RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – As tensions in the Middle East grow, VCUarts Qatar has closed its campus to the public and moved to remote learning, according to the university’s website.
The change comes after a warning from Iran that all American university campuses in the Middle East are “legitimate targets,” after alleged U.S. and Israeli strikes damaged two Iranian campuses.
VCUarts is one of more than a dozen U.S. colleges with satellite locations in the Persian Gulf, including NYU, Georgetown and Texas A&M.
In a statement Sunday night, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told all students, faculty and staff at those campuses to stay at least a kilometer away. Many of those universities have shifted to online learning as a precaution.
In early March, students at the VCU Arts Qatar campus had been given the option of remote learning, if it was safe to do so. VCU leaders have previously said they have been in daily contact with staff at the Qatar campus but have not commented on the most recent threat.
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