As details of the death toll for January’s protests continue to emerge, three students explain why they are resisting a return to normality
More than 45 days after a brutal January crackdown that left thousands of Iranian protesters dead, students across several universities are protesting again. As Iran’s 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.
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.
“Our classrooms are empty because the graveyards are full,” said Hossein*, 21, a student at the University of Tehran. “It’s for them – our friends, classmates and compatriots, who were gunned down in front of our eyes, that we decided to boycott the classes.”
The protests and their coverage started before the US admin leapt on it as an opportunity to justify military action. You’re discounting a people’s movement against an authoritarian regime just because some other authoritarian regime is trying to use them opportunistically.
The protests and their coverage famously happened months after Iran was literally bombed by the US, have you forgotten about that? The whole Iran throwing missiles to Israel thing?
Two different stories, dude…
Well, now the Zionists are bombing Iran. Do you admit you’ve been running Zionist propaganda?
It’s not zionist propaganda. It’s news about current events. Just because zionists latched onto it opportunistically doesn’t mean the whole thing is their doing, and it doesn’t discredit the New Iran movement either.
And you’re a really shitty person for not being able to see the difference.
From the start, as I’ve stated multiple times, my support is for the Iranian people in their struggle for autonomy and self-determination. You’re the one who’s been constantly desperate to insert Israel and the US into that narrative, even when the article in this post isn’t about them.
Let’s see if the US succeeds what happens to Iranian self determination
Okay, but that’s a different argument to make on a different post about a different argument, not this one because it’s irrelevant here. Literally no one here is arguing in favor of US/Israeli military action.
Why don’t you go argue with people on a post about the invasion? Spoiler: you won’t see me there supporting it because that’s not what I’m doing.
Then stop spreading the same news as the US/Israeli propaganda apparatus
That’s not what I was doing. This post is an article from The Guardian, an independent journal, about Iranian student protesters.
But now that we’re clearly arguing in circles, I’m blocking you. Enjoy those rials while they last.
Death to Khamenei. The New Iran will rise from the ashes of the regime.
Sure buddy