Calling all scientists: Support your Iranian colleagues
Summary
Mohammad Hosseini outlines the severe challenges facing Iranian researchers both inside Iran and in the diaspora. Those working in Iran confront low wages, rampant inflation, sociopolitical instability, oppression, long-standing sanctions and practical barriers such as unstable internet, frequent power cuts and limited access to scholarly resources. These factors restrict conference attendance, collaboration and career progression. Researchers abroad also face risks when travelling to and from Iran and experience isolation and occasional bias from the international community. The correspondence is a call for the global scientific community to recognise these hardships and offer concrete support.
Key Points
- Researchers in Iran suffer from economic hardship (low wages, high inflation) and resource mismanagement that impede research activity.
- International sanctions, difficulty obtaining visas and high travel costs limit conference attendance and collaboration.
- Unreliable internet, frequent power outages and restricted access to scholarly sources jeopardise research continuity and partnerships.
- Iranian scholars face isolation and bias from the global community; those abroad risk travel-related dangers when visiting Iran.
- The author urges the international scientific community to extend practical support: collaboration, mentorship, access to resources and inclusive policies.
- Solutions implied include remote collaboration options, waivers or funding for conference attendance, sharing of open-access materials and active outreach to at-risk colleagues.
Context and relevance
This correspondence sits at the intersection of science, policy and human rights. It highlights systemic barriers that weaken scientific capacity and risk losing talent. For research institutions, funders and individual academics, the piece is a reminder that small, practical acts — flexible collaboration terms, remote seminar invitations, fee waivers or mentoring — can preserve careers and knowledge flows. It ties into wider trends around equity in global research, scholarly mobility and safeguarding at-risk academics.
Why should I read this?
Because it’s short, sharp and about people you probably work with or meet at conferences. If you care about fair access to science, keeping talented colleagues in the game, or simply doing the decent thing — this tells you what’s broken and what you can actually do to help. No policy whitepaper, just a practical heads-up.
Source
Author: Mohammad Hosseini (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine). Correspondence published in Nature, 03 February 2026.