More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
Introducing a segment on Wednesday's NBC Today that portrayed Iranian citizens studying at a U.S. college as victims of prejudice, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: "And now we move to the growing backlash over a new policy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Iranian nationals are being banned from studying certain science and engineering courses there."
In the report that followed, correspondent Pete Williams explained: "The university says it's following a 2012 federal law that blocks Iranian nationals from getting a visa to study in the U.S. if they plan to work in the 'nuclear or energy fields.' Part of sanctions intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon."