Shafaqna English- Iran’s Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Hossein Simaei-Sarraf, strongly condemned recent attacks on the country’s higher education and research centers as clear violations of international law and crimes against humanity, and said that the US-Israeli attacks on Iran have directly attacked over 30 Iranian universities.
Attacks on Shahid Beheshti University, University of Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology
Speaking on Saturday following the attack by the Israeli regime on the Laser and Plasma Research Center at Shahid Beheshti University, Simaei-Sarraf said: “Last week, the University of Science and Technology and previously Isfahan University of Technology and other research centers suffered brutal attacks.”
“This hostile act not only targets the security of academics and the country’s scientific environment, but is also a clear attack on reason, research, and freedom of thought,” Shahid Beheshti university said in a statement, calling on international peers to raise awareness about similar strikes.
Another major university attacked during the ongoing war was Tehran’s Science and Technology University, which saw one of its research centres reduced to rubble and other departments damaged a week ago. The facility worked on developing domestically made satellites.
The Faculty of Pharmacy at Shiraz University was hit on March.Strikes also targeted parts of the Science and Technology Campus and the Veterinary Specialized Hospital Campus at Urmia University.
Millions of students and researchers are now deprived of education
He added, “To date, more than 30 universities have been directly targeted, which is unimaginable in the era of human rights and international law.”
Simaei-Sarraf warned of the human cost of these attacks: “Millions of students and researchers are now deprived of education and study. Our country, as a key provider of scientific talent for the world, has suffered serious damage from these assaults.”
Five university professors and more than 60 students were killed
Simaei-Sarraf said five university professors and more than 60 students were killed in the strikes, describing attacks on Iranian infrastructure as “crimes against humanity.”
He also recalled the assassination of Iranian scientists by the Israeli regime: “Israel has long pursued a program of targeting our scientists, with martyrs like Shahriari and Ali-Mohammadi as prominent examples.”
Simaei-Sarraf added, “During the 12-day conflict, professors at this university, including Tehranchi, Manouchehr, and Zolfaghari, were martyred, and more than 60 students also lost their lives.”
He concluded: “Attacks on universities and research centers represent a return to the Stone Age and reflect hostility toward science, culture, and civilization. This enemy has abandoned even the most basic human and democratic values. Nevertheless, our country will continue its path of scientific and technological development, and such violent actions cannot halt our determination to train scientific talent for Iran and the world.”