Leader: Any voter dereliction would harm Iran

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says any dereliction on the part of voters in Iran's elections this month would harm the country, urging a massive turnout to disappoint the enemies. 

"The only barrier against the animosity of the enemy is the presence of the people at the scene because the grandeur of an 80-million country with a powerful and intelligent manpower and millions of youths will instill fear in the heart of the enemy," the Leader said on Sunday. 

"If we want the grandeur and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic to be preserved and its immunity to stay, all should participate in the elections," he told a group of teachers and students in Tehran Sunday. 

Iranians will go to the polls on May 19 to elect a new president and members of local city and village councils, with more than 50 million people eligible to vote. 

"If there is a dereliction and some agents pave the way for people's disappointment, the country will definitely suffer and anyone who is involved in this damage, will be responsible before God," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader described elections as a "critical and very valuable issue" for the Islamic Republic, which embraced "different tastes and political views as well as diverse inclinations." 

"Elections in the Islamic Republic drive from Islam. It is not such that a 'republic' has been attached to 'Islam'. If there had been no elections, no trace would have remained of the Islamic Republic of Iran today."

Ayatollah Khamenei said voters were free to cast their ballot for any candidate they chose. 

"The main and important issue is that the people turn up at the polls to show that they are ready to defend Islam and the establishment and preserve the country's immunity."

The Leader warned that "the enemy will discharge its venom if it gets a chance and will not heed overtures" by certain individuals or politicians. 

"If, by the grace of God, this resolution and will of the people is preserved with the same intensity and grandeur, the enemy will never be able to do a damn thing in the face of the Iranian nation."

Ayatollah Khamenei made his remarks during an occasion to honor Iranian teachers and highlight the role of education.

World powers behind UNESCO education agenda  

The Leader said a UN document, dubbed as the Education 2030 agenda charting out development goals for world nations, had been prepared under the influence of world powers.   

Iran signed the document in 2016 but Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic will not submit to it.

“A hushed signing and implementation of this document is definitely not permissible and the related bodies have been notified of that," the Leader said. 

"On what occasion does a so-called international body which is under the influence of world powers assign duties for world nations with diverse histories, cultures and civilizations?" Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

Iran's education planners say the UNESCO document is not in tune with the country's educational standards, adopted by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.

They have warned that submitting to the UNESCO agenda would require Iran to share its educational information which could end up in wrong hands.

Ayatollah Khamenei chided Iran's Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, saying "it should have been vigilant and not allowed things to reach a point where we are now forced to take preventative action."

"This is the Islamic Republic of Iran where the basis is Islam and the Qur'an. This is not a place where a faulty, destructive and corrupt Western lifestyle could have an influence. It makes no sense to accept such a document in the Islamic Republic," he added. 

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