Foreign students flee Tehran as campuses adopt ‘war footing’

Universities in Tehran, and those outside the Iranian capital, announced emergency measures this week, suspending classes and exams, as Israel widened the targeted areas for its airstrikes, which began on 13 June with attacks on Iranian military leadership and nuclear facilities.

Students, some of whom described their universities as being on a “war footing”, were ordered to vacate dormitories at many Tehran universities, with many universities urging their students to leave the capital.

A large number of foreign students were transferred to the outskirts of Tehran or even further out, while some foreign students, including Indian students, have been flown home after being evacuated to neighbouring Armenia.

The Ministry of Education, university personnel and others have notified foreign students, recommending they leave the country.

State of emergency

Iran declared a state of emergency on the day of Israel’s first attack. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out attacks against “dozens of targets, military centres and air bases” in Israel in retaliation.

With internet services widely disrupted in Tehran and other cities this week, in part taken over by Iran’s defence services, several universities have announced that not even online classes would be held.

While some universities initially said defences of theses by doctoral students would still be held in person, the deputy minister of education of the Ministry of Science on 17 June issued a circular announcing that universities had to hold doctoral exams, defences, and interviews “virtually”.

This decision “is mandatory in order to maintain security, ensure the sustainability of education, and reduce potential risks arising from the current situation”, said the circular.

Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, which has several buildings, including student dormitories said to be situated close to the Ministry of Intelligence and other state security institutions, referred to “war conditions” and the general state of emergency in the country to announce the cancellation of end-of-semester exams “till further notice” in a circular issued on 15 June by the university’s vice-president for education and postgraduate education.

It said further announcements on exams would be made “depending on circumstances”.

On 16 June Amirkabir student groups reported on their Telegram channel that an explosion had occurred in a building adjacent to the Rashid dormitory of the Iran University of Science and Technology, said to be one of the IRGC’s command centres.

Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology on 17 June announced the university was officially in a “state of emergency operations”, which student groups said was terminology usually used only for “war situations” and other critical situations.

According to the Sharif University of Technology security notice cited by Iran Student Movement media, undergraduate and graduate students would not be allowed on campus “until further notice, even if they have prior permission”. Only faculty members, doctoral students, and some senior students would be allowed to enter, it said at the time.

All exams were cancelled, and previous registrations for the summer semester were “considered invalid”, with new registrations to be made “in accordance with the courses available in the new programme” – a move which students said anticipated considerable disruption in the coming months. However, graduate thesis defence sessions would still go ahead in person, it said at the time.

Sharif University completely suspended campus food services saying: “payments will be refunded to students’ accounts”. The university announced all student dormitories will be closed from Friday 20 June, with students required to completely vacate their rooms before then.

Israeli warnings refer to university district

According to an official announcement published by the Persian account of the Israeli army on social media, an urgent, unprecedented warning was issued to residents of Tehran’s District 3, saying the area may be the target of direct attacks by the Israeli army.

The area includes Al-Zahra University and several of its student dormitories. “All citizens, residents, students, and staff of Al-Zahra University are advised that they are in danger and should leave the area as soon as possible,” student groups at the university said, quoting the Israeli warnings.

Student media said on 15 June: “Given recent developments and available evidence, the likelihood of a change in the pattern of attacks in the coming hours and days is very high.

“It is recommended that you leave Tehran if possible and stay away from any building, centre, or area that is directly or indirectly connected to institutions affiliated with the Islamic Republic (including government, military, security centres, and buildings with affiliated residents).”

It warned such attacks could take on “broader and unforeseen dimensions”.

Isfahan

In an urgent announcement on 15 June after the southern city of Isfahan also came under Israeli attack, the general directorate of student affairs of Isfahan University of Technology told all students to vacate dormitories by 18 June.

Zehra Sayyed, an Indian student from Jammu and Kashmir at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, told University World News: “We are safe, but Indian students are being relocated to a safer place. We have been informed that we might be evacuated to India soon. We don’t have much information. International students are worried and panicking here.”

The Indian students are instructed not to venture outside, she said.

Jasra Riyaz, a final-year student at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from India, was moved to a safer place on Tuesday by the Indian embassy, according to her father, Riyaz Ahmad Sopori.

He told University World News: “I am continuously in touch with her and hope that the war should stop at the earliest. As of now we are satisfied and will wait for three to four. If the situation deteriorates, then we would like her to come back [to India].”

Jasra’s university announced holidays until 21 June and postponed examinations.

A student from Kerman University of Medical Sciences, located in a relatively calmer area, expressed growing anxiety: “Even here, panic is spreading. We heard gunfire today. In Tehran, my friends are terrified.

“We’ve been advised to store drinking water for several days. Internet speeds are so poor that I can’t even send a simple WhatsApp message. We came here to become doctors – but now, we’re just trying to survive.”

Evacuation of foreign students

Around 100,000 foreign students are enrolled in Iran’s universities, 90% of them from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Iraq’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Naeem Al-Aboudi, quoted by Iran’s IRNA news agency in June 2024.

Student media said the Iraqi embassy was “in constant contact” with its citizens studying in Iran. Students were advised not to go outside before they were told on 15 June to leave Tehran.

Over 60,000 Afghan students are enrolled in Iranian universities, Mandana Tisheyar, vice-chancellor at Iran’s Allameh Tabataba’i University, said last year, noting the number of Afghan students in Tehran surpasses that of Kabul. Many are unlikely to return to Afghanistan, a Pakistani student said.

Hundreds of Pakistani students studying at various universities in Iran have left for Pakistan this week or are expected back, according to a statement by the Pakistan International Medical Students Association (PIMSA).

At least 80 students from Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences and 97 students from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences have left for Pakistan, it said.

PIMSA said dozens of students from various universities in Tehran are also heading towards Iran’s land border with Pakistan.

Indian students flee Tehran

Approximately 1,500 Indian students are currently studying in Iran, mainly enrolled in undergraduate medical degrees. More than 450 Indian students re enrolled at Shahid Beheshti University and hundreds of others at the University of Tehran and Iran University of Medical Sciences, as well as other universities.

A second-year medical student at Shahid Beheshti University described alarming conditions: “We’re stuck in our apartment basement. Explosions shake the night. One hit just five kilometres away. We haven’t slept for three days.” The university has suspended classes, advising students to stay indoors.

Many students, including dozens from Shahid Beheshti University who were being bussed out of Tehran, reported being stuck in heavy traffic on the highways leading out of Tehran on 16, 17 and 18 June as many Tehran residents sought to flee the capital.

Students told India’s NDTV news channel they were initially heading for the outskirts of the city for the next few days.

The students said the Indian embassy had made evacuation plans based on where the universities are located. Those located in the north of the city were being evacuated to the northern outskirts, while those west and south of the city were being taken elsewhere. Numerous others remain stranded, hoping for diplomatic efforts to facilitate their rescue.

The Indian embassy in Tehran said it is actively engaged in assisting its nationals and coordinating evacuation efforts.

Evacuation to Armenia

While over 100 Indian students were evacuated to neighbouring Armenia as of 18 June, others were transferred to the city of Qom, some 150 kilometres south of Tehran. However, there have been airstrikes on Qom this week as well.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association: “All students who made it to Armenia have safely arrived in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, and are being accommodated in hotels.”

Of the 110 students evacuated, 90 are from Jammu and Kashmir. But others are from the southern state of Karnataka and from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Their return to India was scheduled for 18 June. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Indian Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have engaged in discussions regarding the potential evacuation of Indian students from Iran via Armenian territory, said Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan in a statement.

“The Armenian and Indian foreign ministers have explored the possibility of facilitating the evacuation of Indian students from Iran through Armenia. Necessary assistance has been offered by Armenia,” Badalyan stated.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah confirmed that students from the region were being transported to Armenia for their eventual return home.

He said he had been in regular contact with the Ministry of External Affairs and that “Foreign Minister Jaishankar assured me that students from high-risk areas, particularly Tehran and Isfahan, will be evacuated first”.

One major reason Kashmiri students go to Iran is the low fees, along with the living conditions and climate, which make them feel at home, students said.

Besides medical studies, some Indian students go to Iran for religious education. Qom and Mashhad are centres of Shia religious education for people from the Shia community.