Reuters
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Students staged protests at several Iranian universities as the new academic year began on Saturday, with some clashing with pro-government groups, according to local news agencies and posts on social media.
The protests coincided with ceremonies traditionally held 40 days later to commemorate those killed by security forces during last month’s anti-government demonstrations, which left thousands dead in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Video reportedly showed a line of marchers marching at Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology, denouncing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “murderous leader” and calling for Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s ousted shah, to become the new ruler.
State news agencies, including SNN, reported footage of clashes in which protesters allegedly threw stones at Iran’s top technical university, injuring a Basij volunteer student. Pro-government Basij members often assist security forces in suppressing protests.
Protests were also held at Beheshti and Amir Kabir universities in the capital Tehran, and Mashhad University in the northeast, according to a video released by human rights group HAALVSH that could not be seen by Reuters.
In the western town of Abdanan, a hot spot for protests, demonstrators chanted “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator” after an activist teacher was arrested, according to human rights group Hengau and social media posts.
