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Iran Mounts ‘Scientific Incursion’ into Syria’s Public Universities

A Syrian-Iranian scientific agreement was signed in Damascus (SANA)
A Syrian-Iranian scientific agreement was signed in Damascus (SANA)
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Iran Mounts ‘Scientific Incursion’ into Syria’s Public Universities

A Syrian-Iranian scientific agreement was signed in Damascus (SANA)
A Syrian-Iranian scientific agreement was signed in Damascus (SANA)

Syria’s Damascus University and Iran’s Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research have signed an agreement for exchanging scientific databases and research achievements. The pact also included establishing a business incubator and a science and technology park at Damascus University.

According to the Syrian Ministry of Higher Education, the agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Higher Education of Syria Bassam Ibrahim and Hamid Reza Tayyebi, the president of the Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research.

The agreement aims to enhance cooperation in the field of exchanging books, publications, scientific materials, bulletins, and periodicals. It also seeks mutual benefit from e-libraries and organizing joint scientific and cultural conferences and seminars.

About a month ago, Iran’s Malek-Ashtar University of Technology and Damascus University signed an MoU in the field of research and graduate studies, especially in the areas of industries, technical sciences, mechanics, robotics, and computer sciences.

In Syria, there are branches of six Iranian universities. There is a branch for Al-Mustafa International University, which is one of the largest university-style seminary institutes in Iran. It was founded in 1972 and its branch in Syria opened in 2013 with three divisions in the governorates of Aleppo, Latakia and Damascus.

The other five universities had opened their campuses in Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

Syrian opposition members note that Iran is seeking more influence over Syria’s public education sector, especially after Russia’s 2015 military intervention in the war-torn country.

Russia had imposed teaching the Russian language as a second language in Syrian public schools.

Russia’s moves had prompted Iran to compete in entering the Syrian public education sector after its interest was focused on spreading Shiism and teaching the Persian language through private Sharia schools.

In Damascus alone, there are 40 schools supervised by the Ministry of Endowments, Hussainiyas and the Great Prophet Center.

“As the regime regained control over large areas in 2018, especially in the countryside of Aleppo, Iran infiltrated the government education sector,” said a Syrian opposition source.

“A cooperation agreement was signed in 2020 that includes the restoration of schools, the printing of books, and the development and support of vocational and technical education,” they added.

The number of schools that Iran has restored and rehabilitated has reached about 250 schools, at the cost of SYP 12 billion (approximately $3 million).

An Iranian scientific delegation headed by Tayyebi visited the city of Homs earlier this week.

The delegation toured Al-Baath University, where it inspected laboratories and research centers in the Faculties of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

During discussions with the President of Al-Baath University, Al-Abd Al-Basit Al-Khatib, the delegation reviewed the signing of a joint scientific cooperation agreement that includes the medical, engineering, and agricultural fields.

Local media quoted Al-Khatib as saying that Al-Baath University aspires to redouble joint efforts with the Iranians.

The president said that his university also aspires to enhance the exchange of expertise between Syrian and Iranian universities in conducting scientific research, training, and qualification.

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Suspected North Korean Hypersonic Missile Exploded, South Korea Says 

Contrails believed to be created by a North Korean missile are observed over seas off Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
Contrails believed to be created by a North Korean missile are observed over seas off Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
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Suspected North Korean Hypersonic Missile Exploded, South Korea Says 

Contrails believed to be created by a North Korean missile are observed over seas off Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
Contrails believed to be created by a North Korean missile are observed over seas off Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)

A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, a development that comes as North Korea is protesting the regional deployment of a US aircraft carrier for a trilateral military drill with South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea launched a ballistic missile from its capital region around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It said the missile was fired toward the North’s eastern waters, but the launch ended in failure.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff later told South Korean journalists that the missile blew up as it flew over the waters of the North's eastern coastal Wonsan city. It said the fragments of the missile were scattered in the waters, up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) away from the launch site. No damages were immediately reported.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff suspected the weapon is a solid-fueled hypersonic missile. It said Wednesday's launch spewed larger amounts of smoke than normal launches because of a possible engine fault. It said the test was probably aimed to improve the capacity of a hypersonic weapons system.

The contents of the background briefing was shared with foreign media.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said it condemns the North's launch though it didn't pose an immediate threat to the US territory or its allies. It said the US commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan “remain ironclad.”

Japan’s Defense Ministry said earlier Wednesday that it also detected a suspected ballistic missile launch by North Korea.

Since 2021, North Korea has performed a series of hypersonic missile tests in an apparent bid to penetrate its rivals' missile defense shields. But foreign experts question if North Korean hypersonic vehicles have proved their desired speed and maneuverability during test-flights.

In recent years, North Korea has also been pushing to develop more weapons with solid propellants, Such propellants make launches harder to detect than liquid-propellant missiles, which must be fueled before liftoff.

The North’s reported launch also came as the rival Koreas are engaged in Cold War-style, psychological campaigns such as balloon flying and loudspeaker broadcasts in past weeks.

South Korea said Tuesday night that North Korea floated huge balloons carrying trash across the border for a second consecutive day. South Korean media reported Wednesday that about 100 North Korean balloons with bags of waste papers eventually fell on South Korean territory.

North Korea has conducted a series of trash-carrying balloon launches toward South Korea since late May in what it calls a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists flying political leaflets via their own balloons. On June 9, South Korea briefly restarted propaganda broadcasts from its border loudspeakers for the first time in years in response. South Korea's military said Monday said it was ready to turn on its loudspeakers again.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in South Korea on Saturday and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol boarded the carrier on Tuesday — the first sitting South Korean president to board a US aircraft carrier since 1994.

Yoon told American and South Korean troops on the carrier that their countries’ alliance is the world’s greatest and can defeat any enemy. He said the US carrier is to leave Wednesday for the South Korea-US-Japan drill, dubbed “Freedom Edge.” The training is aimed at sharpening the countries’ combined response in various areas of operation, including air, sea and cyberspace.

North Korea’s vice defense minister, Kim Kang Il, on Monday called the US aircraft carrier’s deployment “reckless” and “dangerous.” North Korea has previously called major US-South Korean drills invasion rehearsals and reacted with missile tests.

Seoul officials said the upcoming South Korea-US-Japan training is meant to strengthen the three countries' response capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats at a time when the North is advancing its military partnerships with Russia.

During a summit in Pyongyang last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal requiring each country to provide aid if attacked and vowed to boost other cooperation. Observers say the accord represents the strongest connection between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.

The United States and its partners believe North Korea has been providing Russia with much-needed conventional arms for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance.

North Korea’s reported missile launch is its first weapons demonstrations since Kim Jong Un on May 30 supervised the firing of nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to simulate a preemptive attack on South Korea. The drill came days after North Korea’s attempt to put its second spy satellite into orbit ended in failure, with its rocket carrying that satellite exploding in mid-air soon after liftoff.

Since 2022, North Korea has sharply increased the pace of weapons tests to increase its nuclear attack capabilities to cope with what it calls a deepening US military threat. Foreign experts say North Korea eventually aims to use its larger nuclear arsenal to wrest greater concessions from the US when diplomacy resumes.