Legal and military justifications debated
The targeting of universities has sparked debate among legal experts and security analysts. According to Janina Dill, a professor at the University of Oxford, universities are generally protected under international law as civilian infrastructure.
However, she noted that such sites could become legitimate military targets if used for purposes like weapons storage or operational planning. Israel has argued precisely this point, stating that some university facilities—such as Tehran’s Imam Hossein University—were linked to military activities, including weapons development associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also framed the broader campaign as an effort to weaken Iran’s nuclear capabilities, claiming that several nuclear scientists have been killed in the strikes.
Iranian academic leaders reject this justification. Manouchehr Moradi, a senior official at the University of Tehran, described universities as “homes of thought and dialogue,” arguing that attacks on them undermine both national development and human dignity.