The Anti-Christ

TEHRAN—Addressing students virtually on Tuesday, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advised the nation to participate in the June presidential elections enthusiastically to boost confidence of the next administration.

On his belief regarding the future administration, the Leader said in his opinion it is possible to use the faithful and revolutionary youth in different sectors of the administration “provided that a government comes to power whose officials have confidence in the youth, as Imam (Khomeini) believed in the youth and pushed the work forward.”

On the misunderstandings caused by few media outlets over his remarks on “young, revolutionary government”, Ayatollah Khamenei said that he meant a government consisting of experienced experts and revolutionary youth.

“If such a government comes to power, the problems will be solved in a reasonable time,” he noted.

“Today, the country has much better conditions in terms of cultivating a faithful, revolutionary, professional and confident manpower than in the first decade of the revolution,” he pointed out.

The Leader noted that the purpose of development is to maintain and strengthen the basic principles of the revolution by innovating new methods.

Referring to the use of the concept of development in Western politics and those who are mainly inclined to the West in Iran, he said, “Going back to the pre-Revolution era is reactionary, so one must be careful in the sense of the word development.”

The Leader stated that development should help Iran find its best place in the world, adding it means “strengthening the principles of the Islamic Revolution and paving the way to vital ideals, such as justice, independence, freedom, and the Islamization of the society.”

He suggested that the best way to achieve development is to use the talent and courage of the youth. “The youth has all the requirements of a movement towards development, which are new thinking, creativity, strength and courage to act.”

He expressed hope that these evolutionary youths be identified and employed.

“Today, the religious and revolutionary elites of the country have a lot of experience and can pave the way for change by producing ideas and initiatives, as well as dealing correctly with new issues such as cyberspace,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei concluded the discussion of development as follows:

“First, development is necessary; second, development is possible; and third, the way to develop is to form a government that believes in change and the transformative element, the young and revolutionary believer.”

At the beginning of his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called the meeting very productive and considered the publication of students’ views useful for public opinion.

Also, nine students representing nine student initiatives expressed their critical and supportive views on broad aspects of the revolution, government, and administration.