Akahi News learnt that after the US-Israeli campaign struck Iranian universities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has called American schools in the Middle East “legitimate targets.” The rhetoric has escalated sharply, and the region is now bracing for potential retaliation.
Iran’s IRGC warned on Sunday that US universities are now in its crosshairs following alleged US-led attacks on Tehran University of Science and Technology and Isfahan University of Technology. These were not military installations. They were centres of learning. But in war, lines blur quickly.
A chilling warning to students and staff
Akahi News gathered that the IRGC issued a stark statement: “The reckless rulers of the White House should know that from now on, all universities of the occupying regime and American universities in the West Asia region are legitimate targets for us until two universities are struck in retaliation for the Iranian universities that have been destroyed.”
The group went further, addressing civilians directly. “All staff, professors, and students of American universities in the region, as well as residents in their surroundings, are advised to stay at least one kilometre away from these universities to ensure their safety.” That is not a threat. That is a public safety warning from a military organisation that has carried out such warnings before.
But here is the question that hangs in the air: When universities become targets, what is left of civilisation?
American campuses across the Gulf region
The list of potential targets is not short. Education City in Qatar hosts campuses for six US universities, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth and Weill Cornell Medicine. That is a dense concentration of American educational presence in one location.
New York University and Rochester Institute of Technology both have campuses in the United Arab Emirates. Several other national universities in the region also have ties with American partners. The IRGC has effectively put all of them on notice.
The IRGC said the US must officially condemn the bombing of Iranian universities by 12:00 pm Iran Standard Time on Monday, March 30, if it wants “its universities in the region to be spared.” That deadline has now passed. The world is watching to see what comes next.
The group warned that further attacks on Iranian universities and research centres would prompt more threats of retaliatory strikes on US institutions in the Middle East. This is a cycle. And cycles of retaliation have a way of spinning out of control.
American universities take precautionary measures
Akahi News had earlier reported that the conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran has been escalating. But this new dimension—targeting educational institutions—represents a dangerous escalation. Education has always been considered neutral ground. Not anymore.
On Sunday at 10:25 a.m., Georgetown University Qatar posted a message on its website saying remote work and online instruction would continue until further notice. They are not taking chances.
Fadlo R. Khuri, the president of the American University of Beirut, which is chartered in New York and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, said on Sunday that all operations would be fully remote “out of an abundance of caution” on Monday and Tuesday. Caution is wise when rockets and rhetoric fly in equal measure.
Here is the question for Nigerians studying in these regions or considering such institutions: Is a degree worth the risk of being caught in a military crossfire? The IRGC has drawn a line. American universities are on the other side. And students, professors, and staff are caught in the middle.
The world has seen this before. Schools bombed in the name of retaliation. Classrooms turned to rubble. Innocents paying the price for decisions made in faraway capitals. The only difference now is that the threat is explicit, public, and imminent.
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Fact summary box:
– Threat issued by: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
– Targets declared: US universities in the Middle East (West Asia region)
– Reason given: Retaliation for alleged US-Israeli strikes on Iranian universities (Tehran University of Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology)
– Civilian warning: Staff, professors, students, and nearby residents should stay at least 1km away
– US universities in Qatar (Education City): Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth, Weill Cornell Medicine
– US universities in UAE: New York University, Rochester Institute of Technology
– Demand to US: Officially condemn bombing of Iranian universities by March 30 deadline (passed)
– Further threat: More attacks on Iranian universities will prompt more retaliation threats
– Georgetown University Qatar: Remote work/online instruction until further notice
– American University of Beirut: Fully remote on Monday and Tuesday “out of abundance of caution”
– Wider concern: Escalation of conflict into educational sphere