Iran Offers Scholarships to Expelled Students, Stirring Controversy Amid Anti-Israel Protests

According to reports, the head of a major Iranian University offered scholarships for students who were expelled from U.S. universities and European Universities over antisemitic protests.

Mohammad Moazzeni is the head of Shiraz University, located in Fars Province. He announced on Wednesday at a student gathering meant to demonstrate “solidarity with anti-Israel activists in the West”.

According to Press TV, he stated that the police’s response to the encampment protests was “[T]hey have used a lot of violence to contain this raging mob and even threatened to expel students from universities or hinder their employment for the future.” Such autocratic methods demonstrate the decline in global arrogance. Students and professors who were expelled or faced with expulsion could continue their studies at Shiraz University. I believe that other universities within Shiraz and the Fars Province would also be willing to provide these conditions.

The Iranian state media reported that he argued what was happening in Gaza revealed the true nature and message of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran.

The Associated Press reported that Iranian state television broadcast live images of protests at the University of California Los Angeles where anti-Israel agitators clashed against police as they tried to clear a fortified encampment on campus on Thursday morning. The pan-Arab Al Jazeera network in Qatar also broadcast live images of the action. Live images from Los Angeles were also shown on Israeli television.

While Iran appears to be cheering the protests taking place on American soil this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council at a meeting held in Saudi Arabia early this week that “the conflict with Israel and Hamas comes against a backdrop of increasingly destabilizing action by Iran and its proxy groups.”

This is the first meeting after Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel. It was the first direct attack by Iran on Israel with over 300 projectiles including more than 100 ballistic missiles. Blinken said that this attack highlighted the growing and acute threat posed by Iran. It also underscored the importance of working together to develop an integrated defense. This brazen attack highlights the dangers of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and why we need to continue working together to prevent that from happening.

According to a tally done by the AP, at least 200 people have been arrested on the UCLA campus since Thursday. This brings the total number of arrests nationwide to over 2,000. The police systematically tore down the barricade made of pallets, metal fencing, and plywood that had been erected by the encampment. They then removed dozens of tents and canopies.

Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian terrorists launched a devastating attack against southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing about 250 hostages, demonstrations have taken place, often with antisemitic or even pro-terrorist slogans. Israel claims Hamas is still holding around 100 hostages, as well as the remains of over 30 other hostages.

According to the AP, the war in Gaza has forced 80% of its 2.3 million residents to leave their homes. It also caused massive destruction to several towns and cities and pushed the northern Gaza region to the brink of famine.

Blinken stated Wednesday that there has been “real and meaningful progress” made in the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, while the U.S. Military continues to build a port near the coast of Gaza.