TEHRAN Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the Iranian youth should ensure a bright future for the country, using national, cultural wealth and their historical identity.

"The youth should make Iran a developed, prosperous and vibrant country politically, economically, culturally and socially," the Leader told thousands of young people in Gilan Province, IRNA reported.

Voicing his close affection for the youth, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the youth as a divine gift and blessing which if treated wisely by Iranian officials, can completely change the country's destiny.

However, the leader warned, if this blissful phenomenon is used as a tool and a means for sloganeering, it will entail all types of problems and negate all achievements.

Criticizing those who use greed and rhetoric in dealing with the youth, the Leader said, "Neglecting the real problems facing the youth and looking at the youth as tools which can be used on certain occasions such as elections, is quite wrong and unfair to the youth."

Ayatollah khamenei said the problem facing the youth is a national one whose solution deserves a national and public drive.

The Leader instructed all officials and organs, especially the executive branch of government, to explicitly identify this great phenomenon and draw up sound plans in order to benefit from the energy and talent of the youth for the progress and prosperity of the country and the nation.

The Leader cautioned against any hasty decisions and plan regarding the youth. Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination among three branches of government in dealing with youth affairs.

In case such sound plans are formulated by government officials no youth would be willing to leave the country or put up with humiliating behavior of aliens toward them, the Leader pointed out.

Turning to the plots hatched by enemies against Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei cautioned against premeditated plots of Zionists, Americans and global capitalism to distance the Iranian youth from their culture, identity and history and undermine their beliefs and faith.

"Our civilization is Iranian stemming from indigenous talents and culture. While benefitting from the positive experiences of the West, we will tread the road to progress and prosperity by relying solely on our own intellectual capabilities, talents, initiative and national will," the Leader said.

The Leader said the main goal of Western mass media's propaganda is to create a culture for the Iranian youth.

Criticizing certain domestic elements for repeating the words of aliens, the Leader said, "They try to humiliate the Iranian youth by negating the history and prestige of the nation so that the country's youth would accept West's cultural patterns."

Ayatollah Khamenei said the pressing need of the Iranian youth is to find their pure identity. The Iranian youth should be truly vigilant and protect their identity against Western cultural inroad in the best possible manner, added the Leader.

The Leader rejected the idea that the third generation of the revolution would turn away from religious values. "Of course, there are cultural factors that may corrupt the youth, but the Iranian youth today, who have grown up in a revolutionary environment, are pious, knowledgeable, prudent and capable of making their own analyses," he added.

The paramount Leader expressed confidence that negative cultural propaganda would not have the slightest effects on the youth.

Ayatollah Khamenei called on the mass media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and the press, to offer a proper model for the youth to follow.

The Iranian youth in 1970s created the epic of the Islamic Revolution and in the 1980s brought to its knees the (Iraq) enemy, which was armed to the teeth, said the Leader, adding that today the young generation in Iran can score great successes in the next two decades and prove itself as a model to the world public opinion.