Statements in Meeting with the Minister, Officials, and Experts of the Oil Ministry and Those Involved in Extinguishing Kuwait's Oil Wells

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

First, I must thank our dear brothers for the efforts that have brought us together for this meeting. You have utilized the significant and beneficial technical capacity of our country in a way that has brought both spiritual and material benefits to the country, the revolution, the government of the Islamic Republic, and the oil sector itself. This has become an example of good work with the existing capacities of the country. Therefore, I am grateful to you gentlemen, to Mr. Aghazadeh, our esteemed and active minister, and to all the officials of the oil sector.

Of course, this is not the first time we have witnessed such proper utilization of our technical capabilities in the Ministry of Oil. Both during the war and after, this valuable sector of ours has proven its competence in undertaking such responsibilities. I cannot forget what the Ministry of Oil did during the war in rebuilding various refineries in the country, including the Tehran refinery.

The enemy had identified our weaknesses in our technical and industrial oil sectors and applied pressure on them. You have managed to operate this sector, the gas injection systems, and various other systems, some of which I personally visited years ago, and after the war, you have restarted the Abadan refinery and various petrochemical facilities. All of these are related to this sector, which, thanks be to God, is making beneficial progress.

Therefore, I take this opportunity to thank all the elements of the Ministry of Oil for all the work they have done during and after the war, which continues and must continue. Before I forget, I must specifically mention the control of our offshore wells, which were ablaze and were sealed by the same elements of the Ministry of Oil five or six years ago.

Now, if we turn to ourselves and wish to make general use of phenomena as is desirable for any thoughtful and prudent person, we must say that the capacity of the Iranian nation, of which you are a part, for great works is high and commendable. We must truly believe this; merely saying it is not enough. For many years, perhaps even centuries, factors have emerged that have shaken the Iranian nation's belief in its own scientific and technical capacity, its potential for growth and development.

During the era of colonial domination, they instilled in the depths of people's minds the idea that Iranians must learn science and experience, and even production and consumption, from others. They did not want to teach us how to intelligently learn from others and apply it ourselves. We must learn from others; this is a good thing. They made us understand that because others are knowledgeable, they must undertake and be responsible for all our work; they must do it, and we must serve them! In the last hundred years, until before the revolution, during the era of colonial political domination, this was how it was conveyed to the Iranian nation. Before that, it was not like this, but the despotism and corruption of the governments that ruled the country, during the Qajar era, the dominance of irresponsible and thoughtless individuals who did not understand the greatness of this nation, to want to promote it, created this thought. Therefore, they also corrupted in their own way.

After the revolution, the revolution and the teacher of the revolution, who was our great Imam, made us understand that we can work ourselves; we can strive ourselves; we can build ourselves; we can establish the rules of construction and production and consumption, which is our culture. We must apply this even in this era of construction. We never turn our backs on the possessions of others. Whatever anyone has, whether it be knowledge, facilities, technology, or technical resources, when we are compelled, if we can put all of them in the service of our goals, we will not hesitate for a moment. We must use all of these as a means and a bridge to unleash the potential for construction from within the country. Wherever we can produce domestically, we must prefer this to using foreign products. Anything produced domestically is more blessed for us than its foreign counterpart, even if it is slightly better than what is brought in through one of the country's gates.

We must nurture talents. Everyone, whether they are in science, technology, innovation, or technical matters at any level, must feel that the burden of the country's construction is on their shoulders. We must build the country ourselves; no one will build the country for us as we need it. We are the ones who build our own home according to our needs. Those who have looked at us and our country and our resources with greed for decades, and in the last twelve or thirteen years, have mostly looked at us with malice, if they enter the field of construction with us, they will not build our home in a way that suits our goals, our country's nature, our culture, and our morals, but in a way that suits their desires. Therefore, the principle is that we build ourselves.

Thanks be to God, the technical capacity of the Ministry of Oil is high. Of course, in the past, this high capacity was overshadowed by the presence of foreigners. The presence of foreign specialists, managers, and officials was widespread throughout this vast oil region and its annexes. Their presence was felt in all its work; but today, thanks be to God, it is your presence.

You are the children of the country. You are the children of this land. You owe this country. The country belongs to you; you must build your own home. This capacity must be used for the development of the country, and this great industry, which today is almost the lifeblood of the country, or at least a significant part of it is like this, must be advanced, developed, modernized, and used to advance the entire industry and technology of the country.

God willing, God will grant you success, and with reliance on Islam and trust in God and the application of true and sincere faith, all these difficult paths will be smoothed; and as you see, God willing, new successes will come to you day by day. God willing, may God grant you success and help and support you, so that you can have works in short intervals that are just as joyful and delightful. God willing, you will be successful.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings