Tehran-Bangkok ICT Push Puts Officials at the Controls

Iranian Deputy ICT minister Mohammad-Hafez Hakami and Thai ambassador to Iran Sake Nopthaisong called for expanded technology cooperation and a bilateral memorandum of understanding at a meeting reported by IRNA. The proposed agreement would put government officials in the role of shaping ties between the countries’ technology sectors. The announcement comes as rankings and startup figures place Tehran at the center of Iran’s innovation ecosystem.

Officials Set the Agenda

Nopthaisong cited the longstanding partnership between Iran and Thailand and said he wanted to learn about Iran’s achievements and capacities in artificial intelligence, digital transformation and emerging technologies. Hakami pointed to the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity headquarters in Bangkok, describing Thailand as significant to regional technological cooperation. The two officials said the countries should use their capacities to develop interactions and underscored the need to draft and sign an MoU.

That is the institutional pitch: more interaction, formalized through an agreement between governments. The report gives no details about the proposed MoU’s terms, funding, or which companies, workers or researchers would shape it. It records the officials’ call for cooperation, not a signed agreement.

Rankings, Metrics and the Startup Hub

The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization ranked Tehran the world’s 65th-largest science and technology cluster in its 2026 Global Innovation Index. The index identifies clusters using patent applications, scientific publications and venture capital activity. Tehran recorded 405 patent applications under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty, 58,732 scientific publications and 107 venture capital deals. Its global share was 0.0 percent for patent applications, 0.7 percent for publications and 0.0 percent for venture capital deals.

Tehran ranked 88th in innovation-cluster intensity, down from 85th in 2025; its cluster-size ranking also fell, from 63rd to 65th. Medical technology led patent registrations with a 19 percent share. The University of Tehran produced 5,232 articles, Islamic Azad University 4,081, and Iran University of Science and Technology 3,725. Most published articles were in engineering fields.

StartupBlink ranked Tehran 348th among the world’s most innovative cities, 20 places higher. The city has 96 startups, representing 81 percent of all startups in Iran, and its ecosystem recorded annual growth of more than 36 percent in 2025. Iran Innovation Zone attributed the gains to stronger innovation infrastructure and interaction among sectors in the knowledge-based economy, Mehr news agency reported.

Growth Through Institutions

StartupBlink highlighted Pardis Technology Park as the country’s largest technology and innovation hub. It hosts hundreds of knowledge-based and technology companies, provides business-development infrastructure, and connects startups, investors, large industries and institutions. It also hosts the International Innovation and Technology Exhibition every year. The report credited the capacities of Pardis Technology Parks with Iran’s startup ecosystem ranking 95th globally.

The Innovation and Prosperity Fund and MCI Ventures were named as other key agents in developing the ecosystem. Iran ranked 58th globally in corporate engagement between large industries and technology companies. Its fintech sector had 23 startups, 19 percent of the country’s total, and ranked fifth in the Middle East. The figures chart a system organized around parks, funds, companies and official cooperation. The report describes those institutions’ role; it doesn’t identify who sets their priorities or how benefits are distributed among the people doing the work.