Iran Urges SCO to Protect Scientific Infrastructure After US-’Israeli’ Strikes

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has urged member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] to coordinate efforts to protect its scientific infrastructure following US-"Israeli" strikes that damaged research centers, laboratories, and strategic technology facilities.

In a letter to the SCO secretary-general and member states' science ministers Wednesday, Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy Hossein Afshin said the attacks have disrupted scientific projects and threatened the livelihoods of researchers and knowledge-based companies.

In particular, Afshin warned that branches of research centers, laboratory infrastructure, data systems, and strategic technology facilities have been damaged in these attacks.

As he explained, these damages have not only disrupted scientific projects but have also affected researchers’ livelihoods, the growth of knowledge-based companies, youth employment opportunities, and confidence within the innovation community.

Moreover, Afshin said the strikes have halted startup activity, reduced investment, and damaged the technology ecosystem, with effects expected to extend far beyond the current situation, calling them a clear violation of international law and an assault on nations’ right to scientific development.

Separately, Iranian officials have previously reported that more than 20 public universities and several research institutes across the country have been targeted since the US-"Israeli" terrorist war began on February 28.

Among them, the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University, which lost nearly 90% of its equipment, as well as research centers at Sharif University of Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology, and the Pasteur Institute.

I response, Afshin called on SCO member states to "strongly condemn" attacks on scientific and technological infrastructure and to take "serious and effective measures" to expand scientific and technological cooperation within the bloc.

He further stressed that science and technology are fundamental pillars of development and humanity’s shared capital, adding that attacks on scientific and technological infrastructure are “anti-development” and immoral acts that violate the principles of coexistence among nations.

Meanwhile, the SCO, which includes Russia, China, India, and Iran, has recently moved to deepen scientific cooperation, with science ministers meeting in Bishkek in May to discuss joint research projects and a unified framework for “green technologies,” while Iranian research institutions are also resuming operations despite the scale of destruction.

At Shahid Beheshti University’s Laser and Plasma Research Institute, institute head Seyed Hassan Tavassoli said more than 80 percent of capabilities could be restored using domestically produced equipment, adding that the priority is to rebuild beyond previous levels.