in the lifestyle and morals of the people, but since the growth and expansion of Basij’s missions are high, they have always failed.”

The president described Basij as one of the most important components of the country's power and said, “The pervasive current of Basij has become the key to protecting the Islamic system due to its responsibility, risk-taking and presence in various stages.”

Ayatollah Raisi described Basij’s programs and actions in various areas such as resistance economy, culture, science, and technology, especially civil engineering and construction efforts in deprived areas, as valuable in the campaign to resolve people's problems, saying, “The government is determined to use Basij's capacity to allay people’s concerns and resolve problems.”

The president stressed the importance of efforts and planning to revive and strengthen the spirit of hope and trust among the people, saying, “The enemy's strategy is to spread despair and hopelessness in society, and in this situation, it is necessary to put all the system's capacities together for creating a change in the lives of the people and solving the problems of the country, give the people hope for the future, and in this regard, the government is ready to support with all its might.”

Also on Tuesday, Raisi chaired a meeting of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution.

He called on the Work Group for Transformation in the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution to carefully and thoroughly review the proposals in this field and present them for decision at the next meeting.

During the meeting, Ayatollah Raisi congratulated Basij Week, and praised the prominent and distinguished role of Basij and stated, “Basiji culture and thinking has valuable features and characteristics and its promotion and institutionalization in different sections of society, including cultural issues, has been -and will be- very constructive and effective.”

Emphasizing the importance of making changes in the structure, duties and missions of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, according to the instructions of the Supreme Leader in the appendix of the appointment of new members of the Council, the president urged the Transformation Work Group to carefully summarize all proposals in this field and present the decision at the next meeting.

In the meeting of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, Seyyed Mohammad Moghimi was also elected as the President of the University of Tehran, Hossein Ghana'eni was elected as the President of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Abdolreza Pazouki was elected as the President of Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Ayatollah also participated in another meeting on Tuesday night on economic issues.