Amir Mohammad Khaleqi, a 19-year-old business management student at the University of Tehran, lost his life on the night of Wednesday, February 12, 2025, following a suspicious attack while leaving the Faculty of Management. He was fatally stabbed, an incident attributed to street robbers. However, his tragic death ignited the anger of students at the University of Tehran’s dormitory, sparking protests that spread to other universities.
Various student groups have called for continued protest gatherings on Monday and Tuesday to denounce Khaleqi’s death and the unsafe environment on campus, a concern they had repeatedly raised before.
A group of Beheshti University students wrote:
“We all mourn and demand justice for Amir Mohammad Khaleqi. Please support and spread these actions and encourage other students to take similar steps.”
Similarly, a group of Tehran University students issued a statement emphasizing collective resistance in the fight for students’ demands:
“We were still mourning the loss of our fellow student when university officials, as always, surrendered to security forces and plainclothes agents, allowing them to violate university grounds. This has only deepened the wounds of the grieving student community. We gathered at the dormitory to peacefully protest against the anti-student policies of the dormitory and university officials, including the lack of security in the dormitory’s surrounding areas. Instead of addressing our concerns, we were met with plainclothes forces. Their violent intervention led to the severe beating of a student, the arrest of four students, the confiscation of personal belongings, and verbal abuse and threats all part of the ongoing crisis at our university.”
On the third day of protests, students gathered in Fine Arts Square on the central campus, chanting slogans against university security forces:
“University security, our enemy, a tool of the IRGC!”
As they marched toward the Faculty of Engineering, they continued to chant:
“Honorable students, support, support!”
“If we don’t unite, we will be killed one by one!”
“We didn’t sacrifice lives to compromise or praise a murderous official!”
Dissatisfied students at other universities expressed solidarity through statements and protests in support of Tehran University’s students. For example, a collective statement from Allameh University students read:
“We, the students of Allameh University, fully support the protests at the University of Tehran. We hold Ali Khamenei personally responsible for the current disastrous conditions and for the murder of Amir Mohammad Khaleqi.”
University and state officials, fearful of the growing student protests and broader public support, have resorted to lies, distortions, and damage control in an attempt to quell students’ anger. As a result, there has been a wave of condolences, apologies, and promises of swift action to ensure student safety—all efforts aimed at appeasing the protesters. However, these attempts have failed to calm the students.
The fear and anxiety among the authorities of the Islamic Republic in the face of student protests stem from deeper and broader crises. The regime’s intertwined crises have only grown larger in recent days. Meanwhile, workers’ struggles, retirees’ protests, the daily resistance of unveiled women, and broader discontent among various sectors of society continue to intensify. Additionally, divisions within the ruling elite have deepened, and cracks are beginning to form even within the ranks of the regime’s security forces.
The ongoing student protests are part of a larger struggle unfolding throughout Iran, where people are fighting for their fundamental rights. These protests are a continuation of the revolutionary movement “Woman, Life, Freedom”, a movement that has maintained its strategic cohesion.
The Islamic Republic’s repeated failures in foreign policy and its defeated ambitious projects—coupled with the persistence of domestic protests will widen the fractures within the ruling system and further weaken its ability to govern. As these movements continue, Iranian society moves closer to a revolutionary moment, preparing for a decisive confrontation with the regime.
