Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Meeting with Officials of the Atomic Energy Organization and Nuclear Experts

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

Today was a very sweet and memorable day for me, and I will not forget the meeting with you dear youth of this country, who have undertaken a very important and valuable task with great determination and have made significant progress. I see and feel that you are determined to continue this honorable movement; this is the sweetest thing that can happen in such matters.

It is very important for a country to first correctly identify its real and fundamental needs and decide to address these needs; secondly, to have the tools to meet these needs, which primarily are thought and human resources; this is very important and historic for a country; this is civilization-building. The difference between countries that can take their destiny and even part of the world into their own hands and those countries that drift like chaff in the waves of global politics lies here. The main key is knowledge and, as a result of knowledge, technology; a country and a nation that decides to shape its own destiny and bring itself to happiness must find this key.

Earlier this year, on the occasion of the year of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), I recited a short hadith from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "Knowledge is power; whoever possesses it is powerful, and whoever does not possess it will be subjected to power." The greatest betrayal that occurred to our country during the past one hundred and fifty, two hundred years of increasing scientific growth was that they did not allow or did not provide the grounds for this talented nation, which has historical figures like Avicenna, Farabi, and Razi, to find its place in today's world of science. Now you can say they did not allow it; this is a pessimistic view; you can say they did not provide the grounds - this is not less than that - this is an optimistic view. In the Qajar and Pahlavi eras, this great sin rests on their shoulders for not providing the grounds. When the grounds are not provided, the talent that exists in this nation and its youth will take one of two or three paths: either the talent does not manifest at all. No matter how much physical strength you have and how much potential for physical growth you possess, if you do not exercise from the beginning and do not activate your muscles, you will not grow; this talent will be wasted and buried. Or, the one who has talent and sees that there is no way for this talent to be nurtured will go abroad; this is the issue of brain drain over many years and is not limited to these years; it is a calamity of our long historical past. Talented and capable individuals have gone to a corner of the world and are working. Or, this talent is misused in wrong and erroneous paths; because the field for talents has not been opened.

Today, this work has been done in Iran. Today, in our country, the field for the emergence of talents and scientific growth and technical skills and technology is open. And you are among the best examples that have been able to demonstrate this. I am currently at this exhibition - which is essentially a magnificent miniature work that you have done - I saw and was explained to me that our young scientist - who should actually be called our young artist - has accomplished a great task with his talent, relying on his mind and experience, without having any previous blueprint; he has been able to achieve a great accomplishment; we observe this in many instances. In your collection, one can see the delicacy of intricate and very complex work and the ability to manage a large and intertwined collection; this is very important. These managements of the collection, managing large and complex collections, advancing them simultaneously, are among the very significant tasks that we witness in various sections of your collection.

In my mind, there is nothing greater for our nation than this celebration, which is the feeling that its youth have confidence in themselves; they believe; they are convinced that they can accomplish great tasks and find this resolute determination to do so. Dear ones! Carry out this task.

This field is a vast one. Mr. Aghazadeh explained the importance of this advanced and superior technology and its impact on the lives of the people of the country and its future, and you know better than I how important this industry is for our country.

This political uproar and commotion that they have created is like having a fertile land, with a spring of bubbling water in this land, which with this bubbling spring, which may become even more abundant, you can irrigate the entire land, making it green and alive. They tell you to blind this spring, asphalt over it, and we will give you a three-inch water pipe to irrigate your farm! What the Europeans - unfortunately with the support of the agency - and the Americans are saying is this. They say to eliminate this bubbling spring of human talent, so that we can give you a three-inch water pipe, and whenever we want, we can cut it off, and whenever we want, we can make the price of this water the price of your national dignity and honor; this is the meaning of their words. Who would accept this? We will not accept this. We consider the continuity and increase of this movement as one of our prominent goals.

You are the doers of this work; thanks be to God, you have both determination and talent, as well as enthusiasm and zeal; the backing of this movement is also "faith." Know that the scientific key I mentioned can transform a nation; it is achieved through faith; it is maintained through faith; it is activated through faith. Strong faith can have such a role. With faith, all tasks are accomplished more easily than without faith. Thanks be to God, you have faith, motivation, determination, and resolute will, as well as the ability, talent, and thought. You must carry out this task; this work must progress.

Today, fourth and fifth generation centrifuges have also been produced; God willing, you will be able to surpass them; you will be able to advance. It is possible that the methods of producing these materials - from mining to producing "6uf" or enriching it - have much shorter and better pathways that you will discover; I have no doubt that you can do these tasks and can carry out the movement faster, easier, and better.

Let me tell you this: every movement you make, every moment of this work you engage in - with this motivation and in this direction - has divine and spiritual rewards that are incomparable to any material value; that is, no material value can be equivalent to the divine reward that is recorded in your file. First, because the work itself is valuable; secondly, because you are preparing the grounds for the independence and lasting dignity of a nation. Let me tell you that the importance of utilizing nuclear energy and acquiring nuclear technology in our country is greater than the discovery and extraction of oil - the day oil was first extracted in our country. Now you see how much oil affects the destiny of a country. Discovering oil and extracting oil means bringing a reserve from underground and, in a sense, wasting it; this calamity we are currently facing with oil is wasting oil; otherwise, optimal use of this material may be a thousand times more valuable than what we are currently spending. But your work means extracting that hidden truth in the brain and mind of humans beyond the appearances of the world; you are discovering this truth, like all the superior knowledge of the world. Many of these truths of existence we do not see; but human minds discover them and utilize them for improving human life. You are doing this work, and the value of this work is much greater than discovering, extracting, and utilizing oil and the oil industry. Therefore, your work is historic. For this reason, every moment of your work, when done with this motivation and attention, has divine rewards, and this divine reward is higher than all the encouragement and appreciation we express and any material equivalent; appreciate it and always remember, during work, before work, after work, that God Almighty sees your work, and the angels of God record your work as a righteous deed.

I am very happy to meet you and to hear your reports and see your works, and I hope that God grants you success. Please convey my greetings to all your friends and colleagues who are in Isfahan, Natanz, and anywhere else, and God willing, may your work, effort, and service be included in the attentions of the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him).

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