Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran needs scientific upsurge, political independence must be safeguarded

The leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed the country must reach the forefront of global science. 

Ayatollah Khamenei also said scientific and technological elites are capable of making positive changes and enabling Iran to achieve a 100% favorable level in terms of scientific and technological development. 

Ayatollah Khamenei made the comments in a meeting with Iranian scientific Olympiad medalists. 

In the meeting, the leader described the elite youth as a source of “great, deep and true hope”, adding that the country needs a scientific upsurge and the young elites are the main factor in meeting this national need. 

Ayatollah Khamenei noted, “Unlike some officials over the past decades, I fully believe in the youth and youth motivation, and I consider you a great wealth that is worth much more than your honorable medals”. 

Referring to the 200-year period of British and then American political domination over Iran, the Leader said that during that era, Iran’s culture and scientific development were destroyed, and politically, they kept Iran at a low stage. 

Ayatollah Khamenei also said the Islamic Revolution relied on mostly young manpower and made leaps in various political, scientific, and technological spheres as well as social ethics. 

He called on the young elites to work toward finding solutions to various problems, adding that winning a medal or a high rank in the university entrance exam is only the beginning of the process of becoming an elite, and “we must continue down this path with intellectual and practical creativity in the fields of science and technology and ethics”.

Ayatollah Khamenei then spoke about the formation of a fruitful scientific movement in the 2000s and the acceleration of the country’s scientific progress. 

The leader said that in the last years of the 2010s, this movement declined to some extent, which has been partially reversed in the last two or three years. 

Ayatollah Khamenei underscored that Iran needs a scientific upsurge to reach the forefront of global science, which will be possible thanks to efforts by young elites. 

The Leader then called Iran’s political independence a tangible reality and said the Islamic Republic has a logical vision for important issues of the world that even Iran’s adversaries count on. 

He stressed that this political independence should not be violated and every administration that takes office must preserve it.