Iran students stage first large anti-government protests since deadly crackdown

The student protesters honoured thousands of those killed when nationwide mass protests were put down last month.

On February 21, 2026, Iranian students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran chanted anti-government slogans and clashed with security forces, coinciding with the 40th-day memorial of the martyrs of the uprising and amid escalating US-Iran tensions.

On February 21, 2026, Iranian students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran chanted anti-government slogans and clashed with security forces, marking the first large-scale anti-government protests since a deadly crackdown in January 2026.

On February 21, 2026, Iranian students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran chanted anti-government slogans and clashed with security forces, marking the first large-scale anti-government protests since a deadly crackdown in January 2026.

At the start of the new university semester on February 21, 2026, students at several Iranian universities, including Sharif University of Technology and Amir Kabir University of Technology, held protests coinciding with ceremonies mourning those killed in last month's anti-government demonstrations.

Ehsan Azimi Rad, a member of Iran's Parliament's Education Commission, stated that around 17% of those who participated in the January protests were teenagers, most of them students. In some provinces, people under the age of 20 made up as much as 45% of the protesters.

Students at several major Iranian universities held rallies to commemorate those killed in recent protests and to voice opposition to the Islamic Republic.

On February 21, 2026, marking the 40th-day memorial of the martyrs of the uprising, students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran chanted slogans such as 'Death to the dictator' and 'Freedom, freedom, freedom,' confronting Basij forces.

University students in several Iranian cities held rallies to commemorate those killed in protests and to oppose the Islamic Republic.