He made the remarks earlier this month in an address at a ceremony held to commemorate his cabinet’s renewed allegiance to the objectives and ideals of the Founder of the Islamic Republic at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum, which is located south of Tehran.
Rouhani said, “Imam Khomeini’s approach, movement, and government were lessons for all of us to learn from.
“The late Imam taught us the inner connection between Islam and a republic form of government. He taught us that our ruling system is a religious democracy, that is to say, the criterion is the votes of the people.
“Imam Khomeini viewed the fundamental principle as obeying the commands of Almighty God and the constitution. Therefore, we should all try to safeguard our republic and our religion, Islam.”
He added that Imam Khomeini established a modern Islamic government.
“Although in Iranian history, a modern government came into existence at the time of Amir Kabir and flourished even more at the time of the Constitutional Revolution, it lost momentum later due to the suppression of later governments, which were under the influence of the Western hegemony,” Rouhani said.
“In Iranian and Shia history, Imam Khomeini, however, was the first to succeed in establishing a modern Islamic government within the framework of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence),” he noted.
Rouhani said Imam Khomeini was the father of modern Islamic government, adding, “The late Imam also addressed issues that were not previously mentioned in Islamic fiqh, issues such as taxes, banking, a professional army, social welfare, and the public health sytem.
“The late Imam not only established an Islamic government, but also empowered it to withstand and fight against the global hegemony. The late Imam taught the nation how to avoid superstition and distance itself from the West and its deception.”
Rouhani also stated that Imam Khomeini taught the nation how to bravely defend the country against aggression.
Commenting on the national economy, he said, “The main agenda of the government is tackling inflation and boosting economic growth. This year (the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21, 2014), the country will experience positive economic growth after two consecutive years of negative economic growth.”
Rouhani also vowed that his administration would make the utmost efforts to implement the measures necessary to bring inflation under control.
Elaborating on his administration’s foreign policy, he said his government would continue to interact with the international community based on the country’s logical stances and frameworks, with the goal of achieving significant results for the Iranian people, in line with the national interests.
He added that his administration would always respect constructive criticism, but stated that “the government, however, will not remain silent in the face of destructive criticism and approaches.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president stated that fighting corruption is an objective of his government, and it will “act seriously to eradicate corruption in all of its existing forms.”
Rouhani also vowed that his administration, and all Iranian officials, would now once again renew their allegiance to the late Imam Khomeini and “would not leave a single stone unturned in materializing the Imam’s ideals.”
In addition, he expressed hope that his administration would be able to render the best possible services to the Iranian people, and praised the family of Imam Khomeini for their support of the Iranian system, the eleventh administration, and the Iranian people.