Statements in a Meeting with a Group of University Professors, Elites, and Researchers on the Twenty-Third Day of the Blessed Month of Ramadan

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 One among the people of the earth.

Welcome. This gathering is truly precious; this great assembly of professors, scholars, specialists, and experts from various fields—both brothers and sisters—is a great divine blessing for the country, and I thank God for granting us this opportunity to serve you again this year.

A great responsibility lies on the shoulders of university professors and members of academic boards, which is truly incomparable to any other status or position in the country. If we pay close attention to the position of a university professor and the educator of students and youth, it is easily acceptable that this position is indeed rare and exceptional; we do not say it is unique, but it is truly unparalleled. This sensitive position necessitates that both the esteemed professors and the management of higher education act with greater diligence, care, and decision-making in this regard.

The speeches that were delivered were very good, and various topics were raised; I personally benefited immensely. Some things one might already know, but hearing them from others plays a role in highlighting the importance of the subject. Many of the points you raised, perhaps we heard for the first time, and we benefited from them; both the brothers spoke well, and the two esteemed sisters who spoke also did very well. I took notes on the main topics, and God willing, our office will follow up on them as usual; the tasks that are our responsibility, God willing, we will carry out, and those that need to be referred to the relevant authorities will be referred. What I want to convey is that one part of my speech pertains to the university, and if time permits, I will also say a few words about the international issues prevailing these days; however, my main focus is on this first part.

Well, the academic advancements are truly remarkable; this should not be overlooked. My emphasis on this matter is due to a trend that has emerged, not only in Iran but in the world, aimed at belittling, trivializing, and devaluing the great scientific movement of the country; currently, efforts are being made globally in this regard; money is being spent, plans are being devised; one example is Stanford University's 2040 program regarding Iran in 2040, questioning the scientific advancements of the country and the significant academic work being done; there are also individuals here who resonate with them, responding to them to gain favor; such actions are also taking place here.

I insist on emphasizing that this movement, composed of malice and treachery, is absolutely incorrect; the university has made significant advancements, and great work has been accomplished in the country. Now, if we want to compare it with the university before the revolution, the difference is like night and day; the university before the revolution was a university, but weak, ineffective in global matters, in the realm of science internationally, and without recognition, dependent on others—often needing to rely on foreigners, on Westerners for educational and scientific services—such a university is not even worth mentioning; however, even today’s university differs significantly from the university 20, 25, or 30 years ago; today, the university has genuinely progressed. According to international ranking centers, a considerable number of our universities are regarded as prominent universities in the world. Today, we have fourteen million university graduates in the country; fourteen million is a very high number! Right now, five percent, or perhaps slightly more than five percent, of the total population of the country are students currently studying at universities; that is a high figure.

Now, they accuse us—I'm not sure if you are aware of this news; you will likely become informed—of both our scientific products and our graduates. For instance, a certain paid writer from Saudi Arabia writes about our advanced defense products that scare rational people around the world, claiming these are nothing, that they belong to others, not to Iran, not to themselves! They do not recognize them at all. Now, that writer, whether foreign—American or European—along with the help of treacherous Iranian individuals, accuses this vast educated class of university graduates, this large group of today’s university professors, of superficiality and ignorance! If they are superficial, then who developed the twenty percent uranium enrichment in this country? Who is pursuing advancements in nanotechnology in the country? Who is advancing the very stem cells that were mentioned? All of these are astonishing; of course, to the eyes of informed and knowledgeable individuals. Therefore, the university has, thanks be to God, accomplished great work, and even those who speak about the scientific issues of the country with a seemingly non-political appearance but a political essence, inevitably acknowledge the scientific advancements of the country in their reports. Thus, this is a reality that exists, and we must think, work, and plan based on this reality.

It is also noteworthy that one of the friends who spoke mentioned that the university's production, the engineering of the university in the country at its inception, was an engineering aimed at making the country dependent, not for its independence; from the very beginning, the university was produced this way; with the same logic of Taghizadeh that “an Iranian must become completely Westernized”; the university was established with this perspective. Now, that same university is raising the flag of scientific independence and independent scientific advancement; it is the same university. This is a very important truth. Well, this is regarding the fact that the university has, thanks be to God, progressed in this regard.

Of course, I should also mention that this progress of the university has occurred in a situation that we have described, while there have been many obstacles; that is, scientific progress and the scientific education of young students in various fields have occurred while there have been disturbances; there have been individuals within our own university—some professors have been seen—who encouraged students not to continue their studies here and to leave; or those who have studied abroad, strengthened themselves, and now wish to return to the country to serve and benefit the country, have faced regulations and individuals that have made them regret their return. These matters I am mentioning are examples and cases that I know personally. A young, outstanding, talented graduate from a certain advanced country or university has returned; sometimes they are treated in such a way or face regulations that truly make them regret returning; at the same time, it is with these obstacles that our university has, thanks be to God, made these advancements.

Well, justly praising the university and feeling proud of it does not mean that we are satisfied with this level of progress, nor does it mean that there are no flaws or problems in our current university; no, we praise, we commend, we take pride in this university, but at the same time, we insist that this level of progress does not place Iran and the Iranian nation and society in its deserving scientific position in the world; we are still behind, I have said this many times. Our country, due to the misbehavior of politicians and managers, fell significantly behind in a very bitter historical period; we are compensating for that. Until we reach the point we should reach, we still have a long way to go (which I may remember to mention in the continuation of my remarks); we are not in our rightful place in the field of science; we must reach the peak in this “second step.” One of the friends just said, “The country does not want scientific progress; it wants a leap”; that is correct, we need a leap, and this is certainly possible; it is not an unattainable desire. Of course, it is arduous, it requires effort, but it is a sweet hardship; this is in this regard.

Regarding the flaws and problems, yes, our university environments are facing issues; both in terms of science, culture, and education, and the types of management have problems, which you all are aware of, and several of the friends who spoke provided correct reminders regarding these issues, which are completely informed and indicative of a close look at the matter.

One issue is the quality of education that must definitely improve. This does not contradict what I said about our level being high in terms of scientific quality; no, currently, there are degrees in our universities that cannot reflect scientific depth, meaning they do not have high scientific value, but they have high official and managerial value; that is, when someone has this degree, it has value officially, in terms of finding a job and similar matters, while the scientific depth is not observed and does not exist in this degree.

The university, in addition to its internal responsibilities, has an external responsibility towards society. The internal responsibility is the production of knowledge, scientific advancement, and scientific education; the external responsibility is to have an impact on the overall society. The university cannot be detached and isolated from societal issues. This is a very important point that I convey to the esteemed professors, brothers, and sisters: try to engage the university with social issues; of course, I will say that various institutions should seek help from the university, seek guidance, seek work, and the university should assist them, but that is the relationship between institutions and the university, and this statement we are making now is about the relationship between the people and the universities regarding societal issues.

For instance, suppose we have formed a session regarding social harms. For about two or three years now, regular sessions have been held every so often, in which I participate, and the main officials of the country also participate, discussing social harms such as addiction, divorce, urban marginalization, and similar issues; decisions are made, and good work has been done, and good progress has been made; these are the issues of our society. What role does the university play in these matters?

Universities, especially professors, must connect with the people's issues; how is this done? How can professors connect with societal issues? This is a matter that does not require anyone from outside the university to determine or for me to say a point in this regard; this is the university's own work. Within the university, professors, groups, scientific communities, and academic societies should sit down and think about how the professors' connection with societal issues, with the problems of society should be, what the way is. If this does not happen and professors become isolated from society, then this desire for the university to solve societal problems will become unattainable. Professors must not be isolated from society; like the calamity that befell our intellectuals. Our intellectual community, from the very beginning, sat in an ivory tower, did not mix with the people, did not accompany the people, and they themselves have admitted this; they have said this themselves. A few years ago, I mentioned this in a university among students (that in that play written by that person, a gentleman is on the balcony observing events but no action is seen from him at all; he is an intellectual. The Western intellectual, originating from the West, is in this situation, his status is that gentleman on the balcony in that play who does nothing, only observes; he observes well, can understand and recognize the issues, but does not take risks, does not engage, does not create problems and troubles for himself, and only occasionally says a word. This was also seen in the revolution; in the Islamic revolution, in this great popular movement, the people were at the forefront, while intellectuals sometimes came from behind, and some did not come at all, and did not come until the end. We must not allow the fate of university professors and the large, valuable academic community to become such a fate; that is, to separate from the people, to become indifferent to the people, to remain unaware of the issues of the people.

Now, I have noted a few points that I want to mention regarding university issues. One point is that a fundamental condition for progress is hope. Today, there is a movement inside and outside the country to instill a spirit of despair instead of a spirit of hope—which I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, that they sit outside and discuss issues regarding Iran, and their conclusions, based on biased analyses and sometimes false news—that is, news contrary to reality—is that there is no scientific movement or hope for its progress in Iran; this is despair-inducing. Well, they naturally overlook successes, and this affects students; this despair-inducing current affects the minds of students; when they become hopeless, they do not work. If they are a talented individual—now, only a few are like this—and have the ability, they have the means, they leave and do not look back. However, most do not have these means; thus, they become hopeless and seek a degree with official value, even if it lacks scientific content, to find a job and secure a position; scientific progress does not occur. This is despair; it affects students, it affects professors less, but it has been seen that it can also affect professors; that is, this propaganda can make the professor, who is actually standing in the middle of the university field and is the mediator of university issues, hopeless about the scientific progress of the university; despair-inducing is a very great danger. Others who express this—foreigners—calculate this; see, they have written articles and explicitly stated that Iran's scientific progress is a cause for concern; they explicitly wrote: “Iran's scientific progress is a cause for concern”; a cause for concern for whom? It is clear; for the colonial powers, the aggressive and dominating powers that thrive on dominating the weak, cannot bear to see a country in a sensitive position like ours, freeing itself from weakness and reaching strength and power; this is a cause for concern for them. They easily overlook successes and advancements, and some individuals truly forget. I am astonished at those who, or that professor who we hear reports about, that for instance in class or in dealing with the student body, speaks despairingly; how do they overlook the successes of the country! This tremendous scientific progress, this scientific movement that has particularly emerged in the last two decades—from the early 80s—has significantly raised Iran's share in global knowledge production and has brought practical capabilities to everyone's attention, yet the whisper of despair still affects them! This is astonishing.

When I say scientific progress, it is not merely our claim—of course, we have said this many times in this session, in different years—this is the statements of global scientific measurement centers that once said that the speed of Iran's scientific progress is thirteen times the world average. This is very important: the speed of scientific progress is thirteen times the world average. One can observe high scientific rankings in certain fields that are in single digits—[for example] in the fourth, fifth, sixth ranks—in some others, also in total, in the fifteenth or sixteenth rank in the world; this is very important; they do not see this, they do not observe these successes. Therefore, one of our statements is that planning should be done so that the tremendous scientific successes of universities are brought to light, so that everyone can see; this scientific excursion for professors and students should be a program that allows them to observe scientific advancements; they should go see and observe the scientific advancements. Suppose like the exhibition of goods from a certain industry that is held, everyone goes to see and become familiar with, they should introduce scientific advancements so that everyone can see and specify when these events occurred; in which years, in what periods these advancements took place so that hope can be generated. I emphasize the issue of hope. My request is that dear brothers, dear sisters, esteemed and honored professors, keep this in mind in your classrooms, in your interactions with students, and do what you can to make these young people hopeful. The enemy wants to create despair; unfortunately, a current inside also assists the enemy—this exists, it is there—you stand against this treacherous and malicious current and create hope. This is the first point.

The second point. We have spoken a lot about “beneficial knowledge”; in various university and student meetings, we have discussed it. We said “beneficial knowledge” means knowledge that solves the issues of the country; it means addressing the various problems that exist in the country scientifically; our issue is not only industrial matters. Yes, the relationship between industry and university was a specific and important point that we emphasized a long time ago—when I spoke with the then president, this scientific vice-presidency was established to create a scientific connection between industry and university—this pertains to industry, but it is not limited to industry. In various fields, we have blind spots; for example, in economic matters, we have chronic diseases; for instance, “low productivity.” One of our economic problems is the low productivity of activities; well, this has a scientific solution, scientific work must be done on this, there is a scientific solution. Suppose “wasteful energy consumption”—our energy consumption intensity is several times that of the world—is a very large and abundant loss; this has a solution. I mentioned this a few years ago in a speech, but it is not the case that by merely stating it, like a piece of advice, the issue will be resolved; no, a scientific solution must be found and specified; here and in matters like this, the university must be utilized.

Or suppose the issue of our economy's dependence on oil and the oil-based economy, the state-run economy, the problems of the tax system, the problems of budgeting, all of these are issues; and in all of these, the connection between state institutions and the university is essential. For example, plans to break sanctions. We are not the first country in the world to be sanctioned; many countries have been; sanctions have solutions; there are plans; there are scientific solutions in dealing with sanctions; this solution must be sought; it must be searched for, found, and presented to the authorities. Or the optimal use of sanctions; because sanctions bring some pain, they have problems, but they also have benefits and advantages that compel us to refer to our internal capabilities. Therefore, these are tasks that can be accomplished. Or the “production boom” that we proposed this year as the slogan of the year, well, it has scientific solutions; these must be examined in the university. For this, strong will is necessary.

We must truly find ways for university professors, researchers, and scholars to enter these matters; that is, a mechanism must be found for how they can enter; this is also the university's work. For example, regarding industry, one of the suggestions is to provide research opportunities for professors in an industrial center, so that the relevant professor can go to this industrial center and become familiar with the industry issues up close, see the problems. Now, apparently a few weeks ago, we discussed that various institutions should list their scientific needs; fortunately, the Ministry of Industry listed them, presented them, and they were also presented in the national media. Very well, now the Ministry of Industry says I have these problems, these issues, these needs; the university must enter; you should also offer; the Ministry of Science should properly manage this matter and specify what the university can do in response to this request for assistance from the Ministry of Industry; it is beneficial for both industry and the university. In any case, this beneficial and applicable knowledge that we mentioned must illuminate the needs of the country and the blind spots of various sectors, whether industrial, economic, agricultural, or various management sectors, through university research and academic articles; this helps. This is beneficial and applicable knowledge. Well, we have said this, we are now stating it, we repeat it, and we insist on it, but alongside this, attention must also be paid to deep and long-term research. There are significant works that do not yield immediate profits, do not have near-term outcomes, but they are the road and groundwork for the scientific progress of the country; that is, we must give the scholar this opportunity, this permission to be ambitious; in scientific matters, deep and fundamental research must be presented and pursued. Therefore, there are two currents, that is, the beneficial knowledge we speak of is not merely knowledge that has immediate practical applications, but one of them is this; another current is significant and fundamental works.

In this regard, I refer to the issue of focusing on basic sciences, which I have previously mentioned a couple of times in discussions with academics. The discussion of basic sciences is very important, but because there are no immediate and ready outcomes for it, the inclination towards it among students and those choosing fields is low. Arrangements must be made so that the inclination towards these basic sciences is better and warmer among students. Basic sciences require continuous investment from the government—because unfortunately, when governments face financial problems, one of the first areas that gets cut from the budget is this very science and culture sector; these have no problems, no troubles; they are the first to have their budgets cut; they came and told me that the budget for scientific sectors has been reduced by fifty percent this year; well, this means that fifty percent of the scientific activities of the country must be halted—the government must assist, both the experts and scholars must help, and education must also have a role in this regard; educational guidance must be provided by education to direct and guide these young people towards basic sciences and similar fields. This is another issue that I have noted here.

We must continuously invest in basic sciences and our movement must be proactive; that is, we should try to welcome the undiscovered truths of the world. There are many truths in the world that remain undiscovered, just as a hundred years ago many truths that are now discovered were not known; they existed in nature but were not discovered. It is not the case that, for instance, electricity just came into existence; it has been there since the world began, but some people exerted effort, showed intelligence, and discovered it. We should pursue the undiscovered truths of the world; one of our fundamental tasks is this. Engaging in basic and fundamental sciences has the property of drawing the scientific community towards the discovery of undiscovered truths; not that we only move around the truths that have been discovered and the movements that others have made.

Another point is the evaluation and ranking of universities, which we have previously mentioned that the audience for this statement is the management bodies of higher education; that is, the Ministry of Science, the Ministry of Health, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and various management bodies are the audience for this work. We must evaluate our universities; of course, there are international evaluations, and that is fine in its own right, but many of the international evaluations of universities do not consider our local conditions, facilities, and traditions; they include certain things as advantages and merits that we may not accept as merits— we must rank ourselves internally, evaluate, and specify the merits of universities—of course, one of these merits is cultural aspects, which I will refer to shortly—so that their ranks are known and this creates positive competition among universities—both ranking and evaluation; for example, suppose we say this university has a high rank, has made good progress, we should grade universities; this is one of the tasks that, in my opinion, is necessary to be carried out in higher education management and it also affects the improvement of quality and the formation of a competitive atmosphere.

Another matter that I have noted here to mention is that fortunately, there are many revolutionary and devout professors in the university; a large number of our university professors are those who believe in the revolution from the bottom of their hearts, are committed, and are devout and wish for revolutionary advancements in all areas to continue and persist. In my opinion, this group of revolutionary professors must strive to create a movement within the university; I think this is very important. The university environment, due to some cultural problems, is not the environment that is expected in the Islamic system and the Islamic Republic; it often happens that a young person with religious backgrounds, with revolutionary backgrounds, with good intellectual backgrounds enters the university and leaves it devoid of these backgrounds or many of these backgrounds; this exists, this is the legacy of our past universities. As I mentioned, the engineering of the university in our country was not initially intended to foster religiousness and independence of thought and culture; rather, the opposite was true; this still largely persists in our universities. You, the esteemed and devout professors, must work to make the revolutionary, intellectual, and Islamic current prevalent in the university.

This work does not necessarily require security and police facilities, etc.; no, this work is a human, Islamic, cultural work; it is a movement. Well, naturally, students have questions; they are young, these questions must be answered by revolutionary professors. Last week, a group of students were here, several spoke; well, these are the questions of the students, their questions are of this nature; these questions must be answered. The best place to answer is the university environment, the classroom; the best person, the most deserving person to respond is you; the university professor. Enlighten the young mind in various fields.

In the university, we must confront retrogression, we must fight against syncretism, and we must combat deviation; today in universities, even the Marxist left dares to speak; the Marxism whose main and fundamental manifestations collapsed under the pressure of the realities and truths of the world, was destroyed—not by America, but by the illegitimacy of the foundations of Marxist thought; of course, the Americans took advantage of it, the Westerners took advantage of it—but despite the fact that these erroneous foundations have collapsed, some still want to revive leftist Marxist slogans; of course, they are not very serious. In my opinion, those who speak about various leftist and Marxist issues these days are those who, when one examines the depths of their words, one sees they are the same American left; like those individuals whose outward slogans were leftist, their essence was American and Western, these are the same. Well, this is another point.

Another point I want to mention is about the cultural atmosphere of universities; the growth of cultural activities. This is necessary and is not being addressed. In some universities, there is absolutely no cultural activity; this is also one of the deficiencies. Dear brothers, dear sisters! The goal of the university is not just to provide knowledge to the youth; the goal is to build the youth; to build a noble human being with the weapon of knowledge; therefore, ethics, education, and lifestyle are among the elements that must accompany knowledge in the university so that the youth can be built; this is something that is essential. Universities must be enriched culturally, and the necessary cultural richness must be provided to the university. Of course, in some universities, this exists to some extent, in some it does not, and in some, it is the opposite! The youth must be trained to be believers, revolutionary, chaste, devoted to the country, and ready to serve the people; otherwise, if a youth does not feel responsible, does not care about the fate of the country at all, and graduates from the university with high knowledge, what benefit will that have for the country? This is another point. Of course, there are several other points regarding university issues that there is no time to mention; I wanted to say something about applied scientific universities, about teacher training universities; I wanted to mention something about interdisciplinary research, which one of the brothers said, “Utilizing these sciences and the cooperation of these various sciences can have benefits,” is completely correct. Today in the world, based on this, interdisciplinary research has flourished, and scientists from various fields sit together and accomplish great works.

However, the matter I want to mention regarding politics and international policies is a brief statement; [my discussion] is not very lengthy in this regard. There is a lot of talk about the uproar of “negotiation” that has now emerged, and foreigners say it, newspapers write it, and propagandists say negotiation. The negotiation they mean by saying “Iran must return to the negotiation table” is not just any negotiation; it is negotiation with the specific government of the United States; otherwise, we are negotiating with other countries—with European countries, with other countries—we have no problem. Yes, we negotiate with Europeans and others, but the issue is determining the subject of negotiation; we do not negotiate on every subject; we do not negotiate on the revolutionary issues—let me put it this way, it is clearer—we do not negotiate on our military capabilities with anyone; because the meaning of negotiation is a transaction; that is, suppose they say, “You should back down and give up this defensive capability that empowers you and enables you to defend yourself”; well, that is not negotiable. Negotiation on such matters is two words and it is over: “He says we want this, we say no, we do not accept”; no negotiation proceeds, no transaction takes place. It is like the case of a marriage proposal where someone asks, “What happened to your marriage?” He says, “Everything is done, it is just left to two words”; those two words are that we say we want your daughter, and they say you are mistaken! (Laughter from the Supreme Leader and attendees) On fundamental issues, it is over with two words; that is, it is not negotiable—negotiation in the sense of a transaction; because negotiation means transaction; it is not merely sitting down and chatting; thus, what they mean by negotiation, which they repeatedly say Iran should come to the negotiation table—both the Americans and others say this—means negotiation with America. Well, regarding negotiation with America, we have repeatedly stated that we do not negotiate. What is the reason? I have explained the reason many times in various discussions: first, that negotiation with America brings us no benefit; second, that it is harmful; that is, it is something that is useless and harmful. We have elaborated on these.

Now, I will make another reference here. When the Americans target something with a government, with a country, and establish a plan to achieve their goals through force and pressure, pressure here is a strategy for them, but alongside this strategy, they have a tactic, which is negotiation. They exert pressure until the party becomes exhausted; when they feel the party is exhausted and may now accept, they say, “Very well, let’s negotiate”; this negotiation complements that pressure. This negotiation is to harvest the fruits of that pressure, to solidify it; negotiation is for this purpose. They exert pressure, and now that the party is exhausted, they feel they have no choice, they say, “Very well, let’s negotiate”; they sit at the negotiation table and solidify what they have prepared the ground for through pressure; negotiation with America is this. Their strategy is not negotiation; their strategy is pressure, and negotiation is a subsidiary of pressure.

The only way to counter this trick is one thing, and that is that if the opposing party also has pressure tools at its disposal, it should use those pressure tools; that is the only way. If they use their pressure tools, then they can stop the other party; either reduce the pressure or stop it; if they use their own tools. However, if they fall for the invitation to negotiate, thinking, “Well, since they say let’s negotiate, then there is no need for me to use the pressure tools I have, why should I?”; if they fall for this trick, they have slipped and gone; that is, it is a definite loss.

The only way is this. We have pressure tools against American pressures; these pressure tools, contrary to what they want to advertise and say, are not military tools and similar things; now, if necessary, those are also there, but what we are concerned with is not these matters, these tools; no, we have pressure tools. The very action that the Supreme National Security Council recently took and was communicated is one of the pressure tools. They said now that you are behaving this way and the Europeans are not fulfilling their obligations, we will also not fulfill our commitments in this area and within this scope; that is, we are also withdrawing from our commitments. This was a correct action; it was a correct movement. One of the ways is this. When you do not use your pressure tools and leverage, they feel secure, they have no urgency, they keep dragging the matter along because they know that no harm will come to them; however, if you manage to use your pressure tools, then they will think about taking action.

Our scientific and technological capabilities in the field of nuclear issues are high; we are absolutely not seeking nuclear weapons; neither for the sake of America nor for the sake of sanctions, but for foundational reasons. Our foundational thought does not permit weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear and chemical weapons; these are religiously forbidden. Some have also told us to say that they should produce them but not use them; no, this is also a wrong action; because if we produce them, it means we have incurred a lot of costs, while we derive no benefit from it, and the other side, when they know we do not intend to use it, it is like having nothing, it makes no difference. Therefore, producing something we do not intend to use is absolutely not logical or rational; thus, we oppose this matter on a foundational basis; our jurisprudential, religious, and legal basis is this; we are not seeking weapons, but we need nuclear enrichment. Today, this need may not be very apparent, but in ten years, it will certainly be apparent. If we do not prepare ourselves today and do not enhance the capabilities of the country in this regard, in ten years we will have to start from scratch; this is our logic. Therefore, we can utilize these capabilities, strengthen these capabilities; these are among our pressure levers, it stops the other party. Therefore, this statement that we should negotiate is not correct.

Fortunately, all the officials of the country are united on this matter; that is, the executive officials, the diplomatic officials, the political executive officials of the country are all united that absolutely no negotiation with the Americans is recommended; not just in this particular government [of America]; no, the behavior of the previous American government—the Obama administration—did not differ fundamentally and essentially from the behavior of this government; its appearances were different, but its essence was the same. Therefore, today everyone is united on this matter. They should keep in mind that we will undoubtedly not fall for the tricks of the Americans in this regard. For now, the resolution of the Supreme National Security Council is this, and after that, anything that is necessary; that is, always stopping at this level does not mean it is fixed, but for now, this is it; if necessary, if it becomes appropriate, in the next phase, other pressure tools can also be utilized.

The issue of Quds Day this year is more important than any other year. Of course, the issue of Palestine is a fundamental issue and is not limited to governments and Islamic countries; the issue of Palestine is a humanitarian issue; human consciences are compelled to react to what has happened to the Palestinian nation; it is not merely an Islamic issue; of course, for Muslims, this matter has greater importance, greater priority, and besides the humanitarian aspect, it has religious and legal dimensions, but the issue is a humanitarian one. Therefore, the Quds Day march, which defends Palestine through popular presence, is always important, and this year it is more important due to the treacherous actions that some of America's followers are taking in the region to promote the “Deal of the Century,” which will certainly not be accepted and will never be realized; and America and its followers will undoubtedly fail in this matter as well. The difference from the past is that now they explicitly say they want to make the issue of Palestine as if it never existed and remove it from the world's issues, which of course they will not be able to do and will fail.

O Lord! For Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, make all that we have said, all that we intend, all that we do, for You and in Your way. O Lord! Day by day, bring our universities closer to the standard of Islamic universities; grant Your grace and mercy to professors, managers, students, and all university members.

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