Strategic Governance Framework for Artificial Intelligence in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The leap in artificial intelligence over the past decade has transformed it from a laboratory discipline into a cornerstone of economic, security, and cultural power for nations. Iran, too, has sought to join this global race by ratifying several high-level documents, including the "National Artificial Intelligence Document." However, the lack of a unified roadmap has posed challenges to achieving these goals. The existing documents, drafted at different times by various institutions, differ in policy language, level of detail, and evaluation metrics, failing to provide a clear picture of "which institution makes what decision, where, and by what criteria." The consequence of this misalignment includes overlapping missions, resource wastage, delays in infrastructure investment, and weakened data sovereignty. To address this, a study was conducted using a "comparative thematic analysis" approach on five key documents. A total of 397 base codes were extracted, organized into 89 organizing themes, and ultimately consolidated into 28 overarching categories. Two reference documents, the "Statements and General Policies of the Leader" and the "National Artificial Intelligence Document," served as the theoretical basis for the comparative evaluation, with the process continuing until theoretical saturation was reached. The findings indicate that achieving the goals of these documents hinges on establishing "integrated and intelligent governance." The six critical pillars of intelligent governance—fostering a scientific movement, developing human capital, expanding AI applications, building a knowledge-based economy, and ensuring security and self-sufficiency—can only be realized through a unified leadership authority, hybrid financing, and real-time evaluation metrics.