On March 29, 2026, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) publicly threatened to attack the American University in Beirut (AUB).

The threat was made in retaliation for alleged US strikes on two Iranian universities earlier that week. AUB announced it would move classes and exam online for the following two days.

This incident was one in a series of threats of violence and attacks against higher education institutions in the region. AUB is one of the most prominent US institutions in the Middle East. Numerous US universities have campuses throughout the region and various also moved classes and operations online following the threat.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about threats of military violence against higher education facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility — such as a university building — is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2026/03/29/american-university-of-beirut-moves-to-online-learning-after-iran-threats
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20260329123345440
https://nypost.com/2026/03/30/world-news/american-university-of-beirut-switching-to-online-classes-due-to-iranian-threats/
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-middle-east-news-updates/card/american-university-of-beirut-moves-to-online-learning-following-iran-s-threats-n1PpWW29KAyP5epIw9iQ