Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says conditions set by Western countries for supplying Iran with nuclear fuel prompted the country�s young scientists to produce the fuel on Iran's soil.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with heads of Iranian universities and higher education centers in the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday.

�ln the case of selling 20-percent [nuclear] fuel [to Iran], Western [countries] set humiliating conditions. Of course, this ended in our favor and our youths made effort and produced it [inside the country],� the Leader added.

Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the success of the Iranian youths in producing nuclear fuel inside the country put Western countries �on edge.�

The Leader noted that according to the latest figures, Iran has gone down two notches in terms of the pace of its scientific progress.

�This is bad. With this pace of scientific progress we are way behind. We have been kept behind for many long years,� the Leader added.

Noting that the United States started its scientific progress 140 years ahead of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said, �The issue that amazed the world is the speed of our progress. They said the speed of the Islamic Republic�s scientific growth is 13 times that of the world�s [scientific] growth figure.�

Criticizing occasional un-Islamic moves in some universities, Ayatollah Khamenei said, �Some people have mistaken cultural work in universities for mixed concerts and camps.�

Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that cultural activities should train students who would be �creative, revolutionary, believing in [religious] ideals, loving their country and the Establishment, with insight, with self-confidence� and full of hope.

The Leader also told officials to give enough latitude to �faithful and revolutionary� youths for their activities.

Advising Iran's academic community to fight off the feeling of humiliation, the Leader said, �The feeling of humiliation is very dangerous. The entire world says that Iran is a dignified and powerful country and enemies are dismayed at Iran's [rising] influence, then some [people] in universities or in [their] newspaper say due to a sense of low esteem that �we are nothing and are isolated�. Now, if you underestimate yourself, why underestimate the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic Establishment as well?�

By Press TV