Visiting the 36th Tehran International Book Fair, Pezeshkian said books should be grounded in expert knowledge and written in a way that speaks to the present. “Only in that case,” he said, “can books truly contribute to social development.”

The president toured the fair, joined by Culture Minister Abbas Salehi. He walked through various booths, held brief talks with publishers, and listened to complaints—chief among them, a persistent shortage of paper.

Pezeshkian flipped through a mix of genres: History, religion, poetry, memoirs from the Iran-Iraq war, novels, philosophy, and the ‘Shahnameh,’ the Persian epic. He praised the variety on display and stressed the need for books to stay current.

Speaking with the media after his visit, Pezeshkian said time for reading has grown scarce since he took office. “Being here is personally valuable,” he said.

He urged young people to read more, calling it a “way to grasp beliefs, ideas, and past experiences,” Iran Daily reported.

On the issue of paper supply, he directed the culture ministry to conduct a thorough review and promised the government would do “whatever is in its power” to resolve it.

The annual Tehran book fair opened May 7 and will wrap up today.