Iran university students hold anti-regime rallies at campuses in Tehran, Mashhad
Head of top Tehran engineering school calls for criminals to be ‘dealt with’ after Basij officers reportedly clash with students, who greet them with calls of ‘death’ to Khamenei
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIranian students chanted anti-government slogans at rallies for people killed in the regime’s bloody crackdown on protesters last month, local and diaspora media reported Saturday, as groups opposed to the clerical leadership faced off with its supporters and security forces.
Videos geolocated by AFP to Tehran’s top engineering university showed fights breaking out in a crowd as people shouted “bi sharaf,” or “disgraceful” in Farsi.
Footage posted by the Persian-language dissident TV channel Iran International, which is based outside the country, also showed a large crowd chanting anti-government slogans at Sharif University of Technology.
According to Iran International, protesters clashed with members of the regime’s Basij paramilitary force, chanting “death” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and “long live the king,” referring to the monarchy toppled in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Local news outlet Fars said that what was supposed to be a “silent and peaceful sit-in” of students killed last month was disrupted by people chanting anti-regime slogans. A video posted by Fars showed a group chanting and waving Iranian flags facing off with a crowd wearing masks and being held back by men in suits. Both groups were holding what appeared to be memorial photographs.
Iran International quoted Sharif University President Masoud Tajrishi calling for perpetrators of “illegal acts” to be “dealt with.”
نیروهای بسیج دانشگاه صنعتی شریف در واکنش به تجمع دانشجویان برای یادبود جاویدنامان انقلاب علیه جمهوری اسلامی به آنها حمله کرده و درگیر شدند. دانشجویان این دانشگاه شعار «ایران» و «جاوید شاه» سر دادند. pic.twitter.com/IUWfU0KKeV
— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) February 21, 2026
“The enemy wants the university to become virtual, but we will not allow it,” Tajrishi was quoted as saying. “We want to show that we can manage the university. Anyone who carries out illegal acts at the university must be dealt with.”
Meanwhile, students at Tehran’s Beheshti University held a sit-in in solidarity with the people slain or imprisoned during the regime’s protest crackdown, according to a statement by the student union cited by Iran International.
And in the city’s Amirkabir University of Technology, demonstrators yelled “long live the king,” according to footage published by the outlet, which cited the student union later saying that security forces blocked the school’s exit and detained students.
ویدیوهای رسیده از تجمع دانشجویان دانشگاه امیرکبیر در روز شنبه دوم اسفند نشان میدهد این دانشجویان همزمان با یادبود جاویدنامان انقلاب ملی شعار «جاوید شاه» سر میدهند. pic.twitter.com/MyP711Moi6
— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) February 21, 2026
Other footage published by Iran International showed students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences chanting “freedom.”
Iranians reprised their protest slogans this week to mark 40 days — the traditional Shiite mourning period — since the killing of thousands of protesters in a crackdown that peaked on January 8 and 9.
The unrest first broke out in December over prolonged financial strain, but exploded into mass anti-government demonstrations.
ویدیوی رسیده به ایران اینترنشنال نشان میدهد روز شنبه دانشجویان دانشگاه علوم پزشکی مشهد همزمان با دانشگاههای تهران تجمع اعتراضی برگزار کردند. این دانشجویان شعار آزادی سر دادند. pic.twitter.com/u6Exr4CV1J
— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) February 21, 2026
The death toll from the protests cannot be verified.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 killings in the crackdown, the vast majority protesters, though the toll may be far higher.
Iran International itself has put the death toll at over 36,000.
Iranian authorities, who have undercounted deaths in previous rounds of unrest suppressed by the regime, acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths, but say the violence was caused by “terrorist acts” fueled by Iran’s enemies.
The demonstrations came as Iran’s authorities are under pressure to make a deal on the country’s nuclear program with the United States, which has amassed forces within striking distance.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran, first over its protest crackdown last month and more recently over its failure to rein in its nuclear program.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Saturday in a speech carried live by state TV.
The Times of Israel Community.