In a controversial move, Mohammad Moazzeni, the head of Shiraz University in Iran’s Fars province, reportedly extended scholarships to students expelled from U.S. and European universities due to their involvement in anti-Israel protests. Moazzeni made this announcement during a student gathering aimed at showing solidarity with anti-Israel demonstrators in the West.

Speaking out against the police response to the protests, Moazzeni criticized what he described as “autocratic methods” used to suppress the demonstrations. He asserted that students and professors facing expulsion or threats could continue their studies at Shiraz University, with other institutions in the Shiraz and Fars Province also prepared to accommodate them.

Iranian flag at California anti-Israel protest

A man carries the flag of Iran inside an anti-Israel encampment set up at UC Irvine in Irvine, California, on Wednesday. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Moazzeni emphasized that events in Gaza highlight the true nature of Western civilization and align with the message of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Meanwhile, live footage of protests at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where anti-Israel activists clashed with police, was broadcast on Iranian state television and Qatar’s Al Jazeera network. This coverage coincided with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks to Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers, warning against destabilizing actions by Iran and its proxies amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Police officers at UCLA anti-Israel encampment

Police advance on anti-Israel demonstrators in an encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on Thursday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Despite diplomatic efforts to address the crisis, the conflict has resulted in mass displacement and extensive destruction in Gaza, with humanitarian aid efforts underway.

The ongoing protests, marked by antisemitic slogans, have led to numerous arrests at college campuses across the U.S. since mid-April. These demonstrations emerged following the outbreak of conflict in 2023, initiated by Palestinian terrorists’ attack on southern Israel.