Pezeshkian Urges Iran’s Intellectual Elite to Lead Domestic Reform and Overcome External Challenges

Tehran, The Gulf Observer: President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged Iran’s intellectual elite to take a leading role in driving domestic reform and addressing the challenges posed by foreign adversaries.

Speaking at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran on Monday to mark the start of the new academic year for universities and research institutions nationwide, the president underscored the crucial role of Iran’s scholars, researchers, and students in shaping the nation’s progress.

“The enemy believes Iran has weakened and sees this as the moment to strike,” President Pezeshkian cautioned. “But if our elites step forward, the enemy won’t be able to do a thing.”

He expressed concern over what he described as a troubling paradox — a nation rich in both natural and human resources, yet still grappling with persistent economic and social problems.

“It is neither acceptable nor dignified that a country blessed with divine wealth faces a mountain of difficulties,” the president stated, stressing that the root of these issues lies not in external pressures alone but in the mismanagement and underutilization of national potential.

“We haven’t used what God has given us properly,” Pezeshkian said. “The way forward is to rely on those with knowledge, capability, and the will to solve problems.”

Addressing the academic community directly, the president called on students and professors to embrace skill-based learning and innovation aimed at finding practical solutions to real-world challenges.