120 Student Groups Back U.S.-Israel Iran Campaign, Call for Regime Change

A coalition of 120 student organizations across American campuses have signed a letter expressing support for the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran, creating a sharp contrast with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has condemned the campaign as “illegal” and “without justification.”

At least 26 of the signatory groups hail from California institutions, spanning the University of California system, California State University—the largest four-year public university system in the United States—and private universities including Stanford. The endorsements range from advocacy groups such as Bruins for Israel at UCLA, Tritons for Israel at UC San Diego, and Trojans for Israel at USC, to cultural organizations including the Persian Community Hillel at UCLA and UC San Diego.

“We express our profound gratitude and support for the U.S. and Israeli service members operating under extraordinary conditions,” the letter states. “We stand in solidarity with these courageous men and women, and their families, as they work to degrade the structures of terrorism and safeguard the security of their nations.”

The student organizations criticized the Iranian government’s nearly five-decade record, writing: “For 47 years, the ruling Iranian regime has prioritized regional destabilization and proxy warfare over the well-being and aspirations of its own citizens.”

“President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s air campaign against the regime is necessary and long overdue. A democratic Iran is essential for the freedom and security of the free world.”

— Delilah Hirshland, UCLA Student

The conflict entered its third week following the heaviest joint airstrikes on Tuesday. The war began February 28 when a targeted U.S.-Israeli operation killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an effort to topple the regime, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. President Trump has indicated that American forces have already inflicted significant damage and expects the fighting to conclude sooner than his initial four-week projection.

The student collective’s statement also addressed the human cost: “We honor and remember the lives of the six brave U.S. service members who lost their lives in this war.” The conflict has also drawn international concern after a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, was allegedly struck by American missiles, killing dozens of children.

Academic experts offer varied assessments of the campaign’s long-term prospects. Stanford scholars have suggested that a democratized Iran could emerge as a close regional ally, while USC Professor Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani has cautioned against assuming the strikes will produce definitive regime replacement, citing fragmented internal opposition and the historical failures of external interventions.

The student mobilization represents a notable display of campus support for the military operation at a time when the conflict continues to generate debate over its legality, strategic objectives, and humanitarian implications for the Gulf region.