Students held anti-government demonstrations at universities across Iran’s capital on Monday, according to witnesses and verified videos, expressing support for the exiled crown prince while U.S. military forces gathered in the Middle East amid nuclear tensions. The demonstrations featured displays of pre-revolutionary symbols and chants calling for the overthrow of Iran’s government.
The student protests represent a new challenge to Iran’s government following a deadly January crackdown and come as the U.S. and Iran prepare for nuclear negotiations this week. The unrest underscores persistent discontent despite the government’s efforts to suppress dissent.
Students gather at three universities
Demonstrations erupted on Monday at three universities across Iran’s capital, with students displaying symbols of the pre-1979 monarchy and chanting slogans against the government, according to witnesses and videos verified by The Associated Press.
At Sharif University, an elite institution in the capital, students gathered outside a cafeteria and began clapping and chanting during the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers, said a student present at the demonstration. As the crowd expanded, at least one student held a printed flag bearing the lion-and-sun emblem of Iran’s pre-revolutionary monarchy, while dozens chanted slogans supporting Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince. Scuffles broke out between the protesters and members of the Basij, the paramilitary force that has played a key role in suppressing dissent, as university security guards attempted to separate the groups, the student said.
At the University of Tehran, a separate protest erupted during a memorial service for a student killed in the January demonstrations. Participants chanted “women, life, freedom”—a slogan from earlier mass protests in 2022—and called for the overthrow of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to another student witness. University security guards did not intervene in that protest.
Videos verified by The Associated Press showed additional protests at Al Zahra University, where female students gathered and chanted slogans supporting Pahlavi.
Continuing unrest after January crackdown
The student demonstrations occur nearly two months after Iran’s government conducted what witnesses and rights groups described as one of the country’s deadliest crackdowns since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The unrest began in late December after Iran’s currency collapsed under longstanding U.S. sanctions.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been documented as accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, reports at least 7,015 people were killed in the protests and government crackdown, including 214 government forces. The death toll continues to rise as the agency cross-checks information from a network of activists inside Iran.
Iran’s government provided a separate death toll, stating on Jan. 21 that 3,117 people were killed. The Associated Press has been unable to independently verify the death toll, in part because major disruptions to communication networks in Iran have restricted reporting and communication.
U.S. military buildup and nuclear negotiations
The demonstrations occur amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions. Trump, who initially threatened military action over alleged executions, has shifted his focus to Iran’s nuclear program.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, is heading toward the Middle East to join another carrier already in the region.
American and Iranian negotiators are set to hold another round of indirect talks in Geneva this week on Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that it has not enriched uranium since Israeli and U.S. strikes last June. The U.S. and other nations have long suspected Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has not allowed international inspections of its nuclear sites since they were heavily bombed last year.