Tehran University Controlled by Security Forces, Dismissed Professor Says

A dismissed professor of Tehran University has revealed that it is being "controlled by security forces" and that its president "answers to those who don't understand academia."

Ebrahim Salami's March 14 comments come in response to Mohammad Moghimi's, the university's president, claim that "Tehran University has not fired professors."

Moghimi challenged any professors claiming dismissal to a public debate.

Salami, along with his other colleagues, accepted the debate. He emphasized their willingness to defend "the rights of colleagues, professors, and students nationwide" in front of the media.

Salami elaborated on his experience, saying that he and other colleagues received no explanation or warnings before being fired in November 2023.

He linked their dismissal to a signed letter defending student rights.

He further charged Moghimi with "fabricating moral offenses" to justify dismissals.

Anger over the September 2022 death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini has prompted Iranians to take to the streets to demand fundamental economic, social, and political changes in the country.

Universities have been protest hotspots, with many students refusing to attend classes. Some protesting female students have removed and burned their headscarves.

At least 700 protesting students were arrested, activists say. Many have faced sentences including imprisonment and flogging, while others have been expelled from universities or suspended from their studies.

The Iranian government has also suspended or expelled dozens of professors for their political views, in what the student union councils of Iran said was part of a strategy to cleanse universities of activists.