Edge Rewrite
pun Source code View original
Jump to content

// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the bomb say to the university? You're bombed with knowledge.

Edit links
Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2026 Iran University of Science and Technology airstrikes
Part of 2026 Iran war
TypeAirstrikes
Location
Tehran, Iran
TargetIran University of Science and Technology
Date28 March 2026
02:20 am
Executed by USA, Israel
Outcome
  • 100% of the institute's structures sustained damage
  • 20% of the Physics Department Budling No.1 and No. 2
  • 10% of Mathematics Department
  • minor damage on Basic Science Department
  • minor damage on Islamic Knowledge Department
  • minor damage on Foreign Language Department
  • minor damage on Mechanical Engineering Research Center (ongoing construction project)
  • 500 billion tomans (approximately 3 million USD) in damages[1]
CasualtiesNone

On 28 March 2026, the United States-Israel coalition launched airstrikes on the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), a scientific and engineering national university in Narmak, Tehran.[2][3] The airstrike caused damage to six buildings, causing about 500 billion tomans (approximately US$3 million) in damages. No casualties were reported.

Background

Since the Twelve-Day War in 2025, Iranian universities and academics have been a target of United States and Israeli forces. IUST professor Saeed Shamghadri was killed in an airstrike on his home five days before the airstrike.[4]

Damage

The airstrikes caused damage to six buildings. The Aerospace Research Center was reduced to rubble.[5] In addition to the main target, structures, laboratories, classrooms, and professors' offices in Physics Department Budling No.1 and No. 2, the Mathematics Department, the Basic Science Department, the Islamic Knowledge Department, and the Foreign Language Department and Mechanical Engineering Research Center were also affected.[6] The attack took place without any warning according to Helyeh Doutaghi, a researcher based in Tehran familiar with the incident.[7]

According to the university's administrative and financial VP, at least 500 billion tomans (approximately US$3 million) was sustained in damage due to the airstrike on IUST campus.[1]

Reaction

There were relatively significant reactions from both internal Iranian community and international scholarly society on the attacks on Iran University of Science and Technology and generally all the affected scientific places in Iran.

Domestic

  • Iran University of Science and Technology condemned the attack in a statement the following day[8]
  • All Iranian universities and research institutions condemned the attack on IUST[9]

International

  • An open letter was signed by 1400 professors, researchers, and scholars (including Nobel Prize laureates May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser) which condemned the attacks on Iranian universities and called for an immediate stop on such attacks and that aggressors be held accountable.[10][11][12]

Aftermath

Following the attack on IUST, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it would target American and Israeli universities in the region as a response.[13] The statement shared by Tasnim stated that "the United States should be aware that all Israeli and American universities located in the West Asia region would become legitimate targets until two universities are struck in retaliation for the destroyed Iranian universities”.[14][15] As a result of these threats, the American University of Beirut shifted to online classes for two days, while the American University of Madaba in Jordan halted in-person instruction. The U.S. embassy in Iraq warned that American universities in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk could be targeted.[16]

While the threats from IRGC was considered legitimate by Western media outlets,[17] the Dean of the University of Tehran, Mohammad Hossein Omid, published an open letter requesting that Iran's armed forces refrain from retaliation on the American universities in the region.[18] Omid came under intense criticism in Iran's domestic media for what was described as “appeasement and currying favor with the West", forcing Omid and the University of Tehran to issue another statement, siding with retaliation after the attacks on Pasteur Institute of Iran and Shahid Beheshti University.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "جزئیات خسارت ۳ حمله دشمن به دانشگاه علم و صنعت؛ روند بازسازی آغاز شد" [Details of the damage of the attack on IUST]. Aban Daily (in Persian). 22 April 2026. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  2. ↑ Berker, Merve (2026-03-28). "University of Science and Technology targeted in Iran: Report". Anadolu (in Turkish). Mehr News. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "Airstrike on Iran University of Science and Technology". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 28 March 2026. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "How Iran's universities became a target of US-Israeli attacks". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Iran University of Science and Technology building reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrike". AP News. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "The story of the attack on IUST". IRNA. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Iranian academic describes US-Israeli attacks on Iran's universities". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Condemning the attack on IUST campus". Jam e Jam Online (in Persian). 26 April 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "All Iranian universities condemned attack on IUST". mediumco.ir. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Banks, Michael (22 April 2026). "Researchers express 'grave concern' over attacks on Iranian institutions and science". Physics World. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Protect Scientific Institutions in Iran". sites.google.com.
  12. ↑ "Sign Letter: Protect Scientific Institutions in Iran". International Union of Scientists. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "IRGC threatens universities across Middle East". The Jerusalem Post. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Despite Trump's peace talk claims, US-Israeli attacks continue to hit Iran". Al Jazeera. 2026-03-24. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatens US universities in the Middle East". Lemonde. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Iran attack threat prompts US universities to take precautions". Times Higher Education (THE). 30 March 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Chamaa, Mohamad El (5 April 2026). "American universities in Middle East brace for Iranian retaliation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "A request for Iran's powerful armed forces to exercise restraint and refrain from retaliating by attacking universities in the region". Moj News (in Persian). Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Retaliation on the attack on Iranian universities". DNWS. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2026_Iran_University_of_Science_and_Technology_airstrikes&oldid=1368281818"