English is not a spoken language in Iran despite other countries in the Middle East region. This language is widely spoken in Pakistan, Afghanistan, UAE and etc. This has made many problems for Iranians and most of them cannot communicate appropriately with international communities. Now Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi, the former minister of science and technology in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first cabinet from 2005 to 2009, has insisted on the importance of English.
“Currently most of scientific sources are available in English so students and instructors need to learn this language to be able to use these massive sources. Also English has great influence in other categories such as tourism and international contracts. The staffers of Iranian organizations should know English for better communications with multinational corporations and companies.” Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi remarked during a seminar in this regard held in Vahdat Hall.
“According to the policies of Islamic Republic, we are going to prove the place of Iran in world. To achieve this goal we also need to expand the usage of Persian language in other countries.” Zahedi added. Currently Iran’s embassies and consulates in European and Asian countries hold Persian courses for a small amount of tuition.
In recent years, Iranian government has established several television channels in different languages including English and Spanish. This shows the priority of these languages to Islamic Republic which is trying hard to attract the attention of foreigners and receive supports for its controversial nuclear program.