What should have been a summer of final exams and graduation defenses in Iran has turned into a season of sirens, airstrikes, and evacuation buses. As Israeli air raids began on June 13, targeting Iranian military leaders and nuclear facilities, the capital city of Tehran — and much of Iran’s university system — plunged into a wartime crisis. Classrooms closed, internet connections slowed to a crawl, and thousands of foreign students were left scrambling to escape.
Ayush (pseudonym), a second-year medical student at Shahid Beheshti University, described the past few nights as sleepless. “We’ve been stuck in our basement. The explosions are close — one landed just five kilometers from us. We’re scared, tired, and just trying to survive.” Like many of his peers, Ayush is now more worried about staying alive than completing his studies.
Universities across Tehran were quick to react. Almost all dormitories were evacuated. Some institutions, such as Sharif University of Technology, went as far as officially declaring “emergency war operations.” Exams were cancelled, course registrations wiped clean, and the summer term suspended indefinitely. Even doctoral defenses, initially promised to continue in person, were shifted online — if internet access allowed.
One circular from Amirkabir University of Technology cited “national security concerns” as the reason for halting all educational activity, including thesis defenses. Students were warned to stay indoors and prepare for possible extended lockdowns. In a city where many campuses are located near government buildings and intelligence facilities, the lines between academia and conflict have all but disappeared.
For foreign students — especially the roughly 1,500 from India — the chaos struck particularly hard. More than 450 Indian students study at Shahid Beheshti alone, with hundreds more enrolled at the University of Tehran and the Iran University of Medical Sciences. When the first wave of strikes hit, Indian embassies began coordinating urgent evacuations. Students were shuttled to the outskirts of Tehran, or even to neighboring Armenia, depending on where their campuses were located.
Zehra Riyaz, a student from the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir, told University World News that her university in Isfahan was under lockdown. “We’re safe, but very anxious,” she said. “The embassy told us we may be flown out soon.” Her father, back in India, has been on edge, speaking to her daily and awaiting updates. “We’re hopeful the war will end, but if not, we want her home,” he said.
In cities like Isfahan and Kerman — once considered relatively safe — panic is rising. A medical student in Kerman recounted hearing gunfire near campus and being advised to store drinking water for several days. “We came here to become doctors,” she said, “but now we’re just trying to survive.”
By June 18, more than 100 Indian students had been successfully evacuated to Armenia. Of those, 90 were from Jammu and Kashmir. The Armenian and Indian foreign ministers have been in contact to facilitate further evacuations, with students temporarily housed in hotels in Yerevan, awaiting flights back to India.
It’s not just Indian students. Over 100,000 foreign students study in Iran, most from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Iraqi and Pakistani embassies have been actively coordinating the return of their nationals. At least 80 Pakistani students from Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences and nearly 100 from Zanjan University have already crossed the border.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s District 3 — home to Al-Zahra University and several large student dorms — was specifically named in a rare direct warning by the Israeli military. “This area may be targeted,” read the message, shared on social media in Persian. Student groups quickly reposted the warning, urging residents to evacuate.
With airstrikes now reaching the city of Qom — a key center for religious studies — even Shia theological students are being displaced. A Pakistani student noted bitterly that many Afghan students in Tehran now outnumber those in Kabul, and most have nowhere else to go.
Foreign students once drawn to Iran for its affordable tuition, cultural familiarity, and robust academic programs now find themselves facing the unimaginable. What began as a journey for knowledge has turned into an escape for safety. Lecture halls have become off-limits, thesis presentations canceled, and futures put on hold indefinitely.
The scenes unfolding in Iran are not just another chapter in a conflict-ridden region. They’re a stark reminder of how education can be held hostage by geopolitics — and how vulnerable students are when diplomacy fails. For the universities, the embassies, and the families watching from afar, the question now isn’t how to get students to finish their degrees, but how to get them home.
And for the students trapped in Tehran’s basements or stuck in traffic jams fleeing the city, there’s just one thought that keeps repeating: “We didn’t come here to be soldiers. We just wanted to learn.”