President urges HE to open up, dismisses spy fears

President Hassan Rouhani called on Iran's universities to admit more foreign students and lecturers, dismissing conservatives' fears that more interaction with the outside world would encourage espionage, writes Michelle Moghtader for Reuters.

His remarks at Tehran University appeared to be a fresh riposte to hardliners in the Islamic republic's faction-ridden political leadership, who have been waging a determined campaign against his policies of international engagement. In a speech marking the start of the academic year broadcast live on state television, Rouhani urged the establishment of a university teaching in English and suggested Iranian academic life had much to gain from more international exposure.
Full report on the Reuters site