Iran Stresses Book Power at 36th Tehran International Fair

At Tehran Book Fair, Iran's minister calls books vital for cultural strength, social progress, and unity with nations like Iraq through shared heritage.

on May 08, 2025

Iran Stresses Book Power at 36th Tehran International Fair

"If we seek development, a prosperous future, and advancement for Iran, and if we wish to foil the enemies, then we should think more and more about books and do our best to spread this grand culture of Iranian power," the minister emphasized during the opening ceremony.

Books have been of great importance in ancient Iran and Islamic civilization, according to him. "Islamic civilization was established and developed on the wings of mosques and libraries," he further stated.

Salehi emphasized that if "Shahnameh" had not been produced after Islam in Iran, the Persian language would not have been preserved. "If a civilization wishes to arise and survive, it requires books. Books, no matter what their shape is, are a consistent idea. If a nation or society wants to have enduring survival and does not want to be consumed by the ideas of its enemies and conquerors, it has to depend on books for that enduring power.

"Books' concern should be the concern of all those who reflect on the social progress of Iran. It should not be solely the Ministry of Culture, writers, or publishers' concern. If we desire to have proper social progress, we should publish and read good books," Salehi continued.

Following the opening ceremony, Salehi went to the pavilion of Iraq, special guest of this year's edition of the fair, and greeted Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities of the Republic of Iraq.

Salehi spoke during the visit, saying: "This exhibition, which each year offers a special chance to familiarize ourselves with the newest domestic and foreign publishing works, has a special guest this year—Dr. Al-Badrani. His attendance at this event is an indication of cultural solidarity and old ties between the two countries of Iran and Iraq."

"Books and culture have forever been bridges of nations, and today, here at this exhibition, we are seeing the strong affinity between the Iranian and Iraqi nations," he added.

From the opulent Persian writings to the wonderful Arabic writings, and from classical historical texts to contemporary ideas, we see such a wonderful variegation of human intelligence here, all employing a common tongue. This is the proof of the cultural entrainment and confluence between Iran and Iraq, the two magnificent nations," observed the minister.

As cultural figures in Iran, we have always tried to create the necessary foundations for the establishment of cultural cooperation and international publishing. We hope that this exhibition can contribute to the reinforcement of these cultural relations and take a giant step toward the expansion of science and culture.," Salehi stated.

Iraq has joined the event with 15 publishers. Among them, one of the publishers is registered with the Iraqi Council of Ministers, and the remaining 14 are members of the Iraqi Publishers Association.

Over 2,600 Iranian publishers also attended the fair. Apart from them, 50 applicants from other nations have registered. Their books will be exhibited in the Arabic and Latin pavilions of the exhibition, which were published during 2023 and 2025.

The international publishers are from countries such as Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Malaysia, Russia, Spain, Syria, and Turkey among many others.

The 36th TIBF will continue up to May 17 at Imam Khomeini Mosalla of Tehran. "Let's Read for Iran" has been selected as the motto for the new edition of the book fair.