Student Protests Enter Third Day at Tehran Universities
This video grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on February 22, 2026, and verified by AFPTV teams in Paris, shows Iranians demonstrating at the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, chanting "Azadi, azadi, azadi" ("Freedom, freedom, freedom"). ©- / UGC / AFP

Student demonstrations continued for a third consecutive day across several universities in Iran’s capital on Monday, coinciding with the start of the new academic semester on February 21, according to local media reports.

In parallel, Iran warned the United States on Monday that any attack would be met "ferociously" in response to President Donald Trump's threat of limited strikes.

Gatherings were reported at multiple campuses in Tehran, where students chanted slogans critical of the authorities and Iran’s supreme leadership, marking a renewed wave of campus activism following nationwide unrest earlier this year.

At Al-Zahra University, female students organized a rally during which participants were heard chanting slogans such as “We did not give our lives to bargain or glorify a killing leader” and “Don’t be afraid, we are all together,” videos circulating online showed.

Students at Sharif University of Technology also held a protest that included a commemoration for victims of the January demonstrations, amid heightened security presence inside the campus.

At Tehran University, students organized a memorial ceremony for Raha Bahlouli Pour, who was killed during the January protests, according to reports. Demonstrators chanted slogans including ‘Woman, Life, Freedom,’ ‘Death to the dictator,’ and ‘If one person is killed, a thousand will rise behind them.’

Protests spread across campuses

Footage shared on social media indicated that demonstrations also took place at Iran University of Science and Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, and Beheshti University, as well as at a university in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Some gatherings reportedly witnessed confrontations between opposition students and pro-government groups, including members of the student Basij militia inside campus grounds.

In a statement, Sharif University’s public relations office said several students would be barred from entering the campus following two days of protests, without specifying how many were affected or how long the measure would remain in place.

The renewed demonstrations come as Iranian universities reopen for the spring semester, against the backdrop of lingering tensions following January’s protests, which erupted in multiple cities and led to deadly crackdowns by security forces.

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