Students at universities across Iran have held a third consecutive day of protests, more than a month after a violent security crackdown on mass demonstrations left thousands dead. The protests spread to Tehran's all-women Al Zahra University on Monday, where anti-government slogans were chanted and an Iranian flag was burned and torn. However, the demonstrations did not move to the streets.
A Telegram channel for Iranian students, Anjmotahed, reported that an attack by the Basij state-backed militia at Sharif University in Tehran left several students injured, with an ambulance arriving at the campus. Universities have sent text messages to students warning of disciplinary consequences. In a bid to ridicule Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, some students climbed trees on campus and hung toy mice from branches, a gesture implying he was hiding underground like a mouse. Chants included 'death to the dictator' and 'for every one killed, a thousand will follow'.
Student representatives who met Iran's vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, at the weekend told him it was an insult to claim that terrorists were responsible for the killings during the January protests. 'The response to the people's protests had been given in bullets,' they said. The renewed protests serve as a reminder that US President Donald Trump has not yet fulfilled his pledge to 'Iranian patriots' that 'help is on its way'. Domestic media coverage of the protests has been minimal, as authorities directed universities to ban photographed demonstrators from campus.
Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has called for the release of all those arrested, saying they are accused of nothing but despair and protest. His remarks mark a change from his initial response, in which he said the protests had been engineered by the US and Israel. Separately, Iranian reformists complained they had been banned from standing for Tehran city council, the first time such political interference had spread to local authority level.
Khamenei is facing the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy struggling under international sanctions and growing unrest since the major protests in January. In a further ominous sign, five political parties representing Iranian Kurds have agreed to form a coalition to bring down the government, stating that the government had lost all legitimacy but remained standing due to the fragmentation of the opposition.
