In a letter dated May 11, the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) warned that Iran’s educational system had become “a frontline in the widening U.S.-Israel war against the country.”
The letter was addressed to several senior international figures, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The group accused the United States and Israel of systematically targeting universities, schools, research centers and medical institutions in violation of international humanitarian law.
It cited reported damage to major universities including Sharif University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Amir Kabir University and the Iran University of Science and Technology.
AIS, founded in 1967, is one of the leading international scholarly organizations focused on Iran and Persianate studies. Its Committee on Academic Freedom has frequently criticized the Islamic Republic’s repression of student activism, arrests of academics and crackdowns on campuses following protests and political unrest in Iran.
In its latest statement, the group argued that the war had compounded the trauma already inflicted on Iranian students and universities by state repression.
“The 2026 war and the resulting disruption of education, following upon such attacks and repressive measures, have inflicted both physical and psychological trauma on students at all levels—effects that many young Iranians are likely to carry throughout their lives,” the letter said.
The letter also referred to strikes on medical research institutions including the Pasteur Institute of Iran and the Tofigh Daru pharmaceutical research center, as well as attacks on schools.
It rejected US-Israeli arguments that some institutions constituted legitimate “dual use” targets because of alleged links to Iran’s military sector, arguing that such claims ignored proportionality and the cumulative harm inflicted on civilians and educational infrastructure.
The organization called for international condemnation of attacks on educational institutions, pressure to end the war and support for rebuilding damaged academic infrastructure.
