Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research

The Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research or S.P.N.D. is a research and development agency of Iran's Ministry of Defence responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. According to Iranian media, it is the Iranian counterpart of the American DARPA.

History

According to the US, it was established in 2011. The organization was reportedly established and led by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, until his assassination outside Tehran on November 26, 2020.
After Israel's 12-day war with Iran in June 2025 and the assassination of senior Iranian military and scientific officials by Israel, Brigadier general Pasdar "Reza Mozaffari Nia" was appointed as the new head of the organization.

Sanction

According to the Israeli officials, later backed up by American intelligence officials, it was tasked with the research and development of nuclear weapons, and took over some of the activities of the Iranian nuclear weapon development AMAD Project. It has been sanctioned by the United States Department of State and United States Department of the Treasury.
According to Al Jazeera, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, it developed Iran's first COVID-19 testing kits and also FAKHRAVAC, a COVID-19 vaccine that reached clinical trials.