Iran's Revolutionary Guard has issued a direct threat against US-affiliated university campuses in the Middle East, naming institutions including Texas A&M University in Qatar and New York University in the UAE, as hostilities between Washington and Tehran enter their second month. The IRGC gave the United States until noon on Monday 30 March (Tehran time) to issue an official condemnation of strikes on Iranian universities, warning staff, students, and nearby residents to remain at least one kilometre from the named campuses.
The ultimatum marks a significant escalation, extending Iran's declared target list beyond military infrastructure to named civilian academic institutions. Compounding those concerns, unverified but widely circulated claims that a US Air Force E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft has been destroyed are raising questions about the vulnerability of high-value American assets in the region. As of 30 March 2026, neither the Pentagon nor US Central Command has confirmed any such loss.
