The literary movement developed in academic circles throughout 1934 resulted in the establishment of the Academy of Iran, as the pioneering institution of its kind in the country, in 1935. The mission of the Academy was to refine and preserve the Persian language and literature. Its members were selected from among the prominent scholars by the proposal of the Ministry of Culture and approval of the Board of Ministers for the first term, and by the advice of the Academy, approval of the two-thirds of its members, confirmation of the Ministry of Culture, and approval of the Board of Ministers, for the following terms. The Academy of Iran survived until 1968 when the idea of creating new academies was set forth.

In the 1970s, two academies were founded in Iran: The Academy of Iran’s Language (1970), and The Academy of Literature and Arts (1974). After the dawn of the Islamic Revolution, these academies merged into the newly established Institute of Cultural Studies and Research in 1981.

In brief, the insufficient support of authorities of the ex-regime, on the one hand, and the interference of duties of those academies on the other, militated against the attainment of some of their stated objectives.

The demand for creating responsive and supreme research institutions in the country was felt more than ever at the time. Having studied the strengths and drawbacks of the previous academies of Iran, as well as the achievements of the prestigious academies of the world, the experts developed the constitutions of the present academies of the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1988), the Academy of Persian Language and Literature (1990), the Academy of Medical Sciences (1991) and the Iran Academy of Arts (1999).