Students Protest Again as Iran Warns of 'Red Lines' That Must Not Be Crossed
The Iranian government has said that students have the right to protest, but that all must understand the boundaries or “red lines” that must not be crossed. This marks the first official reaction from Tehran’s government to student protests that have re-emerged on university campuses since last weekend.
“Sacred values and the flag are two examples of red lines that must not be crossed, which we must protect and must not violate or deviate from, even in the midst of anger,” said Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani, as reported by AFP on Tuesday (24/2/2026).
Mohajerani said that Iranian students “have wounds in their hearts and have witnessed scenes that may have upset and angered them; this anger is understandable”.
Students at various universities across Iran began the new semester on Saturday (21/2) by staging both anti-government and pro-government demonstrations. These represent the first student protests in Iran since a brutal crackdown that killed thousands during similar demonstrations several months ago.
Protests in December last year, initially triggered by economic hardship in Iran, rapidly expanded into anti-government demonstrations that marked one of the greatest challenges to Tehran’s clerical leadership in recent years.
The protests attracted the attention of United States President Donald Trump, who initially supported the Iranian demonstrators and threatened to intervene on their behalf when Tehran’s authorities launched a brutal and deadly crackdown operation.
However, Trump’s threats subsequently shifted towards Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at developing atomic weapons.
Washington and Tehran have since returned to the negotiating table. At the same time, however, Trump has also escalated a major military deployment in the Middle East region, intended to pressure Iran into reaching an agreement in negotiations with the US.
The latest protests in Iran, according to reports from the Iranian Labor News Agency and Anadolu Agency, entered their third day on Monday (23/2) local time.
The majority of anti-government protests have been held at universities in the capital Tehran, including Tehran University of Science and Culture, Amirkabir University, the University of Tehran, and Sharif University of Technology, as well as Isfahan University of Technology in Isfahan Province.
In the latest demonstrations, Iranian students chanted anti-government slogans, with occasional clashes occurring between students representing various political and ideological factions.