Founded and led by Arsham Parsi, the organization assists Iranian LGBT individuals seeking safe refuge both inside and outside of Iran.

It also advocates to governments on behalf of Iranian LGBT individuals facing deportation to Iran, where homosexuality is a criminal offense punishable by death.

[4] In August 2008, Arsham Parsi, Executive Director of IRQR, met with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, to address the situation of queer Iranian asylum seekers.

The IRQR documents and reports cases of torture, persecution, executions, and other human rights violations related to LGBT individuals in Iran.

"[12]Since December 2015, IRQR has directly worked with more than 1,900 LGBT refugees from Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria, assisting them with their UNHCR applications and their transition and settlement in Canada, the United States, and other countries.