In a November 16 speech in Tehran to senior clerics who had come from all over Iran to hear him, the new president said that the main mission of his government was to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi (May God Hasten His Reappearance).” The mystical 12th Imam of Shia Islam disappeared as a child in 941 CE, and Shia Muslims have awaited his reappearance ever since, believing that when he returns, he will reign on earth for seven years, before bringing about the Last Judgment and the end of the world.