There is something deeply unsettling about watching geopolitical escalation unfold and then realizing it intersects directly with institutions you once trusted. I am not going to name the college I graduated from. That is not the point. The point is this: if a university operates a campus in Riyadh, and Iran is actively retaliating against Saudi Arabia in the wake of U.S.–Israel strikes, then that university needs to seriously reconsider what it is doing.
This is not abstract. This is not theoretical. This is not “Middle East tension” as a vague headline. This is active regional escalation involving Iran and multiple U.S.-aligned states. And when missiles, drones, or proxy forces start targeting Saudi territory, any American institution operating there is indirectly placed in the blast radius of that instability.
A few months ago, I wrote about how I already felt uneasy about American students studying in Saudi Arabia because of the country’s internal policies — restrictions on speech, strict social codes, severe legal consequences that differ drastically from U.S. norms. I argued then that internal governance alone posed risks for American students unfamiliar with the environment.
But there was something I did not emphasize enough.
External threats.
And now that omission feels glaring.
Internal Risk Was One Layer — External Risk Is Another
When you choose to build a campus in a country like Saudi Arabia, you are making a long-term strategic bet. You are betting that stability will outweigh volatility. You are betting that alliances will protect infrastructure. You are betting that regional conflicts will not spill over in ways that endanger students.
But that calculation changes when Iran begins retaliating against Saudi Arabia in response to joint military actions involving the United States and Israel.
This is no longer just about domestic policy differences. It is about cross-border retaliation. It is about regional military tension. It is about whether civilian zones — including educational institutions — can remain insulated from broader geopolitical conflict.
Universities are not neutral in perception. An American-branded campus operating in Riyadh can easily be interpreted as symbolic alignment with U.S. influence. Even if the institution views itself as purely academic, others may not.
And symbolism matters in conflict environments.
Americans Stranded and Struggling to Leave
Right now — in the immediate moment — the United States government is actually urging Americans in the Middle East to leave due to serious safety risks as the conflict with Iran escalates. The U.S. State Department has issued urgent advisories telling U.S. citizens to “depart now” from at least 14 countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, and others because of the danger posed by widespread retaliation and flight disruptions.
But evacuating isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Airports in major hubs like Dubai have closed repeatedly, leaving travelers stranded with limited options to depart. The U.S. government is scrambling to organize charter flights and military evacuation assistance, but the chaos of closed airspace and disrupted travel networks means many Americans are having trouble getting out on their own, even while being told to leave.
Some U.S. embassies are only able to offer limited guidance, or have even advised citizens to use whatever commercial travel they can find, while embassies themselves are shuttered due to the violence.
This is not a hypothetical “in the future” risk. This is happening right now.
What Happens If Students Can’t Get Out?
If ordinary American travelers are struggling to exit the Middle East amid this conflict — when the government is urgently urging them to leave — then what would happen if a school’s students were suddenly unable to evacuate from a campus in Riyadh?
Would the college have:
- A real evacuation plan ready and funded?
- Charter or military flights reserved?
- Agreements with governments to extract students through land borders?
- Daily risk assessments and crisis communication?
- Clear protocols for parents and students alike?
Because right now, many Americans are left to piece together their own escape plans as flights cancel and governments struggle to facilitate exits.
An institution choosing to operate in a volatile region must be able to answer these questions.
This isn’t about bureaucracy. This is about whether real human beings — students, staff, families — would be left stranded in a foreign country when risk levels spike and international travel grinds to a halt.
Academic Prestige vs. Human Safety
I understand why universities expand internationally. Global presence enhances reputation. It attracts funding. It signals ambition. It positions the institution as forward-looking and interconnected.
But prestige must never override prudence.
If the environment changes dramatically — and it clearly has — then leadership must reassess. Not defensively. Not symbolically. Seriously.
Is the Riyadh campus essential enough to justify potential exposure during active regional conflict?
If escalation continues, and Saudi Arabia remains in Iran’s retaliatory scope, does maintaining that campus communicate confidence — or recklessness?
These are not rhetorical questions. They are governance questions.
Students Deserve Transparency
When I first raised concerns months ago, my focus was on internal Saudi policies — speech restrictions, legal risks, cultural misunderstandings that could create problems for American students.
Now the risk profile includes active evacuation crises. Students deserve honest briefings about that reality. Parents deserve clarity. Faculty deserve contingency planning that is more than boilerplate.
And alumni — like me — have the right to ask whether the institution is balancing ambition with responsibility.
Because this is not just about branding.
It is about lives.
Conclusion: Urgent Reassessment Needed
External threats have dramatically altered the risk landscape. What once might have felt like a manageable location for study abroad now sits in the center of a rapidly escalating regional conflict.
If Americans are struggling to flee the Middle East while the U.S. government urges them to leave, then any school that operates a campus there must ask itself:
Are we prepared if our students can’t get out?
Because the situation is not static. It is active. It is dangerous. And it already shows cracks in evacuation infrastructure, government coordination, and traveler safety.
Waiting too long to reevaluate could mean placing students in harm’s way during a conflict that was avoidable, unnecessary, and now unpredictable.