Health Minister Confirms Scientific Fraud by Some University Professors in Iran

The Health Minister of the Islamic Republic states that the report from the reputable journal 'Nature' regarding 'scientific theft' by some members of university faculty in Iran is 'completely accurate', while the head of the Food and Drug Organization denies this issue. According to a report on Thursday, November 10, from the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Health Minister, mentioned that so far, cases have been opened against 19 faculty members in the country related to this journal's report. He stated that these cases will be dealt with 'seriously and decisively' in the administrative violations court. Expressing regret over the 'violation' that has occurred, Mr. Qazizadeh Hashemi announced that the violators are from the faculty members of Azad University, the Ministry of Science, and medical universities in the country. The Health Minister announced that these individuals 'purchased articles from companies to achieve a higher ranking, which is considered outright fraud.' According to this official, 'the addresses of all domestic companies have been obtained and submitted to the Ministry of Intelligence.' Qazizadeh Hashemi added that 'the scientific ranking of universities whose faculty members have committed such violations will be changed.' Changes in the ranking of faculty members in case of their promotion with these articles and the possibility of halting their activities in academic environments have been announced as other punishments for these individuals. Last week, Nature reported that 58 articles written by 282 researchers residing in Iran were removed by one of the most reputable publishers of scientific articles. Springer Nature, the publisher of one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals, Nature, issued a statement indicating that 'evidence of fraud and scientific theft' was found in the articles of Iranian researchers. In all the articles that Springer has removed from the scientific articles list, evidence of manipulation in identifying the main author of the article and manipulation in peer review has been observed. The sale of academic theses, scientific research, and specialized articles has become a profitable business in Iran for years, and responsible officials have confirmed this issue and repeatedly stated that they will confront this phenomenon. Currently, a significant number of companies active in selling theses and articles have established various websites in Iran and are openly operating in this field. So far, no accurate statistics on the amount of thesis buying and selling in Iran have been published, and it is unclear what the financial turnover of this 'scientific trade' is annually. Meanwhile, some other officials in Iran believe that this phenomenon has been shaped and directed by the 'enemies' of the Islamic Republic and 'counter-revolutionary' movements. On October 20 of this year, Mohammad Reza Makbari Dezfuli, Secretary of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, stated that 'thesis selling' in Iran is 'an organized and designed flow supported by foreigners and problematic elements' that will be confronted. Mr. Dezfuli added: 'There are movements at external levels and some of their internal followers that seek to distort our country's scientific progress and harm it or contaminate it.' In this context, Rasoul Dinarvand, head of the Food and Drug Organization, also told Fars News Agency on Friday, November 11, that 'the claims regarding the publication of fake articles by me and other professors and prominent scientific figures in the country are 100 percent false.' Mr. Dinarvand stated: 'Not only do the claimants of publishing fake articles have no knowledge of article writing, but our recent investigations indicate the activity of behind-the-scenes anti-revolutionary hands beyond our borders.' The head of the Food and Drug Organization added: 'These 58 fake articles announced in Nature have no connection to me or other well-known scientists in Iran.' According to him, 'the names of those who have published fake articles are known, and there is no connection or even name similarity with me and several other well-known scientists in the country.'