Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simai Sarraf on Saturday said that over 30 universities nationwide have been hit by US-Israeli strikes since the conflict erupted on February 28.
“To date, more than 30 universities have been directly targeted,” Sarraf told reporters during a visit to the Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran, which was struck on Friday.
Iranian media reported that American and Israeli aircraft targeted various strategic and civilian sites in Tehran on Friday afternoon.
These attacks represent a significant escalation in the ongoing hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran.
According to IRIB, the aerial bombardment struck the university’s campus in northern Tehran’s Velenjak district and Mehrabad International Airport to the west, damaging academic buildings and essential infrastructure.
Founded in 1960 and named after Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, the institution serves as a critical research hub for thousands of academics and students. These strikes follow previous operations against other civilian centers, such as the Pasteur Institute of Iran, a historic biomedical and public health facility.
WHO alarmed by strikes on medical sites
The World Health Organization expressed grave concern Friday regarding repeated assaults on Iranian healthcare infrastructure. Following a strike on a Tehran facility, the WHO issued an urgent appeal for regional health system support.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the Pasteur Institute suffered “significant damage” and was forced to halt health services, noting it is one of 20 confirmed targets.
“Multiple attacks on health have been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in recent days amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East,” Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour shared images on social media depicting the facility’s destruction and debris.
While the ministry condemned the central Tehran airstrike as a “direct assault on international health security” and a breach of international law, the ISNA news agency later reported that the Pasteur Institute’s core services remain operational. Despite the damage, the agency asserted that the production of essential vaccines and serums will proceed uninterrupted.
“Fortunately, none of the employees of the Pasteur Institute in Iran were harmed in the recent attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime,” ISNA wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Tedros said the centre “plays an important role in protecting and promoting population health, including in emergencies”.
Beyond Iran, Tedros said the WHO was calling for urgent support for health systems affected by the conflict in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, noting the “mass displacement” of around four million people caused by the war, which has killed more than 3,000 and injured more than 30,000.
