Protests against university authorities and gripped several campuses across Iran, according to videos sent to Iran International, pointing to widespread anxiety among students which stopped short of overtly political grievances.
In one video, filmed at night, students are seen protesting disciplinary measures and calling for an end to harsh punishments.
At Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology they chanted, “University is not a barracks; expulsion is no longer the answer.” The dispute related to student dissatisfaction with food and accommodation.
University administrators in Iran frequently deploy expulsion to silence pushback and punish students who protest their conditions.
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences also witnessed series of protests alleging administrators' alleged mismanagement and provision of substandard accommodation.
A video obtained by Iran International showed students chanting slogans including “incompetent official, resign!” and “university officials, shame shame!”
Bus crash tragedy
A separate incident in the town of Sorkheh north of Tehran has left the community reeling. A bus carrying female paramedical students crashed on Tuesday, killing two and leaving five others in critical condition.
In a recorded meeting with the dean, one student described the scene as horrific and said some victims were impossible to identify because their faces were badly damaged.
“Seeing two of your friends’ faces crushed, unrecognizable — we identified them by their clothes and nail polish. Someone you were talking and laughing with, and now they’re being brought back as a corpse, it’s very hard,” she said.
Multiple videos show students pressing the dean and university administrators for accountability.
Provincial authorities pledged a full investigation into the crash.
Iranian university students have continued staging demonstrations despite heavy pressure from authorities, demanding accountability and an end to harsh disciplinary measures such as expulsions and suspensions.
Slogans on walls
Other citizen-submitted videos showed dissidents painting slogans on city walls and on large billboards around Tehran in several separate locations.
Large-scale political protests have been rare since authorities quashed with deadly force the so-called Woman, Life, Freedom protests sparked by the death of a young woman in morality police custody in 2022.
One man is filmed writing messages in favor of Iran's monarchy, which was ousted by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, while others call on citizens to resist authorities: “Break the silence, compatriot, while there’s still time.”
Another slogan directly addresses the country’s Supreme Leader: “Khamenei should know he will be overthrown soon.”
UN sanctions reactivated by European powers took effect over the weekend and are set to deepen Iran's economic pain.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons the West accuses it of pursuing and has warned the measures could deepen civil unrest.
The legislation, formally titled the “Intensification of Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States Against National Security and Interests,” was passed by parliament in late June following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
The Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member body of clerics and jurists that vets legislation and elections in Iran, initially sent the bill back in July citing ambiguities, but said after revisions it no longer conflicted with Islamic law or the constitution.
The measure classifies espionage or intelligence cooperation with Israel and the US as “corruption on earth,” a charge under Iran’s penal code that can carry the death penalty.
It also criminalizes providing information, media content or assistance to groups deemed hostile, with prison sentences ranging from two to 15 years depending on the offense.
Supporters say the law is needed to counter infiltration and disinformation. “Any cooperation in media or propaganda activity, including sending videos or images to hostile channels that weaken public morale or create division, undermines national security and will face severe judicial response,” said Ebrahim Azizi, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and head of parliament’s national security committee.
The bill follows the June conflict in which Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian nuclear and missile sites, prompting Tehran to retaliate with hundreds of missile and drone launches.
Iranian authorities later announced the arrest of hundreds of people accused of spying for Israel and the US.
Rights advocates have expressed concern that the law’s broad definitions, including provisions applying retroactively, could restrict free expression and be used against journalists and activists.