Throughout their war on Iran, the U.S. and Israel broke many norms of military engagement, such as systematically targeting academic institutions in Iran. Universities became a major casualty, and explicit acknowledgements by Israeli leaders and some U.S. public figures clarified that these institutions were not collateral damage, but rather, intended targets. There are no definitive figures as to the number of higher education institutes targeted, but Iran’s science minister, Hossein Simaei Saraf, has said more than 30 universities have been bombed.
“It is truly unbelievable that in the 21st century, in the age of human rights, in the age of international law and international humanitarian law, civilian locations and civilians are being targeted,” Simaei Saraf told reporters upon inspecting the ruins of the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran on April 4.
“It is regrettable that our adversary has gone back to the Stone Age rather than us coming from the Stone Age,” he said, a reference to Donald Trump’s infamous threat against Iran. Simaei Saraf added that the international community is deprived of Iran’s human potential when the country’s scientific centers become targets in military campaigns.
Founded in 1960 as the National University of Iran, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) is known for its robust law, literature, and architecture departments. The U.K.-based QS World University Rankings has ranked Shahid Beheshti University 214th in Asia among 1,534 universities listed regionally. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former presidential candidate and leader of the 2009 Green Movement who has been under house arrest since 2011, is an SBU alumnus.
The most shocking incident in this string of attacks was the bombing of Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology, often referred to as Iran’s MIT. In the early hours of April 6, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on the southern parts of the iconic campus destroyed several buildings, including the Philosophy of Science Group, High-Performance Computing Center, and Information and Communication Technology Center.
Hellbound and Down 