As American college campuses have been roiled by a wave of anti-Israel protests, an Iranian university has made an overture to students who have faced disciplinary action, offering them a pathway to continue their studies through a scholarship program.
The proposal came from Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University, a public institution located in Iran’s southern Fars province. In an interview aired on Iranian state television, Moazzeni said the university was prepared to provide free tuition to any American students or professors expelled over their involvement in the demonstrations.
“Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies at Shiraz University,” Moazzeni stated on Press TV. “I think that other universities in Shiraz, as well as Fars Province, are also prepared.”
The announcement follows several weeks of escalating tensions and unrest at colleges across the United States, as pro-Palestinian groups have organized rallies, marches and encampments to protest Israeli policies and actions. Clashes have repeatedly broken out between protesters and law enforcement attempting to maintain order on campuses.
In New York City alone, over 280 people were arrested late last month when the New York Police Department conducted a major operation to clear protesters from Columbia University and the City College of New York. Mayor Eric Adams accused “outside agitators” of attempting to radicalize the student demonstrations.
On the morning of May 1st, riot police at the University of California, Los Angeles deployed tear gas against an entrenched encampment, with makeshift barricades erected between the two sides. Similar scenes have unfolded at universities nationwide.
While the protests have drawn condemnation from university administrators and some politicians for disrupting campus operations, the events have been praised by figures in Iran as an embodiment of resistance to Israeli and American policies in the region.
Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, applauded the American student activists, referring to them as “our people” during an interview with an Iranian media outlet monitored by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
“If tensions between America and Iran rise tomorrow or the day after, these are the people who will have to take to the streets to support Iran,” Mr. Izadi said. “Sooner or later, this kind of support for the Zionist regime by the American regime will diminish.”
He went on to declare that the Palestinian movement would have been undermined long ago if not for Iran’s backing, while criticizing the Iranian government for not doing more operationally “when it comes to recruiting connections and building networks.”
The demonstrations have included acts of vandalism and trespassing, such as when protesters at Columbia University broke windows and barricaded themselves inside a campus building on April 30th. However, the participants have defended their actions as legitimate opposition to Israeli policies they view as oppressive and violent toward Palestinians.