The protests on Monday extended to several campuses, including the all-women Al Zahra University in Tehran, where demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and burned and tore an Iranian flag, though the unrest did not spill into the streets
It’s another month in Iran, where it is witnessing massive protests, this time by university students amid tensions between Iran and the US. The demonstrations come just weeks after people took to the streets to protest against Iran’s dwindling economy, resulting in the deaths of hundreds at the hands of security officials.
The protests on Monday extended to several campuses, including the all-women Al Zahra University in Tehran, where demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and burned and tore an Iranian flag, though the unrest did not spill into the streets.
The protests have added to the crisis Iran is facing from both within and from the outside as it tries to keep US forces at bay. Washington has increased its military presence and intensified pressure in West Asia amid negotiations with Tehran, with the next round set to take place in Geneva this week. US President Donald Trump has warned that “really bad things will happen” if no agreement is reached.
Why are students protesting?
University students are protesting against the general state of affairs in Iran. A Telegram channel for Iranian students, called Anjmotahed, has said that an attack by a state-backed militia at Sharif University in Tehran left several students injured.
In an effort to mock Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, some students climbed trees on campus and hung toy mice from the branches, a symbolic jab suggesting he was hiding underground like a mouse. According to reports, demonstrators chanted “death to the dictator,” “for every one killed, a thousand will follow,” and “the blood that has been spilled will never be washed away.”
Student representatives who met Iran’s vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, over the weekend told him it was offensive to attribute the January protest killings to terrorists. “The response to the people’s protests had been given in bullets,” they said.
Iran-US talks
Iranian officials held out hope for progress towards a deal to forestall fresh conflict when talks with US negotiators resume on Thursday, despite a huge build-up of American military might in the Middle East.
Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said details of a possible deal were being drawn up ahead of the renewed talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, after Washington’s envoy Steve Witkoff had publicly wondered why Tehran had not yet “capitulated”.
Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of regional mediator Oman, said talks would resume on Thursday in Geneva “with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal”.
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
