Unofficial mottoes: اطلب العلم من المهد الى اللحد (Arabic) ز گهواره تا گور دانش بجوی آرمان ایرانی برای جهانی شدن یادگیری و زندگی Unofficial mottoes include: The Islamic Azad University (IAU; Persian: دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی, Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi) is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran.

It was approved and ratified by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in 1982, having been founded and established by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

[1][13] The Islamic Azad University's activities quickly expanded throughout the country, so that today thousands of students are enrolling every year.

[12] Iran's supreme leader declared the financial endowment of Islamic Azad University was "religiously illegitimate and unlawful", prompting a change within the administration of the institution.

Vice Presidency for General Education and Skills Training: Vice Presidency for General Education and Skills Training: The Azad University in Oxford (AUO) at the outskirts of the city of Oxford in the UK, was established in 2004 to support IAU's international collaboration activities.

[18] The Islamic Azad University has international offices in Russia, Italy, Germany, France, the UK, UAE, Lebanon and Afghanistan.

[20][21] The university accepts nearly 320,000 students annually (10,000 PhD, 3,000 Professional Doctorate and Medicine, 57,000 Masters, 200,000 Bachelors and 50,000 Associates).