Protests at Iranian universities are ongoing amid new negotiations with the United States, with the government claiming students are trying to incite unrest.
Protests erupted in various Iranian universities on Tuesday, marking the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations after campuses reopened following closures related to the suppression of January's regime protests. These earlier protests resulted in a significant loss of life, with reports from the exile NGO HRANA attributing at least 7,000 deaths to the crackdown against dissent.
Currently, the protests are relatively small, with groups of tens to hundreds of students participating, but they are spreading beyond initial hotspots in Tehran and Mashhad to cities like Shiraz and Isfahan. These locations were significant during past protests, underscoring a possible resurgence in dissent against the Iranian regime as tensions escalate with the United States over negotiations.
Iran's Attorney General has linked the protests to these negotiations, accusing students of attempting to “inflame” the situation. This connection hints at the Iranian government's concerns that internal dissent could undermine their negotiating power on the international stage, signaling the possible ramifications of ongoing protests on both domestic and foreign policy.
