Casablanca – Middlebury College has temporarily relocated seven American students from its School Abroad program in Amman, Jordan, to Rabat, Morocco, after rising regional tensions linked to the ongoing US-Iran confrontation prompted safety concerns.
The students, enrolled in the Vermont-based college’s Arabic immersion program in Jordan, were moved to Rabat in early March after US officials raised the travel advisory for Jordan as regional tensions worsened.
Middlebury had already prepared Morocco as a fallback location during earlier contingency discussions tied to the Gaza genocide, allowing the transfer to happen quickly once the security environment shifted.
The relocation decision came days after the US launched strikes on Iran on February 28, setting off a broader exchange of missile and drone attacks across the region. Some of Iran’s retaliatory actions have targeted US military assets and partner countries, including Jordan, even as most civilian areas there have remained outside direct combat zones.
Against that backdrop, Middlebury’s Schools Abroad office decided on March 3 to move its Jordan cohort from Amman to Rabat out of caution, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Americans in the Middle East to closely monitor developments tied to what he called “Operation Epic Fury.”
The travel advisory level for Jordan was also raised, prompting administrators to activate a contingency plan that had already been discussed since the outbreak of the Gaza genocide in late 2023.
By March 5, all seven students in the Jordan program had been transferred to Morocco, where housing and academic continuity were quickly arranged.
In recent days, diplomatic channels have remained active alongside the military escalation, with Reuters reporting that Tehran is expected to formally respond to a US peace proposal, pointing to continued indirect contacts between the two sides. Despite this, US President Trump has continued to iterate threats that he will obliterate Iran’s energy infrastructure if they do not adhere to the US conditions.
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The relocation is temporary for now. Students are continuing their content courses remotely with professors based in Jordan, while language instruction has been partly transferred to faculty in Rabat.
The shift allows the semester to continue with minimal disruption, though it inevitably changes the linguistic immersion experience for students specializing in Levantine Arabic, a dialect tied closely to daily life in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
Morocco’s selection as the fallback site was not accidental. The country has long maintained strong ties with the US, combining a strategic diplomatic partnership with a well-established reputation as a stable host for American students, researchers, and exchange participants.
Rabat, in particular, has become a familiar base for US study abroad programs focused on Arabic, North African politics, and regional affairs. Middlebury administrators said Morocco had already been identified as a backup option should conditions in Jordan deteriorate.
Jordan itself has long been considered one of the more stable destinations for study abroad in the Arab world, with strong US ties and a long record of hosting international students.
But the current war has changed the regional risk map. Iranian strikes and falling interceptor debris have affected parts of Jordan in recent weeks, even if most civilian areas remain outside direct combat zones.
For Morocco, the arrival of the students also reinforces its growing role as an educational and diplomatic bridge during moments of regional uncertainty.
As universities and foreign institutions reassess mobility across the Middle East, Rabat’s relative distance from the conflict and longstanding partnerships with US institutions are making it an increasingly logical alternative.
A final decision on whether the Jordan program reopens for the fall is expected by early summer. If conditions remain unstable, the next admitted cohort may also be redirected to Morocco.
For now, the students’ journey from Amman to Rabat offers a small but telling example of how a wider geopolitical crisis is reshaping even the most personal parts of international exchange, where people learn, live, and build understanding across borders.
MWN contacted Middlebury College for commentary, but no comment has been reached at this time of writing.
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