US universities across the region have begun taking precautionary measures including transitioning to online learning
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a warning late on 28 March that US and Israeli-linked university campuses are now “legitimate targets,” following destructive attacks on higher education facilities across the Islamic Republic.
BREAKING | Public Relations of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warns universities linked to Israel & the US in West Asia now 'legitimate targets'
“Warning to the criminal rulers of the United States: American-Zionist forces have repeatedly targeted Iranian…
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 28, 2026
“Warning to the criminal rulers of the United States: American-Zionist forces have repeatedly targeted Iranian universities with bombardment,” IRGC Public Relations said in a statement.
“The reckless rulers of the White House should know that from now on, all universities of the occupying regime and American universities in West Asia will be considered legitimate targets until two universities are struck in retaliation for the destruction of Iranian universities,” it added.
The statement went on to “advise all staff, professors, students of American universities in the region, and residents nearby, to stay at least one kilometer away from these universities to ensure their safety.”
IRGC Strikes Israeli Military Sites and US Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia
If the US government wants its universities in the region to be spared beyond the two retaliatory strikes, it must, by no later than 12:00 PM Tehran time on Monday, 30 March, issue an official statement condemning the bombing of universities. If it also wants its universities to remain unharmed afterward, it must restrain its allied forces from attacking universities and research centers; otherwise, the threat will remain valid and will be carried out.”
As a result of the warning, US universities, including the American University of Beirut (AUB), have begun taking precautions, including transitioning to remote learning.
Several universities in Iran have been hit by US-Israeli airstrikes over the past few days, including Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Isfahan University of Technology.
Today was one of the most horrifying days of my life as an academic. Walking through Iran University of Science and Technology, a top-ranked public university in Iran, I was struck by the devastation. Only last month, this campus was alive with students, bustling between… pic.twitter.com/tYNFguX8QE
— Helyeh Doutaghi (@Helyeh_Doutaghi) March 28, 2026
The attacks resulted in massive destruction to the institutions.
This is a building in Iran university of science and technology (IUST) that was targeted today in Tehran. This university -one of the leading engineering universities of Iran- is where I got my BSc and MSc degree in engineering years ago.
This aggression is all about Iran… pic.twitter.com/qXPo9JmZna— Sarbaz Roohulla Rezvi (@SarbazRezvi) March 28, 2026
“The American-Israeli aggression against Iran continues to reveal its true objective: to cripple our country’s scientific foundation and cultural heritage by systematically targeting universities, research centers, historical monuments, and prominent scientists,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday.
At least 1,937 people have been killed by US-Israeli attacks on Iran since 28 February, according to the latest Iranian Health Ministry figures released last week.
Over 160 girls were killed in a US-Israeli attack on a girls’ school in Minab at the start of the war. Hundreds of other schools and cultural facilities have been destroyed or damaged since then.
