More than 30 Iranian universities have faced “direct attacks,” Minister says

Iran’s science minister said more than 30 Iranian universities have faced “direct attacks” so far during the war with the US and Israel, according to the state-aligned Iran Students’ News Agency.

Hossein Simaei Sarraf, Iran’s minister of science, research and technology, said “non-military sites and essential infrastructure for education and research have been targeted,” ISNA reported. “Today, millions of schoolchildren and university students have been deprived of education and research.”

Buildings at the Shahid Beheshti University, a prestigious university in Tehran, were damaged by a US-Israeli strike yesterday, the Iranian Red Crescent and local media said.

Iran says the attacks on its universities are an attempt to weaken the country’s scientific and cultural foundations.

Israel frames the attacks as part of a broader effort to degrade Iran’s nuclear program. The United States maintains that its forces do not deliberately target civilians.

In retaliation for these attacks, Tehran has threatened to target American and Israeli-affiliated universities across the region.

Source: CNN

-- Agencies