To: Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Dear High Commissioner Türk,

We, the undersigned academics, write to express our profound concern and to urge immediate action regarding the targeted killing of Iranian academics and their families by Israel during its 12 days of aggression that began on June 13, 2025. These deliberate attacks, conducted in residential homes, resulted in the deaths of 36 academics, along with their loved ones—university professors and students dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. Such acts represent a flagrant violation of international human rights law and the fundamental sanctity of civilian life. Israeli aggression resulted in a total of 935 deaths (38 children and 102 women, some of whom were pregnant), the vast majority of whom were civilians.

Iran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), maintains all its nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The scientists targeted in these attacks were engaged in lawful, peaceful activities, contributing to scientific and educational advancement. IAEA Director General Rafel Grossi’s definitive June 18, 2025 statement —‘We did not have any proof of a systematic effort [by Iran] to move into a nuclear weapon [...]’— annihilates any possible justification whatsoever for these attacks, whether framed as political, rhetorical, or security-based. Under international humanitarian law, academics and scientists, even those involved in sensitive research, are civilians entitled to protection. Their work does not constitute direct participation in hostilities, and their homes are not legitimate military targets. These attacks were premeditated acts of aggression , aimed at silencing intellect and progress.

As the United Nations’ leading advocate for human rights, your office is uniquely positioned to address these grave violations. We therefore call upon you to take the following actions within your mandate:

We urge you to issue a strong and unequivocal statement condemning these attacks as violations of the right to life and the protection of civilians under international human rights law. Your voice carries significant weight in drawing global attention to these atrocities.

We request that your office, through the appropriate mechanisms, support an independent investigation into these killings. This could involve engaging relevant special rapporteurs, such as the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, or recommending the establishment of a fact-finding mission by the Human Rights Council.

We ask that you include these attacks in your reports to the Human Rights Council, highlighting the need for accountability and the protection of civilians, particularly those in academic and scientific communities. Your reports can serve as a foundation for further action by member states.

We implore you to work with member states and relevant UN bodies to ensure immediate and unconditional protections for Iran’s scientists, professors, and students. Their right to life, safety, and intellectual freedom must be safeguarded from further violence.

We urge your office to lead efforts in developing and promoting international standards and mechanisms that specifically protect civilians engaged in peaceful scientific and educational endeavors. This could include advocating for stronger legal protections and accountability measures for attacks on academics worldwide.

These individuals were not military targets; they were scholars and educators, violently silenced in their homes. We remember and honor the lives of those lost and their family and neighbors and many others—each a civilian, each deserving of protection, recognition, justice, and remembrance.

In Memoriam: Victims of the Attacks:

University Professors

Dr. Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi, Distinguished Professor at the Faculty of Physics, Shahid Beheshti University; President of Islamic Azad University

Dr. Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University; Editor-in-Chief of the Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Technology and Energy

Dr. Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Dean of the Faculty of Nuclear Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University; Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Technology and Energy

Dr. Amir Hossein Faghi, faculty member of Nuclear Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University

Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from Shahid Beheshti University; faculty member of Imam Hossein University

Dr. Akbar Motalebizadeh, faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University; Lecturer in Physics, Islamic Azad University of Yazd

Dr. Ali Bakooee Katirni, faculty member of Tarbiat Modares University; Head of the Department of Atomic and Molecular Physics

Dr. Saeed Raji, Ph.D. in Mechanics and faculty member of Malek Ashtar University

Dr. Mansour Asgari, Professor of Physics and faculty member of Imam Hossein University

Gholamreza Kamani, Lecturer at Tehran University of Applied Sciences

Fatemeh Salehi, Lecturer at Alborz University of Applied Sciences

Dr. Ali Bokaei Karini, researcher in engineering sciences

Dr. Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, faculty member of Malek Ashtar University of Technology

Dr. Zohreh Rasouli, obstetrician and gynecologist, faculty member of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (killed along with her husband and child)

Dr. Mohammad Hossein Azizi, faculty member of the Academy of Medical Sciences

Dr. Marzieh Asgari, Assistant Professor of Neonatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Students

Sara Jawdat, student of photography at Pars College

Mehdi Akbari Nasab, electrical engineering student at the University of Science and Technology (killed along with his wife)

Fahimeh Moghimi, master’s student in Quranic and Hadith Sciences at the Faculty of Theology, University of Tehran (killed along with her husband and three young children)

Yasmin Bakoui, master’s student at Sharif University of Technology (killed along with her father, mother, and brother)

Dr. Seyyed Davoud Shirvani Boroujeni, fourth-year assistant in infectious medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (killed during the attack on Evin Prison)

Javad Afshari, student of mechanical engineering, Applied Science Education Center of Khaneh Kargar in Tabriz

Hamid Abbasi, student at the Center for Applied Science Education of Lorestan Police Command

Hamid Mousavi, student of information technology at the Center for Applied Scientific Education of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Corps, East Tehran Province

Sina Sahami, law student at the Center for Applied Scientific Education of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Corps, East Tehran Province

Keyvan Piri, student of environmental health safety technology engineering at Ariapagh Polidokhtar Applied Science Education in Lorestan

Aziz Seifi Avarsin, law student at the Fateb Center for Applied Science Education in East Tehran Province

Professionals in Industry

Dr. Seyyed Isar Tabatabaei Ghomsheh, Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, Sharif University (killed along with his wife)

Dr. Seyyed Mostafa Sadati Armaki, Ph.D. in Physics, Shahid Beheshti University (killed along with his wife and three young children)

Fereshteh Bagheri, graduate of Allameh Tabataba'i University, son of Mohammad Bagheri (Former Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces)

Rasoul Nourmohammadzadeh, Graduate of East Azerbaijan University of Applied Sciences

Dr. Majid Tajan Jari, Expert in Artificial Intelligence and Programming, Ph.D. in DBA from the University of Tehran

Engineer Mohammad Reza Zakerian, graduate of Isfahan University of Technology (killed along with his wife and two young children)

Alireza Zeinali, graduate of chemical engineering at Isfahan University of Technology (killed along with his young daughters)

Dr. Maryam Hajari Doabi, graduate of dentistry (killed along with her husband, Dr. Minouchehr)

Najmeh Shamsbakhsh, Social Sciences at the University of Tehran, employee of the Vice President for Science and Technology (daughter of the Deputy Minister of Science)

Instructions for Signing:

Academics wishing to sign this letter are invited to add their name and affiliation in the signatories section above. Please share this letter widely within your networks to gather further support.