Joint Statement by Iranian Universities to the Global Academic Community Condemning US-Israeli Attacks on Universities, Research Centers, and Academicians

Addressed to: The Global Academic Community

Dear Colleagues, Scientists, University Professors, and Researchers around the world,

Following our first joint statement issued in March 2026 condemning US-Israeli attacks on Iranian universities, we, the undersigned Iranian universities of technology (UT5), issue this follow-up statement to alert our colleagues worldwide about the systematic and escalating attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iranian universities, research centers, academic personnel, and civilian scientific infrastructure.

More than 30 Iranian universities have been bombed by the US and Israel since the beginning of the imposed war on Iran, apart from hundreds of schools, medical facilities, and cultural sites, which amount to war crimes.

Direct military strikes have targeted Iranian academic and research institutions, some of which are:

• Iran Space Research Center (15 March 2026): The research center complex was destroyed.

• Shiraz University (15 March 2026): Faculty of Pharmacy was targeted.

• Isfahan University of Technology (26 and 29 March 2026): The Information and Communication Technology Research Institute, as well as electrical engineering department were destroyed. 

• Iran University of Science and Technology (28 March 2026): The Aerospace Research Center was destroyed. Six buildings were damaged.

• Pasteur Institute of Iran (30 March 2026) – The country’s leading public health research center was targeted and destroyed. 

• Shahid Beheshti University (3 April 2026): Laser and Plasma Research Institute, as well as girls’ dormitory were destroyed.

• Sharif University of Technology (6 April 2026): The Information and Communication Technology Center was destroyed, along with decades of research data and servers. 

In the latest attack on Sharif University of Technology, bunker buster bombs were used. This shows the madness and ignorance of the US president, who threatened to bomb the country back “to the stone age”—a proud nation with more than 8,000 years of culture and heritage.

These actions violate international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention (Additional Protocol I), and the UN Charter. Universities are sanctuaries of intellectual freedom. Targeting them attacks the very foundation of progress and undermines the future of entire generations. As presidents of scientific institutions in Iran, we draw the attention of our global colleagues to these crimes. If these crimes are not condemned today, they will await academic environments in other countries tomorrow.

We reiterate all the calls made in our first joint statement of March 2026. In addition, given the escalation of attacks, we specifically call upon the global academic community to:

• Document and condemn the use of military ordnance against civilian academic sites.

• Mobilize international academic bodies to fulfill their duties in protecting academic institutions.

Issued by:

Five Top Iranian Universities of Technology (UT5):

• Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT)

• Isfahan University of Technology (IUT)

• Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST)

• K. N. Toosi University of Technology (KNTU)

• Sharif University of Technology (SUT)