QOM, IRAN — Against the backdrop of renewed international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian universities are intensifying anti-American and anti-Israel propaganda on campus. Recent images obtained from Qom University show prominent posters at university entrances, featuring slogans such as “Death to America and Israel,” “Jerusalem is ours,” and “Gaza is the symbol and ideal of resistance.” The posters, designed to incite and mobilize students, include visually charged headlines like “Select all squares with the oppressed” and “Check if you are human,” alongside cartoon depictions of former US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embellished with horns and exaggerated mustaches—a classic form of dehumanization.
This campaign is not an isolated phenomenon but part of a longstanding pattern in which Iran’s educational institutions function as instruments of ideological indoctrination for the Islamic Republic. Since the 1979 Revolution, regime authorities have used universities to entrench anti-Western, particularly anti-Israel, attitudes among younger generations. The Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, together with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated Basij student organizations, tightly controls permissible campus activity and actively promotes anti-Western rhetoric.
On many campuses, including those in Qom and Tehran, student groups orchestrate events, rallies, and poster campaigns emphasizing enmity toward the United States and Israel, frequently glorifying Gaza and terror groups like Hamas while vilifying Israel and Western leaders. These efforts are reinforced by state-sanctioned curricula, guest speakers, and heavily monitored student media. The message is clear: support for the so-called ‘resistance’ is a patriotic and religious duty, while engagement with Western values is viewed as dangerous or treasonous.
The timing of the current escalation is significant. As Tehran negotiates with the United States and European powers over nuclear restrictions and sanctions relief, the regime is simultaneously fostering an atmosphere of defiance and hostility at home. By elevating incitement on campus, authorities signal to internal and external audiences that Iran’s foundational hostility to Israel and America remains unyielding, regardless of diplomatic overtures.
Propaganda and Ideological Engineering
Iran’s use of educational environments to propagate anti-Western messages dates back decades. University students are regularly exposed to campaign materials that dehumanize Israeli and American leaders, justify violence against Israelis, and portray terror organizations as resistance fighters. The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack—the most lethal antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust—is remembered in these circles not as an atrocity but as heroic resistance, ignoring well-documented evidence of mass murder, abduction, and sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and their collaborators.
Through educational and cultural programming, the regime casts Gaza and Hamas as role models for Iranian youth. Material support—including financial aid, weapons, and training—flows from Iran to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, comprising a regional axis of Iranian-backed forces determined to undermine Israel’s existence and destabilize the region.
The Israeli government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, consistently maintains that its military actions are self-defense measures against Iranian-orchestrated terror networks. Israeli forces target terror infrastructure and leadership in Gaza and elsewhere, acting in response to persistent attacks and threats against civilian populations.
Dehumanization and Extremist Narratives
The visual alteration of Western leaders with horns and facial hair—traditionally antisemitic and anti-Western imagery—intensifies their demonization. This tactic is designed to reinforce group identity and the perceived righteousness of violence directed against the supposed oppressors. University walls, public spaces, and educational materials across Iran are saturated with such visuals, echoing state messaging broadcast in mosques and on official media.
Slogans like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” integral to the Iranian regime’s public discourse, function as incitements to violence rather than merely rhetorical flourishes. These calls are echoed by Iranian proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, each of which has carried out terror attacks on Israeli and Western targets—often with direct support from Iranian operatives and resources.
International Implications
Despite this policy of incitement and terror sponsorship, international organizations and diplomatic actors frequently downplay or overlook the scope of systemic antisemitism and anti-Western agitation cultivated in Iran. While Israel faces routine scrutiny and criticism for its defensive operations, Iranian regime incitement remains largely unchecked, perpetuating a dangerous double standard in international dialogue.
The persistence of such propaganda poses a direct challenge to regional stability. Iran’s network of terror proxies does not confine itself to Israel; its activities contribute to unrest and radicalization across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen—countries destabilized by Iranian involvement. Efforts such as the Abraham Accords, which have aimed to facilitate normalization among Israel and Arab neighbors, are consistently undermined by Tehran’s actions and messaging.
Indoctrination’s Lasting Effects
The systematic promotion of hatred and violence in Iran’s schools and universities has generational consequences. Today’s students, raised on a steady diet of regime-sponsored propaganda, are primed not only to reject normalization with Israel and the West but to support and participate in acts of terror. This ideological calculus cements the regime’s power base domestically while reinforcing the centrality of the ‘resistance’ narrative among Iran’s allies and proxies throughout the region.
Left unchallenged, this incitement will continue to fuel violence, obstruct hope for a peaceful settlement, and offer ideological cover for atrocities—the very foundations upon which terror groups such as Hamas have built their legitimacy. Highlighting and condemning these practices is not only an Israeli concern but a global imperative for those committed to confronting terrorism and antisemitism in all its forms.
Conclusion
The visible surge of anti-American and anti-Israel agitation on Iranian university campuses reveals an ongoing regime strategy of ideological mobilization and incitement. As Iran espouses violence and glorifies terrorism even while negotiating with the West, the global community must confront the true scope and consequences of state-directed hate education. Only through the exposure of such practices—and unified international opposition to them—can the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East be safeguarded.
