According to the university's public relations report: Students from Qom University of Technology, along with thousands of people from the holy city of Qom, went to meet the Supreme Leader (may his shadow last forever).
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in the meeting with thousands of people from Qom this morning, mentioned faith and religious knowledge, scientific power, resilient economy, and maintaining national dignity as the four fundamental elements of the country’s and the Iranian nation’s strength. He emphasized the important duty of officials, senior managers, academics, clergy, intellectuals, and political and cultural activists to strengthen these elements of power, stating: The most important lesson of the 19th of Dey uprising by the people of Qom is knowing the enemy and the methods and directions of enmity, and timely and precise action against it.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, during this meeting coinciding with the thirty-ninth anniversary of the historic uprising of the people of Qom on January 9, 1978, noted the awareness of the moment's needs and the timely action of the people of Qom as the most important characteristic of this movement and added: For this reason, the uprising of the people of Qom left its mark and laid the groundwork for subsequent movements and ultimately the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
He described the Islamic Revolution as the dignified leap of the Iranian nation for liberation from dependency and backwardness and stated: Certainly, this movement will face resistance and opposition from those whose interests lie in the dependency and backwardness of the Iranian nation.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, while mentioning some comments regarding the fabrication of enemies in the Islamic Revolution, emphasized: The Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation have never sought to create enemies, but the arrogant bullies who seized Iran and were expelled from this country, whose interests lie in the dependency and backwardness of the nation, today are the bloodthirsty and irreconcilable enemies of the Iranian people.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei considered the main condition for the elimination of this enmity to be the enemy's despair and added: Hostility towards the Islamic system and the Iranian nation exists, and in response, the most important duty is to identify the enemy and its goals and stand firm against them.
He posed the question of who the enemy is: The main enemies of independent and progressive Iran are the United States, the UK, international usurers, and Zionists.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution noted: Indeed, besides foreign enemies, we also have internal enemies, characterized by lack of motivation, despair, lethargy, lack of enthusiasm, laziness, wrong policies, bad behaviors, various disagreements, and narrow-mindedness.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized: If we become lazy and do not act in a timely manner, misidentify the enemy, and mistake a truly great devil for a rogue brother as the enemy, we will be harmed.
He regarded the existence of the main foreign enemies not as a slogan but as a reality based on substantiated foundations and said: When the so-called affable U.S. Secretary of State advises the next government in his farewell letter to be as tough as possible on Iran and maintain sanctions, because concessions can be extracted from Iran through toughness, is this not an enemy? Indeed, it is an enemy—but a smiling enemy; and the behavior of this smiling enemy is no different than that of the enemy who labels Iran as the axis of evil.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: The assertion that the enemy is a mere slogan or an enemy fabrication is incorrect, and if we open our eyes, we will see the enemy.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei also emphasized the enmity of the British, stating: The elderly, obsolete colonialist England has once again returned to the Persian Gulf and intends to utilize the countries in this region to achieve its interests, and for this reason, while being a real threat itself, it claims that Iran is the threat.
He said: British circles are also planning and making decisions for the countries of the region and Iran, and one of their goals is the disintegration of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya, and they have the same intent regarding Iran, but since they are terrified of Iranian public opinion, they do not speak of it openly.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: The British, in their own estimation, are planning for the restrictions and sanctions of the post-JCPOA era and are training and arming local individuals in the region, including Iran, to use them against the Islamic system and the nation.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei, after listing concrete examples of hostile actions by Britain against the Iranian nation, remarked: Is this not an enemy? Can you find a more vile enemy than this? Thus, we must recognize the enemy and its methods of hostility.
He emphasized that all segments of society, including officials, youth, workers, and academics, must identify the enemy and its objectives, stating: The enemy's main target is the Iranian nation and the Islamic system, and if sometimes they show enmity towards certain individuals or organizations, it is because those individuals or organizations have stood against them, and the enemy seeks to remove these individuals or entities from its path.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution deemed the most important duty of officials, academics, clergy, and cultural and political activists under such circumstances to be enhancing the country’s power and fortification through strengthening the elements of national power and added: One of the most significant elements of national power and dynamism is the religious faith of the people, especially the youth, because throughout the past 140 years, every influential and transformative movement that occurred in the country had faith as its main element.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei referred to events such as the tobacco protest, the constitutional revolution, and the nationalization of the oil industry, emphasizing: In all these instances, religious faith and the leadership of scholars and clergy as symbols of the people’s piety took precedence, and any deviation or failure in these matters arose from straying away from the religious element and sidelining the scholars.
He pointed out the unparalleled role of faith in the 15th of Khordad uprising, the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Sacred Defense Era, and recent events, affirming: Today, there is a widespread effort to weaken or eradicate religious faith among the people, especially the youth, but we must preserve and strengthen this element of power.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution considered the effectiveness of religious faith to depend on its conjunction with religious knowledge and added: Religious knowledge means the presence of religion in society, politics, economics, and governance—the same as the famous statement made by the late Modarres, who said, "Our religiosity is our politics."
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the planning and design of American and British think tanks to counter political religion and separate religion from politics, noting: They seek religion confined to the corners of mosques and inside homes, merely within individuals, not a religion that acts in economics and politics and resists the enemy.
He stressed: The enemy fears the kind of religion that governs the state, economy, power, politics, military, and financial and administrative systems; therefore, authentic religious knowledge entails the inseparability of religion from life and politics.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution called scientific power the second pillar of the country's strength and stated: Despite the mischief caused by certain self-declared agents who aim to demoralize the youth and push them to emigrate from the country, revolutionary and faithful youth are persisting and continuing their scientific endeavors, with a recent example observed in the meeting with the elite Basij members and award-winning students of Sharif University of Technology a few days ago.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized: One of the main ways to fortify the country is to continue scientific progress; thus, scientific efforts should not be halted or slowed down.
He referred to resilient economy as the third element of the country’s strength and added: The people should not suffer from various economic problems such as unemployment and recession while officials merely talk, as the main aim of sanctions is to create economic hardships and apply pressure on the people, separating them from the system, and even when the sanctions are lifted, they act in ways that keep the issues unresolved.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated: The antidote to this enemy design is the resilient economy that we have repeatedly discussed.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized: A country with a strong economy will see its currency gain value, and both its officials and citizens will gain status.
He added: One of the main methods to fortify the economy is to liberate it from dependence on oil revenue, as oil prices serve as leverage for others to pressure countries.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution enumerated the preservation of national dignity as the fourth factor of national strength and stressed: National dignity means maintaining the country and the nation's honor in international negotiations and diplomatic interactions, and refusing to yield to oppression.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei concluded this section of his speech by remarking: If we recognize and strengthen these elements of national power and gain awareness of the enemies' goals and methods, we can plan and resist against their designs. However, if we fail to identify these elements and lack insight, we may inadvertently assist the enemy and target our own friends and allies instead of the enemy.
He pointed out the enemy's efforts to eliminate the factors of national strength, saying: The eradication of faith, modesty, and chastity, adherence to religious principles, the rule of religion, halting scientific progress, undermining national dignity, and weakening the authorities and organizations that embody the country's strength are part of the enemy's agenda against which we must stand firm.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution regarded the attack on the IRGC, Basij, and the Guardian Council as part of the enemy's strategy to weaken the institutions and organizations that represent the strength of the country and added: I do not get involved in the recent disputes between the heads of the two branches, as it is not an important issue and will, with divine assistance, resolve; although the enemy seeks to exaggerate them, everyone should appreciate the existence of an independent and courageous judiciary.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized: I have always supported the governments, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the judiciary, yet we must examine the enemy's intentions and thwart them.
He asserted: Today, the most critical goals of the country include having a strong security apparatus, a robust and popular military, a significant public movement called the Basij, an aware clergy engaged in the frontlines, a powerful and complete judiciary, and a well-planned and courageous government. Attaining these goals will ensure the success of the Iranian nation’s movement, and we must secure any lacking elements and maintain those that are already in place.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the numerous and widespread scientific and cultural advancements of the faithful and revolutionary youth in the country, stating: Today, the best medalists in scientific competitions are Basij youth, and the talented youth, intelligent minds, and professors with revolutionary thought, motivation, and resolve are actively engaged in scientific, cultural, artistic, and political spheres, and we officials have a duty to assist these motivated youth in every way possible.
He highlighted the enemy's misunderstanding of the Iranian nation, citing the events of 2009 as an example of the enemy's miscalculations and remarked: During the 2009 unrest, the enemy, believing they had the situation under control, had maneuvered into sensitive areas; however, the sudden public movement of January 9, which was akin to the movement of Dey 19, left them astonished.
His Excellency Ayatollah Khamenei once again assigned the task of "preserving and strengthening the factors of national power" to all active social sectors, emphasizing: Even those who may not adhere to faith and Shariah but love Iran and are not traitors or enemies in disguise must understand that attacking the Islamic faith of the youth is an act of betrayal against Iran and the country.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in conclusion, reiterated the lesson from the January 9 incident: recognizing the enemy and their methods of hostility, and being ready to resist and respond comprehensively against them. He emphasized: If we adhere to this lesson, the cunning and global enemies will not be able to do anything against the Iranian nation.
