I would prefer to begin by answering questions posed by the dear students, who are thirsty for knowledge and eager for progress, since it gives one great pleasure to answer the young people's questions and remove their ambiguities.
Besides, considering that creating ambiguities in the minds of our young people is the main policy of the circles that are opposed to the Islamic Republic, removing these ambiguities is of great significance.
However, there are a couple of important issues that I would like to mention first, and I am sure these issues are also of interest to our dear young people. Therefore, I will talk about these subjects first, and then I will proceed to answer the questions.
The first issue concerns the current U.S. adventurism in the world and its direct or indirect threats against other nations. The fact is that ever since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the United States has been trying to portray itself as the only superpower in a unipolar world. But with the election of the incumbent U.S. president, who is the right person for adventurism and aggression, the domination-seeking attitude of the United States has intensified, and this country is presently trying to impose its hegemony on other nations, forcing them to make concessions and fulfill its demands.
The United States is, in particular, casting covetous eyes on the Middle East, because this region is rich in oil and other natural and mineral resources. Our country, which is located in this region, is also attracting the attention of this arrogant and aggressor power for several reasons.
First of all, Iran is a country rich in natural resources like oil and gas. It is worthy of mention that our country possesses the second largest gas reserves in the world. Second, Iran's geographical location is of considerable importance, since it has long coasts in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Besides, our country is the West's major gateway to the Central Asia.
Nevertheless, the primary reason for U.S. hostility toward our country is the Islamic identity of our system and the fact that our Islamic system is opposed to oppression, domination, dictatorship and political, economic or cultural dependence on others. This opposition stems from the religious beliefs and tenets on which our Islamic system is based.
Furthermore, our system is religious democracy, which is different from Western democracy. The main difference between the two is that religious democracy originates in religious beliefs but Western democracy is based on liberalism. In the former no one has the right to manipulate public opinion to win an election, but in the latter this practice is quite common.
It is natural that an Islamic system with these characteristics should be viewed as an enemy and an intolerable rival by such an oppressive power as the United States, which is trying to establish a global dictatorship and further its own interests by dominating other nations and trampling on their rights. It is also clear that the conflict and confrontation between the two is something natural and unavoidable.
This confrontation has existed ever since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and the United States has been taking hostile measures against the Islamic Republic ever since its establishment.
These measures began with a resolution issued by the U.S. Senate against our country some three or four months after the victory of our revolution. Then the United States engineered a military coup against our Islamic system, but the coup was thwarted.
Next, Washington froze Iran's assets in U.S. banks and imposed economic sanctions on our country. The United States also instigated all the counterrevolutionary groups to take subversive action against our Islamic system.
Even in the case of Iraq's military aggression against our country, the evidence and documents that have since surfaced show that the United States had extended full support to Iraq and encouraged it to wage its full-scale war on the Islamic Republic.
Among other hostile measures taken by the United States against our country was the downing of an Iranian airliner flying over the Persian Gulf, which resulted in the death of almost 300 passengers and crew. The U.S. forces also attacked our oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.
When I was president, I visited the United Nations and made a very informative speech at the UN General Assembly. The speech, which was broadcast live by several European television channels, was bound to have a strong influence on public opinion.
On the same day that I made the speech or on the next day, U.S. forces intercepted the Iranian ship Iran-Arj in the Persian Gulf, and the U.S. media in a concerted and coordinated move claimed that the ship was assigned to plant mines in the sea! This propaganda campaign was clearly intended to overshadow the speech and offset its influence.
The United States took all kinds of hostile measures, including political, economic and even military measures, against our country, but could not achieve much in its confrontation with the Islamic Republic.
U.S. officials realized that as long as the Iranian people remained loyal to their religion and cultural and moral values, those hostile measures were doomed to failure. Consequently, they came to the conclusion that they had to focus more on the religious beliefs and cultural and moral values of the Iranian nation.
This is why the United States has intensified its cultural onslaught and subversive measures against our religious beliefs and moral values for the past eight or nine years.
However, despite all this, U.S. officials know very well that it is not easy for them to achieve their goals with regard to Iran. The reason is that unlike Iraq or Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic is a democratic system that relies on the Iranian nation.
It is a system that has been established by our nation and is now being protected by the Iranian people themselves. Besides, our young people who constitute the majority of our population are the main pillars of our Islamic system. These are the realities that our enemies are also very well aware of.
My dear ones! The major factor in the protection of your country in the face of any aggression, adventurism or crisis is your national unity and solidarity. Today, the arrogant powers have found out that they cannot dominate a nation through bombs and missiles as long as that nation adheres to its religious beliefs and is determined to defend its country and safeguard its dignity and independence.
Finally, what I would like to stress is that you should take the issue of raising the scientific level of our universities seriously and bear in mind that achieving this objective is possible only through research.
I was very pleased when one of the students said that a larger budget should be allocated for research. At a previous meeting that I had with the university professors, they also made the same request.
It is very encouraging that both our students and professors are interested in the promotion of science and technology in our country, which is the key to our progress and development and the accomplishment of our lofty objectives.