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War inflicts $300m damage on Iran’s research infrastructure
Iran’s vice president for science and technology Hossein Afshin said on Saturday that Iran’s research infrastructure sustained about $300 million in damage during the Ramadan war, while knowledge-based companies incurred losses equivalent to 650 trillion rials and $25 million in foreign-currency terms.
Speaking during a visit to the technology village at the University of Tehran College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Afshin said the government had launched a reconstruction program to restore damaged scientific and technological facilities, IRNA reported.
“The enemy targeted Iran’s scientific and technological capabilities, but these capacities will be rebuilt with strength,”
Afshin said the affected projects had focused on emerging technologies with civilian applications and stressed that investment in science and innovation remained essential for national progress.
“Any country that invests in science and technology will succeed,”
He added that Iran was moving toward a more internationally oriented approach to supporting knowledge-based enterprises and that the country’s science and technology parks must evolve beyond first- and second-generation innovation models.
Afshin also said support for knowledge-based companies would increasingly be tied to measurable outputs, allowing firms to attract credit-based assistance in proportion to the value they create.
At the same event, Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh Mousavi said strengthening food security required a comprehensive ecosystem linking innovation, private-sector investment, and scientific support.
“Food security still has a long road ahead in Iran, and achieving food sovereignty requires modern innovation and a systemic approach,” Mousavi said.
He described the university’s Innovation Village for Agriculture, Food Security, and Biosecurity as a model designed to turn scientific knowledge into economic value and enhance national resilience.