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Tensions escalated dramatically across Iran on Sunday as anti-government protests reignited at significant universities and on the streets of Tehran, with reports indicating the use of tear gas and gunfire in the capital.
Students congregated in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to commemorate the 40-day memorials for those who lost their lives during January’s widespread demonstrations against the government. These gatherings soon descended into violence.
Ali Safavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), spoke to Fox News Digital about the protests at the University of Tehran. He mentioned that demonstrators were chanting phrases like, “This is the year of blood,” and pointed out that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had fired upon protesters in another part of the city.
“At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students desecrated images of Khamenei, and similar actions were observed at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities,” Safavi reported.
Photographs and videos from the scene show student protesters in Iran clashing with authorities. (Simay Azadi/Iranntv.com)
“Students were shouting ‘death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader,’ while in Tehran’s Vali Asr Street forces fired at the crowds, which were mostly young people,” he added.
Safavi also claimed that two motorcycle units composed of men and women affiliated with resistance groups paraded through parts of Tehran carrying flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the armed wing associated with the NCRI.
Buses that were burned during Iran’s protests, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 21, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
In a statement circulated online, university students also condemned what they described as renewed attempts by authorities to suppress dissent.
“Once again we see that the tainted hands of monopolists seek to turn this sacred space into a playground for reactionary forces,” the statement read. “We who have tasted the bitter experience of repression accept no form of dictatorship, whether with a turban or with boots,” it said.
Demonstrators burn pictures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran, in London, Jan. 12, 2026. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
Iran’s state TV showed videos of what it said were people “pretending to be students” attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January’s protests.
The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks, Reuters reported.
Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a more forceful response by authorities.
Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people.
At other locations, the protesters also confronted groups of pro-regime demonstrators.
Reports from opposition sources indicated that shots were also fired as security units attempted to disperse gatherings that had spilled beyond campus grounds into surrounding streets.
Nighttime mobilizations also continued for a second time, with large-scale protests reported across several campuses.
The clashes marked one of the most visible displays of unrest since January’s crackdown and came as Iran faces a potential military strike by the U.S. and amid ongoing talks to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program.