Dear AIS Members,
AIS expresses its deep sorrow at the loss of civilian life as a direct result of the US/Israel war on Iran and its grave concern over damage to Iran’s civil society, cultural heritage, and institutions of higher education.
As we noted in our previous communication, as an interdisciplinary scholarly association devoted to the study of Iran in all its diverse historical, cultural, environmental, and social dimensions, we recognize our responsibility to respond to moments of collective suffering in Iran such as this. Building on this commitment, AIS will be organising a series of three online panels examining the consequences of the ongoing conflict for Iran’s civil society, cultural heritage, and educational institutions. The online panels will address the following themes:
- Damage to historical and cultural sites in war
- The bombing of Iranian universities and the impact on higher education
- The execution of protestors, detention of dissidents, and harassment of minorities in Iran in the context of war
In addition to these panels, AIS is launching a complementary initiative designed to support careful, evidence-based scholarship during a time of rapidly evolving information: “What We Don’t Know” Series
This series will consist of short, recorded videos by experts within the field, explicitly focused on gaps in battlefield information, the limits of satellite and media reporting, distortions in diaspora and state narratives, and the unknowns shaping escalation dynamics (e.g., What We Actually Don’t Know About Escalation Pathways in Iran). The goal is to institutionalize epistemic restraint as a scholarly ethic in wartime.
Together, these efforts aim to encourage thoughtful, informed, and responsible engagement with some of the key cultural, academic, and human dimensions of this current conflict. Further details will be shared in the coming days.
With our best wishes,
AIS Council
