Iran used last week's UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva to formally propose a five-pillar strategy for regional artificial intelligence cooperation, positioning itself as a ready partner despite long-standing economic restrictions.
Emadeddin Fatemizadeh, head of Iran's AI secretariat, presented the roadmap on July 6–7. The proposals include: founding a regional AI academy for joint training and research; setting up a pooled innovation fund to back early-stage startups and nurture "unicorn" firms; creating a digital free-trade zone for cross-border AI businesses; drafting binding regional rules to block AI-enabled military attacks on civilians; and building shared, non-military data centres and computing infrastructure.
Fatemizadeh argued that tomorrow's global divide will hinge not on income but on data access and processing power. He called for immediate investment in shared computing resources for public applications such as health, education, and crisis response.
The push comes with a domestic reality check. Iran claims the region's second-highest output of AI research papers (2023 data) and ranks second in AI developer talent and fourth in AI companies. Local platforms including ride-hailing app Snapp! and e-commerce giant Digikala serve over 30 million users each, providing rich datasets that Tehran views as a strategic asset.
