Classrooms in crosshairs: US-Israel strikes 21 Iranian universities and counting
What's the story
Iranian universities and research centers have been targeted in a series of attacks, signaling a disturbing trend in the ongoing conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran. According to Iran's Ministry of Science, at least 21 universities have been damaged since the war started. The strikes are seen by Tehran as an attempt to undermine its scientific and cultural foundations.
Targeted institution
Iranian university heavily damaged in attacks
The Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran has been heavily damaged in the attacks. CNN has geolocated videos showing a research center at the university reduced to rubble, with twisted metal and debris scattered across the site. The university, founded in 1929 as Iran's first engineering school, confirmed that US-Israeli strikes caused damage but no casualties.
Justification for strikes
Israeli military defends strikes, but international law experts raise concerns
The Israeli military has defended its actions, claiming it targeted what it called military infrastructure at some university sites. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israeli strikes killed several Iranian nuclear scientists as part of efforts to degrade Iran's nuclear program. However, this justification has drawn criticism from academic leaders and analysts who argue that universities are civilian infrastructure and attacking them could constitute a war crime unless they're being used for military purposes.
Academic retaliation
IRGC threatens retaliation, endangering American and Israeli interests abroad
In response to the strikes, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to target American- and Israeli-affiliated universities in the Middle East. This threat has led institutions like the American University of Beirut and Lebanese American University to switch to online learning as a precautionary measure. The conflict has also disrupted higher education in Lebanon, Qatar, and other Gulf states.
Conflict analysis
Analysts warn of widening conflict with diverging objectives
Analysts have noted that the targeting of universities and Iran's threats of retaliation indicate a widening conflict with potentially diverging objectives among the parties involved. Dina Esfandiary from Bloomberg Economics said, "The strikes demonstrate that Israel's objectives aren't necessarily aligned with those of the United States." She added that Iran has followed a step-by-step escalation pattern, responding to each US/Israeli hit by threatening similar actions against Gulf Arab states.