The first meeting of the National Committee for Basic Sciences of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO has been held during the new term of the Commission’s specialised committees. It took place on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, with individual and institutional committee members in attendance, and the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, was elected chair of the committee by its members.

At the meeting, which was attended by the founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) and Honorary Chair of the National Committee for Basic Sciences, Prof Yousef Sobouti, the Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Dr Hassan Fartousi, welcomed the committee members and stressed the importance of launching the committee and its role in strengthening scientific and research cooperation in basic sciences.

The Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO also explained the structure of the specialised committees, the new regulations governing their activities, and the mandates of the National Committee for Basic Sciences, and stressed the need to draw on the country’s scientific capacities and expand international engagement in this field.

Subsequently, the Director of the Natural Sciences Group of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and Secretary of the National Committee for Basic Sciences, Ms Sahar Ahmadizadeh, presented a report on the latest developments and plans of the UNESCO International Basic Sciences Programme and outlined areas for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s participation in and engagement with international programmes and initiatives in this field.

The committee members exchanged views on existing capacities for expanding scientific and research cooperation, strengthening interaction among the country’s scientific and specialised institutions, and making more effective use of the capacities of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and the UNESCO International Basic Sciences Programme.

In the final part of the meeting, elections for the executive board of the National Committee for Basic Sciences were held. On the basis of the members’ votes, the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, was elected chair, and the committee elected as vice-chair Prof Azam Irajizad.

Also, in view of the scientific standing and valuable record of the founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Prof Yousef Sobouti, in basic sciences, and his prominent role in advancing science and education in the basic sciences in the country, he was appointed Honorary Chair of the National Committee for Basic Sciences.

The appointment decrees of the committee’s individual members, which had been signed by the Minister of Science, Research and Technology, were also presented to them at the meeting.

The committee’s individual members include the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari; the founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) and Honorary Chair of the National Committee for Basic Sciences, Prof Yousef Sobouti; the vice-chair, Prof Azam Irajizad; and the other individual members, Prof Seyyed Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri, Dr Akram Ghadimi, Prof Hossein Salar-Amoli, Prof Tahereh Miremadi, Prof Khosrow Khajeh, Dr Somayeh Akbari, and Dr Peyman Salehi.

The committee’s institutional members include the Deputy for Research of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology; the Head of the Iranian National Science Foundation (INSF); the Head of the Institute for Cognitive Science Studies; the Head of the Basic Sciences Group of the Academy of Sciences; the Director of the International Centre for Basic Sciences related to health and human nutrition; the Director of the Regional Centre for the Development of Science and Technology Parks and Incubators; and the coordinator of the national committees.

The launch of the National Committee for Basic Sciences of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, and the election of the IASBS President, Prof Sadollah Nasiri Gheydari, as its chair, provide a basis for strengthening the presence and role of the country’s scientific capacities in international basic sciences programmes and for expanding cooperation among scientific, research, and international institutions.