In an interview with the official state radio and TV on April 11th, Mohammad Mohammadian, Khamenei’s representative for universities, stated “music has been an issue in the past years, and given the differences of opinion regarding concerts at Iranian universities it was necessary to state our policy in this respect”.

Moreover, Mohammadian placed the responsibility of the latter directive, which prohibits concerts on “the Ministries of Science and Health, and the deans of Iranian Universities.”

On August 9th 2015, President Rouhani’s Minister of Science Mohammad Farhadi brought to light the topic of holding concerts at Iranian universities, stating that “under no circumstances will we confirm holding concerts at universities. We have never approved of holding concerts at universities, and we won’t do it now, or in the future and if there are cases were such ceremonies are held at universities we shall confront them.”

Moreover, President Rouhani has criticized the cultural climate around Iranian universities, and on December 6th, 2015, he noted “it is regrettable that concerts are held at Iranian universities and such mixed gatherings have paved the way for [moral] corruption and impurity at Iranian universities”.