Iran unrest escalates as gunfire, tear gas hit universities amid looming US strike

Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital.

Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed during January’s nationwide anti-government demonstrations before violence broke out.

Ali Safavi, a member of Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital anti-government protests at the University of Tehran featured chants such as, "This is the year of blood," and noted that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot at protesters at another location in the city.

"At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students trampled on Khamenei’s picture, while similar acts took place at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities," Safavi said.

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"Students were shouting ‘death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader,’ while in Tehran’s Vali Asr Street forces fired at the crowds, which were mostly young people," he added.

Safavi also claimed that two motorcycle units composed of men and women affiliated with resistance groups paraded through parts of Tehran carrying flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the armed wing associated with the NCRI.

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In a statement circulated online, university students also condemned what they described as renewed attempts by authorities to suppress dissent.

"Once again we see that the tainted hands of monopolists seek to turn this sacred space into a playground for reactionary forces," the statement read. "We who have tasted the bitter experience of repression accept no form of dictatorship, whether with a turban or with boots," it said.

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Iran's state TV showed videos of what it said were people "pretending to be students" attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January's protests.

The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks, Reuters reported.

Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a more forceful response by authorities.

Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people. 

At other locations, the protesters also confronted groups of pro-regime demonstrators.

Reports from opposition sources indicated that shots were also fired as security units attempted to disperse gatherings that had spilled beyond campus grounds into surrounding streets.

Nighttime mobilizations also continued for a second time, with large-scale protests reported across several campuses.

The clashes marked one of the most visible displays of unrest since January’s crackdown and came as Iran faces a potential military strike by the U.S. and amid ongoing talks to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program.