Iraqi paramilitaries to study in Iran's top university, sparking outcry from student activists

The University of Tehran, renowned for its excellence in higher education, last week announced that members of Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq, would be admitted to this university, despite criticism from student activists who denounce the move as a "military campaign" against dissent within universities.

During a meeting attended by officials from Iran's higher education sector and Hossein Mousavi Bokhati, a representative from the Iraqi paramilitary group, the university revealed its plan to facilitate providing academic education to PMF members.

Mohammad Moghimi, President of the University of Tehran, hinted that the selection of admitted students would consider ideological and political viewpoints.

"Our ultimate objective is to create a new Islamic civilisation, and to achieve this goal, we will follow in the footsteps of our beloved martyrs, Haj Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis," he said.

In 2020, Soleimani, a prominent commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and al-Muhnadis, the deputy chief of PMF, were killed in an American drone attack in Baghdad.

The University of Tehran decision comes amid suspensions imposed on student activists across both public and private universities following nationwide protests that erupted last year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic morality police.

Activists have expressed concerns that the admission of Iraqi fighters aims to bolster the pro-establishment forces within universities, which have played a vital role in protests against the establishment in recent years.

The latest example of such actions occurred last October when several Basij members enrolled at universities were deployed to raid the Sharif University campus in Tehran.

A statement released by a group of student activists vehemently criticised the move by the University of Tehran, describing it as a "rejection of students, acceptance of fighters".

"The authorities have suppressed, dismissed, and suspended students, resulting in empty campuses, and now they seek to replace us with fighters from Iraqi militia groups," the statement read.

This practice of admitting students with military or paramilitary backgrounds to universities in Iran has been employed by authorities since the reopening of educational institutions following the Cultural Revolution (1980-83).

During Iran's Cultural Revolution, left-wing and secular students and professors were dismissed from all higher education centres.

Since then, universities have admitted members of the Basij paramilitary, loyal citizens of the regime, and IRGC fighters without requiring them to meet basic academic standards.