The following is the full text of the speech delivered on June 26, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with judiciary officials. The meeting was held on the occasion of the bombing on the 7th of Tir 1360, which led to the martyrdom of Shahid Beheshti and 72 of his companions.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I welcome and congratulate all you dear brothers and sisters. I hope Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings, mercy and guidance on all Iranian people by the blessedness of this holy month and the great Imam whose birthday anniversary falls on one of these days, namely the Imam of the Age (my our souls be sacrificed for his sake).

The 7th of Tir is an outstanding and important occasion. On the anniversary of this occasion, the judiciary is honored and the people learn about the efforts of the esteemed officials of this branch of government, which is good and appropriate. However, the incident that happened on the 7th of Tir is one that is related to the fate of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic. It determined the destiny of the Islamic Republic. Those who were martyred in that incident were among the best and most outstanding elements of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution whose names will never be forgotten - particularly, outstanding and spiritual personalities such as Shahid Beheshti (may God bestow paradise on him) and certain other people. But despite all these things, the incident revealed the true nature of munafeqeen in the country as well as their supporters, namely the elements of the arrogant powers. For a newly established political system, removing the mask of its enemies is not a small issue. Members of munafeqeen, who claimed to be followers of God, the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), Islam and Nahjul Balaghah, were disgraced by this incident. They revealed to what extent they were opposed to the pillars of the Islamic Republic, to reasonable and outstanding personalities, to great religious scholars and to sincere and competent officials of the country. Their masks were removed.

If the few events such as the 7th of Tir had not happened and we had not lost those valuable assets, definitely the Iranian nation would not have been able to remove the mask from the face of munafeqeen and they would have been able to penetrate again. "They would certainly have hurried about among you seeking (to sow) dissension among you." [The Holy Quran, 9: 47] They would have been able to build a reasonable image of themselves. This incident exposed the evil nature of munafeqeen. The main enemies of Islam - namely, the arrogant powers and Zionists - supported them and for this reason, their true nature was revealed. It is true that the incident cost us certain valuable assets, but the people whose blood was shed for an unjust cause brought about certain great achievements for the Iranian nation, just like all others who were martyred: this is the nature of martyrdom. Being killed in the way of God has natural effects, which bring about certain outcomes for the Islamic Ummah, for Muslim nations and for the history of Islam. We will never forget the names and memory of these martyrs. We will never forget the incident that happened on the 7th of Tir. The value of those selfless people, who had gathered there for the sake of God and were unjustly and violently attacked, will be remembered by Allah the Exalted and the Iranian nation.

Now let me say a few things about the judiciary. First of all, I would like to thank the esteemed head of the judiciary. The statements he made today were very informative and valuable, and behind these statements, there are valuable actions and efforts. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the head of the judiciary, senior officials of this branch of government and the officials, esteemed judges and employees who work for it. What has been done is very valuable and will improve the efficiency of the judiciary.

What I am trying to say is that as far as the judiciary branch of government is concerned, there are two lofty goals that should always be kept in mind. Every action should be in line with these two goals. If these two goals are achieved, then our Islamic society will enjoy the outcomes. One of those goals is health of the judiciary and the other goal is its efficiency. All efforts should be focused on turning this branch of government into a completely efficient and healthy organization. If these goals are achieved, the people will enjoy the outcomes. What are the outcomes? A sense of satisfaction and a sense of security thanks to the presence of the judiciary. This is necessary for a country and a society. The reason why judicial issues and eliminating hostilities have been so strongly stressed in Islam, in Islamic texts, in the Holy Quran and in Islamic narrations is that an Islamic society should have a sense of satisfaction, that every oppressed person should be able to make it to the secure shore of the judiciary, that oppression should be prevented. This is necessary.

As I have pointed out on many occasions and as was pointed out today by the esteemed head of the judiciary, it is necessary to constantly supervise the output and the progress of different affairs. All the actions and measures that were mentioned are necessary. Results will be produced only when these things are followed up and caution is exercised every step of the way so that we can achieve the desired result. If this happens, by Allah's favor the judiciary will become what Islam and the Holy Quran have determined for this efficient organization in our society.

Of course, there are certain shortcomings. It was correctly pointed out that in spite of all the measures that have been adopted and all the positive efforts that have been made, there is still a distance between the existing conditions and the favorable conditions that have been specified by Islam and Islamic rules. This is easier said than done. It is really difficult to follow these paths step by step and to safeguard these characteristics. However, we need to ask Allah the Exalted for assistance. This distance should be covered. Of course, we do not expect to cover this distance in two, five years, but we need to move towards bridging the gaps. This is what I am trying to say.

All officials of the judiciary who serve at different levels should feel responsible to help the judiciary achieve the two characteristics that I mentioned, namely health and efficiency. Of course, the gaps are clear to the esteemed gentlemen in the judiciary. In the reports that they prepare, they show that they are aware of the gaps. Also, in my meetings with the officials, I feel that our judiciary officials are aware of the existing gaps and shortcomings. Sometimes certain points come to my mind and I discuss them with the esteemed head of the judiciary and certain other judiciary officials. I bring these points to their attention. In any case, the gaps are clear. It is necessary to focus our efforts on eliminating these gaps and we must not lose hope. We need to move things forward and help the judiciary improve on a daily basis.

Of course, there is a point that should be kept in mind: making progress and achieving the goals is only possible through carrying out the plans. Goals can be achieved through planning. Fortunately, the third development plan has been approved and announced for implementation. As was pointed out, the judiciary is pushing ahead with the plan. There should be no negligence in the case of implementing this plan. If this happens, by Allah's favor the conditions of the judiciary will improve on a daily basis.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the great, insightful and vigilant Iranian nation for the great achievement that it made at this important stage, namely in the elections. We cannot afford to divert our attention and analyses away from this important and essential issue. Since around a year earlier, the opponents and enemies of the Islamic Republic were making plans, spending money, proposing ideas, creating uproar, doing different things and exerting pressure in order to shape the event the way they wanted: they wanted to either prevent the election from being held and encourage the people to treat it with indifference and lack of enthusiasm, or even create certain excuses for the aftermath of the election so that they could achieve their evil objectives in the country. They had planned all of these things. Not all of the things I am saying are based on secret reports: many of them are obvious. Anybody who has followed up and observed the actions and behavior of the camp of the Islamic Republic's enemies over the past year, would realize what plans these people had prepared.

What happened was the exact opposite of what they wanted. Is this insignificant? Is this a small event that can be whitewashed and brushed aside through flimsy analyses? No, the Iranian nation showed such greatness. The Iranian nation made a great and exceptional achievement. It exhibited skill in the face of the hostility and malevolence of its international enemies. Why do they hide this? Why would we not repeat this many times?

There are a few essential points regarding this election. Of course, there are many points that can be discussed, but I will discuss only two, three points. One point is the presence of the people. Since a long time earlier, they had been creating doubts and fallacies about the health of the election, about the officials in charge of it and about the observers. They had been saying many things in order to discourage the people and create doubts with the aim of preventing the people from taking part in the election. However, the people did the exact opposite of what they wanted. What happened was so great that even the propaganda machines of the enemy could not deny and ignore it. The day on which the election was held, the enemy's media announced during the first few hours of the election that the turnout was large, that the people were enthusiastic, that everybody wanted to vote, that the people were present from early morning. This was a very important event. Therefore, the first issue is the presence of the people, which had an important meaning.

The meaning of the presence of the people was that they are interested in the destiny of the country, that they are interested in the Islamic Republic which relies on elections as one of its pillars, that they trust the organizations in charge of holding our elections - both the ones that hold the elections and the ones that supervise them - and that they are hopeful about the constant progressive movement of the country. This trust is a very important point. Besides the people's vigilance and insight, this trust is also very important. What is interesting is that I told our dear people that they love their government and they would go to the polling stations and vote, but that in case there is anybody who does not like the Islamic Republic yet is concerned about the country and our national interests, he too should take part in the election. After all, some people must fall into this category and they decided to vote. What does this show? It shows that even those who do not support the Islamic Republic trust it. Even those people know that the Islamic Republic is capable of safeguarding our national interests and our national pride. The problem with the governments in different countries is that they are not able to defend their people, their interests and their dignity in the face of global transgressions and greedy international powers. The Islamic Republic is standing firm against the enemies like a lion and it is defending the interests of the Iranian nation. This was confirmed even by those voters who did not believe in the Islamic Republic. They showed that there is widespread trust in the Islamic Republic. This is another point, which is very important.

Another point which is often ignored is that this time both the presidential and the city and village councils elections were held on the same day. In many countries, presidential elections are accompanied by conflicts, disputes, fights and sometimes bloodshed. In terms of the possibility of disputes, city and village councils elections in remote areas are even more sensitive than presidential elections. There is a possibility that in a particular village or small town there may be disputes and conflicts between two tribes, between different parts of a village, between different groups of people who live in that village or small town. In our vast country and in the tens of thousands of cities and villages across the country, not even one single incident took place which was indicative of a lack of security in the country. No such incident was reported. Is this insignificant? "There are two blessings which are little appreciated: health and security." Security is among the most essential needs of a nation. If there is security, there will be progress. If there is security, science will progress, the economy will blossom and the country will be developed. This widespread security in the country revealed itself in this election. The truth that was expressed through the elections could not have been expressed so clearly through any amount of work by our security organizations. This election showed that thanks to the vigilance of government officials and cooperation of the people, security has been completely established in different parts of our vast country. This is another point.

Another point which I believe stands out about this election and for which one should be thankful to God is that after the election the candidates submitted to the law and reacted in a noble way. This is a very important point. They held brotherly and friendly meetings with the president-elect and they expressed their congratulations and happiness. I deem it necessary to thank these gentlemen. This is what makes the people happy. This is what causes the people to feel that they have made an achievement. If they had acted in a rebellious and ignoble way, if they had created a dispute under a particular pretext - which is possible under all circumstances - they would have ruined the joy for the people.

This is why we have repeatedly complained about the events that happened in the year 1388. In a great and glorious election, the people feel victorious, but then one, two, four people ruin the joy for the people while there is a legal course of action. This was what happened in that year. They ruined the joy for the people after the election. However, the people were thankfully made happy in this year's election. One must behave in a legal way. This is why we stressed so much that the law must be observed, and this is the result. When the law is observed, the people feel happy. This must forever remain a lesson for us. In the case of such events, the people observe and evaluate political personalities. The people start to like a political personality who reacts in a noble and legal way. Those who ignore the law and divert from it under different pretexts are also identified by the people: they develop a negative attitude towards such people. This is another essential point.

In any case, the election was a truly outstanding and important event. And it was divine grace that guided the hearts of our people and caused massive numbers of people to enter the arena and give rise to this valor. The election was truly an instance of valor. The people gave rise to political valor, which was the wish of benevolent individuals.

And now everybody should help the person who has been elected by the people. Different organizations should help him. This is my advice. Brothers and sisters, managing the affairs of the country is a difficult task. One may stand aside and easily find fault from a distance. I have repeatedly mentioned this analogy: a person sitting on the edge of a swimming pool may find it easy to find fault with another person who is diving into the water from a diving board above the pool. He may easily say that he bent his leg or arm when he should not have and that he did not perform well. It is easy to find fault. But if we ourselves were to climb up onto the diving board and tried to make a dive, we would realize that we do not have the courage. It is easy to find fault and protest. I am not saying that nobody should find fault, make criticisms and protest. On the contrary, constructive criticisms are definitely beneficial for moving things forward in the country. However, we should pay attention to the fact that executive work is difficult. The people chose their president and everybody should help him. Also, we should not make too many demands and we should not act and judge in a hasty way: by Allah's favor, important affairs of the country will be taken care of in this way.

I have certain things to say about the statements that were made on TV by the esteemed candidates. I am referring to the televised debates before the election. There is not enough time to go into detail in this meeting, but this is one of things that I should discuss. Yes, there are certain weaknesses, but we should see the strengths as well. The incumbent administration enjoys many strengths although it may suffer from certain weaknesses. Which one of us does not suffer from weaknesses in our work? It is necessary to see the strengths as well. Important things have been done in the country. The services that have been rendered, the infrastructure-related work has been done, the development projects that have been carried out - these things must not be ignored. The esteemed candidates often ignored these things in their election campaigns over the two, three weeks leading to the presidential election. It would have been very good if they had acknowledged the efforts that have been made and the work that has been done when discussing economic issues, rising prices and inflation - which are of course true. This attitude is not fair. One should see both the positive points and the negative points. Of course, it goes without saying that a person who is trying to present his capabilities to the people only sees the existing problems and points them out to the people, and nothing is wrong with this. However, it is wrong to adopt an absolutist approach in this regard. It is necessary to point out the positive points as well as the negative points.

Now I would like to make a point about the nuclear issue. In future, I may discuss the issue in detail if necessary. In my speech on the first day of the year, I said that the opposing camp is mainly composed of a few domineering and greedy countries which are led by America and are incited mainly by the Zionists and which falsely refer to themselves as the international community. The problem with them is that they do not want Iran's nuclear issue to be resolved. If it had not been for their stubbornness, the nuclear issue would have been easily resolved. On many occasions, we came very close to a solution. They signed the agreements. The International Atomic Energy Agency signed the agreements. It admitted that the problems had been eliminated. The documents exist. These things cannot be denied. Well, the issue should have ended. The nuclear file should have been closed. But the Americans immediately created a new problem. They do not want the nuclear issue to end. There are many examples in this regard. Resolving the nuclear issue with the Islamic Republic is an easy and smooth matter due to the nature of the Islamic Republic. However, when the other side does not want this issue to be resolved, the conditions would be no better than they are.

Therefore, they should pay attention to this point. In the case of the nuclear issue, the Islamic Republic has acted in a legal and transparent way and it has also been reasonable and logical. However, they believe that the nuclear issue is a good excuse to pressure the Islamic Republic. Even if the nuclear issue were resolved, they would create another issue to pressure the Islamic Republic.

The goal is to threaten. The goal is to pressure. The goal is to make us tired. They themselves announced that their goal is to change the political system and the political mechanisms. Of course, in the statements they make in private meetings or in the letters that they sometimes write, they say that they are not after a regime change. However, they clearly show the opposite in their statements and actions. They are hostile towards a nation that refuses to surrender to their rule, a nation that refuses to act the way they want, a nation whose actions are against their will. Similarly, if governments submit to them and act in an obedient way, they gain their approval. Neither democracy, nor human rights, nor the nuclear issue are important to them. The issue is that the Islamic Republic is standing on its own feet, is relying on its own power, is standing firm by relying on Allah the Exalted and is making progress in different areas. They do not like this, and so be it. Of course, the experience of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation has shown that on this path it is the Iranian nation that will be victorious and that it is the Iranian nation that will slap its enemies across the face.

The path of the Islamic Republic is the path of God. Its goals are divine goals. Its source of support is divine willpower. Such a path will never lead to a dead end. Everybody should know this. Everybody should be confident that by Allah's favor, we will never reach a dead end on our path. I hope that thanks to government officials' innovation, determined efforts and reliance on God, the Iranian nation continues making progress on a daily basis. I hope that the entire Iranian nation benefits from the prayers of the Imam of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for his sake) and that the immaculate souls of our Imam (r.a.) and the pure souls of our martyrs are satisfied with all of us.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings