Great post about self-determination and resilience.
"Forty-seven years have passed since the Iranian Revolution, spent under the harshest sanctions regime the modern era has known. So what has it accomplished? And what have we accomplished?
First: In the field of science and knowledge
Iran leaped from 52nd place globally in scientific publishing in 1996 to 15th place globally in 2023, according to the SCImago Institution. Alone, it surpassed the combined output of Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in nanotechnology research. Its universities today graduate more than 40,000 engineers annually, and it has become the fourth country in the world in the field of stem cells.
Second: In the field of self-sufficiency and sovereignty
A besieged country that managed to achieve 90% self-sufficiency in wheat. And *98% in medicine production after importing 70% of its needs 30 years ago. It turned the siege into an incentive, building a pharmaceutical industry that today exports to more than 50 countries.
Third: In the field of space and energy.
From rock bottom, Iran launched 13 satellites with local hands, becoming the ninth country in the world to join the space club. And in peaceful nuclear energy, it built its reactors and fuel despite all pressures, to secure the future of its generations.
And now, let us look at the vast Arab scene from ocean to gulf:
450 million Arabs, and a gross national product exceeding 3.5 trillion dollars. Wealth beneath the ground and above it. So what was the developmental outcome?
With all due respect to efforts here and there, the big picture is painful:
A frantic race to build the tallest towers and largest malls, and boasting about dairy factories, carbonated drinks, and ice cream.
Investments of billions of dollars in buying European clubs and soccer stars, while Arabs import 80% of their medicine, 90% of their weapons, and 60% of their food.
The paradox that pains the mind:
A besieged country that made a satellite, and a rich region that hasn't made a syringe needle without a foreign license. A country under sanctions that achieved wheat self-sufficiency, while Arabs import wheat to make bread from it, then boast about the quality of the packaging.
The lesson is not in praising Iran or condemning the Arabs. The lesson is in a central question:
Why did the besieged one succeed, and the one blessed one fail?
The answer in short:
Political will is a single decision that Iran made: We will not be subordinates. While the other side's decision was (we will not be producers).
Sovereignty is not bought with arms deals, nor built with soccer stadiums. Sovereignty is wrested by a free decision, real education, and faith that dignity begins with the loaf of bread you plant with your own hand."
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