Iran’s Islamic Azad University to Open Branches in Iraq, Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Islamic Azad University (IAU) is set to open branches in some cities in Iraq and Afghanistan, Head of IAU Public Relations Mohammad Reza Shahroudi said on Monday.
“Due to the existence of religious bonds between the Iranian and Iraqi nations, we decided to establish branches of the IAU in Iraq’s Karbala, Arbil, and Basra cities,” he said, while visiting an IAU hospital in Shahroud, adding that the initial steps to launch the Arbil branch of the university have been taken.
Shahroudi who is also an adviser to the IAU chancellor said that in addition to the IAU branch that the Iranian university already has in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul, it intends to open another branch in the western city of Herat.
He said that opening the IAU branches in other countries, including the Arab and European countries, too, is on the university’s agenda, but reminded that the sanctions imposed on the country have made it difficult for the university to go on with its expansion plans.
“In Europe, too, since university tuitions are very high, the IAU can attract migrant students and particularly Iranian immigrants,' he added.
The Islamic Azad University is the world's third largest private university system based in Iran.
Founded in 1982, it currently has an enrollment of 1.5 million students, making it the world's third largest. It has over 100 branches across the country and also in other countries. It has branches and universities in UAE, Britain, Tanzania, Lebanon and Armenia and has plans to establish more branch campuses in some other countries.
