The demonstrations could further weaken the regime amid sputtering nuclear negotiations
Students at Iran’s Sharif University of Technology launched a new wave of anti-regime protests over the weekend, calling for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death and clashing with government security forces, video footage shows. The demonstrations, which have since spread to other universities, threaten to further weaken the regime at a moment when President Donald Trump weighs strike options that include hitting Khamenei and other leaders.
The protests—which erupted as students returned to campus for the first time since the regime killed more than 20,000 demonstrators in January—quickly turned violent when regime security forces and government allies attacked the crowd.
Similar events unfolded at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University of Technology and continued into Sunday at several other campuses, where footage shows similar clashes between protesters and government forces, according to a Farsi-language report by Radio Farda.
The Iranian government’s move to violently suppress the protests suggests it fears further civil unrest after January’s large-scale uprising. Students have traditionally been at the forefront of mass movements in the country, and a new wave of protests would further destabilize Tehran’s hardline regime—and could expedite its demise should the Trump administration take military action against the Islamic Republic in the coming days or weeks. Trump is reportedly considering a range of options that includes “tak[ing] out the ayatollah and his son and the mullahs,” one administration official told Axios. The administration is also reportedly weighing options like striking remaining nuclear facilities and internal security infrastructure after the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Iranian regime is expected to send a nuclear deal proposal to the United States by Tuesday in what may be a final push before a military operation.
Alireza Nader, a veteran Iran analyst tracking the uprisings, told the Washington Free Beacon that the regime is particularly worried about student-led uprisings.
“Iranian students have been at the forefront of revolutionary change in Iran for decades,” Nader said. “They spearheaded the 1979 revolution, and they are playing an important role against the regime on the streets today. The regime fears student groups for their potential to trigger protests and mobilize the masses. That’s why we see the Basij paramilitary forces attack students on the streets today.”
Students at Sharif University could be heard on Saturday chanting, “Death to Khamenei” and other anti-regime slogans as they tussled with security forces, Iran International reported. As the crowd moved across campus, Basij security forces and other government affiliates intercepted them, according to eyewitness accounts posted on X, reportedly carrying signs cursing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.
“When the chants turned toward cursing Khamenei, a small scuffle would break out but security would separate them,” wrote one of those in attendance on X. “The scuffle gradually escalated and the kids snatched a few Islamic Republic flags from the Basij during the fight and used their batons against them, beating the Basij with them. I myself saw a chubby Basij pull a knife and throw it toward our kids’ crowd.”
The regime has to this point refrained from imposing an internet blackout like it did in January, and videos of the protests have quickly spread across social media.
Basij forces increased their presence on Sunday at Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran and clashed with students, according to Radio Farda. As of Sunday afternoon, protests were still occurring at both Sharif and Amirkabir universities, as well as the University of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti University, and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
A State Department spokesman confirmed to the Free Beacon that Trump is considering a variety of options for dealing with the Iranian regime.
“The Iranian people want and deserve a better life,” the spokesman said. “As the president said, ‘they’ve lived in hell.’ The Iranian regime has consistently neglected the Iranian people’s needs and squandered Iran’s vast wealth on terrorist proxies, ballistic missiles, and nuclear weapons research. We will continue to support the people of Iran against the regime’s continued abuses and repression. The president has a range of options on the table.”
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