Europeans Boycott Academic Ties With Iran: Official

A high-ranking official of Iran's Ministry of Science says Europeans have restricted their academic ties with the Islamic Republic.

Germany has also closed the office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the country.

Vahid Haddadi-Asl, the deputy minister in international affairs told state-run ISNA news agency that the European countries are not interested in academic collaboration with Iran.

"We have no limits on scientific cooperation with the countries of the world except with the Zionist regime, but the Europeans restricted their ties and Germany closed the office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Iran,” he said, DAAD academic, and should not be politicized.

However, in his statements, Haddadi did not mention the extensive pressure on students and declined to explain why a number of Iranian or foreign academic figures are arrested in Iran on the charge of espionage.

Students have been under pressure for years, and in recent protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in September a large number of them were detained and beaten up by security agents, even inside campuses.

However, Haddadi claimed the Islamic Republic had "good academic activities" in the neighboring countries, and "some good agreements were signed with them” namely Iraq, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekis