Iran’s leading elites and scientific professionals met with Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei at Husseiniyah of Imam Khomeini on Wednesday during the 12th National Elite Foundation Conference in Tehran, as Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the elites among the most precious assets of the country, adding: “The presence of the youth, especially talented youth, engenders hope wherever they are. I truly thank God that now after the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished in our country, this lively, energetic, promising meeting is being held in person once again."

He stated that the elites, especially those talented in scientific developments including universities, should be regarded as a wealth and as important as natural resources, geographical locations, and climate. He further labeled them as important pillars of the country's progress, expressing that they resemble obstacles in the way of enemies trying to benefit from attacking Iran through the closure of universities and the suspension of scientific activity.

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"Everyone, especially the officials and the most effective figures in the country, should consider the scientific elites as one of the most important assets of the country and support them, and the elites should turn their individual capacities and talents into the capital of the country's progress," he added.

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Ayatollah Khamenei stated that “in the last forty-three years, they [enemies] have talked about the collapse of the Islamic Republic several times, but the stability and continuity of the [Islamic] Revolution showed that the analyses were wrong and unrealistic."

The Leader of the Revolution also called the institutions of universities to be one of the biggest obstacles to the domination of arrogance, commenting, "The bullying world powers use weapons, deception and even science to dominate others and hold nations back, so a university that raises the level of the country's science actually prevents the domination of the enemy."

"After the Islamic Revolution, with the development of universities in all parts of the country, the stunning increase in the number of students and professors and the establishment of numerous research institutes and think tanks, the field for the development of science and elitism has been provided, and the goal of the Islamic Republic, which is the expansion of universities and the promotion of scientific ability, has been achieved," he further noted.

By highlighting that Iranian academics did not place the country in need of the West or their assets, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Without any exaggeration, our academic elites are the cause of Iran's reputation, and they aroused the admiration of the scientific societies of the world in every field, so others should appreciate you and I am very grateful to you."

In honoring the elites, academics, and their achievements, he spoke of Royan Research Institute’s success in fields such as stem cells and cloning of live animals, breaking through in biochemistry, launching satellites into space, achieving fundamental milestones in the nuclear industry, producing complex vaccines such as the Covid-19 vaccine and generating outstanding developments in the rocket and drone industries.

Senior military adviser to the Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, stated during an event for a military academy in Tehran that the Iranian army developed deterrence in several fields after it exceptionally employed science and technology, revealing Iran received requests for military equipment purchases.