TEHRAN — Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday warned a group of U.S. and Israeli universities to “reconsider any cooperation that aids the Zionist war machine,” as cross-border violence and anti-war demonstrations intensified across the Middle East and North America, according to diplomatic sources in Tehran.
The letter, delivered through Iran’s mission to the United Nations, comes amid a fresh volley of Houthi ballistic missiles launched from Yemen toward the Israeli port city of Eilat. Israel’s military said its Arrow defense system intercepted the projectiles over the Red Sea, causing no injuries.
Inside Iran, provincial authorities said a family of four was killed overnight when an unidentified projectile struck their home in Bushehr Province, roughly 200 kilometers north of the Gulf port that houses Iran’s sole nuclear power plant. No group immediately claimed responsibility. Emergency crews “found no evidence of a domestic gas explosion,” a local civil-defense official told state television.
The escalating regional exchanges follow weeks of tit-for-tat attacks pitting Israel and its allies against Iran-backed groups in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon. Analysts say the academic warning marks a new front aimed at disrupting the technological pipeline Tehran accuses of sustaining Israel’s campaign in Gaza. “Sanctioning knowledge flows is largely symbolic, but it signals Iran’s willingness to widen the battlefield beyond missiles,” said Farhad Golkar, a security researcher at the University of Tehran.
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Friday evening, demanding a cease-fire and early elections. Similar demonstrations unfolded in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, with organizers calling on Washington to restrain its regional partners. The U.S. State Department acknowledged the protests but reiterated that “Israel has the right to defend itself while minimizing civilian harm.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet reported downing two Houthi drones over the Red Sea, underscoring the waterway’s growing volatility for global shipping. Maritime insurers have already pushed premiums to a five-year high.
Regional diplomats fear that continued low-level strikes could miscalculate into a broader war. “The danger isn’t a single spectacular attack,” said one European envoy involved in back-channel talks. “It’s the steady drip of incidents that makes de-escalation politically harder each day.”
Attention now turns to an emergency Arab League session set for Monday in Cairo, where Gulf states are expected to press Iran for restraint. Whether Tehran’s academic pressure campaign will translate into concessions on the battlefield remains an open question.