The decision by the Deregulation and Business Environment Improvement Board is intended to create a new link between international investors and investment opportunities in Iran, while shifting part of the traditionally government-led investment promotion process to specialized private-sector firms.

Under the new resolution, a license titled the “Establishment License for Foreign Investment Promotion Agencies” will be added to the list of permits administered by Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance. The board’s secretariat has been instructed to coordinate with the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (OIETAI) and publish the requirements, documentation, and fees for obtaining the license on the national licensing portal.

OIETAI has also been tasked with connecting its specialized licensing platform to the national portal, allowing applications and the issuance of licenses to be processed entirely online through the government’s central licensing system.

Private agencies to provide end-to-end investment services

The initiative is rooted in Article 30 of Iran’s Production and Infrastructure Financing Law, which requires OIETAI to issue licenses for investment brokerage firms or investment promotion agencies established by legal entities.

In line with the legislation, OIETAI approved the relevant framework through the National Financing Council and, in December 2025, issued regulations governing the establishment, operation and supervision of foreign investment promotion agencies. The regulations set out requirements for licensing, renewal, suspension and revocation of permits.

The agencies are expected to go beyond simply referring investors to Iranian projects. They will be required to provide professional, end-to-end services ranging from identifying investment opportunities to advisory support and post-investment assistance.

Their responsibilities are expected to include maintaining active websites in Persian, English and Arabic, producing promotional content for international markets, providing advisory services before, during and after investment, and preparing feasibility studies for prospective projects.

Shift from passive to proactive investment promotion

The new framework marks a shift away from a traditional model in which government agencies largely wait for foreign investors to approach them. Under the new approach, OIETAI will remain the government’s lead institution for attracting and promoting foreign investment, while private-sector firms will take on a greater role in investor identification, project marketing, investor outreach and specialized advisory services.

Mehdi Heydari, head of OIETAI, has previously said the objective is to establish a professional network specializing in foreign investment promotion. He described private-sector participation as a supporting arm for the investment organization, capable of expanding the pipeline of potential investors and improving the identification of investment opportunities.

Heydari also announced plans in November 2025 to establish such agencies across Iran, rather than concentrating investment promotion activities in Tehran. The nationwide model is intended to help showcase investment opportunities and economic potential in provinces and regions across the country to international investors.

The initiative forms part of a broader strategy by Economy Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh to strengthen investment mobilization and improve access to financing. Madanizadeh has emphasized a shift away from a predominantly administrative approach toward actively identifying, preparing and packaging specific projects for presentation to investors.

The Economy Ministry has outlined its foreign investment strategy around three pillars: institutional structuring, process digitalization and the development of investment instruments. Within that framework, the new agencies are expected to help reduce information and transaction costs for investors and facilitate their decision-making process.

Articles 25 and 26 of the Production and Infrastructure Financing Law also require OIETAI and other government bodies to compile investment opportunities, incentives, investment packages and pre-feasibility studies in the country’s Comprehensive Investment Information System. The information is to be made available in Persian and at least two widely used international languages.

The emerging framework effectively creates an investment-promotion chain covering the full investment cycle: identifying and preparing projects, marketing investment opportunities, locating potential investors, providing specialized advisory services and facilitating the deployment of capital.

The ultimate objective is to move Iran away from a passive “wait for the investor” model toward proactive investor outreach, a pipeline of investment-ready projects, lower market-entry costs and structured support from project selection through implementation.

With the approval of the new licensing framework, the establishment of specialized private-sector investment promotion agencies has moved another step closer to becoming operational.