A ceremony to name the hall of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) after ‘Martyr Seyyed Jaaber Ghaffari’ has been held, with the attendance of the Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Prof Hossein Simaee-Sarraaf, the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the province and Friday Prayer Leader of Zanjan, Houjjatul-Islam wal-Muslimin Mostafa Hosseini, a group of provincial officials, the martyr’s family, and members of the academic community.

According to a report from the university’s public relations office, at the start of the ceremony, the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, honoured the memory of the martyrs of Ramadan and congratulated the attendees, guests, and especially the family of the late Dr Seyyed Jaaber Ghaffari on the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr.

Subsequently, the Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Prof Hossein Simaee-Sarraaf, emphasised that the academic community and the people of Iran were indebted to the martyrs. He stated that the pride and dignity of the country were owed to the sacrifices of the martyrs and the support of their families, and that society always had to be grateful for this devotion and selflessness.

Reflecting on the importance of keeping the memory of martyrs alive, the Minister of Science added that naming university venues and spaces after martyrs was not merely a symbolic act, rather, these names serve as a guiding light for future generations and convey a culture of sacrifice, resistance, and responsibility.

During the ceremony, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the province and Friday Prayer Leader of Zanjan, Houjjatul-Islam wal-Muslimin Mostafa Hosseini, made reference to the cultural effects of this naming, saying that linking the higher education space to the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom would strengthen the spirit of resistance and promote transcendent values within the academic community.

He also mentioned the scientific and managerial character of Professor Yousef Sobouti, the founder of the IASBS, stating that if the country’s economic and cultural managers operated with a spirit similar to that of Professor Sobouti, many obstacles in achieving great and lasting work would be overcome.

Martyr Seyyed Jaaber Ghaffari was a doctoral student at the IASBS. He attained the great grace of martyrdom following an American-Zionist attack in Maragheh on 1 March 2026.

Other programmes during the one-day visit of the Minister of Science, Research and Technology to Zanjan included a tour of the IASBS, attendance at the inauguration of the Department of Biological Sciences and the IASBS Central Laboratory, a visit to the Innovation Centre, the Technology Complex and the Incubator of the University of Zanjan, attendance at the provincial Higher Education Management Council meeting, a meeting with the family of martyr student Ebrahim Nabavi, and participation in the provincial Planning and Development Council.