Students at several major Iranian universities held rallies on Sunday to commemorate those killed in recent protests and to voice opposition to the Islamic Republic, according to student groups and local media.
At the University of Tehran, students gathered outside the central library chanting “Death to the dictator,” the United Students Telegram channel reported.
Similar gatherings were held at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran University of Science and Technology, Sharif University of Technology and Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran.
Students at Iran University of Science and Technology and Sharif University chanted: “We swear by the blood of our comrades, we will stand to the end,” according to videos and reports shared by student groups.
Security was tightened at some campuses. The Khajeh Nasir student newsletter reported that access to its Seyed Khandan campus in Tehran was limited to one entrance on Sunday morning and that Basij members entered the campus in coordination with security forces.
The newsletter said the Basij were seeking to identify students, build disciplinary or legal cases and steer the planned gathering toward violence.
Large rallies were also held on Saturday in Tehran and Mashhad, with students at Sharif and Amirkabir universities of technology and medical sciences universities chanting pro-monarchy and anti-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei slogans.
University officials and the government urged calm.
Hossein Goldansaz, the University of Tehran’s vice president for student and cultural affairs, said he would “in no way support students” if protests turned violent. “If they observe red lines, we will grant them permission. Anti-establishment slogans waste students’ time,” he said.
The Science Ministry said it would not allow insecurity on campuses. In a post on X following tensions at a Saturday memorial event at Sharif University of Technology, a media adviser to the science minister said: “We will not allow the university environment to become unsafe.”
Protests at Sharif University were met with force, as Basij paramilitary forces affiliated with the IRGC were deployed to crack down on the demonstrators.
