“The dear people of Iran should be intent on becoming powerful." This statement made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution during the Friday Prayer sermon on January 17, 2020 was a general summary of the duties of the public and the officials.
According to his Eminence, “The Iranian nation and the officials of the country should focus their efforts on strengthening the country and the nation, and this should be achieved with solidarity, participation, patience, resistance, hard work and by avoiding laziness.
If this happens, by Allah’s favor and grace, the Iranian nation will reach a point in the near future where the enemies will not even dare issue threats!” According to Imam Khamenei, progress is possible by achieving dignity, effectively resisting the enemies and conspiracies, and enhancing national sovereignty and power.
National power includes material and spiritual factors together.
In the following article, the website of Khamenei.ir investigates and elaborates on several of the main pillars for achieving national power and sovereignty.
In this article, Imam Khamenei’s viewpoint with regard to this subject has been reviewed in four categories: 1.
Importance and necessity of national power 2.
Significance, elements and indicators of national power 3.
How and by which means national power is enhanced 4.
The result and outcome of enhanced national power. 1- The importance and necessity of national power The life of a nation depends on strengthening the components of the power Basically, the life and blossoming of a nation depend on strengthening the elements and criteria of power, and on utilizing and benefitting from them at the right time and in the right place. Jun 30, 2018 To achieve our ideals, we should strengthen the structure of national power In the process of reaching our ideal goals, the infrastructures of power should be strengthened.
This is the essence of our work.
If we want to continue treading this path, pursue these goals, move forward, put up a resistance against the hostility of the enemies and employ patience and reliance on God, we should reinforce and strengthen national power from inside the country. Jul 21, 2013 The enemy is opposed to the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic The enemy is opposed to the power of the Islamic Republic.
The enemy is opposed to every element of power in the Islamic Republic.
Despite the enemy's efforts, we should try to increase the elements of power inside the Islamic Republic. Oct 18, 2017 In the soft war, the enemy is trying to eliminate the elements of power from our system Making efforts in this soft war is preparing the ground for emptying the Islamic Republic of its power elements.
They want to act in a way that the Islamic Republic becomes empty of the elements that are inside it and that are a source of power for it.
When it becomes weak, when power elements do not exist in it and when it does not enjoy solidity, then dragging it this way and that way will not be difficult for superpowers.
They want to make it to follow them. May 26, 2016 The enemy wants us to give up our strengths so they can dominate us It is clear what the enemy's ultimate goal is.
The enemy is trying to lead us towards the abandonment of our strengths, they want us to give up our elements of national power so that they can easily dominate our country, our people, our fate, and our future.
They have devised such an unruly plot, but the people have stood up against the enemy. Jun 4, 2018 If we are not strong, we will be coerced The issue is about national power.
I would tell our dear people that if a people are not strong and if they are weak, they will be bullied.
If a people are not strong, global blackmailers will blackmail and extort them.
If these blackmailers can, they will trample upon them.
This is the nature of a world which is managed by materialistic thoughts.
Whoever feels powerful, bullies those people – whether individuals or nations - whom he considers to be weak. A well-known poet says, “Death is natural for the weak.
Any strong person becomes weak first and then he dies†There are a number of nations who are a long way away from becoming strong.
They have no hope of gaining the power to confront bullies and global thugs.
But this is not the case with our people.
First, we have a great talent to strengthen ourselves and we have many resources and capacities.
Our people have moved towards national power and they have traveled a long distance on this path. Mar 21, 2014 Reliance on the elements of sovereignty is the way to confront the enemy One way to confront this is that we should rely on our elements of power despite and contrary to the desires of the enemy.
We have announced before and we would like to announce once more that the defensive resources and power of the country are not negotiable, and they cannot be bargained over.
Can they come along and criticize us for having defensive means, for having various forms and versions of them, and for producing and researching into them in the first place? We will not bargain and negotiate with the enemy over those things which increase, and provide support to national power.
We are moving forward on the path of the country's power, and this falls on your shoulders. Oct 25, 2017 The remedy for Arrogance’s hostility is to become stronger All of us should know that the enmity of this front that I spoke about is not seasonal and temporary, rather this enmity is intrinsic and perpetual.
They strike whenever they can.
The cure for this is to strengthen ourselves in the area of the military, security, politics and the economy.
We should strengthen ourselves in different areas so that the enemy fails to deliver his blows, otherwise his enmity is an intrinsic one.
Some people think if we take a step back and show a bit of compromise, the Americans will stop showing enmity.
This way of thinking is a big and grave mistake. Jan 8, 2020 2- The meaning, elements and components of national power Sovereignty means a nation being active from within National power does not mean giving the country's funds to a foreign country in order to buy its modern weapons and keep them in warehouses, while we are not even able to use those weapons! This is foolishness, this is not power! National power does not mean allowing a certain country from the other part of the world to build military bases and to show its presence for the sake of supporting a certain government.
It does not mean allowing another country to suck the blood of people and do whatever it wants in order to preserve a sinister ruling household in that country.
--These peculiarities are not a show of power, rather these are signs of humiliation! Power means the growth of people from the inside, in a way that they can achieve science, military expertise, construction, progress, and international dignity: these are the elements of the Iranian nation's power. Jun 30, 2018 Becoming stronger is not limited in the areas of military and security The enemy has used all his power in order to destroy you.
Some of the officials of the governments which are in conflict with us are saying this openly today.
They openly say that they are after destroying the Islamic Republic.
You should remember this! Of course, some of them hide their intentions and they do not express them, but the truth is that they are after this as well.
Global interaction should not make us ignore the fact that there are enemies who have sworn to destroy us. And they use every excuse that they find.
You send orbital satellite carrier rockets [Simorgh] into space, but all of a sudden, you see that they have created uproar about it in the world.
This is scientific and technical activity.
It is a task which is necessary for every country and which is completely normal and ordinary.
However, when you do it, you see that they create uproar about it.
These are signs that you should be more vigilant. Such behavior should be responded by doing strong, jihadi and calculated work.
Such enmities should be responded by becoming stronger.
I do not mean that we should only become stronger in military and security areas.
Of course, you should become strong in these areas, but you should also become strong in the area of the economy and culture.
You should become stronger and more sophisticated in the area of preserving the Islamic and revolutionary identity.
This is how the enmities of the enemy should be responded. Aug 3, 2017 The revolutionary spirit is one of the components of our national sovereignty one of the most important ways to strengthen the country from the inside is to preserve the revolutionary spirit in the people particularly in youth.
The enemies are trying to make our youth become decadent and indifferent towards the Revolution and to kill the spirit of valor and being revolutionary in them.
This should be resisted.
Youth should preserve their spirit of being revolutionary.
And the officials of the country should respect revolutionary youth.
Some spokespeople and writers should not constantly label hezbollahi and revolutionary youth as extremists and other such names.
Revolutionary youth should be respected and encouraged to preserve their revolutionary spirit because it is this spirit that preserves and defends the country and that saves it in the face of different dangers. Sep 9, 2015 Faith, religious knowledge, economic progress and preservation of national dignity are elements of power Religious faith is among the most important elements of resistance and dynamism in our country.
This is not particular to the present time.
Since 130, 140 years ago onwards, religious faith has been the first important element in every influential and efficient movement that has been launched in this country. Religious understanding is necessary as well as religious faith.
Religious faith should be accompanied by understanding.
What is religious understanding? It is the same thing that the late Moddares said: “Our religion is the same as our politics and our politics is the same as our religion.” Our magnanimous Imam (r.a.) too highlighted and implemented the same concept.
This is one of the elements of power in our country. Another issue is about economic progress and solving the people’s problems.
One of their purposes of imposing sanctions is to separate the people from the Islamic Republic.
They want the people to have problems.
They want the country to suffer from unemployment, recession and various economic problems.
They want us to keep talking while the people have economic problems.
They impose sanctions so that these things happen.
And when they seemingly lift sanctions, they do so in a way that these problems will not be eliminated. Preserving national dignity in international negotiations and meetings, refusing to give in to others’ bullying and protecting national dignity is another element of power for the country. Jan 8, 2017 Political stability, national unity, and adherence to the principles of the Revolution are elements of power They are afraid of Islamic and revolutionary power: that is why they are trying to destabilize and destroy the elements of power.
What are these elements of power? Political organization and stability; social security and national unity; commitment to the principles of the Revolution; progress towards scientific development and the expansion of the revolutionary and Islamic culture: these are our elements of power, and they are opposed to them. Oct 4, 2018 Science, a national character, and a revolutionary identity are empowering You should strengthen it.
Power does not only lie in weapons.
The most important weapon and the most important power-generating element is knowledge and national identity.
People’s characters, resistance and identity – revolutionary identity – are the elements that bring about power.
Faith gave our people power.
The Revolution gave our people power.
When you have power and when the enemy sees it, he will be forced to retreat.
When in the face of the enemy, we avoid displaying and presenting the constituents and elements of our power and when we show fear and different considerations, he will be emboldened. May 2, 2016 3- How and with what requirements can national power be enhanced? By activating all the capacities of the country, it can be strengthened We should pay attention that our capacities and capabilities are not confined to what we have inside the country.
We have important capacities outside the country as well.
We have certain supporters.
We enjoy a strategic depth in the region and in the country.
This is partly because of Islam, the Persian language and Shia denomination.
These things constitute the strategic depth of our country.
These are among our capabilities.
So, we should benefit from all of them. Our strategic depth is not confined to the region.
We enjoy a strategic depth in Latin America and in important parts of Asia as well.
We have certain resources in these regions.
We should benefit from them because they will strengthen the country. Sep 4, 2014 With hope, work, and fixing the gaps, we can be strengthened What are the elements of strength? How can we understand and accept that we are strong? These are the elements of strength: High morale, hopefulness, hard work and diligence, identifying economic, cultural and security rifts - you should identify and see these rifts - cooperation between different organizations in charge of affairs and cooperation between these organizations and the people.
Jul 7, 2014 A strong economy and advances in science are the ways to strengthen the country I have frequently spoken about how we should gain the strength that is necessary for the country.
First, it should be achieved through a strong economy.
One of the ways is to work on the economy of resistance whose policies have been announced.
It should be implemented in the form of groundwork and a practical plan and it should be pursued as strongly as possible and without wasting any time. One of the ways is to strengthen the economy of the country.
The youth of the country should not be jobless and their talents should not remain untapped.
This is one of the ways. Another way is developing science.
The caravan of science should not lose its fast speed.
We should move forward in the area of science because everything is dependent on it.
So, this is another way to strengthen the country. Sep 9, 2015 In order to build national power, the determination of the people and the authorities is needed One of the recurrent elements is firm determination which I have spoken about.
The officials of the country should persist in their decisions when they are faced with problems.
They should preserve their firm determination and they should not falter in their resolve.
Moving towards ideals requires this firm determination.
It should not be the case that they falter when the enemy frowns, when it looks at them with a sour face and when it makes various hostile moves - such as its propaganda efforts and its political, economic and other such plots.
It is necessary for both officials and the people to have firm determination.
Of course, the latter - people's firm determination - requires certain preconditions and, in the present time, it is clear what these preconditions are.
As for the seasonal elements - those elements which are priorities for the country in the present time - in my opinion, the issue of economy and science are the most important. Jul 21, 2013 We need national unity and solidarity to become stronger And of course, those things will not be achieved without national unity either.
These requests will not be granted without a bond between the people and the Islamic Republic.
They will not be achieved without a revolutionary culture.
They will not be achieved without courageous, active and diligent officials.
We need all these things and we should and we can provide them. Mar 21, 2017 Scientific leaps must not stop We should not allow our scientific leap to stop.
If the country attends to and develops knowledge, it will become a master.
“Knowledge is power” [quoting from a famous tradition speaking in Arabic].
This is really the case.
If we want power and dignity and if we want to become a reference point for countries and administrations – rather than letting them become a reference point for us – we should strengthen knowledge.
And this is possible and practical. Scientific progress should be pursued with complete seriousness.
If we pursue scientific progress, then knowledge-based economy – that requires little investment, but that yields many results – will become accessible. Mar 10, 2016 With cultural activities and production, people can be strengthened If we do cultural work and manufacture cultural products in the area of Sacred Defense, this production will enrich the country.
It will enrich and strengthen our human resources with the result that they will become strong in the face of the enemies’ plots.
If we wish to have forces for the economy, these forces should be strong.
If we wish to have forces for culture, these forces should be strong.
If we wish to have good forces for the managerial issues of the country, they should be strong.
It is culture that strengthens humans and that builds strong individuals.
Cultural strength originates from the generous wellspring of Sacred Defense forces.
If we manage to benefit from this, the country’s culture will become strong.
This is cultural production. Mar 6, 2017 We all have a duty to make the country strong Our responsibility is to strengthen the country and make it resistant.
We should increase the country’s power and make it resistant.
How can the country’s power increase? These are issues on which we should think and for which we should plan.
This planning falls on everyone.
It falls on officials, politicians, Islamic seminaries, universities, and active cultural and political personalities.
They should plan for these matters.
We should make the country resistant and powerful. Jan 8, 2017 Strive to strengthen the country wherever you are This is my advice to our youth.
Everyone – wherever they are – should work for the country.
Everyone, wherever they are, should work hard for strengthening the country and its economy and for boosting domestic production – we chose “domestic production” as the slogan of this year.
Producers, consumers, decision-makers, legislators, executives, the administration, the Majlis and the judiciary branch should all work in their own way.
Each should carry out its duty with complete vigilance and awareness.
America’s goal is to start a civil war in Iran. Dec 12, 2018
4. The result and outcome of enhanced national power
If we can achieve a powerful economy inside the country, they themselves will come begging to us.
They will come and pursue establishing economic relations.
Not only will they not impose sanctions, but they will also come and ask us not to impose sanctions on them – if we have the intention of doing so.
This is natural.
The same is true of the area of politics.
The same is true of different other areas. May 26, 2016 If we become strong, we will gain dignity The correct thing to do is to strengthen ourselves from the inside and to become self-reliant.
The world respects a country that is self-reliant and strong.
It has to respect such a country.
If Islamic Iran is strong and self-reliant, the very same people who are challenging us today in a thuggish manner come and stand behind our gates in order to seek favors from us.
Of course, this has not happened until today. The 37-year experience of the Islamic Republic shows that we should build up and strengthen ourselves.
We should strengthen ourselves in intellectual, political, economic, cultural and scientific areas.
When we become strong, we will naturally achieve dignity. Mar 10, 2016 Without a strong economy, we will not achieve sovereignty, dignity and public welfare What do we want for our country and for our people? Where do we want our people and our country to go? What we want for the people is national security, national dignity, public health, public welfare, comprehensive progress, independence from global domineering powers, the cultivation of talents, and freedom and salvation from social detriments such as addiction, corruption and other such detriments.
We want these things for the country.
These are the things that we pursue and want for our country when it comes to material affairs.
The people will find tranquility when these things are provided for them inside the country.
Well, how can they be achieved? How can national dignity, national security, national power and comprehensive progress be achieved? I will tell you that if the country does not have a strong economy, these things will not be achieved.
We need a strong economy and strong production accompanied by strong management.
This is what we need: a strong, reliable and self-sufficient economy through which we will not have to stretch out our hands to beg from others and through which we can choose, move forward, take action, influence the price of oil, increase the value of our national currency and raise the people’s purchasing power.
Without such a strong economy, we will neither achieve permanent dignity nor permanent security.
We should provide these things.
This is the significance of the economy. Mar 21, 2017 The Islamic Republic will become stronger ... Everyone must come to realize that the Islamic Republic is strong.
[Indeed,] the Islamic Republic is mighty.
The reason for Islamic Republic's strength is due to several greedy and malicious governments from around the world that have been trying to destroy and annihilate the Islamic Republic--for 40 years--but they have failed at their own game! Consequently, the reason for the increased power of the Islamic Republic is because of its fight for survival over the past four decades.
Despite the existence of an unfavorable environment, unfavorable circumstances, and great enmities, the Islamic Republic thrives: which reveals that [the Islamic Republic] once a sapling has turned into a mighty tree today, which the enemy cannot shake or uproot.
Its structure is one of great strength; it will become even stronger.
You [Our enemies] should come to terms with this: the Islamic Republic will become stronger! Feb 18, 2018