Need to Deliver on Pledges to Restore Public Trust

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressed the need for the fulfillment of promises given to the nation to restore public trust and boost people’s hope.
“If a pledge is made, it must be honored because promising and not delivering leads to a lack of trust,” he said in a meeting with President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Cabinet on Saturday, Leader.ir reported.
He added that dates should be set for the pledges, so that they can be pursued and fulfilled on time.
“If it is not possible to keep a promise due to problems, explain to people and apologize,” he said.
The Leader also called on the new government to adopt a people-oriented approach by showing modesty and sharing problems and their solutions with the public and calling for their consultation and practical assistance.
Quick apology to the people in the event of a mistake and presenting an honest and unexaggerated report of the issue is another quality of a popular government, according to Ayatollah Khamenei.
He advised the new administration to promote justice, taking enough care that their decisions do not harm deprived groups.
“The gap between deprived and affluent strata must be reduced and facilities must be distributed as fairly as possible,” he said.
The Leader also called for combating corruption as a supplementary to justice. He commended Raeisi’s acceptable performance in this regard as judiciary chief, but stressed that the main place for fighting corruption is the executive branch of power.
He urged the government to develop monitoring systems as best tools for controlling fraudulent activities.
Coherence inside the government and employment of young workforce were among the Leader’s other instructions for the government.
He also called on state officials to use the opinions of intellectuals outside of the government regardless of their political or factional orientation.   

Government’s Priorities

Ayatollah Khamenei outlined the priorities of the new government which has just been formed after the overwhelming majority of Raeisi’s Cabinet nominees won a vote of confidence from the parliament.
“The most important priorities of the country are first economy, and after that culture, media and science,” he said, adding that there is also the urgent issue of coronavirus pandemic and people’s health.
Essential measures to contain the outbreak include smart lockdowns and serious control over borders to prevent the arrival of new variants into the country, according to him.
Regarding the existing economic issues, the Leader said the statesmen should avoid seeking temporary solutions and look for fundamental ways out instead.
“Do not attach economic issues to sanctions lifting and make plans to address the problems on the assumption that sanctions will continue.”    
Ayatollah Khamenei underlined flaws in the cultural structure of the country, like consumerism and blind imitation of a luxurious lifestyle, calling for their correction using cultural platforms such as the cinema, audiovisual media, the press and publications.
Further dynamism in foreign policy was another important priority for the government, according to the Leader.
Promoting trade with the 15 neighbors and other countries of the word except a few is “essential and possible”, he said, stressing that diplomacy must not be linked and dependent on the nuclear issue, because that is a separate case.
Iran is holding negotiations with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that has been in bad shape since the United States’ former administration pulled out unilaterally and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran.
The Islamic Republic has also taken nuclear steps beyond the limits in the deal, but says will reverse them as soon as sanctions are completely and effectively lifted as per the deal.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the new government in the US is no different from the previous one, because the demands that it makes under the nuclear case is the same but in different words, which Iran would not accept as they are illogical.
He called on the government to study the shortcomings of previous administrations and take a lesson, including the need to avoid relying on foreigners.
Referring to the chaotic situation in Afghanistan following the US irresponsible exit, the Leader said Iran supports the Afghan nation alone.
“We are on the side of the Afghan nation because governments come and go as in the past,” he said, adding that Iran’s relations with governments depends on their own policies toward Iran.