Tehran (dpa) - Iran is threatening to attack Israeli and US universities in the region, the Fars news agency, which is closely linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported on Saturday.
Fars quoted the elite force as saying that, if the US government wants its universities in the region to be spared from retaliatory measures, it must condemn the bombing of Iranian universities by 12pm (0830 GMT) on Monday.
All employees, professors and students of US universities in the region, as well as residents of the surrounding areas, are advised to stay 1 kilometer away from the campuses, Fars quoted the IRGC statement as saying.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that Isfahan University of Technology and the University of Science and Technology in Tehran were "just two among many universities and research centers deliberately attacked by the aggressors during the past 30 days oftheir illegal war on the Iranian nation."
"In fact, the American Israeli aggression against Iran continues to reveal its true objective: to cripple our country's scientific foundation and cultural heritage by systematically targeting universities, research centers, historical monuments, and prominent scientists," Baqaei continued.
"Countering Iran' 'nuclear program' and 'imminent threat' were nothing but vicious pretexts - mere fabrications designed to conceal their real intention," he said.
Israeli and the US began coordinated attacks on Iran on February 28during negotiations to limit the country's ability to build a nuclearweapon. Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
The weeks of strikes have brought widespread destruction and death to the country, still reeling from a brutal government crackdown on protesters early this year.
Besides effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil and gas supplies, Iran has responded by launching attacks on Israel as well Gulf countries allied with the US.
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