A silent protest rally was held in Zahedan for the 41st consecutive week in a row under tight security conditions with regime snipers positioned around the Makki Mosque and routes leading to it.
During his Friday sermon, Iran’s most prominent Sunni leader, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, repeated his condemnation of the attack and any form of violence, firmly asserting his innocence in connection to the incident.
Immediately after the incident, in spite of his condemnation of the violence, media linked to the Revolutionary Guard and security organs threatened the dissident cleric, blaming his critical comments about regime oppression and violence in the past nine months for the incident.
Tensions in Zahedan have been high since security forces, under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, killed an estimated 80-90 civilian protesters in the city on September 30, which became known as Black Friday.
Some reports suggested that the police station -- precinct #16 -- was the compound from where security forces opened fire on Black Friday protesters, close to the main mosque where people began their protest march.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the student activists said they would not accept “military forces, whether in combat or school uniforms, within the university premises".
Vowing to resist their presence, which many fear is an attempt to suppress dissidents in the institution, they said that the university’s atmosphere is already poisoned due to the presence of professors affiliated with the regime and Basij militiamen masquerading as students. They accused the authorities of sidelining students by suspending, removing, and suppressing them, while replacing them with borrowed forces from Iraq.
The activists lamented the university's transformation from a symbol of academic independence to a mere instrument of military tyranny, stating, “The presence of these individuals as university administrators only perpetuates a cycle of crises and disasters. Today, we realize that within the minds of those in power, we are denied the right to study and even the right to exist."
In contrast, the student activists highlighted the plight of imprisoned, expelled, and suspended students, who find themselves unjustly excluded for voicing grievances against the regime, while Hashd al-Shaabi forces gain admission.
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi was established back in 2014, following a fatwa to fight ISIS, which controlled four governorates and reached the borders of the capital Baghdad at the time. The Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization is composed of approximately 67 different armed factions, with around 128,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups.
Tehran University's public relations office announced members of Iraq's Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militias and other proxies of the Islamic Republic can study at Iranian universities following a meeting attended between the head of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representatives at the universities and the education deputy of Hashd al-Shaabi.
It has caused outrage among students who also criticized the advantages enjoyed by regime-affiliated students and the rich as well as entrance exam biases, which have discouraged many talented and hardworking individuals from pursuing higher education.
Students hailing from the wealthiest families, and those affiliated with IRGC’s Basij forces as well as those whose family members are war veterans, or what regime calls "martyrs”, have a much greater chance of admission to top universities in Iran, prompting many to blame corruption by the entrance exam ‘mafia’.
The Tehran University students’ statement also emphasized the disparity between the easy entry of members from Hashd al-Shaabi and the obstacles faced by socially and politically marginalized groups within Iranian society. They argued that the university administration's prioritization of military forces over ordinary people and dissidents undermines the principles of equal educational opportunities.
The student movement has played a significant role in the formation and continuation of last year's popular protests, sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody. In recent weeks, security forces in Iran have unleashed a fresh wave of crackdowns at universities employing both verbal and physical assault to suppress the student movement.
Iran International’s interviews with around 15 students showed an increase in harassment at public and private universities in various cities, raising concerns about the safety of students and freedom of expression within educational institutions in Iran.
The student movement played a significant role in the formation and continuation of last year's popular protests, sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini in hijab police custody.
With the September anniversary of the protests looming, students and student activists are concerned about a surge in violence from security forces to suppress any fresh protests in the universities before they gain momentum.
“Security personnel patrol the campus on motorcycles, and their warnings regarding hijab are highly insulting, using very offensive language,” a student from Beheshti University in Tehran told Iran International.
Iranian students have increasingly chosen not to wear the compulsory hijab, viewing it as a symbol of a patriarchal society that contradicts their pursuit of gender equality. Their refusal to comply with the government-imposed dress code also serves as a demonstration of their discontent with the prevailing Islamic state, and its policies.
On June 15, several students at Tehran’s College of Arts protesting stricter hijab rules were seriously injured by the head of campus security. Similar assaults have occurred in other instances.
While there is no precise statistic available on the number of students suspended or banned from universities for not wearing the compulsory hijab, students said dozens have been denied the opportunity to pursue their education due to this reason.
A student from Al-Zahra University mentioned on Twitter that security guards at the university contact the fathers of female students and by making baseless accusations, put pressure on both the students and their families.
“My family reluctantly agreed for me to come to Tehran. The security office [of the university] cancelled my accommodation due to the hijab issue last month,” said a student in Tehran.
“The behavior of the security personnel was so annoying and ugly that I prefer not to talk about it. I practically have nowhere to stay, and it is not possible for me to afford rent and expenses for food in Tehran. I am forced to drop out and return to my hometown,” she said.
Students said activities of the Hijab and Dress Code Committee that oversees student compliance have expanded during the exam period in early summer. Security personnel were present in the exam halls and issued warnings to students. If they refused to comply, they were subsequently banned from entering the university without any prior notice.
University officials and teachers have tried to intervene and allow banned students to enter the university for exams, students said, but security forces have not allowed it.
The recent surge in suppression following last year's uprising signifies a systematic endeavor by the government, which perceives filing cases and expelling students from universities as the sole means of addressing the situation.
Student protests also existed during the monarchy in 1960s and 70’s but for political reasons, not hijab, and many were punished, including arrests, but systematic or random violence on campuses did not exist. There were no vigilante or plainclothes agents to harass the students. Police showed up and used force to disperse campus protests.
At least a thousand protesting students have been suspended or academically banned from various universities in Iran since last September.
A student activist said university security, along with security forces, are attempting to suppress the spirit of freedom and student life after the Women, Life, Freedom uprising.
“Their assumption was that by mass arrest and suspension, they could break the spirit of the movement,” a student said, “but they fail to realize that 'the university is a smoldering fire beneath the ashes.”
