Speaking while visiting the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (R) and renewing allegiance with the ideals of the Imam and the Islamic Revolution, President Raisi honored 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 (R) 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, 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”.

Raisi described another type of service to be served 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-centered point of view”.

The President stated that the type of service that 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”.

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”.

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 emphasized that justice can be implemented”.

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

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

Raisi considered the trust of the people as a great asset and said that we are grateful to God Almighty for the trust of the people here next to the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (R) 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”.

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In a meeting with Friday prayer leaders across the country on Wednesday morning, Ayatollah Khamenei  called the Friday prayers a very important link and an exceptional duty in the chain of the soft power of the Islamic system and emphasized: “The Friday prayer leader is the spokesperson of the Islamic Revolution and one of his basic duties is to reproduce epistemological concepts and revolutionary foundations, to answer doubts in the language of the day and to explain them in a reasoned way, and to treat everyone in a paternal way.”

At the beginning of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei, by honoring the days belonging to the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), expressed the importance of Friday prayer and pointed to its exceptional place among religious duties, saying: “The link between paying attention to God and the presence and gathering of people”, “the remembrance of God in a collective form and the descent of its blessings on the public, continuing without halt in the Friday prayer every week, an important base for raising various issues of the society, including intellectual issues, social services, public cooperation and preparations and military mobilization and mixing spirituality with politics are among the most important features of Friday prayer, which has turned it into a huge capacity and an extraordinary opportunity.”

The Leader noted: “Friday prayer with such features is an important link in the detailed and long chain of soft power of the Islamic system.”

He then raised the question, “Have we been able to place the Friday prayer in its lofty and worthy position in the Islamic Republic?”

He also said: “It seems that we have had shortcomings that we must strive to eliminate, and in the meantime, some issues are the responsibility of the Friday prayers leaders themselves, and some are the responsibility of the general management of the Friday prayers leaders.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned two issues regarding the Friday prayer leaders: One is the character and way of life of the Friday prayer leaders and the second one is the content of the Friday prayer sermons.

About the character and method of the Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Just as the Friday prayer leader enjoins piety in their Friday prayer sermons, they should also do their best in embracing piety and practicing it, because if it is otherwise, will give the opposite result.”

The Leader considered “fatherly behavior towards everyone” as one of the requirements of Friday prayer leader’s behavior and character, adding: “There are different classes and tastes in Friday prayer, a Friday prayer leader’s behavior should be the same as a father’s behavior with his children, and he should seat everyone at the table of spirituality and religion.”

He emphasized: “We are in favor of justice and we have raised its flag, but the realization of justice without helping the deprived and oppressed class has no meaning.”

The Leader of the Revolution called the great work of the Islamic Republic of Iran invalidating the central point of the identity of the western civilization, i.e. “separation of religion from politics,” and added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran not only preserved itself with the slogan of religion, but also it challenged the long-term effort of the Westerners to depict that religion and politics are incompatible with the progress of Iran, so the mafia of Western powers, headed by the Israeli regime and its capitalists, showcased by the U.S., are angry about this brilliant truth, and are constantly planning to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Referring to the successes and achievements gained by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Leader stressed that the great work of the Revolution is invalidating the separation of the religion and politics principle as Western civilization’s central identity point.

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The meeting of the Cabinet’s Economic Coordination Board was held on Sunday night, chaired by President Raisi, in which the President tasked the government’s economic team to submit their proposed plans regarding consumption pattern and social justice so that a decision can be made as soon as possible.

In this meeting, the issue of providing sustainable energy for Iran’s economy with two axes of rationalizing energy consumption and emphasizing social justice and supporting the deprived was on the agenda.

Meanwhile on Sunday and before the speech of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the President called the existence of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) the greatest blessing and the peak of change for humanity and said, “Our change-seeking Imam [Khomeini] followed the path of the Prophet (PBUH) and relied on God and people for uprising, and today, the document of the Second Step of the Revolution is a guide to change in all parts of the country and a response to the needs of the people”.

In another part of his speech, Raisi mentioned the issue of coronavirus and the supply of basic goods as the two main concerns at the beginning of the government’s term of office and said, “Today, with large-scale vaccination, a big step has been taken to protect public health, and concerns in this regard have been eliminated with the supply of essentials”.

Describing broad interaction with the world, especially its neighbors, as Iran’s foreign policy, he said, “We are committed to what we have promised, but the United States and the Europeans are in a crisis of decision-making”.

On Sunday evening and Emphasizing the need to support championship and public sports in the country, the President said, “Sports should be promoted to a higher position, and this is undoubtedly possible with the efforts of officials and athletes.”

Speaking in the ceremony of awarding the Pahlevan Armband of Year 1400 and praising the medal winners of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Raisi congratulated the birthday of the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS), saying, “Championship sports is accompanied with bravery and attention to the weak and with high concepts of worship and trust in God, and everyone should help to promote it”.

Pointing out that Iran has capacities and talented young people in the field of championship sports, the President said, “Apart from wrestling, attention should also be paid to championship and professional sports, and the young and athletes of the country can be famous in this field in the world with their steely efforts”.

Raisi said that paying attention to sports can guarantee the health of men and women and prevent many social harms, adding, “Supporting the promotion of sports can bring vitality to the society”.

He added, “In the matter of enjoining the good and forbidding the bad, one of the most important things is inviting to sports, and we must do something to pay serious attention to sports in all families, organizations and departments”.

Referring to the attention of our country’s athletes to religious values and Islamic ethics, the President said, “Many of the heroes and heroines of Iran who win medals in the world arena immediately pray to God and present their medals to the martyrs and Imams”.

At the end of the ceremony, Ayatollah Raisi awarded the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medallists.

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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.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

TEHRAN – Judiciary Chief has ordered the serious pursuit of financial corruption suspects who have fled the country, warning that they will not be spared prosecution no matter where they have run to.

Ebrahim Raisi served Attorney General Mohammad Ja’far Montazeri and the Judiciary’s Deputy for International Affairs Ali Baqeri with the directive on Monday, ordering diligent efforts to have those on the run brought to justice, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The directive advised “those who are subject to accusations to surrender themselves to justice, and know this that they will not be able to escape the grasp of justice.”

The order came as some of those suspected by Iranian authorities of involvement in corruption cases have reportedly fled to Western countries such as Canada. Pictures have emerged apparently showing the suspects going about their daily affairs in those countries, outraging authorities and the public alike.

Raisi asked how come some of the countries that lay claim to fighting organized corruption and money laundering have come to provide refuge to criminals and corruption suspects.

He called the trend one of the examples of “injustice and oppression against humanity.”

He also urged the West to put an end to injustice, reiterating that suppression of people is futile. Raisi also blasted the international communities for their silence against suppressing the protests in the U.S. and some European states, noting that it is strange that those who claim they are flag-bearers of human rights and cry foul for transfer of a prisoner from one prison to another prison have remained silent on the murder of George Floyd and arrests of thousands in the U.S.

He reiterated that cry for justice is heralded in any part of the world and it is paving the ground for a universal movement against tyranny and injustice and it can be a beginning for the collapse of the arrogance.

Raisi added the Supreme Leader is the flag-bearer of justice-seeking and he follows the late Imam Khomeini’s path.

He also pointed to the Judiciary’s measures to stop corruption and offences in its body, adding that the number of offences in the Judiciary has dropped to less than one percent as the Judiciary is serious in fighting any corruption and offence in its body to gain people’s trust.

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“This symbol shows the important role of university and students in knowing the needs and fulfilling them,” he said during a speech at a ceremony held to mark that the National Student Day at Tehran University.

Student Day marks the anniversary of the murder of three students at the University of Tehran on December 7, 1953 (known as Azar 16 in the Iranian calendar) by police in the Pahlavi era. Every year there are local gatherings at many universities organized by students to commemorate the day.

The top judge went on to say that students should be concerned about political and social issues in the country.

He added that the students’ demands from the officials should be considered as a kind of “wealth” and “blessing”.

“Students’ demands should never be considered a problem.”

Elsewhere, Raisi said that all officials are duty-bound to practice justice. “Justice should be a common discourse at all levels of the system.”

He also said that corruption runs contrary to justice and is unacceptable in an Islamic society, noting the Judiciary is duty-bound to fight corruption and fulfill its duty.

‘Corruption-breeding structures should be eliminated’ 

The senior judge said structural reform needed to prevent corruption.

“Corruption-breeding structures should be eliminated,” he pointed out.

The Judiciary chief also said privatization in some cases is synonymous with the pillage of public property.

‘Last arrested student freed’

Raisi also said the last students arrested in the recent unrest that followed an increase in gasoline price has been freed.

Students also asked the Judiciary chief some questions, calling on him to seriously counter those who commit financial corruption.

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In a nine-page statement, the department said on Tuesday that “the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that the officers who arrested Gray “willfully violated” his civil rights.

“Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed without prosecution,” the statement concluded.

Gray died of severe spinal injuries on April 19, 2015, a week after he was arrested and detained by police. The 25-year-old was handcuffed and shackled in the back of a police van, but he was not restrained by a seat belt. During the transport, he suffered a broken neck and lost consciousness.

Prosecutors charged the six police officers, including a lieutenant and a sergeant, with multiple counts ranging from second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter to reckless endangerment in connection with the incident.

The killing set off violent protests by angry residents who have long complained about police brutality in the predominantly black city.

The DOJ’s decision was not entirely unexpected as local authorities had previously acquitted three of the officers involved in Gray’s death while charges were dropped against the others.

Defense attorneys representing the officers expressed relief on Tuesday that their clients will not be held criminally responsible in the case.

“These cases were never criminal and should never have been charged as such,” said Michael Belsky, one of the attorneys.

Five of the officers still face internal disciplinary hearings scheduled for the end of next month.

Gray’s death prompted the Justice Department to launch an investigation into allegations of police misconduct and discriminatory practices in Baltimore.

The department released its findings last year, detailing widespread patterns of abuse and misconduct within the troubled Baltimore Police Department.

The deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police over the past years have sparked nationwide protests under the banner of Black Lives Matter movement.

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