At the start of the new academic semester, Iranian students gathered in Tehran on Saturday to pay tribute to those who died in January during the crackdown on protests. Attendees chanted slogans against the government of the Islamic Republic and some clashes with supporters of the Ayatollah regime were reported.
First modification: 02/21/2026 - 21:34
New protests against the government shook some Iranian universities this Saturday, February 21. Students chanted anti-government slogans in Tehran during tributes to victims of the deadly crackdown on protests in January and clashed with regime sympathizers.
Videos circulating on social media and geolocated by AFP at Sharif University of Technology, the leading engineering school in the Iranian capital, show clashes within a crowd, with some shouting “bi sharaf,” which means “shameful” in Persian.
In another of those recordings, protesters at the same educational center condemn Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "murderous leader" and call for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the overthrown Shah of Iran.
Other images published by Iran International, a foreign-based television channel, show a large crowd chanting anti-government slogans.
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According to the Iranian Fars news agency, what was intended to be a "silent and peaceful demonstration" by students was interrupted by individuals chanting, among other phrases, "Death to the dictator," a key slogan of the protest movement against Khamenei.
That state media added that another group of students responded with slogans in favor of the Islamic Republic, while the student portal Amir Kabir reported that members of the Basij volunteer militia intervened to disperse the protesters, which caused clashes.
State news agencies, such as SNN, broadcast videos of clashes in which protesters allegedly insulted and threw stones at Basij members, who often collaborate with security forces in repressing protests.
Demonstrations at other universities in Iran
The IRNA agency also reported similar mobilizations in other universities in the capital, such as the Amir Kabir Polytechnic and the Tehran University.
In Amir Kabir, students paid tribute to those who fell in the January protests, shouting slogans such as "We swear by the blood of our comrades, we will resist to the end," and chanting slogans in favor of the restoration of the monarchy, such as "Long live the Shah."
According to the human rights groups HAALVSH and Hengaw and posts on social networks, similar protests were recorded at the University of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, and in the western city of Abdanan, which was one of the focuses of the January wave of mobilizations.
In the latter, protesters chanted "Death to Khamenei!" and "Death to the dictator!" after the arrest of an activist teacher.
This week, anti-government slogans reappeared as the traditional 40-day Muslim mourning period came to an end, following the peak of protests on January 8-9.
Initially called to denounce the economic crisis, these demonstrations quickly transformed into a challenge to the government and were brutally repressed.
According to the US-based NGO Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 7,000 people, mostly protesters, have been killed in the crackdown, and more than 53,000 have been detained since January.
For their part, the authorities have admitted 3,000 deaths, which, they claim, correspond mostly to members of the security forces and bystanders killed by alleged "terrorists" in the service of Israel and the United States.
With Reuters, AFP and EFE
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