In the belief that person-to-person connections are essential for fostering mutual understanding, the free flow of ideas and civil society cross-cultural engagement, the American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) promotes academic and cultural exchange between the US and Iran and strives to increase interaction through the facilitation of dialogue. Its purview comprises the historical Iranian world of Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia as well as the modern political state of Iran. The larger objectives of AIIrS are to represent American institutions of higher education and research in the field of Iranian Studies, and to promote the study of Iran as a significant component of global history, thereby exposing new generations of students and scholars to Iran, Tajikistan and the wider the Persianate world.

A non-profit consortium of American universities and museums, AIIrS has served as the main conduit for scholarly and cultural exchange between Iran and the US. Founded in 1967, AIIrS established an overseas center in Tehran for the purpose of supporting and hosting American scholars in the interdisciplinary study of Iranian civilization, and was the sole private organization representing the academic interests of American universities, museum and scholars. Following more than a decade of successful operation, the center in Tehran was obliged to suspend its activities after the rupture of diplomatic relations between the US and Iran. For the next two decades, AIIrS devoted itself to furthering Iranian Studies in the US, but resumed overseas programming in 1998. Current core programs are: pre-doctoral language training programs in Tehran and in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; pre-doctoral research grants abroad; grants for senior American scholars to pursue research in Iran, and for senior Iranian scholars to collaborate with colleagues at American institutions. Occasional support is provided for conferences, exhibitions, publications and programs for the general public, which aim to create expertise on Iran and interest in bi-national cooperation.