the worst possible outcome for the future of syria -- assad in one corner. >> i'm sure the prime minister is looking forward to this, as the uk city of culture we are backed by many prestigious organizations like the bbc. but we could do much better. to make this a real national celebration of culture. will the prime minister join with me in urging the many london face national art organizations who do their bit and contribute to the success? >> i think the honorable lady makes a very important point which is our national cultural institution have an immense amount of works and prestige that they can bring out to regional galleries and regional centers when there's a city of culture event or frankly more broadly. i do talk to them about that. i will be looking forward to visiting them. i know my friend will be wanted to join me.

it's a city of poets and hope to fill it from a used and, of course, stevie smith and sometimes, want to come to put what it looks like waving and not drowning spent before large numbers the out i remind them that the election for the chair of the environmental audit committee is now taking place in committee room 16. voting will continue until 1:30 p.m. also voting on a deferred is >> you have been watching prime minister's questions at the house of commons. question time is live every wednesday at 7:00 eastern on onpan2 and airs again sunday c-span at 9:00 eastern. coming up next, iranian

president hassan rouhani commemorates the 37th anniversary of the iranian revolution. then a hearing on the iranian nuclear agreement. later, john kerry on events in iran and syria. on thursday, iranian president hassan rouhani addressed a large crowd in tehran to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the islamic resolution -- revolution. he also spoke about upcoming iranian elections. this 35 minute speech is courtesy of press tv. president rouhani: led by the supreme leader of the islamic , iolution -- revolution

would like to congratulate all of them on this occasion. greetings to the soul hmeini, the imam ko founder of the islamic republic of iran. greetings to the souls of all the martyrs of the islamic revolution and the holy defense era. imam masthi. to ago, on such a day, we

theessed the uprising of in order to gain control of the state of the country. and they emerged victorious. , for hundredsiran they had been under the domination of a domineering autocrat ruled the fate of the country. part inad taken different uprisings and including the constitutional uprising.

despite some successes and victories people had gained, they had not been able to overthrow an autocratic system by then. it had been for dozens of years that foreign powers, especially , they had beenes ruling. they had the faith of the people in their hands. withstandld no longer ocracy andeipt -- aut domination of foreign powers. the could no longer put up with that. independence,ing freedom, an islamic republic.

people managed to regain their put an end tond foreign domination. they managed to secure freedom and gain freedom. within the framework of values, theyigious managed to establish a system which they desired through an overwhelming majority of popular votes. that anybody has any doubt about the fact that no

social movement can take shape or become successful unless it comes from the bottom of the unless it had been religious speaker of the time and a reliable leader for the people. the, --d not been for that, popular mobilization would not have happened. if the younger generation has not contributed to that, and if same had not been the along with the people, the culture and religion had not been contributing to the overwhelming vote of people, the

movement would not have been able to establish a system desired by the people and respected by all countries around the world in the late 20th century. a combination of all these is something that was stressed by the late imam k ohmeini. he said an islamic republic is what we want. this, we not been like would not have witnessed such a major change and overhaul in our society. this was the demand of the people, what people wanted for dozens of years.

the words of the imam where the manifestation of the demands of the people. world,ntries around the in the face of this popular movement and revolution, the whole world was shocked when leaderw how a religious could be so influential in a and howrary role influential his words can be. all of us know very well that iranslamic revolution of was not only a political revolution, although it is closely linked to politics. however, the key point is morality and ethics.

morality has always taken precedence over politics. through islamic to, artistically speaking, past the revolution -- pass the revolution through vengeance and hatred. m had not beenam able to do that, our country would have been gripped by civil war. it is the people, through the guidance of the late imam k gunsni, who put flowers on and showed how attractive a revolution can be.

a revolution can guide everybody on a path to righteousness and justice. our revolution was based on ethics, peace. it was a peaceful revolution without any grudge or vengeance or violence. is theigion of islam messenger of justice, moderation, kindness, and fraternity for all mankind. people, during the revolution era, in order to stabilize the revolution in the post-revolution era, they stood up to foreign aggression. they were victimized. they sacrificed. d forpeople were martyre the sake of revolution. years, hadhich, for

used to trading people in the so-called third world. they were used to talking to the iranian people. , afterountries today 13 decades, they have felt it very well. the great iranian nation and people will never succumb to any pressure or any threat. they will not bow down to threats or pressure. , ite brave people of iran was the brave iranian people who stood up to foreign aggression during eight years of cold war.

they showed the world that through resistance and power, the movement could stand up to any aggression. who,s the iranian people for the past 10 years, resisted unprecedented international sanctions. they never bowed to those sanctions. today is a day when all of those who, either out of a grudge or misunderstanding of the revolutionary movement of of ills or maybe because , actuallyer pressure are trying to put pressure on iranians today. and have come to understand they have submitted to the grandeur of the iranian nation. they are actually disappointed

about their past actions. today, with the great victory of the iranian nation in the nuclear agreement, the whole world came to understand that ,his nation, this great nation can not only stand up to foreign and make them submit and but also, this nation can resist on the diplomatic front in the field of diplomacy and logic and argumentation. overcomeon can also other powers and is able to safeguard its national interests and can, through political and

logical argumentation, maintain its national unity under the guidelines of the leader. unjustn nullify all resolutions issued by the un security council against it and have them nullified. the iranian nation is able to nullify all resolutions issued by the governors and make them history. it was able to prove to the whole world that whatever the world was thinking of the iranian people, because some of them would say the iranian nation was threatening regional nations, but it was proven that was a lie. was seeking to make weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons.

this claim was baseless and unsubstantiated and false. governorshe board of has accepted that, even though u.n. has accepted it. opinion knows very well that the zionist propaganda emonic powers and u.s. propaganda against iran was sheer lies. the iranian people are a peaceloving nation, ap seeking peace-seeking nation that work towards improving the stability of the region and the whole world through god's grace and with the guidelines of the leader of the islamic revolution. managed to make the

iranophobia project go down in defeat. we managed to show the whole world the iranian nation is a logical one and would like to have a peaceful life next to other friendly nations in the region. to global peace , and they said iran was threatening the world, all these claims are baseless. .oday, we are in a situation years, thest 37 islamic revolution has been destabilized, and we have not stabilize the islamic revolution. today is a day in which should

progressa period of coupled with national pride. today is a day in which we are ,itnessing, after 37 years world powers have come to understand that the iranian government is not a temporary government. the iranian government is not one which can be isolated. the iranian nation is not one which can be defeated. cannot remove the will power of the iranian nation. all the world powers have actually admitted their mistakes over the past 37 years. wledged theirno

mistakes. they are willing to have interaction and engagement and good relations with the great iranian nation. over the past few months, we witnessed the president of russia. he came to iran and some agreements were signed with him. china, lessident of than a month ago, traveled to iran. we had some agreements, agreed 25-yeara long-term, collaboration with this great nation. during my trip to france and italy, we managed to sign key agreements which serve the interests of iran to expedite the progress of this country. the whole world has come to

understand that the language of threats, gone are the days of threats. the whole world has come to understand that the only language to be used with the iranian nation is the language of submission and respect. purpose is to build a and advanced and developed iran. we were isolated, this would not happen. the latestraw on technologies and the well of experience. we should use the latest experience. iranian nation is in a position of science, culture, and willpower to work hard and try harder.

today, we are able to have the best industry through good planning. we are able to offer the best industrial services and answer -- enter the competition arena. nation does not deserve an aging oil, rail, and air fleet. the iranian nation deserves the best air fleet and down transportation fleet. by gods's grace and through the ,elp and presence of the people a very dignified iran will be built, better than before. we will build iran. [applause] we are in auhani:

with an 80 million strong population. we have educated people. ,he brave, young generation most of them are university graduates from very good universities. tohave the capability economically and industrially speaking, to compete with the world. today, the international situation for engagement and interaction with iran for joint ventures, partnership, is prepared. , we will continue that path. today is not a day when parties should confront each other.

no. everybody should join hands and remain united. , any confrontation and standoffs and bickering run counter to national interests. natural -- secure national progress, we need national consensus. us should work towards a national joint plan of action in order to build and further develop the country. the prudence and capability of this nation, the higher facilities,heir natural resources, financial resources.

all of them, we can use all of them to move further ahead on the path to progress. material life and the spatial life. you saw the five-year development plan the leader ordered. 8% economic growth. growth, weet is 8% intoto mobilize and tap local essentials. in addition to that, we need $30 billion to $50 billion a year in foreign investment. the changes which have taken place over the recent two or three years in our

country. despite the fact that it still remains in place. in the field of energy, we manage over the past two and a half years, we are able to increase our fleet production for household consumption and industrial consumption. we managed to increase our 590 cubic meters of gas a day. many faces of the gas field became operational. get sharede to oilfields. crude wereels of

produced daily. 210,000. this year, we will increase it to 230,000 barrels. by the end of the term of this government, the figure will rise to 350,000 barrels. that means our people are prepared to move on the path to progress. in this field, we are witnessing, even in the energy sector, in the petrochemical sector our income was $16 , million in the past. -- income was $16 billion in the past. this year it has increased to billion, and next year, that figure will increase to $24 billion. this means that our country is able to move on the path to hasn't beenen if it

able to in tough times. in the field of electricity generation over the last 2.5 years, actually, we have been able to be the top electricity producer in the region. electricityts of has increased to our power generation. now, power generation capacity has reached 74,000 megawatts of electricity. 1,900,000 cubic meters of water has been increased in the reservoirs, and that has helped. we have used modern irrigation methods for irrigating agricultural land. 270,000 hectares of land.

-- of agricultural land has been irrigated through modern methods. 20% of the total of whatever has been done since the revolution, that happened only within the past 20 years. , in ordernt sectors to make progress in reaching efficiency in the field of agricultural produce. minus-8.1balance was . it meant that we needed to buy $8 billion worth of foodstuff to meet people's needs. this minus-8.1 reached minus-5.4. that means, we managed to save

around buying foodstuff. and, we managed to cut foodstuff imports by 30%. that means, in all fields we are , able to make progress and move forward. we are able to prepare the country for the current situation. and we want better standards of living. we have managed to improve people's situation. brought 11 million people under health insurance coverage, and next year, those retired people who received less than 1.5 million, their salary will increase. also, the bonuses for retired

act of additions -- retired academics. the government is moving and using all its power, and with the help of the people can solve , the problems facing the people. next year will be a year of economic boon and development of iran with the help of god. [applause] we are on the verge of a determining election. on the seventh of this month, we are going to take part in two big elections. the iranian nation will turn out en masse at the ballot station. our revolution is one which gives leeway to all people from

all walks of life. it gives more leeway to people to the younger generation, this is something based on the remarks of the late leader. the basic rights of people, ethics, islam, and the law. revolution belongs to all people. it is not belong to a certain political party. revolution belongs to the iranian nation. revolution is actually manifested under the name of and nationaln unity. this invaluable legacy, this revolution does not belong to a , certain group or party. it belongs to the iranian nation and all freedom seekers around the world. our revolution is the revolution

which encourages civility and ethics. it is a revolution which encourages -- actually the next year, when we are going to mark the 30th anniversary, we will see over 30 years, you will see able to have been withstand all problems over the past 38 years, because we have returned to our islamic iran identity. it redefined the real dignity. to come under the pro-unity pass through all , problems. islam, actually, is where they can take refuge, and again

offers refuge and protection to , all people. islam is a protection for all. today, it is a duty of every single one of us to safeguard this revolution and its ideals. between revolution and moderation, between the revolution and principles, between the revolution and islam , there is no difference. a real reformist, a real moderate person, all of the revolutionaries. the language of revolution should be modernized. we favor talks, logic, negotiations, and understanding. a revolutionary person is somebody who contributes.

a revolutionary means a person who likes moderation. a revolutionary means somebody who puts up resistance, somebody market, on the world actually compete. a revolutionary person is somebody who is hopeful somebody , who is dynamic somebody who , likes reconstruction. a revolutionary is a person who wants to reconstruct iran. build iran. it is one who wants to give iran more dignity. a revolutionary wants to show the kind, to introduce the real and kind feature and image of islam. a revolutionary person wants to all ofe whole world that

those in the region who are killing people under the name of islam, they are not muslims, neither are the revolutionaries, anybody who today removes a danger from the country, lawrence off danger that person , is a revolutionary. anybody who takes a step towards national progress that person is , a revolutionary. anybody who works towards the unity of iran, that person is a revolutionary. today, we should have a national joint national plan of action. a national move through revolutionary willpower and the guidelines of the leader of the islamic revolution we should , move full word through that. the forthcoming elections are a manifestation of national dialogue.

our revolution, actually, will be manifested at the polling stations. days after in 47 1979, he invited all of us to go to vote. we voted for the islamic republic of iran. our power, our might is manifested through our contribution. nobody should turn his back on ballot boxes. everybody should go to ballot boxes, as the leader has tasked -- the leader has asked us, has invited us. even if somebody has criticism of the government, he should not turn his back on the ballot boxes. this is the right of the people.

everybody should respect ballot boxes. our national asset, ballot boxes are our national asset. if somebody has a complaint, if they are a citizen or political current and group, if they have seen some bad behavior and all that, those should turn out in droves and cast their vote. today, we should know, that the vote of you, that it will have the final say. your votes are the final say. both in iran and in the region, also in the whole world, citizens vote, including the