Iranian Universities, Academicians Become New Frontlines Of US-Israeli Strikes

Last Updated:March 31, 2026, 16:02 IST

The Israeli military has said it targeted military infrastructure at some university sites, including the IRGC-affiliated Imam Hossein University on Monday in Tehran.

As the war continues in the Gulf, Iranian universities and scientific research centres have come under several attacks in recent days raising concerns on academic institutions becoming a new frontline in the war.

According to Iran’s Ministry of Science, at least 21 universities have been damaged in strikes and several academics have been targeted. The government has accused these attacks to be an attempt to weaken the country’s scientific and cultural foundations.

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CNN cited a video of Iran University of Science and Technology, founded in 1929 as Iran’s first institution dedicated to training engineers, filmed before sunrise on Saturday showing a research center at the university reduced to rubble, with twisted metal, bricks and debris scattered across the site. Another video showed plumes of smoke rising from the wreckage.

In a statement, the university accused the US-Israeli strikes for the damages but pointed out no casualties were reported. It condemned the attack and termed the strikes a violation of international law.

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“Universities are normally civilian infrastructure, and directly attacking them can constitute a war crime unless they are being used for military purposes," CNN quoted Janina Dill, professor of global security at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.

“Storing weapons or planning attacks from a university building could make it a legitimate military target, but education or research alone is not generally considered enough to turn the building into a military object," she said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has said it targeted military infrastructure at some university sites, including the IRGC-affiliated Imam Hossein University on Monday in Tehran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced Israeli strikes have killed several Iranian nuclear scientists while calling the campaign part of a broader effort against Iran’s nuclear programme.

University of Tehran’s Deputy for Research, Manouchehr Moradi, has slammed the attacks and said: “Universities are homes of thought and dialogue, and any violence or threat in this space is considered an attack on the foundations of national progress and human dignity".

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