World
The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco holds Guinness World Record for oldest higher learning institution
Universities around the world have extensive histories. Fez, Morocco, is where you can find the school recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest higher learning institution in the world.
The University of al-Qarawiyyin is widely recognized as the oldest university in the world.
Founded as a mosque in 859 AD by Fatima al-Fihri, it was later added to Morocco’s university system in 1963.
The University of al-Qarawiyyin is widely considered the oldest in the world, including by Guinness World Records, which acknowledges the school as the oldest higher learning institution in the world. (Arterra/Marica van der Meer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images I UNESCO World Heritage List, 1981)
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The female founder and her sister Mariam used the fortune passed down to them after their father died to create Al-Karaouine Mosque and University complex, according to the BBC.
The complex where the school is located is made up of a mosque, university and library, according to the source.
The school centers around education in Arabic language and Islamic literature. The school’s curriculum also includes teachings in science, mathematics and foreign language.
Another school often recognized for its lengthy existence is the University of Bologna in Italy, which has been cited as the oldest continually operating university by several sources.
The University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating college in Europe. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)
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This university was established in 1088 and has remained operational.
The public university is the oldest in Europe, according to Guinness World Records.
The university has been a place of learning for many famous alumni, including the astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who enrolled at the university in 1497.
In the 2022-23 school year, there were 96,984 students enrolled at the University of Bologna, which included 8,526 international students.
The oldest English-speaking university is Oxford in England. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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The school is made up of 31 departments, including architecture, engineering, economics, legal studies, mathematics, pharmacy and veterinary medical sciences.
The University of Oxford is also a school known for its long history. The founding of this university came a few years after the establishment of the University of Bologna.
It’s believed that teaching at Oxford, in some form, dates back to 1096, though the university’s website acknowledges that there is no clear date of origin.
The University of Oxford in England is considered to be the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
Harvard University was founded in 1636, making it the oldest in the United States. (Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Even though the university’s earliest days can be dated back to around 1096, the educational institution’s popularity began to increase in 1167, when Henry II banned English students from studying at the University of Paris, according to Oxford’s website.
As for the oldest university in the United States, that title goes to Harvard University, which was founded Oct. 28, 1636. The Ivy League school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The acceptance rate at the university is 3%.
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One of the leading American institutes devoted to research on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program sounded an alarm this week over the regime’s uninspected underground site in the Zagros Mountains.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have not been allowed to visit the secret site, known as Pickaxe Mountain.
The highly fortified facility is casting serious doubt on Iran’s willingness to abide by the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached with the Trump administration. The United States, together with Israel, launched Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28, 2026, targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
Experts from the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) argue that halting work at Pickaxe Mountain and allowing IAEA inspectors access would be a key good-faith measure to test whether Iran is prepared to abandon its pattern of deception.
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A satellite image shows an overview of the Pickaxe Mountain tunnel complex in Natanz. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Spencer Faragasso, a senior fellow with the group who covers Iran, North Korea, illicit trade, and nuclear issues, wrote on X: “Important update by us at @TheGoodISIS. The ongoing work at Pickaxe Mountain is deeply concerning. This work has continued steadily since at least 2020. In my view, this is a hedge by Iran in case negotiations fail — they will then have a nuclear facility in a late stage of construction. We assessed that Pickaxe is likely large enough to hold an enrichment plant.”
Iran has used facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan to enrich uranium, the key material for a nuclear weapons program.
Faragasso added, “If Iran is serious about negotiating, it should halt construction at Pickaxe Mountain as a token of good faith. But what can be expected from a regime as brutal and conniving as Iran’s?”
The institute posted a detailed analysis of new satellite imagery from late June 2026 showing continued activity at Pickaxe Mountain.
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Vice President JD Vance prior to a meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Bürgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, June 21, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/Keystone via AP)
The institute wrote that “at Pickaxe Mountain, vehicle activity can be seen on the roads leading to the open set of Western tunnel portals, indicating that construction inside the tunnel complex, as well as hardening of the tunnel entrance, are ongoing. The MOU signed between the United States and Iran requires that Iran maintain the status quo, which should prohibit construction at any nuclear-related facility, including Pickaxe Mountain.”
In late June, the IAEA declined to answer a detailed Fox News Digital query on whether it would seek access to the Pickaxe Mountain facility. According to the satellite imagery obtained by the institute, “at Natanz, little activity can be seen. The access points to the below-ground enrichment halls have not been repaired.
“The personnel entrances remain destroyed, and vehicle entrances remain severely damaged. A single vehicle can be seen on the road outside of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), which was destroyed in June 2025 but was later covered by Iran.”
As U.S.-Iran talks opened Sunday in Switzerland, and a dispute over who controls and monitors billions of dollars in potentially unfrozen Iranian assets emerged. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via Reuters)
The institute also reported, “As of June 29, 2026, there is no observed activity at Esfahan. The tunnel portals remain backfilled with dirt.” ISIS tracked developments at the Fordow site, buried inside a mountain north of the holy Islamic city of Qom.
“At Fordow, as earlier reported by the Institute, between May 10 and May 18, Iran added passive defensive measures in the form of earthen/rocky mounds and other objects on the roads leading to the tunnel entrances. The alternating placements of the piles/objects are very precise, which creates a series of chicanes, indicating they are not intended as obstructions but rather to prevent rapid ingress and egress by any vehicle toward the tunnels.”
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The institute added, “The June 21 Vantor image shows that the objects along the road remain there. The tunnel portals also remain backfilled with dirt” at Fordow.
Fox News Digital sent questions to the State Department and the Iranian Mission to the United Nations.
Published On 6 Jul 2026
The funeral procession for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has begun in Tehran as authorities prepare for crowds that could rival those that turned out for his predecessor nearly four decades ago.
After lying in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, the body of Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the United States-Israel war on Iran, began its journey on Monday through the capital, accompanied by large crowds of mourners, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that marred the 1989 funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, which drew an estimated 10 million people, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Crowd surges during Khomeini’s funeral killed more than 10 people and injured over 10,000.
Thousands filled the Grand Mosalla on Sunday to pay their respects to Khamenei and his four family members who were killed with him on February 28 in air strikes on his office in Tehran.
Monday’s procession will be followed by similar events in the clerical hub of Qom on Tuesday and in Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, culminating in Khamenei’s burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.
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