Sunday saw tensions surge throughout Iran as anti-government demonstrations resumed at major universities and on Tehran’s streets, with reports of tear gas and gunfire in the capital.
Students assembled in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to observe 40-day commemorations for those killed during prior to the outbreak of violence.
Ali Safavi, a member of Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile, the (NCRI), told Digital that anti-government demonstrations at the University of Tehran included chants like “This is the year of blood,” and observed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on protesters at a different city location.
“At Tehran’s Khajeh Nasir University, students stomped on Khamenei’s portrait, with comparable actions occurring at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities,” Safavi stated.
“Students chanted ‘death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader,’ while on Tehran’s Vali Asr Street, security forces shot at the predominantly young crowds,” he added.
Safavi also asserted that two motorcycle units, comprising men and women linked to resistance groups, marched through sections of Tehran bearing flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the military branch connected to the NCRI.
In an online statement, university students also denounced what they characterized as fresh efforts by authorities to quash dissent.
“Once again we witness the corrupt hands of monopolists attempting to transform this sacred space into a playground for reactionary forces,” the statement read. “We who have endured the bitter experience of repression will not accept any form of dictatorship, whether wearing a turban or boots,” it said.
Iranian state television broadcast footage of individuals it claimed were “posing as students” assaulting pro-government students in Tehran who were participating in demonstrations denouncing January’s protests.
The individuals allegedly harmed students by hurling rocks, .
Some witness testimonies and opposition groups depicted a more .
Security forces allegedly deployed tear gas against crowds of protesters, many of whom were young people.
At other sites, the demonstrators also clashed with groups of pro-regime protesters.
Opposition source reports indicated that gunfire also erupted as security units tried to break up assemblies that had extended beyond campus boundaries into adjacent streets.
Nocturnal mobilizations also persisted for a second night, with major demonstrations reported at multiple campuses.
The confrontations represented one of the most conspicuous shows of unrest since January’s crackdown, occurring as Iran confronts a and amid regarding Iran’s nuclear program.