Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University in Iran's Fars province, has reportedly offered scholarships to students expelled from universities in the United States and Europe for their participation in anti-Israel protests that have been marred by instances of antisemitism. The announcement was made during a gathering of students intended to show "solidarity" with anti-Israel agitators in the West on Wednesday.
Moazzeni criticized the police response to the encampment demonstrations, stating, "[T]hey exert a lot of violence in order to contain this raging movement and have even threatened to expel the students from universities and hinder their employment in the future, and such autocratic methods show the decline of global arrogance," according to Iranian state-owned outlet Press TV. He went on to say, "Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies at Shiraz University and I think that other universities in Shiraz as well as Fars Province are also prepared [to provide the conditions]."
The Iranian university head reportedly argued that the events unfolding in Gaza reveal the true nature of Western civilization and further support the message of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. This development comes as protests at American universities, such as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have garnered international attention, with live images of the clashes between anti-Israel agitators and police being broadcast on Iranian state television and Qatar's pan-Arab Al Jazeera satellite network.
As Iran appears to be encouraging the protests on American soil, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the conflict during a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Blinken emphasized the "increasingly destabilizing actions by Iran and its proxies" and highlighted the recent attack on Israel, which he described as "the first direct attack from Iran to Israel, with more than 300 projectiles, including over 100 ballistic missiles."
The protests, which have often been accompanied by antisemitic and pro-terror slogans, have been ongoing since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023. The conflict was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Palestinian terrorists into southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of about 250 hostages. Israel maintains that Hamas still holds around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
The war has had a devastating impact on Gaza, with approximately 80% of its population of 2.3 million being driven from their homes, extensive destruction in several towns and cities, and northern Gaza being pushed to the brink of famine, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the protests on American college campuses have led to a significant number of arrests. At least 200 people were arrested at UCLA on Thursday, bringing the nationwide total of arrests to more than 2,000 at dozens of college campuses since the clearing of an encampment at Columbia University in mid-April.
Blinken stated on Wednesday that there has been "real, meaningful progress" in the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and the U.S. military continues to construct a port off the coast of Gaza. However, the situation remains tense, with the ongoing conflict and the escalating protests on university campuses.
