Enemy Seeks Closure of Universities to Hinder Country’s Progress

President Ebrahim Raisi said universities are the main sources of progress in the country, which is why the enemies seek to shut them down and discourage and divide students. 
“Today, our universities have hit the enemies and for this reason, they wanted to create chaos and cause cancellation of classes,” he said at a ceremony on the occasion of National Student Day which was held in Tehran University on Wednesday, President.ir reported.
The country’s academic society, however, showed that the real voice of Iranian students is that of countering arrogance, he stressed. 
Iranian cities have seen unrest following the death of a young girl in police custody in September. 
The protests later developed into violent clashes between rioters and security forces which later spilled into universities. 
Tehran blames western countries, particularly the United States, for provoking violence and orchestrating terrorist actions to pressurize the country as part of a “hybrid war”. 
“Certainly, a strong Iran will not be favorable for Americans and they want it ravaged like Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and other countries which were assaulted by them,” Raisi said, adding that Iran is different and homes honorable people who would never allow such schemes to succeed. 
He also described the motto of “life and freedom” by those countries who have deprived the Iranian nation of their life through sanctions and pressure as a “ridiculous claim”. 
Iran has been under tough American sanctions since 2018 when the US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal unilaterally. The restrictions have affected the health and medical sectors, according to Iranian officials. 

Behind the Scenes 

The president later highlighted the difference between protest and disturbance, saying while the first leads to reform and constructiveness, the latter will result in destruction and insecurity. 
“Our people and the country’s academic society know well the difference between protest and turmoil and have therefore made [the enemies] disappointed,” he said. 
Raisi underlined enemy efforts to impede reform in the country’s executive management, including attempts to stop oil and non-oil exports, to obstruct effective relations with neighboring countries and prevent a boost in the volume of foreign trade. 
“In spite of all these plots, today our oil export has increased to the pre-sanctions level, our relations with Asian infrastructures have improved through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union, and the foreign trade volume has risen by 48%, while hundreds of closed or half-closed factories have returned to the cycle of production or are beginning their operations,” he said. 
The president called on the academic community to be narrators of such instances of progress for the public. 
He also said behind the scenes of current riots and insecurity in the country was a plan to stop this progress, close down universities and disappoint the people. 
“All of us, authorities, and you, the students’ society and professors, must focus our efforts on making people more hopeful by hard and round-the-clock work,” he said. 
“If this happens, rest assured that the enemy will become more disappointed day by day and people will become more hopeful day by day.” 
Raisi said universities can also assist the government as a think tank in identifying and addressing problems. 
“We believe that given the great capacities of the country, and with the support of the people, problems can be resolved and economy and people’s livelihoods will improve,” he said. 
Before the president’s speech, a number of students from difference disciplines expressed their views about the current issues of the country.