Expert Warns Iran, Terror Orgs Infiltrating U.S. Universities to Indoctrinate Students & Recruit Members

American universities have become strategic targets for extremist organizations that exploit immigration laws to embed operatives, secure future U.S. citizenship, and cultivate a new generation of pro-terror activists — often under the radar, warns Emirati political analyst Dr. Salem Al-Ketbi, who links the trend to foreign-backed efforts, including by Iran, to “infiltrate young minds” and spread their radical ideology on campus.

In an article published in the Saudi outlet Elaph and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which specializes in translating media in the region, Al-Ketbi warns that foreign students are being used as instruments of influence by terrorist organizations like Hamas, backed by hostile states such as Iran.

His commentary follows the arrest last month of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian-born Columbia University graduate who now faces deportation over his role in violent pro-Hamas campus activities. He argues that Khalil’s case is “not just about student activism” but “sheds light on the way extremist organizations use America’s immigration laws to insert their people into American society.”

Khalil has been accused of being a “Hamas sympathizer who espouses violent, anti-American views,” with the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student organization — in which he served as a senior activist — calling for “the total eradication of Western civilization.” Several videos have since been released showing violent disruptive campus activities purportedly led by Khalil.

In one clip, Khalil can be seen dressed in a hoodie featuring Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida urging protesters to “destroy” and “explode the heads of Zionists.”

Al-Ketbi, a former Federal National Council candidate, warns of a growing pattern in which foreign students act as proxies for hostile regimes — chiefly Iran — to infiltrate campuses and manipulate political discourse under the guise of human rights or anti-war activism. These student groups, he says, serve as “platforms for disseminating discourse that is antisemitic or supportive of terrorism.”

He specifically cited Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as examples, noting that they “purport to promote humanitarian issues” but usually serve as a front for “disseminating discourse that is antisemitic or supportive of terrorism.”

Among the most alarming examples, Al-Ketbi noted:

• A 2019 NSA investigation into Al-Qaeda sympathizers embedded in academic programs at the University of California.
• A Pakistani student at NYU allegedly turning dormitories into ISIS recruitment hubs.
• A 2023 conference at UC Berkeley where Hamas’s October 7 attacks were praised.
• A 2024 course that described Hamas as a “revolutionary resistance force,” later retracted after backlash.

Al-Ketbi argues that U.S. academic institutions have become vulnerable due to a lack of vetting and a misapplication of free speech protections, insisting that universities “must be kept from falling prey to political or terrorist exploitation.”

He also pointed to foreign funding networks — particularly from Iran — using charitable organizations to finance Hamas-aligned student activity. One 2012 U.S. State Department investigation, he said, found that such networks were being used to expand Hamas influence on U.S. soil.

The extremist organizations exploit academic discourse to “justify their activity,” Al-Ketbi writes, “mak[ing] it difficult to differentiate between legitimate criticism… and incitement to violence.”

The analyst concludes by calling on American universities to formulate “clear guidelines” for political activities by foreign students and to scrutinize outside funding to prevent further exploitation.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein