The Leader further hailed the people’s “invaluable” presence during the rallies on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) despite the enemies’ massive propaganda campaign, the problems faced by the people, the cold weather and other discouraging factors.

“People with faith and insight ignored all these and came together from east to west and from north to south of beloved Iran and raised their voice so that everyone could hear,” he said, adding that only God is able to really appreciate this great national movement.

He referred to “the nation’s historic Saturday” as an example of the continuation of national persistence and once again drew comparisons between the Islamic Revolution of Iran and other revolutions which gradually deviated from their ideals, saying, “In the Islamic Revolution, too, some people turned away from the direct path of the Revolution due to various reasons, and they eventually acted against the principles and ideals of the Revolution.”

“Contrary to these elements, the nation continued the straight path without feeling fatigued and despair and without fearing the enemy’s blows, threats and screams, while preserving its identity, character and greatness,” he said. “In this path, [the nation] came to the streets across the entire country on the 22nd of Bahman of this year and, with different motivations, showed its meaningful perseverance and stubbornness against the enemy.”

The Leader of the Revolution pointed out that the enemy and some elements inside the country are making efforts to weaken the determination of the Iranian nation in an attempt to make the people forget the path of the Revolution. “One of the important goals of the fall riots was to make the people forget the 22nd of Bahman. Inside the country, some were following the same line in the newspapers and on social media with weak arguments and incorrect statements. The people, however, disappointed them,” he added.

The people’s attendance and analysis were some of the characteristics of the magnificent 22nd of Bahman rally that the Leader applauded. “It was clear from people’s interviews that they attended the march with an analytical mind. And because they understood that the US is fearful of their attendance, they demonstrated their actual orientation, which is to fully support the Islamic Revolution and the system of the Islamic Republic with passion, exuberance, motivation and meaningful slogans,” he said.

Imam Khamenei added that the American and Zionist media empires are attempting to prevent this loud voice from reaching the ears of other nations. However, those who need to hear it, that is, the policy makers in the US and England and the enemy’s spy agencies have definitely heard this voice.

The Leader of the Revolution also pointed out the propaganda uproar that took place on social media and the enemy’s media outlets on the eve of the 22nd of Bahman. “There were opposing voices that these media outlets tried to magnify, but the voice and call of the nation prevailed over all other voices,” he stated.

Imam Khamenei also spoke about “clarifying the falseness and weakness of the enemies’ claims about the Islamic Republic.”

“Sometimes they blatantly lie and say that the government is regressing, while the country, despite its problems, has completely changed from the way it was two or three decades ago. It has made great progress. Sometimes they say that the Islamic Republic has reached a dead end. When someone reaches an impasse, they will fall down themselves. If their claim is correct, why are they spending so much to make it collapse?“

Imam Khamenei, referring to the enemies’ repeated attacks and inquiries into the necessity of Iran’s military power, said, “First of all, a country that has this many enemies should think about itself and its nation, just like at the beginning of the Revolution, when I found out that some people wanted to sell F-14 planes, and I quickly gave an interview, made this known publicly, and that moved was stopped.”

He noted that Iran has paid considerable attention to its defense power based on logic and Sharia, and will try its utmost to make further efforts in this regard according to the teachings of the Quran.

“The country has worked and invested several times more in other fields, including industry, infrastructure such as road construction and dam construction, and other fields,” he explained. “But the enemy, which is clearly afraid given its propaganda about Iran’s drones, denies other advancements and highlights defensive issues.”

By God’s grace, the Leader continued, the nation has not and will not pay attention to the temptations of ill-wishers and “knows that any progress and movement to strengthen Iran will enrage the enemies, who should be told, according to the Quran, to die from this anger and rage.”

Imam Khamenei called Iran’s progress an “invigorating and admirable truth”, but acknowledged that the country still suffers shortcomings in the media domain and demonstrating its achievements.

“Nonetheless, visitors to Iran’s exhibitions or achievements express their surprise at achieving such levels of progress in spite of the sanctions,” he said. “That is also the case for a Zionist missile commander who said a few years ago that although I am an enemy of Iran, I take off my hat in the face of the production of that advanced missile by Iranian scientists.”

Imam Khamenei argued, meanwhile, that enumerating the country’s achievements does not amount to denying its shortcomings. “There are many weaknesses and shortcomings in the country for various reasons, some of which are noticeable to the people, such as high prices, inflation, and the devaluation of the national currency; and there are also weaknesses in other sectors, such as administrative sectors,” he said.

According to Imam Khamenei, there are two ways of looking at the weaknesses, namely the “revolutionary approach” and the “reactionary approach”.

He explained that the revolutionary view means looking at the progress already made and concluding that it is possible to remove the obstacles and shortcomings given previous fruitful endeavors.

“With a reactionary view toward the weaknesses, one concludes that there is no use and nothing can be done, and therefore, we should sit idly or complain and utter the weaknesses loudly and even deny the principle of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic, as some do,” he added.

The Leader of the Revolution underlined that insisting on progress does not equate to denying the weaknesses. He pointed out that all nations have certain weaknesses, referring to the important weaknesses that exist in some of the world’s largest and most advanced countries. The Leader added that, “the solution to remove the weaknesses is not to destroy the principle and roots, but the correct approach is to remove the weaknesses based on the Revolutionary view”.

Imam Khamenei emphasized that economic growth and curbing inflation are the most important tasks that need to be attended to. He underlined that everyone, especially the country’s officials have a duty to engage in jihadi activities and they need to consistently work round the clock. In this regard, the Leader stated, “Economic affairs need to be prioritized today because the country cannot advance forward without economic growth. Economic growth itself requires stability, control of inflation and price stability.”

Imam Khamenei noted that in addition to the country’s officials, various groups of people are also capable of playing a role in many different fields. He referred to the roles that people have fulfilled in social fields and acts of service, stating that, “We have been able to overcome great weaknesses through the people on numerous occasions. An example of this was seen during the coronavirus pandemic where the people played a great role with their pious offerings of aid.”

The Leader of the Revolution described “national unity” as another effective factor in the strength of the country. Pointing to the existence of differences of opinion in society, he stated that the general tendency of the nation is a tendency towards the Revolution. “There are some people in the country whose opinions on some political issues are against the opinions of the general public and officials. However, they are not the ones who the Iranian nation are dealing with. [Global] Arrogance is the Iranian nation’s opposing side.”

Imam Khamenei expressed his optimism about a bright future, stating that, “Whenever there has been a bright horizon before the country, we have reached it after a short time because of our nation’s immense capabilities and potentials.”