A research institute subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL); associated with "possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); the direct successor to Iran's pre-2004 nuclear weapons program, according to the U.S. Department of State.

According to the U.S. Department of State, primarily responsible for research in the field of nuclear weapons development; key personnel played a central role in the Iranian regime's past nuclear weapons effort, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury

Took over some of the activities related to Iran's undeclared nuclear program that had been previously carried out under the Amad Plan, the MODAFL subsidiary Section for Advanced Development Applications and Technologies (SADAT), the Physics Research Center, and Malek Ashtar University of Technology; has carried out projects in partnership with the Institute of Applied Physics; reportedly replaced the Amad Plan, which previously orchestrated Iran's covert efforts to develop nuclear weapons; since 2023, personnel reportedly have carried out explosive tests and related research and development work at two former Amad Plan sites near Sanjarian and Golab Dareh.

Tasked with the design, production, distribution, and technical support of new military products in the field of emerging technologies.

Subordinate groups include:

• Abu Reihan Group
• Bu Ali Group
• Heidar Karar Research Group
• Research Centre for Explosion and Impact (METFAZ)
• Sadra Research Center
• Shahid Avini Group
• Shahid Baba'i Group
• Shahid Chamran Group
• Shahid Fakhar Moghaddam Group
• Shahid Karimi Group
• Shahid Kazemi Group
• Shahid Meisami Group
• Shahid Movahhed Danesh Group
• Shahid Shokri Science and Technology Research Group
• Shahid Zeinoddin Group
• Sheikh Baha'i Science and Technology Research Center

Has overseen chemical weapons research conducted by the Shahid Meisami Group, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury; projects carried out by the Shahid Meisami Group have included testing and producing chemical agents for use as incapacitation agents.

Has received goods from Ideal Vacuum and Pulse Niru; controls Kimiya Pakhsh Shargh and Paradise Medical Pioneers Company, which it uses as front companies; reportedly has multiple connections to current and former directors of Iran-based company Imen Gostar Raman Kish.

According to the U.S. Department of State, was the intended recipient of items applicable to the development of nuclear explosive devices that were sought from foreign suppliers by Ali Kalvand and Ali Bakouei, respectively the managing director and chairman of DamavandTec, a SPND front company; reportedly connected to a delegation led by Ali Kalvand that traveled to Russia in August 2024 to "discuss and agree on technical and production aspects of electronic device development" and general scientific cooperation; the delegation reportedly visited Tekhnoekspert, a Russian company co-located with the state-controlled Polyus Research Institute and owned by Russian vacuum technology expert Oleg Maslennikov, and Toriy, a research facility located near the Polyus Research Institute campus; the delegation reportedly sought to learn about or acquire multi-beam klystrons (specialized vacuum tubes) for flash x-ray systems.

Members of the delegation, who posed as DamavandTec employees, reportedly included:

• Javad Ghasemi, CEO of Iranian company Imen Gostar Raman Kish and former CEO of Paradise Medical Pioneers
• Rouhollah Azimirad, a senior SPND scientist and Malek Ashtar University professor with expertise in radiation testing
• Soroush Mohtashami, an expert on neutron generators affiliated with Amirkabir University of Technology

Reportedly uses an Austria-based network led by Isatis Danesh Tolid Tajhiz Company to procure dual-use goods from Europe, including neutronics equipment with nuclear applications.

Was reportedly visited by a delegation from the Iranian Science, Research, and Technology Ministry in 2016; reportedly collaborated with the Iranian Space Research Center on a space radiation laboratory in 2013; reportedly a sponsor of the Third National Conference on Nano-Sciences at the Imam Hussein University of the Revolutionary Guards in 2013; reportedly supplied x-ray machines to the Iran Customs Administration in 2016.

According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has collaborated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force's Semnan Missile Center on the development of ballistic missiles; according to the NCRI, oversaw the installation of "an explosive chamber" at the Parchin Military Complex.

Headquarters building in Tehran was targeted by Israeli airstrikes in June 2025.

Reportedly maintains a campus (known as Lavisan-2 or Mojdeh) near Malek Ashtar University; the Lavisan-2 campus and the Sanjarian test site were reportedly targeted by Israeli airstrikes in June 2025.

Director is Reza Mozaffarinia; head of the Research Directorate is Ali Fuladvand.

Other officials have included: Mohsen Fakhrizadeh (former director), Seyyed Mahdi Farahi (former director), Davoud Babaei (head of security), Mansur Asgari (head of the research and technology department), Ahmad Haghighat Talab (senior official and nuclear scientist), Gholam Reza Eta'ati (senior manager), and Mehdi Masoumian.

Established in 2011; formally organized as an independent budgetary and legal entity subordinate to MODAFL in 2024; overseen by Iran's Armed Forces General Staff; governed by a charter issued by Iran's Supreme Leader; exempt from Iranian public accounting requirements.

Sanctions

Listed by the European Union on December 22, 2012, as an entity linked to Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or Iran's development of nuclear weapon delivery systems; with some exceptions, EU member states must freeze assets owned or controlled by the entity, directly or indirectly, and prevent assets from being made available to it.

Designated by the U.S. Department of State on August 29, 2014, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; added on August 29, 2014, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382; also subject to the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, which restricts the use of the U.S. financial system for transactions involving Iranian entities.

Foreign parties facilitating transactions for the entity or otherwise assisting the entity may be subject to U.S. sanctions; foreign financial institutions facilitating transactions for the entity may be prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States; subject to heightened U.S. export license requirements (with a presumption of denial) due to involvement in activities related to WMD proliferation.

Sanctioned on December 24, 2012, by the government of the United Kingdom, restricting business and financial transactions with the entity and freezing its assets in the United Kingdom.

Listed by the Japanese government in 2025 as an entity of concern for proliferation relating to nuclear weapons.