Statements in Meeting with Scholars, Experts, and Officials of the Country's Defense Industry

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the Awaited Savior on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters. First, I congratulate you on the blessed birth of the Awaited Savior (peace be upon him), which is truly a global and human celebration. The promise of justice, the hope for the establishment of justice, has always been one of humanity's desires and joys throughout history. You will not find a time in human history when people were not waiting for justice, when they did not long for a savior. According to Shia teachings, this longing will undoubtedly be realized. Of course, both Shia and non-Shia have no doubt about the presence of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him); there is a consensus on this matter. However, the peculiarity of the Shia is that they recognize Imam Mahdi with his attributes, with his person, by name, by the name of his father, and by the name of his mother; this is one of our characteristics. We hope, God willing, that our eyes will be illuminated by the visitation of this great figure.

I also congratulate you on the 22nd of Bahman. The 22nd of Bahman is truly a great celebration for our nation, for our history. Anyone who is aware of the situation in Iran before the revolution, during the monarchy, will wholeheartedly affirm that the "revolution" was a great and historic celebration for the Iranian nation; and our people cherish this celebration; you will not observe this anywhere else in the world. Major revolutions have occurred globally, but the fact that a revolution takes place and, 46 years later, every year on that day, the general public—not armed forces, not government forces—comes out to show themselves, express their devotion, express their joy, and honor the day, is unique to this place. We know other revolutions, we are aware of their backgrounds, their consequences, we see their effects and results, and we have fully recognized how their peoples and nations interact with these revolutions. The situation in Iran, where on the 22nd of Bahman, men, women, various social classes, children, youth, and the elderly come out for several hours in the streets, in cold weather, snowy weather, harsh conditions, to honor the celebration, is specific to the Islamic Iran.

This recent 22nd of Bahman was one of the most prominent celebrations of the revolution; it was one of the most important. The people actually rose up on Tuesday. The fact that they came out into the streets, shouted slogans, spoke, and expressed their opinions in the media across the country was a popular uprising, a great national movement; under the bombardment of the enemy's propaganda and insidious soft warfare—who constantly speak against this 22nd of Bahman and its owner, which is the Iranian nation, and the hero of the 22nd of Bahman, who is Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified)—the people came out under this bombardment of propaganda and media and warfare to show themselves. This presence of youth, of vibrant faces, spreading throughout the country, not just in Tehran, not just in large cities, but even in villages participating in this great movement—even in some cities where the weather was cold and very unfavorable—was a message of unity for the Iranian nation. Truly and justly, the Iranian nation did a great job. In the face of these foolish threats that are constantly being made against the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation showed its identity, its character, its capability, and its resilience to all. Complementing this great popular movement were the clear and guiding words of the esteemed President, who expressed the heart's desires of the people and said what was necessary. I always repeat to my audience, to the dear youth whom I am deeply attached to and care for, that work must be done in a timely manner. The Iranian nation did its work on Tuesday; it did what it needed to do at the right time, it showed itself when it needed to show itself. May God's mercy be upon this nation! And we hope, God willing, for a better future day by day for this brave, knowledgeable, and aware nation.

The exhibition that we visited today for a short time was one of the best and most outstanding exhibitions I have ever seen. Truly, the time I spent at this exhibition was very sweet and desirable for me. This exhibition showcased part of the great efforts being made in the field of national defense. Each of you and others working in the defense organizations—whether in the Defense Industries Organization or other agencies—share in the honors of this exhibition; we deeply thank each of them, and the Iranian nation should thank each of you. The issue of defending the nation, defending security is not a small matter.

Today, our country's defensive power is renowned; today, Iran's defensive power is well-known; Iran's friends take pride in this defensive power, and Iran's enemies fear this defensive power; this is very important for a nation, for a country. And what is important is that there were once bullies in the world, tyrants—who are still present—who, when we needed defensive capabilities and were willing to pay double or several times the price, would explicitly say: "We will not sell!" They would not allow those willing to sell to do so. They would say: "We do not sell to Iran." Today, those same bullies tell Iran: "Do not sell!" From the stage of "We will not sell" to this stage of "Do not sell," there is a vast distance; our scientists, our activists, our skilled workers, the capable hands of our youth and men have been able to bridge this gap. Today, we are in a good position in terms of defense; this exhibition showed us more than we knew, or what we had heard was presented before our eyes. And what is important is that all of this has occurred during the sanctions. These advancements have taken place during the period when we were under sanctions; that is, during the time of "We will not sell," in a period when they are unwilling to give us anything. Even now, they advise each other: "Do not let certain parts fall into Iran's hands"; however, our youth produce better here. The situation was good, thanks be to God, it was sweet; I sincerely thank each of you, your managers, your distinguished individuals, your esteemed professors, and your prominent scientists.

I would like to mention a few points. The first point is that the advancements we have today have raised our defensive power ranking, but this does not mean that we should feel that the matter is resolved; no. Since we started from scratch, although a lot has been done, a lot of effort has been made, we still have not reached the front lines in many areas; we must reach the front lines; why? Because our adversaries are in some cases at the front lines; thus, we must be capable of defending ourselves against our adversaries, and this cannot be achieved unless we reach the front lines; this is how it is. The Quran has given us the necessary lesson in this regard: "And prepare against them whatever you are able"; this phrase "whatever you are able" is very important; it means whatever you can; prepare yourselves as much as you can! The meaning of this lesson is that we must increase this movement that has started for several years and we have seen its fruits in various situations—some of which the esteemed Minister mentioned, and some we observed and heard at the exhibition—this must continue. This is the first point. Therefore, progress should not stop; we should not be satisfied. One day, for example, let us assume we set a certain limit for the precision of missiles; now we feel this limit is not enough; it is not enough! We must go further, we must go further! This is the first point: progress must continue.

The second point: If you want progress to continue, you must focus on innovation; concentrate on innovation. You should not stop at conventional mechanisms. Innovation has no limits. Innovation is necessary. It is not enough that we acquire the ability to build or complete a device that others have made or to make it slightly more advanced; that is not enough. You must pursue something that they have not done, that they have not accomplished. In the natural world, there are many things, many possibilities that we do not recognize. One day, people did not know about electricity; it existed from the beginning in the world; the force of electricity existed in nature; humans did not know it, then they discovered it. There are billions of potentials like this in nature. You see the advancements in sciences; they are increasing day by day. One day there was no internet, then it came into existence; and then various enhancing features of it emerged; one day there was no artificial intelligence, then it came into existence; these are realities. Some focus on something, a spark ignites in their minds, they pursue it, and they achieve results; you must go after this; innovation means this. Innovation is different from completing previous works. If you want true progress to take place, you must innovate. This is the second point.

Of course, in this field, young, faithful, revolutionary, talented, and scholarly forces must be utilized; the "young" force that has the ability, that has the mind; we say "faithful" because faith empowers a person, gives strength to a person, keeps a person on the right path and the straight path; we say "revolutionary" so that they believe in this great transformation; this political and social transformation that has occurred in the country thanks to the revolution. These individuals can carry out this innovation.

The third point: In the academic research of the armed forces, focus on meeting the country's defensive needs; that is, the goal should be to meet defensive needs, to fill the gaps; why do I say this? Because in some universities, the efforts of professors and scholars are focused on writing and publishing articles; they do not care about which gap this article fills in the country. Sometimes this article is written, and others benefit from it more than we do; it seems to have been written to meet the needs of others. In the research centers of the armed forces, care must be taken that this affliction does not arise. Just look and see where our needs are, where our defensive needs are, and work on that, focus on that, and conduct research and investigation on that.

What you have today, this good thought, this research capability, the ability to build, the ability to innovate, is a divine blessing; thank God for these blessings and recognize them as gifts from the Almighty; "We have received from You, O God, no deity but You." (3) All blessings have been given to us by the Almighty; be grateful. Gratitude for these blessings, in addition to heartfelt and verbal thanks to the Divine Essence, is to utilize this capability that the Almighty has given you.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.