Speaking on Tuesday morning while visiting the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (RA) and renewing allegiance with the ideals of the Imam and the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi honoured the memory of martyrs, especially Martyr Rajai and Martyr Bahonar, and said, “The presence of members of the government on the first day of the government week in the mausoleum of our noble Imam has this message that the government considers the covenant with Imam Khomeini (RA) as a covenant with all good things and values”.

The President stated that Imam Khomeini (RA) had his heart attached to God, and added, “The whole existence of Imam Khomeini (RA) was devoted to serving the people, and therefore, the covenant with him is the covenant with all the good values”.

Referring to the interpretation of Imam Reza (AS) that there is nothing like service to the people that provides a basis for closeness to God Almighty, and today this field exists for us, Dr Raisi stated, “Today on this earth, many people claim to serve the people. Even if you ask those who are living in a foreign country ‘what are you doing here’, they say that they came to serve the people, but the truth is that what these people are doing is a self-interested service”.

The President continued, “These people serve for their own benefit and if they are asked, they say that they are looking for their own benefit. This is a materialistic view of service. They say that we don’t do anything and we don’t take a step except for the benefit of ourselves, our party and our movement”.

Ayatollah Raisi described another type of service to be service out of altruism, which is done out of compassion, and clarified, “There are many people who serve out of altruism in the world. This type of service is also derived from a humanistic and human-centred point of view”.

The President stated that the type of service that the Imam Khomeini (RA) taught us is service to God, and noted, “In this regard, for all the actions that are taken and the steps that are taken, one should not be jealous of anyone, because this type of service should only be done for God to find value. This important matter was taught by Imam Khomeini to the people and statesmen of Islamic Iran”.

Dr Raisi emphasised that this view of the Imam Khomeini (RA) was not ceremonial, and said, “Imam Khomeini (RA) believed in the people in the light of belief in God and considered gaining their satisfaction as the basis of nearness to the Almighty God. Based on this, the Popular Administration considers the priority of its work to pay attention to the people, believe in the people and run the country by the people, and it truly believes in trusting the people, especially the youth, and considers it to be the way of Imam Khomeini (RA)”.

Pointing out that the Imam Khomeini (RA) trusted the people and the youth in the Sacred Defence, the President added, “His trust in the people and the youth led to the victory of the revolution and the stabilisation of the revolution and the Islamic system, so we should pay practical attention to Imam Khomeini, the people and youth at the top of our work”.

Ayatollah Raisi called another important point in the life and teachings of the Imam Khomeini (RA) to be the implementation of justice and stated, “The Popular Administration considers the covenant with Imam Khomeini to be very important for the implementation of this principle”.

The President listed this important point as the difference between Imam Khomeini (RA) and some other theologians and clarified, “The difference between Imam Khomeini (RA) was that he believed that contemporary man should practice religion in the context of society, and the efforts of the government and statesmen should be based on this”.

Dr Raisi stated that our second covenant with Imam Khomeini (RA) is that, like him, we consider religion to be a saviour and happiness-creating prescription for human society, which should be implemented and operational in society.

Pointing out that a figure like Haj Qasem Soleimani is also moving in this direction and receiving the attention of the people, the President said, “This is why, according to the interpretation of the Supreme Leader, Martyr Soleimani is considered a school”.

Ayatollah Raisi considered the implementation of justice to be an important and pivotal point and added, “In his teachings and books, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini always emphasised that justice can be implemented”.

The President stated, “Imam Khomeini (RA) always emphasised that it is justice-loving people who can execute justice and therefore always emphasised on choosing people who have excellent human qualities and especially the quality of justice”.

Emphasising that today, if we want to follow the line of the Imam Khomeini (RA), the interpreter of this line is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the President clarified, “Imam Khomeini (RA) considered the implementation of justice as a principle, and therefore, we all should pay attention to a just approach”.

Expressing his hope that during the government week, attention to God, people and attention to the very important principle of justice will be taken into consideration and attention and on the agenda of all statesmen.

If a step is taken in this direction, we have no doubt that the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (RA) and the pure souls of the martyrs will help us to succeed in this path, and this is what increases people’s satisfaction and trust”.

Ayatollah Raisi considered the trust of the people as a great asset and saying that we are grateful to God Almighty for the trust of the people here next to the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (RA) and said, “The trust of the people in the government is one of the blessings of God and a great asset that should always be guarded and increase day by day”.

The President said that he appreciates the hard work and efforts of all the statesmen and his colleagues in the executive branch during the government week, and expressed hope that this week the performance of the government will be explained to the people and the elites, and the executives will also receive the views and points of the elites and the suggestions of the experts and benefit from critics’ criticisms”.

Dr Raisi emphasised that the government considers the views of others, especially the elites, as a blessing for itself, and stated, “We always welcome the views and opinions of others because we believe that the government is moving like a ship that if it turns out that there is a defect in it, it must be compensated so that it does not disturb the movement”.

In the end, the President thanked all those involved in organising this ceremony and also Imam Khomeini’s (RA) grandson.