Student's murder sparks unrest across Iran Is the country in turmoil again?

Protests have erupted at Tehran University following the murder of a student. Strikes and demonstrations have spread across various parts of the country. The death of the business administration student had no political motivations. However, the situation surrounding the crime quickly escalated...

"Blood that is spilled cannot be wiped away with anything"

On February 12, 19-year-old undergraduate student Amir Mohammad Khaleghi was returning to his dormitory when he was attacked by two robbers. They stabbed him several times, stole his laptop, and fled on a motorcycle. Khaleghi died from severe respiratory injuries on February 13 morning. He was the youngest of five children in his family and, like many students, worked part-time. On the evening of his murder, Amir Mohammad Khaleghi was returning from his first day at work.

The very next day, protests broke out on the student campus. It was reported that security forces attacked the protesters, and during the clashes, one student was injured by a person in civilian clothes. Four students were also detained, which only fueled the unrest. According to other sources, university security guards were involved in the scuffles with the protesters. Meanwhile, the police and special forces only cordoned off the campus perimeter. During the protests, students even temporarily detained an intelligence officer who had his ID with him. The demonstrators chanted, "If we don't unite, they will kill us one by one!" However, political slogans also began to emerge: "The student is awakening, he hates tyranny!" The most radical elements were shouting in the dormitory corridors: "Death to Khamenei!" To avoid identification of participants, the protesters' feet were filmed on camera, or their faces were blurred in the videos.

On February 15, student protests resumed. On the same day, Amir Mohammad Halegi was buried in his hometown in South Khorasan province. Video footage of his funeral spread widely on the internet. Student protests continued on February 16.

Several student organizations joined the protests. Tehran University students were supported by those from other universities as well. For instance, students from Amirkabir University of Technology expressed their solidarity.

Political and religious figures in Iran, including opposition leaders, responded to the student protests. On February 14, Molavi Abdulhamid, the Imam of Zahedan and one of the leaders of Iran's Sunni community, called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the student’s murder. Notably, the deceased student, Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, was a Sunni.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is in exile, has already described the incident as "evidence of the Islamic Republic's failure to ensure the safety of the nation." This representative of the overthrown Pahlavi dynasty, which was ousted by the Islamic Revolution of 1978, is a key figure for the Iranian monarchist opposition.

Iranian human rights activist Narges Safaei Mohammadi called online for support of the Tehran student protests: "Show that we are all together." Narges Mohammadi, a 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her work in defending women's rights, was sentenced to prison but is currently on sick leave.

Another Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi (2003), wrote on Instagram: "The house is in ruins! In a country where unemployment, corruption, poverty, and psychological and social insecurity push people toward theft and lawlessness, where a young person knows that if their laptop is stolen, they will become unemployed and lose their life for it, the security problem cannot be solved..."

Iranian activist and blogger Hossein Ronaghi wrote on "X": "Blood that is spilled cannot be wiped away with anything." Additionally, according to Tehran police, during the February 14 protest, a person connected to the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) was detained. This "Islamic Socialist" organization fought armed battles first against the Shah's regime and later against the Islamic Republic. Although the MEK, headquartered in Paris, has distanced itself from its previous left-wing radical ideology, it remains one of the leading forces in the Iranian opposition. The leader of the MEK, Maryam Rajavi, also expressed her support for the student protests.

However, the criticism of the incident is not limited to the Iranian opposition. Acting President of Tehran University, Hossein Hosseini, speaking on state television, said: "We are all responsible for this. We must not shift the blame onto others." Regarding the high street crime rate and the sometimes ineffective actions of the police, the newspaper Javan (جاوان), which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also weighed in. Javan stated: "The murder of the Tehran University student is purely a social issue. However, the fact that the victim was a student and the location of the incident created the necessary conditions for it to become a political issue." At the same time, some students also declared that it is unacceptable to use this criminal incident for political purposes.

Saeid Habibi, the Deputy Minister of Science, warned that "anti-revolutionary elements" and foreign forces would try to exploit these protests for their own interests.

"Association of Freethinkers" and indisciplined leaders

At the same time, the Iranian authorities responded swiftly to the incident. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian instructed that the murder case be immediately investigated. Iran's Minister of Science, Hossein Simaee Sarraf, issued an apology following the mass protests by students. Previously arrested students were temporarily released. The investigation into the murder on the student campus was also taken under the control of the Iranian Parliament’s Commission on Education, Research, and Technology. During its meeting, it was decided to create a memorial at Tehran University in honor of the deceased student.

The search for the murderers was complicated by the fact that the attackers wore masks and their motorcycle's license plate was obscured. However, they were eventually tracked down and arrested at their hideout by the police and the special forces unit "FARJA." The accused, Amir and Ahmad, confessed that they had committed 40 street robberies in the past month alone.

Under pressure from student protests, Mohammad Zareh Chahouki, the director of the men's dormitories at Tehran University, was forced to resign. The Minister of Science has already announced that an agreement has been reached with the police to set up two stationary posts on the campus, and the lighting issue will also be addressed. However, activists responded by calling this "demagoguery." They stated that students had been unsuccessfully pointing out these issues to the administration for over thirty years. Instead, strict disciplinary measures are applied to students, such as rigorous control over the wearing of the hijab.

The student organization Association of Freethinkers stated: "This incident is not only a reflection of the unsafe educational environment but also highlights the irresponsibility and indiscipline of university leaders and related institutions." It was also pointed out that poverty and social inequality breed crime. Students are often in need, and even those receiving state scholarships frequently have to take on part-time jobs. Due to financial constraints, they are not always able to use safer means of transportation, which increases the risk of falling victim to criminal attacks. Tuition fees at Tehran University can reach up to $500 per year, while the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Tehran starts at $336 per month.

Harsh suppression and "soft war"

Student protests on campus are not the only social unrest in Iran recently. The significant deterioration of the economic situation is stirring discontent across various sectors of Iranian society. For example, at the end of 2024, entrepreneurs from the Grand Bazaar of Tehran went on strike against the rising costs and the increase in the dollar exchange rate.

Since last year, protests have also been taking place in various cities across Iran, with pensioners expressing concern over reforms in the pension system. In 2024, residents of Tehran formed a human chain to protest the planned construction of a mosque in the city’s Qeytarieh Park.

Regarding the current student protests, parallels have already been drawn to the events of 2022. Notably, legal proceedings related to the disturbances from that time continued up until recently. In November 2024, a court sentenced six individuals to death for the murder of 21-year-old Arman Aliverdi, a member of the Basij militia, who was stabbed by protesters in Ekbatan during the unrest of 2022.

In 2022, mass riots across Iran, which resulted in violent clashes with security forces, were triggered by the death of student Mahsa Amini. Now, conservative forces within the Islamic Republic of Iran have accused the president of Tehran University, Hosseini, of acting "like Amini's father" and stoking unrest. Orthodox supporters of the Islamic Revolution have called for the harsh suppression of the current student protests.

However, it seems that the current authorities in the Islamic Republic have opted to address the student protests not with force, but by responding to and taking into account the demands of the students.

Today, student protests are being replaced by labor protests. Recently, Iran has faced its most serious inflation in decades, severely impacting most salaried workers, small traders, and craftsmen. In the second half of February, a wave of protests with economic demands erupted across Iran.

On February 15, medical workers in Mashhad and Mazandaran demanded higher wages. On February 18, employees of the International Exhibition Center in Tehran held a protest against poor working conditions and wage discrepancies. In Borujerd (Lorestan), textile workers staged a demonstration against unfair labor policies and wage delays. On February 19, contract workers in the telecommunications sector in Mashhad, Bardaskan, and Khaf (Khorasan Razavi) took to the streets demanding labor rights and equal pay. On February 20, contract workers in the oil and gas sector in Lavan (Hormozgan) resumed their protests over wages and fundamental labor rights. In the West Azerbaijan province, railway workers protested the late payment of wages and insurance contributions.

Students in Tehran have also expressed solidarity with the workers.

Opposition media in Iran report that the authorities, aiming to prevent a repeat of the events of 2019 and 2022, have allegedly begun mass arrests. According to their sources, around 400 people have already been detained, including veterans of the Iran-Iraq war and even members of political factions within the regime. The opposition claims that Said and Saida, children of the late dissident Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, have been taken into custody.

On February 17, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei delivered a speech in the East Azerbaijan province. Khamenei stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran would firmly repel any military invasion by foreign powers. However, he emphasized that the primary danger is the "soft war" being waged within the country, as well as the "doubts in the fundamental beliefs of the revolution." To counter this, Ayatollah Khamenei called for the state propaganda apparatus to work more effectively.

Amid the escalating crisis, a heated debate took place at the Iranian parliament on February 18, focusing on inflation and fluctuations in the currency exchange rate. During the session, a group of lawmakers introduced a motion to impeach the Minister of Economy. Supporters of the Islamic Revolution have intensified their criticism of the liberal wing of the government. Deputy Mohammad Nikbin even called for the removal of "Trump supporters and American admirers" from the presidential administration.

Regardless, the resolution of Iran's issues remains a key concern for all regional states committed to peaceful and stable coexistence.