Describing the current situation in the world, he stated, “Today, the world is on the threshold of a new international order which is being formed after [the failure of] the bipolar order and unipolar theory [as alleged by the Americans]. Of course, the US is becoming weaker on a daily basis.”
He went on to say, “The recent Ukraine war should be looked at more deeply and within the new international order, which will probably be followed by complex, difficult events. In such new, complex circumstances, all countries including the Islamic Republic have a responsibility to be active in the fields of both software and hardware in this new order for the purpose of ensuring the interests and security of the country and avoiding being pushed aside. In order to carry out this great duty, the most responsibility falls on the students and those involved in academics. Therefore, universities are becoming increasingly important.”
At the end of this part of his speech, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on intellectuals, experts and theoreticians to hold debates and meetings to investigate these matters.
Referring to international Quds Day, which is imminent, Imam Khamenei said this event will be different from previous years. He explained, “The Palestinian people and youth have been making great sacrifices and the Zionist regime has been committing the most malicious crimes and doing the worst things that it can. And the US and Europe are supporting them.”
He described the Palestinian nation as being powerful, despite the fact that they are being oppressed. He referred to the struggle on the path of God and the resistance of the Palestinian youth who do not let the issue of Palestine be forgotten. The Leader emphasized, “Quds Day is a good opportunity for announcing one’s unanimity and empathy with the oppressed people of Palestine and for boosting their morale.”
Criticizing the performance of Islamic governments on the issue of Palestine, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “Unfortunately, Islamic governments act in a very bad way. They are not even willing to discuss the issue of Palestine. And some of them think the way to help Palestine is to establish relations with the Zionists, but this is a grave mistake.”
Imam Khamenei stressed that the Egyptian government made this grave mistake 40 years ago by establishing relations with the Zionists. He explained, “Did Egypt’s establishing relations with the Zionist regime lead to the crimes of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian nation becoming less and lead to less disrespect of Al-Aqsa Mosque? So why do some Islamic governments want to repeat the same mistake committed by Anvar al-Sadat?
He stressed that establishing such relations will not be of any use to the Zionist regime either and said, “I hope that by God’s favor, the Palestinian cause will have a felicitous, favorable ending and that the Palestinians will soon regain control of their own land and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Referring to the upcoming Quds Day, Imam Khamenei stated, “Considering the great sacrifices that have been made by the people of Palestine and the intensification of the Zionists’ crimes and maliciousness, this year’s Quds Day will be different from previous years. We must boost their strength and morale by expressing our support and unanimity with the Palestinians who are oppressed, but at the same time who are strong people.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that one reason today’s universities in Iran are different from before the Revolution is due to the extent of their influence over the issues of the country. He explained, “The vast fields that are open to universities today has considerably increased their influence on the issues of the country and this is another reason why we must pay more attention to universities. Regarding universities, there are two serious concerns. One is the destruction of identity and the other is the destruction of ideals.”
He also added, “The destruction of identity is synonymous with the destruction of ideology because ideology is what makes up a nation’s philosophy, values and identity. The destruction of identity means the humiliation of intellectual principles and the historical and national viewpoints of the country. It means humiliating the country’s and the Revolution’s past, belittling the great achievements made and magnifying the shortcomings.”
He stated that their goal in destroying identity is to replace the Iranian, religious identity with the west’s ideology. He referred to the 2030 education agenda as being a manifestation of western neocolonialism and said, “On the basis of western ideology, the great legacy of thinking and culture in the country must be weakened or wiped out. In addition, the large number of youth who are ready to climb to the peaks of honor and national dignity would become disappointed and a feeling of being in a dead end situation would be injected into them. Therefore, we should be concerned and we should stand up against such an outlook bravely and with a strong rationale.”
As to the second concern, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “One of the manifestations of destroying ideals is causing the young generation and those in academics to feel indifferent toward poverty, corruption and discrimination as three big Satans and three evil elements.”
Imam Khamenei added, “Another example of destroying ideals is causing the youth to become indifferent toward the domination of western culture and less motivated with regard to the values of the Islamic Revolution.”
He stated that resistance in the face of oppression and refusal to surrender to aggression are values of the Islamic Revolution. Furthermore, he said, “These values shook the whole world and attracted nations to Islamic Iran. Because of these values, whenever an Iranian president travelled to another country, no matter what his political orientation was, the people there would give him a warm reception and they would open the Islamic Republic’s flag, unlike the US flag which would be burned by the people in those countries.”
Elsewhere in his statements, Imam Khamenei offered some words of advice to students and student groups.
His first advice was to refrain from being passive and hopeless. He explained, “You must be the center for injecting hope in others because since the country has made astounding progress in different areas such as science, technology and health over the course of these year, the problems can be solved in other areas too.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed that if the youth lose their hope, this will negatively affect the other mechanisms of progress in the country too. He explained this by saying, “During the 8-Year Sacred Defense, while some people were insisting that the enemy’s transgressions could not be stopped, the youth who were your age saved the country with their determination and they impressed the world by liberating Khorramshahr.”
Imam Khamenei added, “Of course, by making the mistake of losing hope, some individuals in previous generations left the arena or joined voices with the enemy. Therefore, you should be careful not to turn back from moving toward the peaks and the ideals.”
The next advice that Imam Khamenei offered to students was for them to think deeply and to strengthen correct thinking within themselves. He stated that the result of science without thinking is harmful phenomena such as weapons of mass destruction. He went on to say, “In order to think correctly, one needs teachers and mentors. As an example, the late Ayatollah Misbah was a mentor and a reference point in terms of intellectual matters.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called on students to think deeply about the main issues of the country and to become familiar with them. He said, “When you concentrate on thinking and researching about one or two issues, the results of this concentrated research will be valuable to the organizations in charge.”
Imam Khamenei described this year’s slogan “Production: Knowledge-Based and Job-Creating” as being a noteworthy matter for student groups. He also added, “By concentrating on this issue, you should bring about discussions about this. You must work against destructive elements such as the deplorable sales of raw materials, unnecessary imports and smuggling.”
