The damaged building inside Sharif University of Technology in Tehran was not just an ordinary university facility, according to the Iranian story. The university administration said that “the bombing that affected the campus last April hit a digital and research structure related to the development of artificial intelligence models in the Persian language.”
Satellite images obtained by the Al Jazeera Network’s Open Source Unit reveal that the effects of damage at Sharif University of Technology remained clear until June 12, despite more than two months having passed since the raid that targeted the university at dawn on April 6, 2026.
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A visual comparison between photos taken on March 6 and June 12 shows clear damage to one of the university campus buildings, in one of the most prominent scientific and engineering institutions in Iran.
A university with a large symbolic size
Sharif University of Technology is one of the most important scientific universities in Iran, and is often described inside and outside the country as an elite institution in the fields of engineering, mathematics, science and technology.
This is why the bombing is seen inside Iran as a blow to an institution that represents a symbol of scientific and technical progress, especially since the targeting – according to the university administration – targeted a digital and research infrastructure related to artificial intelligence.
Al Jazeera quoted university president Masoud Tajrishi as saying that the bombing destroyed or damaged several buildings inside the university, including an artificial intelligence center that includes sensitive databases, noting that the attack led to the disruption of the university’s websites and electronic services.
Artificial Intelligence Center in Persian
The president of Sharif University said that the targeted center had been working for two years on training artificial intelligence models in the Persian language, and providing services to hundreds of companies inside Iran.
He added that American sanctions and external restrictions prevented his country from obtaining this technical knowledge from abroad, which prompted the university to develop it locally.
“We believe that the reason the enemy targeted these buildings and destroyed the entire infrastructure is because he does not want us to achieve artificial intelligence technology,” Tajreshi said.
There were no deaths inside the sanctuary
According to university statements and reports published after the attack, no human casualties were recorded on the Sharif University campus, as studies were being offered online at that time.
However, the absence of victims inside the university did not mitigate the impact of the attack politically and symbolically, as the targeting of a prominent academic institution sparked widespread reactions within Iran, even from circles opposed to the regime, according to international media reports.
More than one university
Sharif University does not stand alone in this path, as the raid on it came after a series of strikes that targeted research centers within other prominent institutions, including the Pasteur Institute, the Light Physics Laboratory at Shahid Beheshti University, and a satellite development laboratory at the Iranian University of Science and Technology.
Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Hossein Simai Saraf, said that at least 30 universities have been damaged since the war began on February 28, 2026.
The study is continuing
In a field report from inside the university campus after the bombing, Xinhua Agency quoted the President of Sharif University, Masoud Tajrishi, as saying that Iranian universities will continue to work and rebuild, and that the response to the attacks will be in the “area of science and knowledge.”
The report described a symbolic scene inside one of the damaged classrooms, where a professor reopened his computer amid the dust and broken walls, in reference to the university’s attempt to resume its activities despite the destruction.
In June 2026, the President of Sharif University said that the losses incurred by the university during the war amounted to about 53 million dollars, including equipment and infrastructure.
This number, according to the university administration, reflects that the damage affected digital systems, research equipment, servers, and databases that had accumulated over years.
Between military and cognitive
The United States and Israel say their military campaign targeted Iran’s war-related capabilities and infrastructure. But the attack on university and research institutions, according to the Iranian narrative and field reports, moved part of the battle to a more sensitive area: the country’s cognitive and technical structure.
In the case of Sharif University, it concerns a center that the university said was developing Persian artificial intelligence models and serving companies and institutions inside Iran.
