Fears grow for US students after Iran threatens retaliation for ‘bombing of universities’
Tehran gave the Trump administration until midday on Monday to “condemn the bombing of the universities” in Iran or else it would retaliate
US students risk being caught in the crosshairs in Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran after the Tehran regime threatened to target American universities in the Middle East.
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Multiple US university campuses in the region are ramping up security measures after it emerged they could be potential targets in the conflict.
It comes after Tehran gave the Trump administration until midday on Monday to “condemn the bombing of the universities” in Iran or else it would retaliate.
The regime warned employees, professors, and students connected to US schools should stay at least one kilometre from their campuses.
The chilling threat comes after strikes allegedly hit the Tehran University of Science and Technology over the weekend, causing damage to nearby buildings.
“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,” a regime official told Iranian media.
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The US Embassy in Baghdad later confirmed the threats in an alert posted to X on Sunday, warning Iran “may intend to target” American universities in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk.
“Iran has specifically directed threats toward American universities across various parts of the Middle East,” it said in a statement.
It added that other universities “perceived as connected to the United States” could also be targeted.
American University of Beirut has announced its campus in the Lebanese capital will be shut on March 30 and 31.
Fadlo R. Khuri, president of the school, said it has no evidence of direct threats but said it is shutting the campus “out of an abundance of caution.”
Georgetown University said early on Monday that its campus building in Qatar is closed until further notice.
Texas A&M has also closed its Qatar campus and moved to online teaching, while most international staff have returned home as the conflict rages on.
Schools have repeatedly been hit in Iran as strikes continue to rain down. During the first day of the conflict on February 28, a US strike hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, a US military investigation has reportedly revealed.
The attack left 175 dead, the majority of whom were children, according to Iranian officials.
Concerns are growing that the US will also hit more vital energy infrastructure in the Middle East and send prices soaring further.
Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran if the country’s leadership continues to resist his attempts at brokering a peace in the Middle East.
The US President has said Iran’s energy infrastructure would be completely destroyed if they fail to agree to his proposals.
It comes after Trump said he wants to "take the oil in Iran" and hinted at seizing Kharg Island - which is crucial to the country’s oil production.
The US and Israel launched their war on Iran over a month ago and it appears neither country has achieved its goals as of the end of March.