Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar is one of several universities that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is threatening to target if the U.S. does not condemn recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian universities.
On Sunday, the IRGC told state media that if the U.S. did not publicly apologize for the strikes on Iranian universities and promise there would be no future attacks on institutions of higher education, that American educational institutions in the Southwest Asian/North African (SWANA) region would be treated as “legitimate targets.”
“If the U.S. government wants its universities in the region spared, it should condemn the bombardment of (Iranian) universities by 12 o‘clock Monday, March 30,” the Guard said in a statement, according to state media.
The IRGC instructed staff and students at US-linked universities to stay at least one kilometer away from the facilities.
GU-Q is a satellite campus located in Qatar’s Education City, a large campus run by the Qatar Foundation that is home to multiple educational and research institutes. Other U.S. universities with satellite campuses in Education City include Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Texas A&M, and Virginia Commonwealth University, all of which are also subject to the IRGC’s threats to universities in the region.
On Sunday night, GU-Q Dean Safwan Masri assured students that university administration is taking all necessary steps to ensure their students are safe.
“I know that we are all feeling anxious and tired, and trying to make sense of multiple information feeds. I have spent the day consulting extensively with relevant officials, and coordinating with our leadership in Washington, D.C., and Education City partners,” Masri wrote in an email to students Sunday night ahead of a community safety webinar. “Your safety and well-being remain at the center of every decision we are making.”
Remas Alhawari (GU-Q ’26) lives in Doha and typically commutes 20 minutes to Georgetown’s Qatar campus. Because of the war, she is currently completing her senior year coursework remotely. She received email notifications from the university about the threats to U.S. universities on March 29.
“I was pretty shocked,” Alhawari said. “Initially, we all expected, somewhat of a retaliation on American institutions. But we also thought Iran would never go that far, simply because Qatar enjoys a very diplomatic relationship with not only Iran, but a lot of the Gulf states as well, and the region in general never puts itself as a hostile neighbor.”
The U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran began on February 28 after the two countries launched wide-ranging strikes that killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since, humanitarian groups report that over 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, nearly half of whom are civilians. Meanwhile, the IRGC has launched counterattacks on Israel, U.S. bases in the SWANA region, and energy and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf states. Israel has also launched a ground campaign in Lebanon after Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, began attacking Israel with Iran.
Earlier this week, the IRGC reported that U.S.-Israeli strikes hit Isfahan University of Technology and Tehran University of Science and Technology. The IRGC told state media that the strikes destroyed several buildings and wounded four staff members. Attacks on schools are considered a war crime under international law.
This latest escalation comes as the Trump administration continues to deploy thousands of troops to the region amid rumors of a potential ground invasion.
GU-Q intended to operate remotely for the week of March 29 with a hybrid option for those currently in Qatar, but amidst the IRGC’s warning, Masri announced to students that instruction would be remote-only and the GU-Q building would be closed.
Masri echoed the U.S. Embassy in Qatar’s guidance that Americans in Qatar should depart, and that community members who wish to depart Qatar must do so but should notify GU-Q so that they can track community status.
“We will continue to stay in close contact and do everything we can to keep you informed and safe,” Masri wrote. “Please remain calm and remember that you are not facing this alone. Continue to check in, share concerns early, and take care of one another.”
As a senior, Alhawari said she was looking forward to several end of year experiences, such as their senior dinner, research conferences, honors presentations, and graduation. It is unclear whether these events will take place given the war.
“In the last month of my senior year, I just wanted to be in person and see everyone,” Alhawari said. “It’s also been sad experiencing Ramadan, which is a holy month for us, in such events.”
Alhawari explained that as someone living in Qatar, she feels betrayed by both the U.S. and Iran as the war continues. Alhawari said that housing U.S. military bases in Qatar, along with other Gulf countries normalizing ties with Israel, created an illusion that the U.S. would protect countries in the SWANA region.
“I mean, I definitely think it was a slap in the face,” Alhawari said. “I definitely think the region is in a place where we’re recalculating what it means to compromise our own beliefs and what it means to expect protection from people who will never offer it, no matter what you do and what you put at stake for it.”
Alhawari said that, while the threats come as a surprise, Georgetown’s transparency and work to evacuate students is comforting.
“I feel pretty safe, I trust the Qatari forces and the government has been doing an amazing job,” Alhawari said. “I think also the university has been very, very transparent with this communication, and personally, have not felt any sense of confusion.”
Remas Alhawari hosts GUQ Speaks, a podcast produced by the Georgetown Voice.
