TEHRAN – In his first meeting with the new government of President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei addressed the whole gamut of state affairs and outlined the path of the country in the coming years. 

On the occasion of National Government Week, Ayatollah Khamenei met with President Raisi and the members of his cabinet on Saturday in Imam Khomeini Hussainiyyah.

He called on the new government to seize the opportunity of serving the people and make tireless and around-the-clock efforts to improve the “difficult” situation in the country. The Leader said that the Raisi administration “will certainly overcome problems” if it makes such efforts.

Ayatollah Khamenei called on the new government to “revolutionize” all economic, reconstruction, service, foreign policy, cultural, and educational sectors. The Leader also underlined the need for the Raisi administration to be popular, pursue justice, and combat corruption.

The Leader stated that the country has not yet met expectations in terms of justice. He said, “The Islamic government and the Islamic Republic are based on the administration of justice. In my opinion, every resolution that you adopt and every bill that you ratify should have a section on justice. You must be careful that your resolutions do not damage justice or violate the rights of the underprivileged classes of society.”

He advised the new officials to focus their efforts on carrying out a revolutionary, rational reconstruction in all managerial areas. In presenting a definition of “revolutionary,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Being revolutionary should always be accompanied by rationality. This has been the correct approach adopted by the Islamic Republic from the first day and has continued up until today. A revolutionary movement should be accompanied by wise, reasonable actions.”

Ayatollah Khamenei then addressed “the very important issue of reviving people’s trust and hope,” according to a readout of the meeting that was published by the khamenei.ir.

“The biggest capital of government is people’s trust, which, unfortunately, has been somehow damaged,” the Leader asserted. 

Underlining the importance of delivering on the promises, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the “oneness of officials’ word and action” is the way to restore trust between the people and the government. 

“[You] have to be very careful in promises and remarks, and if a promise is made, it must be fulfilled, because making a promise and not fulfilling it will cause people to lose trust,” he noted. 

The cohesion of government was another issue underscored by the Leader. “Cohesion of government means that different voices do not come out of the government and in practice, all institutions should act in a cohesive manner, because any lack of cohesion and authority in the government will induce a state of abandonment in the people and will hinder the progress of government programs and policies,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

The Leader also addressed the priorities that should be put high on the agenda of the government. “The most important priority of the country is first the economy and then culture, media, and science. Of course, there is an urgent issue, which is the corona and the health of the people,” he said.

The Leader pointed to a number of economic woes currently facing the country and called on the government to devise plans to tackle these challenges. 

The Leader brought two important points to the notice of the government. First, he told the assembled cabinet to avoid seeking provisional, short-term solutions and instead focus on drastic solutions. Second, he called on the government to refrain from tying solving economic problems to U.S. sanctions on Iran. 

“Planning to solve problems should be conducted on the assumption that sanctions would remain in place,” Ayatollah Khamenei. 

In addition to domestic issues, the Leader also gave pieces of advice to the new government on how to best pursue an active foreign policy. Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the foreign diplomacy of the country should be more active, in particular the economic diplomacy of the country. He went on to say, “Foreign trade should be strengthened both with our neighbors and with other countries. Apart from one or two countries, it is possible to establish good, constructive relations with most countries in the world.”

Furthermore, he stated that the country’s diplomacy should not be overshadowed by the nuclear issue. He stressed that the Americans have passed all limits in impudence and brazenness regarding the nuclear negotiations. “It was they who withdrew from the JCPOA, but they speak as if it was Iran who withdrew from it. In reality, it was they who mocked the negotiations. The Europeans acted in the same way,” he added, referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by its acronym.

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that the current U.S. administration is no different from the previous administration and that the new administration makes the same demands that the Trump administration did.

The Leader also touched on the Afghanistan issue and outlined the contours of Iran’s position on the war-torn country. 

“Behind the scenes of U.S. foreign policy there lies a predatory wolf that sometimes changes into a cunning fox. Today’s situation in Afghanistan is an example of this,” he said. 

Explaining the current situation in Afghanistan, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “Afghanistan is our brother country, with the same language, religion and culture. The source of all the crises in Afghanistan is the U.S. The U.S. committed all sorts of atrocities during their 20-year occupation of that country. These ranged from bombing wedding and mourning ceremonies, to imprisoning individuals, and included increasing the production of addictive drugs by tens of times. They did not take a single step for the development of Afghanistan.”

Explaining the position of the Islamic Republic on Afghanistan, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “We support the Afghan nation. Governments come and go. It is the Afghan nation that will remain. The nature of our relations with other governments depends on the nature of their relations with us. May God bring the best situation for the nation of Afghanistan.”