Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a stark warning on Saturday night, stating it may target American universities located in the Middle East after claiming that US-Israeli strikes destroyed two Iranian universities.
"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 statement published by Iranian media and quoted by AFP.
"We advise all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas" to stay a kilometer away from campuses, the statement added.
Several US universities maintain campuses throughout the Gulf region, including Texas A&M University in Qatar and New York University in the United Arab Emirates.
The US-Israeli strikes, which took place overnight from Friday to Saturday, hit Tehran, including the University of Science and Technology in the northeast of the capital. Media reports indicated that buildings were damaged but there were no casualties.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned Gulf countries that they will be targeted if they allow the US and Israel to operate from their territory.
"We have said many times that Iran doesn't carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted," he wrote on social media. "To the countries of the region: If you want development and security, don't let our enemies run the war from your lands."
US President Donald Trump last Saturday gave Iran an ultimatum of 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants.
He has since twice extended that ultimatum to allow for negotiations with Iran, most recently on Thursday, when he gave Iran ten additional days.
So far, Iran has rejected the Trump administration’s 15-point plan to end the war despite the heavy blows it has sustained in the war.