Fundamental Challenges of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Face of ‘the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The right to development and discourse on sustainable development in the context of the universal human rights have brought about a wave of regional and global agendas in recent years. The 2030 Agenda, especially its fourth goal in its context of Western humanistic and secular ideas, has imposed certain binding readings in systems of policy-making, legislating, planning, introducing regulations as regards to different countries of the world. In this article, the writers while focusing on the meaning of development and the concept of ‘being developed’ as well as their components in the 2030 Agenda, try to provide an answer to the question “what fundamental challenges does the Islamic Republic of Iran face in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?” Such challenging components as comprehensive sexual education, elimination of all forms of violence, elimination of sexual stereotypes, special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups (strata), etc. are set as the defining statements (measurements) of development of societies. These components are not consistent with the cultural and social framework of Iran as a country with a totally religious civilization dating back to thousands years ago. They are also in fundamental contradiction with the general domestic policies and the national development paradigms. This involves a conflict between the right to development as well as sustainable development as universal rights on the one hand and cultural diversity of different countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other. The method of research in this article is descriptive-analytical.