The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday (Mar 29) has threatened to target US universities in the West Asia after saying US and Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities. A number of American universities operate campuses across the Gulf region, including Texas A&M University in Qatar and New York University in the United Arab Emirates. The IRGC warning followed a strike on the University of Science and Technology in northeastern Tehran, which caused damage to buildings but resulted in no casualties.
“If the US government wants its universities in the region to be free from retaliation… it must condemn the bombing of the universities in an official statement by 12 noon on Monday, March 30, Tehran time,” said the IRGC in a statement published by Iranian media. The statement added: “We advise all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas” stay a kilometer away from campuses.
On Saturday, the University of Science and Technology in Tehran was targeted in US-Israel attacks, Iranian media reported. CNN geolocated several videos which show damaged buildings at an engineering university in Tehran and confirmed the attacks. The Mehr News Agency reported that the school was struck during attacks.
The conflict traces back to February 28, when the United States and Israel carried out pre-emptive airstrikes across Iran. The subsequent escalation reportedly resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a broad Iranian retaliation targeting not just Israel but also US bases across Gulf countries.
Amid rising tensions, US President Donald Trump recently signalled openness to dialogue and is believed to have proposed a 15-point peace plan. On March 25, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that indirect exchanges between Washington and Tehran had taken place via “friendly countries,” though he stressed that these should not be seen as formal negotiations.