Iran’s Shiraz University offers scholarships to students barred from Western universities due to anti-Israel protests: Global: Business Times

Mohammad Moazzeni, 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 marred by cases of anti-Semitism. The announcement was made Wednesday during a gathering of students intended to show “solidarity” with anti-Israel agitators in the West.

Moazzeni criticized the police response to the camp demonstrations, stating: “They are using a lot of violence to control this angry movement and have even threatened to expel the students from universities and hinder their employment in the future, and such autocratic methods demonstrate the decline of global arrogance,” said Iran’s state-owned Press TV. He went on to say: “Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with deportation can continue their studies at Shiraz University and I believe other universities in Shiraz and Fars Province are also willing (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. The development comes as protests at US universities such as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have gained international attention, with live footage of clashes between anti-Israel agitators and police being broadcast on Iranian state television and Qatar’s pan-Israeli television. Arabic Al Jazeera satellite network.

While Iran appears to be encouraging protests on U.S. soil, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the conflict during a meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Blinken highlighted the “increasingly destabilizing actions of Iran and its allies” and highlighted the recent attack on Israel, which he described as “Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, using more than 300 projectiles, including more than 100 ballistic missiles.”

The protests, often accompanied by anti-Semitic and pro-terror slogans, have been ongoing since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023. The conflict was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Palestinian terrorists on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of approximately 250 hostages. Israel claims that Hamas is still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The war has had a devastating impact on Gaza, with about 80% of the population of 2.3 million people driven from their homes, extensive destruction in several towns and cities, and northern Gaza brought to the brink of famine, the report said. Associated Press. .

Meanwhile, 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 on dozens of college campuses since the clearance of an encampment at Columbia University in mid-April.

Blinken said on Wednesday that “real, meaningful progress” had been made in the flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and that the US military was continuing to build a port off the coast of Gaza. However, the situation remains tense due to the ongoing conflict and escalating protests on university campuses.

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