Top Indian Physicists Condemn US-Israel Strikes on Middle East Universities

​A coalition of India’s most distinguished scientists has issued a scathing condemnation of the ongoing military strikes by the United States and Israel against academic institutions in Iran, Palestine, and Lebanon.

​In a joint statement released Thursday, over 53 prominent string theorists—physicists specializing in the fundamental nature of reality—expressed “heartfelt solidarity” with their colleagues in West Asia. The group, which includes globally renowned award-winners Ashoke Sen and Spenta Wadia, argued that the targeting of universities constitutes a “crime against humanity” and an assault on the future of global research.

​The intervention comes as the US-Israel war on Iran reaches a critical juncture. Reports indicate that over the past month, more than 30 Iranian universities have been damaged. Most notably, the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran—often called “Iran’s MIT”—sustained heavy damage in early April. Strikes reportedly targeted its data center and AI research facilities, which the scientists claim is a deliberate attempt to erode the region’s intellectual infrastructure.

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​”Universities and educational institutes have been systematically attacked,” the statement read, citing the destruction of the Lebanese University and the total collapse of the higher education system in Gaza.

​The physicists, representing top institutions like the IITs and the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR), warned that the “long-term harm to education and research” would be felt for generations.

​While a fragile ceasefire remains in place in some sectors, tensions have escalated following a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and reports of continued casualties in southern Lebanon. This rare political move by India’s scientific elite underscores a growing international outcry over the widening scope of the conflict.