TEHRAN – Thousands of Iranian professors and students penned a letter to express solidarity with their counterparts currently engaged in protests in American and European universities over the West’s support for the Israeli regime in its genocidal war on the Palestinians. 

The letter was signed by 2636 Iranian university professors and students.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

In the name of God 

From a group of Iranian professors and students to the free students of America and Europe who stood up for the people of Gaza

Salam

As per Muslim custom, we start with Salam, which means wishing for health and peace. We were told that America and Europe are the cradle of freedom, freedom of thought, belief and expression. And you were told that our religion is a religion of violence and is against freedom. This was not how we or you have seen and understood ourselves. This was the image that the media and their rulers had created for us.

"Gaza", and the blood of its innocent women, men and children, disproved these false myths. Now we see that there is a red line for freedom of expression in the West: you have no right to defend people who are deprived of their basic rights, water, food, security and land, solely because they are Palestinians and they stand against Israel. Israel has crossed all the red lines that every person accepts as a human, but the United States government, along with many Western governments claiming to stand for human rights, does not stop providing financial, military or media support to this regime.

We are witnessing that the voice of your objection to this genocide is being severely silenced. The police enter campuses to suppress you and have the most violent response to your humanitarian protests. We are very happy that the voice of the oppressed of Gaza have moved beyond the thick walls of censorship and mainstream media lies and reached your truth-seeking consciences. 

We, in Iran, have been standing against Israel's crimes and alongside the Palestinian people for years, and now you and we are together and alongside the people of Gaza.

We stand by you and support you in building a bridge of justice and reason and above it, praising the truth and true freedom. We are with you and we will fight oppression, violence and discrimination until the coming of the savior, whom we call "Mahdi".

Cordially yours 
A group of Iranian professors and students