Iran has alleged that the United States and Israel deliberately targeted 600 schools and 290 health facilities in the ongoing escalation. Iranian authorities have emphasised that, despite possessing the capability, the country has not been accused so far of striking any school or hospital in Israel or other Gulf countries.
According to Iranian claims, its precision drones and missiles have targeted military bases, hideouts, radar installations, and other strategic infrastructure, often after issuing prior warnings, but have not been used against schools, students, or medical facilities. Some American media reports, however, have suggested that certain Iranian universities housed IRGC-linked missile and drone research laboratories.
Iranian scholar Helyeh Doutaghi, who was dismissed in 2025 by Yale Law School for her support for the Palestinian cause, visited the bombed university and posted photographs on X on Saturday, 28 March, along with a statement that read: “…this is the same university that launched Iran’s Omid and Zafar 2 satellites, symbols of homegrown technological achievement. A week ago, one of its professors was assassinated. Yesterday, they bombed it.
“From sanctions to targeted killings, to the bombing of research centres and universities, there’s a clear pattern: de-development & de-industrialisation / the systematic dismantling of a nation’s indigenous development, its industrial base, its capacity to stand on its own…”
The bombing of the premier Iranian university has been interpreted by Iranian commentators as a deliberate attempt to impede the country’s scientific progress and research capacity.