Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution met this morning with the chairman and members of the Assembly of Experts. Speaking at the meeting, His Eminence praised the people of Iran for their large turnout in the parliamentary elections and added that every vote in the parliamentary elections was a vote for the Islamic Republic.

"Although the elections which were held on Friday were parliamentary elections, every vote by the people was in fact a vote for the Islamic system. The presence of the vast majority of the people at the polling stations and the large turnout - which was one of the highest rates over the past 33 years - showed that the people fully trust the Islamic system."

Ayatollah Khamenei added: "In the elections that were held on the 12th of Esfand and in the arena of confronting the camp of the enemies, the people brought in their power which originates from their religious faith and insight. And with this massive movement, they foiled the plots that the enemies had been designing for months in order to minimize voter turnout."

He added: "With their presence on the scene and with their insight and steadfastness, the people of Iran prepared the ground for divine blessings and it is necessary to thank God for this."

Referring to the paradigm of religious democracy and the position of elections in this paradigm, His Eminence reiterated: "Elections are an important pillar of the system, and religious democracy is founded on elections. Therefore, anybody who believes in the Islamic system considers participating in the elections as his duty even if he has objections to certain issues."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: "In fact, all those who participated in the elections fulfilled an obligatory duty and they also showed their accurate understanding. This is because in a religious democracy, a person cannot refuse to take part in the elections under the pretext that he has certain criticisms."

Elsewhere in his statements, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the outcomes of the recent parliamentary elections and stressed: "This election acted like a slap and awakened certain people who were cherishing illusions about the Islamic Republic and the people. It opened their eyes to the truth."

His Eminence referred to the recent statements by the US President and stated: "The US President has said that they are not thinking about going to war with Iran. This statement is a good and wise statement. It shows that the illusion has been dispelled. But he has also said that they will bring the people of Iran to their knees by imposing sanctions, which shows that the illusion has not been fully dispelled in this regard."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated: "The persistence of this illusion will harm US government officials and it will ruin their calculations because the camp of our enemies, particularly America, has been trying since 33 years ago to separate the people from the Islamic system by imposing sanctions on the Iranian nation and particularly by intensifying the sanctions over the past year. But everybody saw the commitment of the people to the Islamic system on the 12th of Esfand."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the election also proved that the people trust the Islamic Republic, further adding: "After the controversial elections of the year 1388, certain people concluded that the people would lose their trust in the Islamic Republic, but the recent election was a decisive and clear response to this wrong conclusion."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that in an Islamic democracy everything is based on the votes of the people. "Islam is the main component and the spirit of religious democracy and there must be no deviation from Islam."

He added: "The experience we have gained over the past 33 years has shown that Islam can bring about dignity and honor for a nation. It can specify good goals and it can also prepare the way for achieving these goals. It can give rise to a scientific movement. It can give rise to a technological and industrial movement. It can give rise to a religious and ethical movement. It can make a nation feel proud in front of other nations."

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the nature of religious democracy and added that in a religious democracy, democracy originates from Islam. "It is wrong to think that democracy has been adopted from the west. This is because although the form of democracy is the same in the Islamic Republic and in western systems, the origin is different."

His Eminence stressed that a religious democracy respects the votes of the people and added: "In a religious democracy, the frameworks are completely different from the frameworks of western democracy because the frameworks of western democracy are oppressive."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that one example of this oppression is that it is illegal to deny the Holocaust in the west while nobody is allowed to protest about the deliberate insults against the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.). He added that another example is that women are not allowed to wear hijab to work.After casting his ballot early Friday, Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the 9th parliamentary elections as extremely important and stressed: "The higher the turnout is and the more enthusiastic the people are, the better it is for the future, prestige and security of the Iranian nation."

His Eminence said that voting is a right and an obligation for the people and added that elections have always been important for the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. "Because the elections play a determining role and reflect the realities of Iran, they carry certain messages for our friends and our enemies."

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the firm determination and steadfastness of the Iranian nation over the past 33 years and added: "In the other revolutions, the people became tired and disappointed after a few years and they changed their path, but today's elections show the world that the Iranian nation is continuing its glorious path in a determined and dynamic way after the passage of 33 years since the Revolution."

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the uproar caused by the arrogant powers against the Islamic Republic of Iran and added: "The global bullies - who have failed in many issues and have been slapped across the face - are trying to cover up their failures by causing uproar about the verbal threats and the sanctions against the Iranian nation. Therefore, this year's parliamentary elections are more important and the Iranian nation can express its positions in the best possible way with a high turnout in the elections."