Iranian students gathered for fresh pro- and anti-government rallies Sunday commemorating those killed in recent protests, as fears loomed of renewed conflict with the United States over the country’s nuclear program.
The initial demonstrations were sparked in December by economic hardship in the sanctions-hit country, but quickly expanded into mass anti-government protests that marked one of the largest challenges to the Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership in years.
US President Donald Trump had initially cheered on the protesters, threatening to intervene on their behalf as authorities launched a deadly crackdown, but his threats soon shifted to Iran’s nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at developing atomic weapons.
Washington and Tehran have since returned to the negotiating table, but Trump has simultaneously pursued a major military build-up in the Middle East aimed at pressuring Iran to cut a deal.
Following campus rallies commemorating the protest dead on Saturday, the state-linked Fars news agency on Sunday published videos of fresh crowds of dozens of people waving Iranian flags and carrying memorial photographs at universities in the capital Tehran.
One showed a rowdy gathering at Sharif University of Technology shouting “death to the shah” – a reference to the monarchy ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution – as they faced off with another group, with men in uniforms between them.
Fars said there had been “tensions” at at least three universities in Tehran where some students chanted “anti-establishment” slogans.
Iran International, a media outlet based outside the country and branded a “terrorist” organization by Tehran, shared a video on social media of students holding up the pre-revolution flag at Sharif University, as well as videos of rallies at other institutions of higher learning.
A video geolocated by AFP of what appeared to be the demonstration at Sharif University showed a large crowd chanting anti-government slogans as they thronged around students waving the flag of the toppled monarchy.
The authorities acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, including members of the security forces and bystanders, but say the violence was caused by “terrorist acts” fueled by Iran’s enemies.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), however, has recorded more than 7,000 killings in the crackdown, the vast majority protesters, though the toll may be far higher.
Negotiations
Representatives of the US and Iran recently met in Geneva for a second round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks, with Iran promising to send a draft proposal for a deal to avert military action in the coming days.
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