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Tensions flared across Iran on Sunday as anti-government protests broke out at major universities and on the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and gunfire in the capital.
Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark the 40th anniversary of those killed during January’s nationwide anti-government protests before violence erupted.
Ali Safavi, a member of Iran’s parliament in exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital that anti-government protests at the University of Tehran had chants such as, “This is the year of blood,” and noted that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had shot protesters elsewhere in the city.
“At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students stepped on Khamenei’s statue, and similar actions took place at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities,” said Safavi.
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Student protesters in Iran clash with authorities. (Simay Azadi/Irantv.com)
“Students were shouting ‘death to the oppressor, whether it’s the Shah or the Leader,’ while Tehran’s soldiers on Vali Asr Street fired into the crowds, most of whom were young,” he added.
Safavi also said that two motorcycles made up of men and women linked to opposition groups were traveling through parts of Tehran carrying the flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), an armed wing affiliated with the NCRI.
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Buses burned during protests in Iran, Tehran, Iran, Jan. 21, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
In a statement circulated online, university students also criticized what they described as renewed efforts by the authorities to suppress dissent.
“Once again we see that the dirty hands of monopolists want to turn this sacred space into a playground,” the statement read. “We who have tasted the painful experience of oppression do not accept the type of dictatorship, either with a turban or with boots,” said this newspaper.
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Protesters burn effigies of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of national protests in Iran, London, Jan. 12, 2026. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
Iranian state TV showed videos of what it said were “disguised students” attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests against the January protests.
They are said to have injured students by throwing stones at them, Reuters reported.
Other accounts from witnesses and opposition groups described the authorities’ violent reaction.
Soldiers reportedly fired tear gas into groups of protesters, most of whom were youths.
In other places, protesters also clashed with groups of pro-government protesters.
Reports from opposition sources revealed that shots were fired again when the security forces tried to disperse the gatherings that spilled out of the campus and into the surrounding streets.
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The night agitation also continued for the second time, with large protests reported in many institutions.
The standoff marked one of the most visible signs of unrest since the January collapse and comes as Iran faces a possible US military strike and amid ongoing talks to negotiate Iran’s nuclear program.
