Here is the full text of the message issued on March 20, 2022 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, on the occasion of Nowruz, the beginning of the Iranian New Year:

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Merciful

Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and peace and greetings to our Master, Muhammad, and his pure offspring, especially the remnant of God on earth.

O Changer of hearts and eyes,

O director of nights and days,

O Transformer of situations and circumstances,

Transform our circumstances to the best of circumstances!

I would like to express my congratulations on Nowruz and the arrival of a new year, new growth in nature and new days. This year, Nowruz coincides with the festivities of Sha’ban 15, which belongs to the shining sun of the universe, the Imam of Time (may our souls be sacrificed for him). I would like to congratulate the great nation of Iran and all like-minded nations concerned for these events.

In particular, I wish to congratulate the esteemed families of the martyrs – those patients, those cherished families, may God not deprive the Iranian nation and all of us of the existence of those esteemed families. I also congratulate the dear disabled veterans and their patient families, as well as those who have made great sacrifices and who truly serve the Iranian nation in different fields, especially in the fields of health, security, resistance and Science. I congratulate all these dear people on the occasion of this sweet and happy holiday.

Another year has passed. The year 1400 SH is over with all its bittersweet times and all its ups and downs, which are a natural part of life. Life is a combination of these bittersweet times and ups and downs. I want to highlight some of those great and sweet moments that happened for the Iranian nation.

One of them was the elections. The elections were really important and magnificent. Despite the fact that the pandemic was at its peak at the beginning of 1400 SH, people went to the polls and voted. Its very important. This happened despite the fact that even two individuals coming together at one time was dangerous. At that time, we were seeing death rates in the hundreds – 500, 600, and sometimes even more individuals in a day. The elections took place under such circumstances. People went to the polls and participated in the elections. The result was that a new administration entered the arena.

The evidence shows that this administration is a grassroots administration, caring about the goals of the people and taking a different path than the previous honorable administration. This Administration has revived hope in the people, thank God. It was one of the most important events that took place for the Iranian nation.

Another milestone was the serious confrontation with the coronavirus pandemic. This disease has been faced and fought in the truest sense of the word. Death rates have gone from several hundred a day to 18 or 20 at times. Although death rates have increased again to some extent, there is a stark difference between those days when the vaccine is available to everyone and those days.

Another pinnacle was our scientific and technological progress. An example was the domestic production of different vaccines, some of which received global certification. Various other scientific and technological advances have also been made, ranging from the production of vaccines to the launching of satellites. The country has made significant progress in all areas, thank God. These were the great peaks of the year 1400 SH. Various other events also took place inside the country and there were other enjoyable moments as well.

There were also great summits on the international scene. One of the sweetest things to happen in HS 1400 was that the Americans explicitly acknowledged – quite recently – that they had suffered a “humiliating” defeat in their “maximum pressure policy” against Iran. The term “humiliating” was a term they used themselves. It was an important event. The Iranian nation was victorious. The Iranian nation has won. No one person in particular can claim credit for it. It is the resistance of the Iranian nation that has enabled such a great victory.

Various other events also took place, both in our vicinity and far from us. Of course, all this showed the correctness of the path taken by the Iranian nation to confront arrogance. These events have shown that the right path is the one that the Iranian nation has taken against arrogance. Well, those are the sweet times.

We have also witnessed bitter moments. The most serious, the most important of these bitter moments, in my opinion, are such things as the problems which exist for the subsistence of the people, the question of high prices, inflation and others. Well, these issues definitely need to be addressed. These problems are solvable. These are economic problems, some of which I hope will be resolved this year. Not all of them can be solved at the same time. They will be solved little by little. If we are impatient and in a hurry and say that all problems must be solved very quickly, it is not realistic. However, I hope some of these issues will be resolved in the year 1401 SH, which is the first year of the new century, the 15th century in the solar Hijri calendar, God willing.

In previous years, I chose a title to be the slogan of the year. In this way, the civil servants – mainly those of the executive branch but alongside them those of the legislative and judicial branches and also the people in general, when matters concern them – can go in this direction. In some years, good achievements have been made in this regard. Of course, in some years, certain negligence has been demonstrated.

For the year 1400 SH, I chose the slogan “Production: support and elimination of obstacles”. Good work has been done to that end and continues to be done, and it must be done. In recent years, I have emphasized “production” for the slogan of the year, along with some descriptive terms. The reason is that production is the key to solving the economic problems of the country. National production is indeed the main way to overcome the economic difficulties and difficulties that exist in the country. In other words, the most important economic problems of the country can be solved by stimulating and improving national production. That’s the nature of production.

We have focused on production; because it stimulates economic growth, creates jobs, reduces inflation, increases per capita income and improves public welfare. Besides, it also brings psychological effects as it boosts national self-confidence and creates a sense of dignity in the nation. Production is such an elixir. National production is so important if it is done in the best possible way, God willing.

This is why I have stressed the importance of production in recent years. And this emphasis has been effective. Glory to God, he had good results. I want to highlight the production this year too, but with a newly added layer and a new look. I want to focus on a production that has two characteristics: one is that it must create jobs and the other is that it must be knowledge-based. We must encourage knowledge-based production, that is, production which depends on new scientific advances, and production which generates employment. Of course, all productions generate jobs. But some types of production do not create many jobs despite requiring huge investment while other types of production create abundant job opportunities. By the grace of God, I will expand on this in tomorrow’s talk [the Leader’s annual New Year speech].

If we make knowledge-based production the main criterion, and if we pursue the type of knowledge-based production with the characteristics that I will mention in my New Year’s speech, I think we will see tangible progress and good progress in achieving all our economic objectives. The same is true of job-creating production. Therefore, this year’s slogan is “Production: knowledge-based and job creation.”

We are after this kind of production. Of course, I want to emphasize, as I did last year, that leaders should not just write this slogan on their organization’s letterhead or put a sign in the street with this slogan. Such things do nothing. The main challenge is to formulate policies based on this idea in the true sense of the word. Of course, from what I have seen, this Administration, by the grace of God, will make progress given the diligence of the honorable President and that of his colleagues. In other words, this slogan will not remain a dead letter, by the grace of God. However, the more work one does and the more effort one puts in, the better.

I hope that God, the Exalted, will bestow good upon the nation of Iran this year, on this Eid and on this precious year-long opportunity. I hope God willing, he will make people happy, make life sweet for them, gladden people’s hearts and gladden the pure souls of our dear martyrs and the immaculate soul of our late magnanimous Imam (may God grant him heaven).

I hope that God, the Exalted, will send our greetings to all and convey our devotion and sincerity to the great Imam of the time (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

May the greetings, mercy and blessings of God be upon you.

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