Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, worked at technical department of intelligence and security ministry from 2002 to 2009. His main job was in cybersecurity field and protecting digital infrastructures. Since 2009 to 2014, he was the general manager of security department at the communication regulatory authority.[5] He then became vice minister of information and communications technology, in his capacity as the chairman of Telecommunications Infrastructure Company.[4] Jahromi was also a non-executive member of the board of directors at RighTel between 2014 and 2016.[4] Azari Jahromi also, is head of two joint ICT commissions of I.R. Iran and Russian Federation and Iraq. He is active partner in initiating regional ICT market with his Russian, Turkish and Azerbaijani[6] counterparts. Since the time that he became Minister of ICT, he was active in supporting startups, and entrepreneurs and was criticizing filtering, specially filtering of social media. Within Iranian social media, he is famous as “Minister of Startups”. During his early ministry, many startups, i.e., Snapp and Tap30, and other players of digital ecosystems started their business and with his support, they flourished very quickly.[7]

Without any doubts, Azari Jahromi was the minister that initiated the first paces of platform economy in Iran. Beside these activities, in the July 2018, Azari Jahromi was the first minister who disclosed the list of companies that were getting advantage of importing cell phones with economic rents and subsidies but selling phones in free market.[8] This is the reason that he always is committed to transparency in economic transaction of his ministry that is why he oppose the value added business of telecom operators and content providers due to unclear transactions between people and them.[9]

Due to those decisive actions, he was the regular target of Hard-liners, but he chose to have ties with people of the society rather than power camps. With distancing himself from both Reformist and Conservative camps, he is trying to be pragmatic and socially motivated.[3]