Minister urges rural students to pursue science, honor national identity
Iran’s Culture minister Abbas Salehi on Wednesday urged rural students to pursue academic success regardless of where they live, saying the country’s 3.5 million rural pupils should know that “the future belongs to you”. “The flag is not just paper or cloth; it is the identity card and identity of a nation,” Salehi said while speaking at the start of the school year at Shahid Sadooghi School in Kashar Olya village near Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported.
He said the flag, like a national identity card, must be protected and called on students to “stand up for the country” when needed.
Salehi highlighted Delaram village near Tafresh, a city in central Iran, saying 175 doctors emerged from the hamlet with nearly 200 households.
He said villages could also nurture doctors, engineers and scientists, and that birthplace should not limit academic achievement.
The minister paid tribute to student and teacher casualties, saying 36,000 students and 5,000 teachers sacrificed their lives for the country during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. He also cited 277 students and 67 teachers and education workers who fell after Israel launched a war on Iran in June 2025.