Today yet again brought fresh waves of opposition protests across Iran. While slightly smaller than those of November 4, the protests showed, yet again, that the government in Iran is facing a serious challenge by the opposition. December 7, National Student Day, is traditionally a day when students gather to celebrate. That students and opposition supporters this time came out onto streets without their leaders is a troubling sign for a government that has already tried everything from shooting at peaceful protesters to torture and imprisonment of reformist activists.

Because of the government ban on foreign media and severe restrictions on reformist news outlets, the flow of information was very slow – compared to previous protests. However, opposition protesters were able to get the news out through online social media and it gives us a fairly complete picture of what happened in Iran.

Protests can be confirmed to have taken place in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Mashhad, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Kerman, Hamedan, Arak and Najafabad. There is also partial confirmation of protests taking place in the cities of Sanandaj and Yasuj. There was, however, no real confirmation for the protests that were reported to have taken place in Tabriz, Ahvaz and Shahre Kurd. There were also rumors of protests in other cities which included Rasht, Zahedan, Sari, Karaj and Oromieh. No part of Iran seemed to have escaped the anger of the opposition.

Here’s an account of what happened in Tehran and some information about other cities where protests could be fully confirmed:

Tehran

In preparation for the protests, the government had already restricted internet access across the city. Cell phone connections were jammed in the central part of the city where most previous protests had taken place. Even though protests were to start at 1500 hours Iran time, all major universities were surrounded by security forces in the early hours of morning and only students with valid identity cards were being allowed to enter the premises. There was an army of security forces in Central Tehran today. In some parts of the city, there were more security forces than protesters.

Despite this, protests started around noon in the area around Tehran University when students started to chant anti-government slogans. Chants also started in Tehran’s Sharif Industrial University, the Polytechnic University, Elm o San’at University and Amir Kabir University. They were soon joined by hundreds of other Tehranis who started gathering in Enghelab Square and Valiasr Square, chanting.

Clashes broke out when other protesters started attempting to enter Tehran University. Protesters chanted ‘Death to the Dictator’, ‘Death to Khamenei’ and ‘You traitor Mahmoud … you destroyed our homeland.’ Although there were clashes in Valiasr and Enghelab Squares and other areas where students and ordinary Tehranis had gathered to protest, Tehran University was the major scene of confrontation.

Riot police beat people with batons and fired tear gas indiscriminately at Enghelab and in Tehran University. People were attacked in other parts of the city as well. Reports confirm dozens injured; however, no one was reported to have been killed. By the end of the day reports emerged that at least three dozen people and possibly many more were arrested by the security forces. There were reports of gunshots being fired in some parts of the city, but all were confirmed to have been fired in the air to scare the protesters.

The only major opposition figure that took part in the protests was former president Hashemi Rafsanjani’s daughter, Fayezeh Hashemi. She joined protesters in Tehran and videos of her emerged being accompanied by other protesters. The video shows protesters accompanying Hashemi and chanting, ‘Thank you, thank you’.While it cannot be independently verified if she indeed took part, she has in the past joined almost every opposition protest. There were also rumors of Mousavi’s wife Zahra Rahnavard joining the protests, but this could not be confirmed by reliable sources.

It is fairly difficult to estimate how many people joined the protests. However, by looking at pictures and videos from different parts of the city and universities, it can be safely said that somewhere between five to ten thousand people took part in protests throughout the day. It is worth noting that there was a government-sanctioned protest in Tehran University as well and more than a thousand government supporters took part in that as well.

Mashhad

Several hundred students gathered in Mashhad University and chanted anti-government slogans and sang the patriotic song Yaare Dabestani. There were confirmed reports of clashes or protests outside the university.

Shiraz

Hundreds of students and ordinary Shirazis protested in Shiraz’s main university and the central part of the city as well. People were again stopped from entering the institution’s main grounds if they weren’t students. Reports of clashes from the city have been confirmed. There were also reports of arrests, but none could be verified.

Kermanshah

More than a thousand students gathered in Razi University, which is the largest institution of higher education in the city. At least 200 security forces were present around the university and prevented people from entering the premises unless they had valid student ID cards.

Hamedan

Bu-Ali Sina University was the main site of protest. Clashes here were perhaps the most violent. Reports of bloodied students being carried away from the scene of clashes were reported by multiple sources. Numbers here were also in the hundreds.

Arak, Kerman and Najafabad

Protesters chanted in the three cities’ main universities. The protests remained largely peaceful. Not much further could be confirmed. Numbers in these cities were also comparable to Shiraz and Mashhad.

This report was compiled using information from eye-witnesses, Iranian opposition websites and media contacts outside Iran. Government-run media in Iran reported almost nothing about the protests so their view of the events is anyone’s guess. 

Source: The Daily Nite Owl