It wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted on the grounds of the university, which is empty of students as the war has forced all schools in the country into online classes.
However, multiple countries over the years have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program, which is controlled by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The state-run Iran Daily newspaper said in an online message that an airstrike in a residential area of Qom killed at least five people. Qom is a holy Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.
It wasn’t clear what the target of the strike was.
A further 13 people were killed when an airstrike hit a residential building in Eslamshar, a suburban area on the southern outskirts of Tehran.
Iran has not provided overall casualty figures from the war in days. It also hasn’t discussed its material losses.
In Israel, authorities sounded one missile alert.
In Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, two such alerts went off with air defences firing, but it wasn’t immediately clear what had been targeted by Iran.
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel on Sunday.AP
Kuwait also said its air defences worked multiple times overnight to intercept incoming missiles.
More than 3500 people have been killed since this war began on February 28, with thousands more injured, according to interior ministries and human rights groups.
While the US, Israel and Iran are the main aggressors, a total of 15 countries have been the target of missile and drone attacks, disrupting air travel, global shipping and energy markets.
AP