March 29, 2026
The South Asian Academy of Management (SAAM) expresses grave concern over the systematic targeting of academics, students, and educational institutions in Iran and Lebanon during ongoing military operations by the United States and Israel since 28 February 2026.
As a body committed to academic freedom, SAAM condemns attacks on schools, universities, and research institutions. Under international humanitarian law, such institutions are protected civilian spaces and must not be targeted. This is not an issue specific to any religion, ethnicity, or country—it is fundamentally an issue of human rights, academic freedom, and the protection of civilians under international law. The scale and pattern of these attacks constitute grave violations, tantamount to war crimes, that demand urgent international attention.
Documented Attacks on Academic Institutions and Personnel
• On Feb 28, 2026, the Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ Elementary School in Minab, southern Iran, was struck, killing at least 168 schoolchildren and 14 teachers, with some reports placing the toll higher. The attack prompted an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council, where the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a swift investigation and accountability.
• On Mar 3, three Board of Studies members of Imam Sadiq University.
• On Mar 12, an Israeli drone strike hit the Hadath campus at the Lebanese University in Beirut, killing two academics. Hussein Bazzi, Director of the Faculty of Sciences, and Mortada Srour, a faculty member in physics and chemistry, were killed. Additional individuals were reportedly injured.
• On Mar 12, the Ministry of Science and Education (Iran) reported that 33 faculty members and students were killed.
• According to the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Dr. Mohammed Rida Fadlallah, president of the University of Sciences and Arts (USAL), was reported killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
• On Mar 21, airstrikes targeted facilities linked to Malek Ashtar University in Tehran, causing significant damage.
• On Mar 23, Saeed Shamaghdari, a faculty member in the Electrical Engineering Department at the Iran University of Science and Technology, was killed when his residence in Tehran was struck, along with members of his family.
• In addition, the Pasteur Institute of Iran, Amirkabir University of Technology, Isfahan University of Technology, and Imam Hossein University reported damage following the US-Israel strikes.
• On March 27, reports indicated that students were among those killed, including three students at the National University of Skills and a student at Qom University of Technology (Husayn Mehdi).
• On Mar 28, 2026, the Iran University of Science and Technology was struck, days after the killing of its faculty member.
Legal Framework
UN Security Council Resolution 2601 (2021) strongly condemns attacks and threats of attack against schools, children, and teachers, and calls on parties to armed conflict to safeguard the right to education. Common Article 3 to the four Geneva Conventions prohibits violence to life and person against persons taking no active part in hostilities, which includes civilians such as educational personnel. Additional Protocol I, Article 52, provides that civilian objects, when such buildings are not military objectives, including schools and universities shall not be the object of attack. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8(2)(b)(ix), classifies intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to education as a war crime.
Broader Impact on Education
UNICEF reported that, beyond the Minab tragedy, children were also killed in attacks on multiple other schools across Iran, and numerous educational facilities were damaged. Iranian authorities have further stated that more than 600 schools have been damaged or destroyed, with hundreds of students and teachers killed or injured since hostilities began. In Lebanon, the killing of academics at the Lebanese University represents a direct assault on academic life.
SAAM’s Call to Action
SAAM emphasizes that attacks on educational institutions and academic communities constitute a long-term assault on knowledge, development, and societal progress. The destruction of schools and the killing of educators rob generations of their right to education.
We call upon scholars across disciplines—including ethics, diversity and inclusion, decolonial studies, human rights, law, political science, education, and related fields—to raise their voices through mainstream and social media, scholarly publications, activism, and classroom engagement to highlight these violations and contribute to global efforts to end this cycle of violence.
We further call upon the United Nations, UNESCO, and the international community to:
- Demand an immediate cessation of attacks on educational institutions and academic personnel
- Conduct independent investigations into the targeting of schools, universities, and academics as potential violations of international law, and accountability of perpetrators of what many believe to be war crimes
- Ensure the protection of students, educators, and scholars as civilians under international humanitarian law
- Reaffirm and enforce the protected status of educational institutions in conflict zones
SAAM stands in solidarity with academics and students in Iran and Lebanon.
Jawad Syed, PhD
President, South Asian Academy of Management
Endorsed by:
Syed Zahoor Hassan, Professor Emeritus, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan
Fida Afiouni, Professor, AUB, Beirut, Lebanon
Dr. Hamidreza Umrani, Head of Medical Sciences Department, University of Khoi
Dr. Kamran Shatiri, Head of the Medical Sciences Department, University of Urmia
Dr. Muhammad Ali Valizadeh, President, University of Medical Sciences, Urmia
Dr. Seyedeh Fatemeh Ghasempour Ganji, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
Maryam Aldossari, Associate Professor, Royal Holloway, London, UK
Muhammad Junaid Ashraf, Reader, Essex University, UK
Adnan Zahid, Dean of Student Affairs, LUMS, Pakistan
Ghazal Mir Zulfiqar, Associate Professor, LUMS, Pakistan
Faiza Ali, Associate Professor, LUMS, Pakistan
Hui Qi, Adjunct Faculty and PhD student, LUMS, Pakistan
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