Khamenei and the Heavy Costs of Truth and Honesty

Ayatollah Khamenei has always defended the need to pay costs for goals, ideals, and plans. His claim has been that without incurring costs, these cannot be achieved. To support this claim, consider the following three examples: a- On 11/02/1387 (April 30, 2008), regarding the costs of war, terrorism, and sanctions, he said: "The cost that the Iranian nation paid was eight years of imposed war; this was the cost of the independence-seeking, freedom-seeking, and dignity-seeking of the Iranian nation; the Iranian nation paid it without flinching. They endured eight years of war because this was the cost of achieving the independence of the nation, national power, and national pride. The victims of the blind terrorism of the 1980s in this country were another cost that the Iranian nation paid. From the beginning of the revolution until today, the economic sanctions and economic blockade imposed on our nation were costs that the Iranian nation paid." b- On 15/05/1382 (August 5, 2003), he stated: "Of course, the enemy acts insidiously, makes the path difficult, imposes costs on us; however, reaching a high level of dignity and progress also has costs. Achieving dignity and elevation has costs. Humiliation also has costs; does humiliation not have costs? Now you see an American officer holding the hand of a Ba'ath officer's wife and taking her with him; but the Iraqi Ba'athist does not dare to speak! Is there a greater humiliation than this? They have both been humiliated and are paying the cost of it. An army that does not confront the enemy has this result. Yes; achieving dignity, elevation, and power has costs; these costs must be paid, action must be taken, and progress must be made." c- On 14/03/1386 (June 3, 2007), regarding the necessity of incurring costs for the revolution, war, independence, and dignity, he said: "The revolution to save a nation has costs; the eight-year war to defend a nation's independence has costs; standing against the world's bullies to prove one's rights has costs. Imam paid this cost... If a nation wants to achieve dignity, it must incur costs; if it wants to achieve independence, it must pay the cost of that; if it wants to maintain its rights against the world's bullies, it must endure the costs of that." However, insisting on incurring costs may lead to very heavy expenses that will inevitably force the payer to confess. In market logic, no action is without cost, but there must always be a proportional relationship between cost and benefit. The heavy costs of the nuclear agreement Ayatollah Khamenei wrote on 29/10/1394 (January 18, 2016) in response to Hassan Rouhani's letter regarding the implementation of the JCPOA: "In exchange for what has been achieved in this deal, heavy costs have been paid." Khamenei rightly emphasizes that those who ignore this "truth" in their statements and writings do not act "honestly" with the people. Khamenei also sincerely states that in the compromise, only "some of the sanctions" have been lifted. Emphasizing the consideration of truth and not turning a blind eye to it is commendable from anyone who points it out. Emphasizing honesty with the people and not distorting the truth and the harsh realities is also commendable. Especially since political leaders—in dictatorial systems much more than in democratic systems—do not have much of a relationship with truth and honesty, and their main issue is to achieve scarce resources of power/wealth/information and social status domestically and pursue interests externally. Admitting that the political regime was forced to pay "heavy costs" in the nuclear deal is also commendable. The truth that must be sincerely acknowledged is what "heavy costs" Iran and Iranians have paid in this regard? What were the causes and reasons? Who were the internal and external culprits? One should be pleased that Khamenei was alive and that with his support, the nuclear agreement was achieved. Just as Ayatollah Khomeini was able to force the opponents of the end of the war to accept UN Security Council Resolution 598, Ayatollah Khamenei also, through a special game, managed to compel very radical internal opponents of the nuclear deal to accept this costly agreement. Although he designed all this game in such a way that the costs would be recorded in the name of others and its benefits would be attributed to his "wise leadership." However, it is still too early to judge the costs of the nuclear agreement; time will show what heavy costs will befall the country. The most important benefit is removing the threat of military attack from the country. The discussion is about removal, not definitive elimination of the threat. All Republican presidential candidates and Hillary Clinton—from the Democratic Party—constantly talk about the military attack scenario being on the table during their campaigns. The cost of suppressing the Green Movement The suppression of protests following the June 2009 presidential election also had a heavy cost for Iran and Iranians. This is another truth that must be sincerely acknowledged. Of course, Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly spoken about this event, but he considers the opponents and protesters as the cause of the heavy costs and damages of that suppression. Consider the following four instances: a- On 19/10/1391 (January 8, 2013), he said: "In 2009, they entered through illegal means, caused costs to the country, created difficulties for the people, and brought misfortune and disgrace upon themselves in this world and in the hereafter." b- On 16/02/1392 (May 5, 2013), he said: "Their actions were not logical, not reasonable; they caused costs to the country. Well, the country overcomes these issues. The Islamic Republic is strong. These acts of sabotage and provocations and these harassments do not bring the Islamic Republic down. However, costs are incurred for the country." c- On 06/05/1392 (May 26, 2013), he said: "In private meetings, they say we admit that there was no fraud. Well, if there was no fraud, why did you cause these damages to the country? Why did you incur costs on the country? If God had not helped this nation, the groups of people would have turned against each other; do you know what would have happened? You see today in the countries of the region, where groups of people confront each other, what is happening? They took the country to the edge of such a precipice; God did not allow it, and the nation also showed insight. In the events of 2009, this is the main issue." d- On 14/10/1394 (January 4, 2016), in a meeting with Friday prayer leaders across the country regarding this matter, he said: "In 2009, they raised a false and abhorrent claim that there was fraud and that this election should be annulled... We said come, let them go and look at the ballot boxes; however many boxes you want. They did not pay attention, did not listen; it was not intended that they would accept this truth; they did not accept the truth and caused damages to the country. I do not know when these damages incurred in 2009 will be compensated; I really do not know! They have not yet been compensated." The heavy cost was initially paid by the killed, the arrested, their families, the wounded, and the leaders of the Green Movement. The regime was condemned globally as a human rights violator and suppressor, but still, Iran and Iranians paid and continue to pay the costs of this condemnation. The cost of social issues under clerical rule For a long time, everyone has been talking about social issues. For example, addiction has seemingly become one of the unsolvable social issues. Poverty, unemployment, corruption, and other social issues are also present. Recently, a detailed report on social issues was presented to Ayatollah Khamenei, and he also cried. Ali Motahari said on 3/12/1394 (November 24, 2015) regarding the leader's crying: "In this regard, a deep and extensive report was published and was delivered to the Supreme Leader. A report on the increase in divorce rates, addiction, and urban marginalization, among other things, which was also discouraging. I heard that the leader himself spent 6 hours listening to the report and at the end said that he himself is responsible and cried in some areas." What benefit does Khamenei's crying have for the unemployed and the poor? Will his crying reduce the number of addicts in the country? Did the clerics not promise that if Islamic law were implemented, all social issues would be resolved? Why has the implementation of Islamic law not been able to prevent the exacerbation of social issues? The death penalty for preventing addiction and drug trafficking has not only been of no benefit but has made Iran one of the leading countries in executions. Since Islam does not prescribe a punishment for drugs, the clerics handed the matter over to the Expediency Discernment Council, and those who are unaware of the expediency, by approving this punishment, created heavy costs for the country instead of utilizing others' achievements in this area, and they are still unwilling to abolish this punishment to at least remove Iran and Iranians from the top of the execution list. The cost of the Guardian Council's oversight Khamenei's market logic states that the best guarantee for the infinite profit of maintaining power is to make the political market non-competitive. Critics and rivals are eliminated by the Guardian Council; they complain and make noise a few months before and after the elections, but we can rest easy for a few years. How much did the elimination of Hashemi in the 2013 presidential election cost? How much did placing the leaders of the Green Movement under house arrest cost? Now, we have disqualified 60% of the candidates for parliament and 99% of the reformist candidates; they will complain for a while and then fall silent. Especially since the elections are in March, and after the elections, until the results are announced, people are busy with spring cleaning, buying for the New Year, and the Nowruz holidays, and then the country is on holiday for 15 days, and everything is forgotten. This logic of making the political market non-competitive has brought about 37 years of power. However, the main issue is that all dictators do not listen to the voices of the opposition when they should. They only hear the voices of the opposition when it is too late, and they and the country must pay very heavy costs for this deafness and for making the political and cultural market non-competitive. Freedom, democracy, and human rights reduce costs. The Islamic Republic has had and continues to have heavy costs for Islam and Muslims. If they truly care about Islam—not Iran and Iranians—they should relinquish power to remove these heavy costs from Islam and allow the people to freely and democratically create their desired political system.