Anti-government student protests spread to more Iranian universities

A fresh wave of anti-government protests staged by students at several Iranian universities that began on Saturday has spread to more campuses, footage confirmed by BBC Verify and BBC Persian shows.

They are the first large-scale demonstrations in the country since the nationwide protests in December and January which led to a brutal crackdown by the authorities.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana), at least 7,000 people were killed in the January crackdown, including 6,488 protesters and 236 children. It is also verifying reports of another 11,000 deaths. US President Donald Trump said on Friday that around 32,000 people were killed. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has confirmed 3,117 deaths.

All in-person classes at Iranian universities were suspended on 4 January for what the authorities described as "severely cold conditions", although critics say the closure was announced to stop potential student demonstrations taking place. The reopening of universities on Saturday has resulted in protests breaking out across multiple campuses in several major cities.

The student rallies that started on Saturday followed other commemorations held across the country last week marking 40 days since since the escalation of protests and the ensuing deadly crackdown on 8 January.

BBC Verify and BBC Persian have so far confirmed footage of protests at eight universities in Tehran, as well as universities in the major cities of Mashhad and Isfahan.

Footage verified by the BBC from the women-only al-Zahra University in north Tehran on Monday shows a group of students chanting anti-regime slogans and burning the flag of the Islamic Republic, Iran's official flag since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Another clip filmed at the University of Tehran today shows students chanting "woman, life, freedom", the slogan associated with the protest movement that erupted in the country in 2022 following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Verified clips from multiple universities show students carrying the "lion and sun" flag of Iran, which was the official Iranian flag before the 1979 revolution. One such video, filmed at the Isfahan University of Technology on Monday, shows students displaying the flag along with chants of "long live the Shah".

Many students can be heard chanting these slogans in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late Shah, and the Pahlavi dynasty that was overthrown in 1979. While a number of videos show chants in opposition to both the Islamic Republic and the deposed monarchy.

Another video filmed today at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology, one of Iran's most prestigious, shows students chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Footage authenticated by BBC Verify also shows clashes in several universities between student protesters and members of the paramilitary volunteer Basij force, part of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).

Clips from Amirkabir University of Technology, also in Tehran, show Basij members fighting with students inside the campus. Another video, filmed on Sunday, shows students sheltering inside the University of Tehran's school of engineering. A group of Basij members can be seen outside the building, who attempt to break the entrance gate to get inside.

Pro-government students have also staged counter-rallies of their own on a number of campuses. One video from Sunday published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated to the IRGC, shows demonstrators burning the flags of the US and Israel near the main gate of Tehran's Sharif University. Videos posted online show similar gatherings by pro-government students were held at Amirkabir, al-Zahra and Tehran universities.

State TV acknowledged in a report on Monday that "limited" anti-government rallies had been held at several universities. The semi-official Mehr news agency also reported that "a handful of students" who had taken part in protests at Sharif University were banned from the campus until further notice.

Unrest also broke out in the city of Abdanan in western Iran over the weekend after Yaqoob Mohammadi, an Iranian academic and activist who is an outspoken critic of the clerical establishment, was arrested at his home by security agents.

Two videos verified by the BBC show Mohammadi being led through the garden of his house to the street by masked men, as several people fight with armed men who leave in a pair of cars.

Multiple videos of protests near the city centre were published hours later. In one clip, crowds of protesters can be seen running for safety amid the sound of gunfire.

Mohammadi was released on Sunday and filmed near his home as a crowd cheered.

Additional reporting by: Sarah Jalali, Paul Brown and Emma Pengelly