Leader thanks Iranians for 'shining in election test', urges vigilance

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has thanked the Iranian nation for its "satisfactory shining in the great election test", saying the country must still remain alert against plots by the enemy which wants to harm Iran.

According to Press TV, the Leader said Sunday at a seminary lecture "In the face of the enemy's conspiracy to hit various pillars of the country, we all need to be vigilant in defense and ready for attack and counterattack."

Iranians went to the polls in the country's first general elections since the US imposed sanctions following the pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal and assassinated Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, the late Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). 

Ayatollah Khamenei touched on a massive campaign by foreign propaganda agencies to create a negative atmosphere before the elections in Iran. 

"This negative campaign started a few months ago and intensified closer to the elections, and in the last two days [up to the Election Day], their media outlets did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting under the pretext of a disease and a virus," the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei thanked God Almighty and deeply appreciated people's participation in the elections despite all the biased propaganda, saying: "God has decided to make this nation victorious."

The Leader said the hostility of the enemies with the Iranian nation is not limited to economic and cultural domains, nor the people's religious and revolutionary beliefs.

"They are even opposed to the elections of the Iranian nation because they do not want the phenomenon of people's turnout at ballot boxes in the name of religion and service to the Revolution to be institutionalized as a reality."

Elections in the Islamic system, Ayatollah Khamenei said, nullify the enemies' claim that religion is opposed to freedom and democracy. 

"Elections in the Islamic Republic show that religion is the perfect embodiment of an all-inclusive democracy, and 37 elections held in the span of 41 years reflect the Islamic system's unique commitment to democracy," he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei also called on Iranians to discern their enemies and remain vigilant against them. 

"In the face of thousands on the enemy front acting against Iran on various issues, millions of people must be ready on the Iranian nation's front to defend, strike and counter-attack in propaganda fields and all sorts of things possible for the nation."

ME