Iran sees fresh unrest as student protests spark clashes, ‘Death to dictator’ chants echo | WATCH

Weeks after Iranian authorities suppressed a deadly wave of anti-government demonstrations, fresh student-led protests broke out across several cities on Saturday, with crowds chanting slogans against the country’s clerical leadership and clashing with security forces.

Visuals circulating on social media showed large gatherings at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, where students were seen confronting security personnel in packed corridors and open courtyards. Protesters could be heard shouting "Death to the dictator" and "bi sharaf" meaning “disgraceful” in Farsi, in apparent reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Footage shared by Iran International, a London-based Persian-language outlet operating outside Iran, showed demonstrators filling campus spaces and chanting anti-regime slogans. Similar scenes were reported at Shahid Beheshti University and Amir Kabir University in Tehran, as well as Mashhad University in the northeast, according to videos released by rights group HAALVSH.

Security forces deployed as clashes reported

The protests were met with force, with paramilitary units linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deployed to quell demonstrations, Iran International reported. State-linked Fars News Agency later confirmed that scuffles had taken place at Sharif University, resulting in injuries to several individuals.

According to Reuters, one widely circulated video appeared to show rows of protesters denouncing Khamenei as a “murderous leader” and calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last monarch, as a symbolic alternative to the current system.

Demonstrations were also reported in the western town of Abdanan, long considered a protest hotspot. Rights group Hengaw said crowds there gathered after the arrest of an activist teacher, chanting “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator” late into the evening.

Backdrop of earlier deadly crackdown

The renewed unrest follows a mass protest movement that erupted in December over economic hardship, inflation, and prolonged sanctions. Those demonstrations later escalated into direct challenges to Iran’s political system and were met with a sweeping security crackdown.

Iranian authorities claim more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” encouraged by foreign enemies. However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has documented more than 7,000 deaths, most of them protesters, warning that the actual toll could be significantly higher.

While Iranian officials initially acknowledged economic grievances, they later accused the United States and Israel of stoking unrest as protests turned openly anti-government.

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The latest demonstrations come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. Although Oman-mediated talks between Iran and the US have recently resumed, the US has simultaneously increased its military presence in the region, deploying aircraft carriers and fighter jets while reiterating concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme.