Ministry of Science Denies Ahmadinejad University Allegations

After the Iranian University, associated with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the Ministry of Science of deactivating its website in a statement introducing its new internet address, the Ministry of Science denied this claim on Tuesday, December 29. Hossein Hosseini, the Director General of the Higher Education Expansion Office at the Ministry of Science, told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA): "The Ministry of Science cannot take such an action, and if this has happened, it was not by the Ministry of Science." He emphasized that the ministry is following legal procedures to deal with this university and added: "The issue has not yet been communicated to legal authorities by the Ministry of Science." He stressed: "Since the license for this university is illegal, it was decided that the legal department of the Ministry of Science would prevent its activities through legal channels... no action has been taken yet." In this regard, Mr. Hosseini had stated on Wednesday, December 3, that "we do not have anything called the Iranian University that has a license in the country." The non-profit Iranian University received its license from the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, chaired by Ahmadinejad himself, in the last days of his presidency. The Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology announced on Sunday, September 14, that this university "lacks the license to establish and conduct educational and research activities." The ministry also reported that the resolution of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council granting Ahmadinejad permission to establish this university has been "revoked and rendered ineffective." Mostafa Afzali-Fard, the spokesperson for the Article 90 Commission of the Parliament, reported in October 2013 that the case of the Iranian University was referred to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran by the Prosecutor of the Court of Auditors. The reason for this action was the transfer of 16 billion tomans from the government account to the university's account on the last day of Ahmadinejad's presidency. Ultimately, the officials of the Iranian University claimed that "to avoid creating suspicion," they returned the "received assistance" from the government to the Presidential Office. Hamid Baghaei, the Deputy Support of the Iranian University, had requested assistance of at least 50 billion tomans from President Hassan Rouhani in a letter on Wednesday, October 2. The Deputy Support of the Iranian University also requested several buildings in Tehran and provincial centers, approximately 200 hectares of land around Tehran, and cooperation from officials in Rouhani's government.