He made the remarks in the meeting with the members of the National Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters on Saturday, which was held at Imam Khomeini Hussainiya of Tehran with all health protocols in place.

Appreciating the performance of this headquarters, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the need to take decisive and governing decisions, persuade public opinion and the cooperation of all institutions and individuals to deal with the global pandemic.

Referring to measures taken in different countries to deal with the coronavirus, he said, “In some countries, such as the United States, the worst management has been applied in this regard, but we should try to overcome this incident, which is related to the lives and health of the people and their security and economy, with the best management.”

He called the need for proper management “decisive governance decisions”, “persuasion of public opinion” and “cooperation of all institutions as well as the cooperation of the people,” adding, “Of course, this cooperation is not limited to the confrontation with the coronavirus, but must exist in all issues, especially political issues, because the country, which has a strong nation, a new system and a new discourse, naturally faces important issues in the global and domestic arenas.”

Emphasizing the need for unity and internal cohesion in the country, he referred to the recent actions of some officials in the face of the government and the president himself and said, “Desecration is forbidden, especially among the top officials of the country.”

“You have the right to criticize, but criticism is different from insult and desecration. Such behavior and humiliation is the way Americans have exposed themselves in the world during their debates,” Leader noted.

“Our method is Islamic and Quranic, that is, criticism is expressed but insult is not done,” he highlighted.

During the session, President Hassan Rouhani presented a report on the measures taken by the National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus, as well as the future plans of the task force.