On 18 May 2025, Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly approved the general outline of the National Artificial Intelligence Plan with 187 votes in favour, 33 against, and 1 abstention out of 227 representatives present in open session — reflecting overwhelming parliamentary consensus on AI as a national strategic priority.
Key provisions:
- National AI Organization (NAIO) as independent entity: Lawmakers passed an amendment to Article 3 of the National AI Bill designating the NAIO as a fully independent body, distinct from the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, with its secretariat reporting directly to the President. The organisation is tasked with steering AI development and implementation across ministries and government bodies.
- National AI Marketplace: Parliament passed Article 10 of the National AI Bill obligating the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to establish a National AI Marketplace to support domestic AI ecosystem development.
- Strategic investment commitment: The government has committed $115 million to AI research under the National AI Plan, with an aim to rank among the world’s top 10 AI powers within a decade.
Governance dimension: The parliamentary approval formalises the institutional basis for the NAIO beyond its earlier establishment by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. The NAIO has a statutory mandate to coordinate AI strategy and guide implementation across sectors. However, it functions primarily as a coordination and development body rather than an independent regulatory authority with enforcement powers over third-party AI deployers; no explicit enforcement mechanism over external organisations is established by this legislation.
Scoring note: Dimension 10 remains scored at 1. The NAIO now has a statutory basis approved by parliament and reports directly to the President, representing a more formal institutional mandate than a pure advisory body. However, the absence of confirmed enforcement powers over third parties means it does not yet qualify for a score of 2 under the dimension’s criteria (full regulator with legal mandate and enforcement powers).