Statements in Meeting with Young Scientific Talents

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 Muhammad and his pure family.

These are important days; they are the days of Muharram. Muharram is not just the ten days of Ashura; a great event occurred during the days of Muharram in history that is everlasting. Not in the sense that similar events will continue — that is a separate discussion — but this event is like a sun that has no sunset. Sometimes a great event occurs, it happens today and disappears tomorrow; this event is not like that. This event is like a sun that never sets, which has always existed until today and will continue to exist after this. It is a vivid and truthful depiction of the struggle between light and darkness, the battle of truth and falsehood, the fight of honor against meanness and baseness; of course, its peak was on the day of Ashura, but the preparations for that day began in the early days of Muharram before Ashura and continued after Ashura — like such days — the event of Ashura was completed under the leadership of Zainab al-Kubra and Imam Sajjad (peace be upon them). Therefore, these days are very important, and that I have the opportunity — I truly consider this a blessing — to meet with you dear young people during these days is an exceptional blessing for me, and I take it as a good omen.

I am very pleased to meet with you esteemed elites. The discussions we have about the topics of this session continue throughout the year. I hear and read similar remarks to what these dear young people have expressed here in various reports throughout the year, and I take action regarding them if I can. The remarks we will make now are those I have made throughout the year in various meetings; whether with university students or in various other sessions; however, the essence of this meeting and gathering is something beautiful and delightful for me; our elite young people — whom I will describe in a few sentences — have gathered here, and we are speaking for them.

First of all, the elites — the young people, especially the elite youth — are precious divine gifts to a nation and a country. Not all countries have such gifts, with this volume, this extent, and this abundant number. This is one of the characteristics of our country, where human talents exist in good quality and great quantity; this is among the rare characteristics of our country; it is a divine gift, a very precious and valuable gift. The result is that the officials of the country must cherish and preserve these trusts, as this gift is a trust in the hands of the officials; from the Foundation for Elites and Dr. Setari and the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council to the Ministry of Higher Education, Health and Medical Education, and Education, and other governmental bodies that can relate to human resources and youth; these are entrusted to them. A precious trust must be carefully guarded; to preserve it, and when this trust is capable of growth and increase, one must feel a sense of responsibility for its growth and increase.

On the other hand, man is a free being; the Almighty God has given man the choice to do this or not; the essence of choice is responsibility; if we do not have choice in a matter, we have no responsibility; when we have choice, we naturally have responsibility. The Almighty God has created you elites with free will; this gift and blessing that God has given you — which is a good and outstanding talent — you can utilize, or you can choose not to utilize; you can use it in the right way, or you can choose not to use it in the right way; both are possible; thus, you are also responsible; therefore, the responsibility is not only on those who are custodians; the primary and foremost custodian is you yourselves; you are also responsible. The first and greatest responsibility is to thank the Almighty God for granting you this talent. What does gratitude mean? It means, first of all, to recognize that this is a blessing, to know that this blessing is from God, to understand that you have a responsibility regarding it, and that responsibility is to utilize this blessing in its rightful place; these are the components of gratitude — this is what gratitude is; gratitude is not merely verbal; it is a collection of all that I have mentioned.

Let me tell you: why do we give so much importance to youth, to science, to elites, to superior talents, why are we happy to see them, why do we spend time for them — we truly do spend time, you should know this — and expend effort and so on? Why? Because we have a bitter history; for a long period, they injected us with the gene of incapacity, the gene of inability, the gene of dependency on others; for a long time, from the Qajar era to the Pahlavi era, this feeling of internal incapacity and powerlessness was instilled in our nation — this very talented nation — and they institutionalized it in us — in the entirety of Iranian society; we have this history. The result was that we, as a nation, defined our identity under the West. There is much discourse — historical, social, and analytical — on these matters, but neither the time is right here, nor have we gathered for that now. The Westerners, the Europeans, because of the science they attained earlier than others and elevated themselves, developed such a view of other nations, including our nation; they so belittled nations with such ancient and profound cultures and brilliant histories that they defined them under themselves. I have mentioned this term 'Middle East' a couple of times in public speeches; this region of Asia — which has the greatest and oldest human civilizations and is born and created here, and ancient human races have emerged from here — this vast Asia, in the logic and literature of Europeans, was divided into three parts: it became the East; then the Far East, far from where? From Europe! The Middle East — middle means neither far nor near — to where? To Europe! The Near East, near to where? To Europe! You see, this culture and this literature have many other things behind them; that is, all this historical past of humanity was divided this way; these ancient civilizations, these races, these cultures, all this knowledge produced in this region of Asia — India in one way, China in another, Iran in another, Mesopotamia in another, Babylon, and so on — all these ancient civilizations collectively became a region whose naming corresponds to their distance and proximity to Europe! To this day, our region is called the Middle East; there is another region that is the Far East; why is it far? Because it is far from Europe! You see, the Westerners have defined it this way. The Western nations, like a person who rises from poverty to wealth and then loses themselves, have reached a wealth — this wealth was not financial wealth, it was scientific wealth; eventually, knowledge circulates; an event occurred, they attained knowledge; they continuously nurtured this knowledge and stacked it layer upon layer, rising up — as soon as they rose, they looked down upon all of humanity, even those from whom they initially took knowledge, with contempt; our country was among them. Unfortunately, in our country, our rulers and leaders also contributed to this humiliating situation; both the Qajars and the Pahlavis — father and son — defined us under them; this was a very dangerous, significant, and important matter.

When a country is defined under a power, all its resources, in fact, willingly or unwillingly, belong to that power; it comes and utilizes the resources, uses the oil, uses the resources, uses the strategic and geopolitical position. In World War I, the powers of the world fought against each other, and it had nothing to do with us, but since Russia was on one side and England on the other, they had resources and bases, they made Iran a means of passing weapons from one point to another without asking anyone's permission. This so-called national railway — which was called national but is not truly national — was built at that time for their objectives; that is, one side is the Persian Gulf, the other side is the north, which is the Soviet region; England and the Soviets had to connect — there are many discussions regarding these matters — the resources of the country and the market of the country became theirs, belonging to them, a country would sit so they could take its copper, its steel, its iron, its various resources, its oil, its gas at a cheap price, then whatever they produced that needed to be sold, it had to generate income for them, they would send it to this country; without tariffs, without customs, without any obstacles or deterrents, they would make this country a profitable market for their products; this is what happened in Iran before the revolution.

The revolution created a transformation; the Islamic revolution created a great transformation. What I express today is that in the revolution, self-belief and self-confidence went to war against dependency; God also helped. War is a bitter thing; the eight-year war was truly bitter, it was damaging, it caused us a lot of hardship; I was present in the midst of it; it was very bitter, very hard, very sorrowful, it often brought tears to our eyes and exhausted us, but despite all these hardships, it had this great virtue that it showed the Iranian youth that they are capable, that they can, if they want and enter a field, they will be able to overcome their rivals and opponents; just as we did. The Iranian youth entered the battlefield; if there had been no war, this event would not have occurred in this way. War is like a fire; when a fire breaks out, everyone puts aside other tasks and goes to extinguish the fire; everyone became aware of the war. Talents emerged, it was shown that the Iranian youth can; this presence in war and the presence of the youth and overcoming the enemy, not just an enemy that is a single country but an enemy that had all the global powers behind it, led to the growth of self-belief. Thus, the revolution raised the stature of self-belief and shielded it against the previous spirit of dependency and bankruptcy; this event occurred.

Well, there is a point here that should not be overlooked; in the deep wars that are now referred to as soft wars, deep wars — including cultural wars which are part of deep wars — unlike military wars, the short-term results are not decisive; wars take time. In military wars, one side eventually overcomes the other, suppresses it, and the matter is resolved. We were able to expel the invading Saddam forces from the country during eight years of resistance, and the matter was resolved. In soft wars, in deep wars, in cultural wars, the situation is not like that. You may win at one stage, but this does not mean permanent victory; you must expect that the opposing side will prepare itself again, regroup, and attack; and this happened; the same affliction of dependency was reproduced in the country in different forms; because ultimately, the enemies have agents; well, this cannot be denied. The nation is a great nation, a good nation, but within the nation — like all other nations — there are people who are idol-worshippers, weak-minded, materialistic, and easily deceived; these began to reproduce the same culture of dependency, but with a chic and colored literature and packaging under different names: globalization, entering the global family. Today, the recommendations that the Westerners and Americans give us in meetings are: Iran should align itself with the global family, make itself uniform; it should become global. Their intention is the same dependency; this is it. Let it not be misunderstood, I have no objection to communication — I was once the president; from that time, one of the fundamental tasks I undertook in foreign policy was the issue of creating communications; whether bilateral communications with all countries, Europe, others; with one or two exceptions, and whether collective organizational communications — but these are two different issues; globalization has another meaning. Globalization means going under the cultural burden that several major powers have managed to impose on the world's economy, politics, and security; going under this policy, fitting oneself into this framework; this is the meaning of globalization from their perspective. When they say become global, when they say enter the global family, this is what they mean; this is the same dependency, it makes no difference.

What makes the view towards elites an obligation, an unavoidable duty for all officials is a great goal. There is a great goal here; with this goal, the view towards elites must certainly be a serious, operational, compassionate, and persistent view. What is that goal? That goal is to transform Iran into a developed, powerful, and honorable country — honorable in contrast to the base and vile that some countries and some powers are — a country that has a new voice in human issues and international matters. Iran should be a country that has a new discourse in human issues and the life of humanity; it should present new ideas. Because the condition of humanity is not good! Today, who among the thinkers of the world is satisfied with the condition of humanity? There is no distinction between East and West. Look at the words of the thinkers of the world; they all lament and complain about the miserable life of contemporary humanity. Well, a discourse is needed, a path must emerge in this deadlock. This new discourse must come from Islamic Iran.

And it must be filled with dignity. Transforming the country into one that possesses dignity and a sense of dignity. Sometimes you are dear, but you do not feel dignified. One of the matters I have been pursuing a lot in recent years is that we should feel dignity. We should feel the dignity that the Almighty God has given us; we should feel dignified. The very feeling of dignity is a component of true dignity.

And it must be filled with spirituality and faith. We said it should be advanced, powerful, and so on, but alongside these, spirituality must exist, faith must exist. The great affliction of today's powerful world is that where there is power, there is no faith. Look at the state of the presidential elections in America; they have reached two people, look at their debates, see what they are doing to each other, what they are saying! One of these two will become president; where? In a large, populous, wealthy country, the pinnacle of human knowledge. One of these two will be the president of this country; the most nuclear weapons at their disposal, the greatest wealth in the world at their disposal, the largest media in the world in their hands. One of these two is going to be the president; look at what they are like and who they are. This is due to the absence of spirituality, this is due to the absence of faith.

And it must raise the banner of a new Islamic civilization. This is the kind of country we want; this is the goal. You see, I read nine indicators. We want to transform the country into such a country with these characteristics. Of course, halfway through, in some areas, it has not been bad; we have made some progress, but all these are halfway paths; we must move forward, we must reach the peaks. And this is not possible without a young elite generation. A generation must exist that can fulfill this goal. No one can doubt the necessity of this goal. That we are obliged, as humans, as officials, as Muslims, and as Iranians — even those who do not accept Islam, after all, they are Iranian; being Iranian also brings responsibility — as these several sources of responsibility, we are obliged to bring the country to this point.

Well, what is the way? The way is to educate a generation with certain characteristics; a generation must emerge that is brave, educated, religious, innovative, pioneering, self-confident, and zealous; — of course, fortunately, we have many of these characteristics in the young generation today, but this must be expanded — we need such a generation. They must have faith, be educated, have zeal, have courage, have self-confidence, have sufficient motivation for movement, have the physical and mental ability to move, keep the goal in mind, direct their eyes towards distant goals, and in the words of Amir al-Mu'minin, "Entrust your head to God"; they must dedicate their lives and existence to this goal and move with seriousness; in one word, they must be revolutionary beings; this is the meaning of being revolutionary. Some, out of enmity, misinterpret revolutionary. They consider revolutionary to mean uneducated, inattentive, undisciplined; no, on the contrary, revolutionary means being educated, disciplined, religious, active, and wise. We need such a generation. This generation is our young generation. The capital of this movement is this generation, and the driving force of this movement is the young elites; this is what elites are like. You are the driving force. If you work well, this young generation will move in the direction I mentioned. The reason I give importance to elites and value their existence is this. An elite is valuable.

Well, this movement has begun. You see, with the understanding of this issue, that the country needs such a mechanism and such a movement, I have been discussing the issue of the scientific movement and the software movement and the great scientific movement for over fifteen years or a little more, and many scientists, young people, professors, universities, and many sectors of various governments that have come to power have welcomed it; and it has progressed, but this movement is not a movement on an asphalt road; it is not a movement on a highway. This movement is one that has obstacles. These obstacles must be recognized, these obstacles must be addressed. This movement has enemies; who is the enemy? Now some will say, yes, it is obvious, when he says enemy, he means America and the Zionists and so on, and he has a delusion of conspiracy; no, it is not a delusion of conspiracy, it is recognizing conspiracy and seeing conspiracy. When I see the conspiracy and observe it, I cannot hide it from you; I must tell you. Some, when we say enemy, say how much he keeps saying enemy! Well, should we not say enemy? God has mentioned the name of Satan so many times in the Quran. Well, once he mentioned Satan, it was over, why does he keep repeating? So that you and I do not forget this enemy. The enemy must always be kept in mind. Because the enemy does not sit idle; the enemy is always moving. If they can, they will stop this scientific movement; if they see they cannot stop it, they will divert it. We may, due to our own missteps, help this diversion. That I have repeatedly emphasized — now some of our dear youth have said — that research works, articles, theses, etc., should serve the needs of the country and be produced and prepared with this goal, with this intention, with this orientation, is because we do not want the scientific movement to be diverted; if they cannot stop it or divert it, they will try to discredit it, to contaminate it. [Someone] comes here as a scientist, becomes a guest, then goes to the street in front of the university, takes a picture of the thesis sale sign and spreads it around the world; this is contamination. Who invites them to Iran? Are they scientists? Why do we not understand? Why do we make mistakes?

In recent years, the youth of the country and the officials have managed to achieve a record in the scientific advancement of the country in well-known citation databases; that we have repeatedly said that the speed of scientific advancement in the country in a certain year was thirteen times the world average, this is not my claim, I do not know, this was said and testified by the citation databases that are well-known in the world and you know them. Is it a joke that the speed of a country's movement is thirteen times the world average? I say do not let this speed decrease, the reason is that we are very behind; our speed must be so high that we can catch up with the front line; I have said this many times. Now the respected officials respond to me that our scientific ranking has not dropped from a certain level; was it supposed to drop? It was supposed to rise, and that too with speed; the problem is this. We must not allow this scientific movement to be harmed; this scientific movement has enemies; if this scientific movement suffers from enmities and we do not understand and do not take care of it, it will have a very heavy and bitter result. Do you know what that result is? That result is the creation of despair among the young forces of the country; if this arises, fixing and mending it is not easy. A hope has emerged in the wise young society over these years — well, for years we have been sitting here with the youth and they come and talk; I compare the remarks that these kids made today with the remarks I heard here a few years ago, there is a world of difference; our youth have grown, advanced, matured, deepened, and their perspective has widened; these are very valuable — if these young people become despondent, become hopeless, it will not be easy to bring them back.

Well, some of those who become despondent will go to other places; the trap is also laid. Let me tell you here that we have sessions and exhibitions to showcase scientific advancements and so on; this is very good, but be careful that this does not become a hub for introducing our talents to foreign individuals; you should introduce the kids here, they identify them and come to take them away; no, before they identify them, our own institutions should identify them. These cannot be hidden behind the scenes; they will eventually become apparent, but our own internal institutions should identify them before others, attract them, and provide them with work. There is no young person who does not prefer their living environment and family to exile; they offer them an advantage alongside exile; you can even offer them less than that advantage and utilize them for yourself and for their country. Let me tell you that I will not spare an effort in defending the elite community and the scientific movement of the country as long as I have breath, and I know that this movement is a blessed movement and, God willing, will have a good outcome; God willing, we will move forward. Now let me mention a few points.

One of the things that can really set the cycle of science and technology and support for elites in the country into motion is the knowledge-based companies that Dr. Setari and some other friends have mentioned, and fortunately, they have made good quantitative progress. My recommendation is that, first, this expansion should continue; secondly, as one of our dear youth mentioned, they should be involved in the important and main sectors of technology and industry of the country, and these companies should connect with those sectors that are specified in the general policies; thirdly, attention should be paid to the quality of these companies; that is, the number of companies is good and important, but pay attention to set criteria and measures for quality and priority, consider them, and based on these, respond to these knowledge-based companies. If these companies develop, are of good quality, and work, undoubtedly we will no longer have the problem of government financial assistance to elites; that is, these companies will make elites independent of needing government financial assistance, which one day they say they have, one day they say they do not. This is a very important point.

One of the things that can promote these knowledge-based companies is the promotion of their products. Regarding the issue of imports and imports that are produced domestically, we have said a lot and they are doing things, but I want to emphasize that the products that are the output of our knowledge-based companies must be promoted, and one of the main avenues of promotion is that in government agencies, only the products of these companies should be used and not spent or purchased. That is, these companies should be utilized; because the government is the largest consumer in the country; that is, the most important consumer is the government.

One point is about the formation of "elite nuclei" within universities. I have previously recommended that sometimes a professor, two professors, gather a group of young people around them and create an elite nucleus; this can be replicated, expanded, and is a very fruitful thing; I have not received any reports that such a thing has occurred. I previously repeated this once or twice in various sessions; this must be realized. This is no longer the work of government agencies and so on; this is the work of the academic institutions themselves.

Another point that the respected Minister of Education is not present here, but it should reach his ears, is that I am worried about the issue of the National Organization for the Development of Exceptional Talents (Sampad). The reports I receive are not encouraging; this Sampad is very important. This is a very important task, and the point that was mentioned that a large number of schools have been established based on this plan depends on this organization functioning well and being well managed; the reports that reach us in this regard are not encouraging.

Another concern that I briefly mentioned to Dr. Setari is about the Foundation for Elites; the Foundation for Elites is very important; it is necessary for the Foundation for Elites to be alive and active. Of course, I truly trust Dr. Setari, that is, I have confidence in his mental and scientific abilities, as well as his integrity. Mr. Setari! If you truly see that the Scientific Vice-Presidency and the Foundation for Elites do not align, meaning the responsibilities of the Foundation for Elites do not match the extensive activities of the Scientific Vice-Presidency, think of a solution; either separate them or at least place a strong manager for the Foundation for Elites under the framework of the Scientific Vice-Presidency; do not leave the work of the Foundation for Elites to the universities. If the universities were capable of doing this work, we would not have established the Foundation for Elites at all.

Another point is that I receive reports that some major projects in important research topics like aerospace, satellites, and the like are experiencing delays or stagnation; this worries me, and I want to mention it here so that it becomes a public demand; I seriously request the responsible officials to address these issues. These projects are very important; even some research projects related to nuclear energy are in the same situation. These must not be allowed to stop at all; they should not be suspended or semi-suspended, as some say some of these are semi-suspended or some are on the verge of suspension. I believe that the Scientific Vice-Presidency can play a role in this regard; now either these should be completely handed over to the Scientific Vice-Presidency, and the universities should leave this to the Scientific Vice-Presidency, or at least the Scientific Vice-Presidency should have proper oversight over these; this is very important. These are both a scientific loss for us and a young scientist who is engaged in fields like nuclear or aerospace or nanotechnology or biotechnology with hope, when this sector is neglected and becomes semi-suspended, they become despondent. I have previously mentioned that despair and hopelessness among our youth is a very great danger. Now I have noted here that these projects should either be handed over to the Scientific Vice-Presidency or at least the Scientific Vice-Presidency should have proper oversight over them; talents must be attracted to these.

Another point I mention is that fortunately, a cultural vice-presidency has been established within the Scientific Vice-Presidency, which is a good thing; however, they should strive to have a high level of cultural activity. Today, fortunately, the level of religious thoughts among the youth has progressed. I take this opportunity to thank the managing bodies of the mourning ceremonies during the days of Ashura, some of which I was aware of, and some were reported to me. The level of the ceremonies has risen significantly; very good speakers, very good content. I even asked some who attended these gatherings about the topic of discussion — well, this is part of our work; we are experts in these matters — I found it to be really good; high levels, good discussions, good thoughts, and a multitude of youth. Now we also had this session here; perhaps ninety percent or more were young people; good discussions were raised here, but in some places, the sessions of the ten days — ten nights, fifteen nights, or ten days, fifteen days — have very good speakers, sometimes very good elegies and meaningful mourning; these are very valuable. The level of thought among the youth in religious matters has risen; cultural work must grow accordingly.

One of the things that can be very beneficial is holding jihadist camps for elites. These jihadist camps are very valuable; the presence of elite kids in these places first introduces you to the conditions of your country, familiarizes you with the classes, makes you aware of the heavy responsibilities that lie on all of us, makes you aware of the shortcomings we have had in the years following the revolution — in some places, we have truly had shortcomings — and motivates you; this blood flows in the veins of a person through participation in such places.

Let me summarize, let me say one sentence at the end of my remarks: we want a society and a country to rise in the scientific space of the world that saves the world from the ignorance and misguidance it is suffering from. Dear youth! This is achievable. If you can advance your country scientifically, in terms of self-confidence, in terms of innovations, in terms of effort, in this world filled with ignorance and misguidance, a country will emerge that, in terms of the indicators accepted by the world — the science index, the technology advancement index, the wealth index, the material index, and the human indices — and at the same time endowed with spirituality and dignity and attention to God and faith and trust in God, will be placed at a high level. If this comes to be, it will be the most effective and influential in attracting the faith and hearts of the people; you can save humanity. That we go and sit next to individuals one by one, reasoning to draw their minds towards faith in God and Islam, its effect compared to such a movement is like a decimal of one hundredth and one thousandth and one millionth compared to a large number; like a drop in the ocean; we want such an event to occur. The people of the world — humanity — must be saved from this misguidance, from this ignorance; you can accomplish this.

Today, the evil devices of the world, the evil powers of the world are sinking people deeper into this quagmire of ignorance and misguidance day by day and are opposing any point that contradicts their evil movement. Now the American gentlemen who sit with our officials complain to me about why I am so pessimistic towards them; well, should I be optimistic? With the situation you have, can one be optimistic about you? Just recently, one of these gentlemen spoke about the sanctions on Iran in a program that was also broadcast on our television, announcing that as long as the Islamic Republic of Iran supports "resistance" in the region and helps resistance in the region, the sanctions are uncertain to budge; see! This is exactly what I have repeatedly said; both to the officials in private meetings and in public sessions here, that [do you think if] you retreat regarding the nuclear issue, your issue with America will be resolved? No, the missile issue will arise [that] why do you have missiles; if they become disillusioned with the missile issue, the issue of resistance will arise that why do you support Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestine; if you resolve this issue, if you retreat, another issue will arise, [for example] the issue of human rights will come up; if you resolve the human rights issue and say very well, we will act according to your human rights criteria, the issue of the involvement of religion in the government will arise; do they let you go? The presence of a system in a country with this vastness, with this population, with these resources is — which is exceptional — intolerable to them; hence they act with enmity, oppose, and resist; this is what our youth and elites must know. I do not say that you should constantly chant death to so-and-so, and long live and dead so-and-so; we do not expect this from the youth — [of course] in its place, yes — but you must know, you must be able to analyze the political issues of the region and the country. Therefore, we ask the Almighty God to grant you success and preserve you for the country. You are the children and beloved ones of the Iranian nation; may God, God willing, keep you for this nation and guide all of you towards what pleases Him.

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