In his televised message to the nation on the occasion of the Persian New Year early Thursday morning, the leader hailed the nation's "fortitude and prudence" against the enemies’ conspiracies.
Ayatollah Khamenei designated the new Iranian calendar year of 1398 as the year of "Pick-up in Production."
The following is the full text of the message:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Oh, Reformer of hearts and eyes,
Oh, Regulator of day and night,
Oh, Transformer of conditions,
Change ours to the best of conditions
I thank God Almighty that gave me the opportunity this year, like previous years, to congratulate the dear Iranian nation on the arrival of Norouz, which coincides with the anniversary of the auspicious birthday of Imam Ali, the Imam of the faithful. Happy New Year dear fellow countrymen.
I hope all of you will spend the New Year with prosperity, physical health, a heart full of joy, and ever-increasing material and spiritual achievements. My special thanks go to the respected families of martyrs and dear disabled war veterans as well as their families, and my utmost prayers go the pure soul of the late Imam Khomeini and the pure souls of martyrs.
We had an eventful year. In the past year, the Iranian nation shone in the true sense of the word. The enemies hatched many plots, and they had orchestrated schemes for the Iranian nation. The nation’s fortitude and prudence as well as the perseverance of the youth foiled the enemies’ conspiracies.
The Iranian nation also showed a strong and robust reaction to the severe and allegedly unprecedented sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe both in the political and economic domains.
The manifestation of this reaction on the political front was the mass turnout of people in the February 11th rallies as well as the position adopted by people during the months of the past year. The manifestation of people’s reaction on the economic front was an increase in scientific and technical initiatives, in the number of knowledge-based companies and in the number of domestic infrastructural and fundamental productions, including the inauguration of several phases of natural gas projects in the south of the country a few days ago, and earlier, the inauguration of the major Bandarabbas refinery, and similar other projects that had been implemented.
Therefore, the nation was able to show off its power, formidability and grandeur in the face of the enemies’ animosity and wickedness, and that increased the grace of our nation, of the Islamic Revolution and of the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
Economic woes remain the fundamental problem facing the country. People’s livelihood problems increased over the past few months, in particular. Part of those problems are due to inefficient management with regards to economic issues, which should be definitely redressed.
Plans have been set in motion and measures have been adopted, and God willing, these measures should come into force in the Persian New Year 1398, which starts at this moment today, and people should feel the effects of those measures.
What I am saying is that the most pressing and serious issue facing the country, and the priority of the country, is the economic issue at the moment. We are facing numerous issues on the economic front. The devaluation of the national currency is an important issue, and so is people’s purchasing power. Among other problems are the difficulties that factories are facing, dwindling production, and probably the closure of some factories.
Based on what I studied, including experts’ opinions, increasing national production holds the key to these problems.
I called the Last Persian New Year as the year of “support for Iranian goods.” I cannot say that this motto was completely realized. However, I can say that this motto received extensive attention, and in many cases, the motto was welcomed by the people and they acted on that, and this will definitely be effective.
This year, the issue of production is what matters. I want to make the issue of production the pivot of our activities. God willing, I will explain what I mean by “production” in my speech on the first day of the Persian New Year. I will explain what is meant by “production.” If production gains momentum, it will both solve people’s livelihood problems and make the country independent of foreigners and enemies. Moreover, it can solve the unemployment problem and, to a great extent, solve the problem of the devaluation of the national currency.
So, in my opinion, the issue of production is the pivotal issue this year. Therefore, I declare the following statement as the motto of this year: “A pick-up in production.” Everybody should make efforts to boost production in the country. God willing, this concept should be considerably tangible throughout the year. If that happens, I hope that, God willing, economic problems will being to be solved.
My heartfelt greetings go to Imam Mahdi, and may his prayers be with you dear people. And I ask God Almighty to bestow bliss upon the Iranian nation and all nations that celebrate Norouz.
May God Almighty bless you all