Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran will Advance if World Sees Nation’s Presence in Decisive Scenes

He further stated: “Strong and fervent elections constitute one of the pillars of running the country properly,” noting that “If we can show the world that the nation is present in the country’s critical and decisive scenes, we have saved and moved the country forward.”

Imam Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting on Wednesday with a visiting group of the families of Iranian martyrs as well as first-time voters at the country’s elections for Iranian Parliament [Majlis] and the Assembly of Experts on March 1.

Pointing to some people’s indifference to the vote, Ima Khamenei stressed, “I am not accusing anyone, but I remind all that we should look at the elections from the perspective of national interests, not from the viewpoints of factions and groups.”

The Leader further mentioned: “Anyone who loves Iran, their nation and security should know that if the elections are poorly held, no one will benefit and everyone will be hurt.”

Imam Khamenei stressed that the presence of Iranian voters at the polls bespeaks “national power,” noting that the country’s adversaries are closely watching the event.

“National power supports national security. If the enemy feels that you are not capable, [and] the Iranian nation has no power, they will threaten your security in every way,” the Leader said.

He added that, “National security is all that matters. If there is no security, there remains nothing [else]. The enemy is opposed to our national power. Therefore, they oppose everything that is a manifestation of national power, including elections.”