Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said here Tuesday that science is of great value and a means to attain national strength and wealth.
`Today, one of the fundamental approaches of the country should be scientific and technological progress,` said Ayatollah Khamenei in an address to a group of young scientific elites here on Tuesday.
The Supreme Leader said the country has been scientifically and technologically backward for 150 years but talented Iranian nation can move forward and make great strides to compensate the failure.
`Despite the backwardness, Iranian nation has abundant talent and strong intelligence, capability of using the valuable opportunity to take giant strides to make up the backwardness,` said Ayatollah Khamenei.
The paramount Leader said that the Iranian nation has gained numerous and significant progress over the past 12 years but one should not at all be content with such a degree of progress.
`All the progress have been gained by relying on domestic talents without making use of foreign assistance.
` Supreme Leader said that wealth is the requisite for scientific progress and compensation of backwardness.
`We should reach the level of power to use science for generating wealth and use the wealth thus gained for scientific progress,` said Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Supreme Leader said that the country should reach a stage in which it can increasingly generate science and wealth.
`The day we can earn profit from science and close oil wells, that day will be a good day for the Iranian nation,` the leader added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that scientific endeavors and achievements should be oriented towards spirituality and divinity.
`Unfortunately, western states, while maintaining science as a monopoly, abuse science and apply it against the interests of humanity and human values,` regretted the Iranian Supreme Leader.