{"id":306162,"date":"2026-02-23T15:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/306162\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T15:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:26:08","slug":"our-classrooms-are-empty-because-the-graveyards-are-full-irans-students-on-why-they-are-protesting-again-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/306162\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Our classrooms are empty because the graveyards are full\u2019: Iran\u2019s students on why they are protesting again | Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 45 days after a brutal January crackdown<\/a> that left thousands of Iranian protesters dead, students across several universities are protesting again. As Iran\u2019s new academic term began on Saturday, students in Tehran gathered on campus, chanting anti-government slogans, despite a heavy security presence and plainclothes officers stationed outside university gates.<\/p>\n

The Guardian spoke to protesting students about why they were rallying despite the fact that thousands had been killed and tens of thousands arrested in the January demonstrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur classrooms are empty because the graveyards are full,\u201d said Hossein*, 21, a student at the University of Tehran. \u201cIt\u2019s for them \u2013 our friends, classmates and compatriots, who were gunned down in front of our eyes, that we decided to boycott the classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in their third day, protests have spread to universities across the capital and the north-eastern city of Mashhad, with videos showing students chanting anti-regime slogans and clashes breaking out between protesters and pro-regime Basij forces.<\/p>\n

\"FreshFresh protests erupt at Iranian universities as they reopen after crackdown \u2013\u00a0video <\/p>\n

\u201cThey called their spilled blood foreign-backed,\u201d Hossein added, alluding to the regime\u2019s labelling of dissenters as agents of foreign powers. \u201cBut we know the regime can no longer kill students on campus and call us terrorists \u2026 We are not afraid of losing our lives. We all are willing to put our lives on the line so at least the next generations of this country will live in freedom and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to US-based organisation HRANA <\/a>(Human Rights Activists News Agency), at least 7,000 people have been confirmed killed in the January crackdown, with another 11,700 deaths under investigation, while other estimates from medics across the country say the death toll is in the tens of thousands<\/a>. The HRANA has recorded more than 53,000 arrests, including hundreds of students.<\/p>\n

Although the Saturday protests marked the first large-scale rallies on campus since last month\u2019s mass killings, smaller demonstrations had been simmering for weeks, particularly among medical students demanding the release of detained healthcare workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Leyla*, a student at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, said a quiet vigil at the campus had evolved into a protest with students chanting slogans.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause nobody can tolerate this much grief,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t coordinate the protests in advance. It was supposed to be only a silent sit-in. [But] as soon as the students began to speak, everyone stood behind and continued. Even if it doesn\u2019t lead to anything concrete, it is symbolic: showing that they couldn\u2019t silence the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students were galvanised by anger at security forces and \u201chow they killed so many people\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

A screen grab showing clashes between pro-government students and others during a protest at Sharif University in Tehran on 21 February. Photograph: UGC\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Campus protest videos also showed Basij (state-backed paramilitary volunteer forces) at the University of Tehran attacking protesting students, hurling threats and insults, and breaking windows. At Sharif University, Leyla said tensions quickly escalated into physical confrontations between Basij-aligned students and those protesting, with clashes continuing on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our students were hurt and bleeding, and many [aligned with] Basij were too,\u201d she said, with bottles and stones being thrown by both sides.<\/p>\n

In Mashhad, Reza*, a university student, described a similar sense of collective sorrow fuelling demonstrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen society is in mourning, grief and anger are felt at universities too,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we are grieving for our classmates and loved ones, we do not want to attend classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reza said students were coordinating the protests in Mashhad to resist a return to the status quo. \u201cWe are all in mourning, and we will confront anything that tries to make the situation appear normal. Nothing is normal. Nothing will return to the way it was before 8 January. We saw things we should have never seen \u2026 things full of fear and sorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us are afraid, but when we gather together and become a visible crowd, the fear leaves us. We chant: \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid, don\u2019t be afraid \u2026 we are all together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hossein said that he expected the protests to continue in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese protests are against the return to normal life while our loved ones\u2019 bodies are still warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Names have been changed to protect protesters\u2019 identities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 45 days after a brutal January crackdown that left thousands of Iranian protesters dead, students across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-306162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}