Iran Protests Reignite as Universities, Colleges Reopen

The streets of the capital Tehran have been clogged all through the afternoon with automobiles honking their horns in solidarity with the protest motion, drivers shouting “we wish freedom” to one another. On the sidewalk, schoolgirls and girls marched with out the legally mandated headband, or hijab, the shedding of which has turn into the principle instrument of protest. A few of them shouted “loss of life to the dictator.” In some elements, safety forces used teargas to disperse them.

1000’s of protesters gathered exterior Amirkabir College of Know-how in Tehran, in keeping with video posted on-line.

Protesters clashed with safety forces across the metropolis’s important bazaar, the place shopkeepers went on strike. Footage confirmed a police publish on hearth. Becoming a member of the widening nationwide strike, shopkeepers throughout the nation, significantly within the western area of Kurdistan, additionally saved their shutters down.

In Tehran, Mr. Raisi visited the all-female al-Zahra College to talk to a crowd of supporters to mark the brand new tutorial 12 months. He used the chance to say the antigovernment protests have been orchestrated by Iran’s international enemies, possible referring to the U.S. and Israel as previously. Such claims are a well-known tactic for the nation’s management.

“The enemy assumed that it might pursue its targets in universities, ignorant that our college students and professors are vigilant and don’t let the enemy’s inadvisable targets come true,” Mr. Raisi stated. “I’m assured that this technology will defeat the enemy.”

In the meantime, college students in different elements of the college heckled the president: “Raisi, get misplaced!” in keeping with video posted on-line.

At Tehran College, protesters clashed with pro-government folks, in keeping with state media, which stated the scholars have been locked contained in the college to stop outsiders from meddling within the gathering. Particular forces had secured the realm.

One of many college’s most distinguished political-science professors, Sadegh Zibakalam, was banned from educating at Tehran College by the varsity’s safety division, and his course was given to a different professor, he advised the Tehran-based reformist each day Shargh on Saturday.

The protest motion was ignited by the Sept. 16 loss of life of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody of the morality police, after she was detained for allegedly violating Iran’s strict Islamic gown code.

Since then, protests have unfold broadly and morphed from calls to abolish necessary veiling to an outright ouster of the Islamic Republic management, which has been in energy since 1979.

The federal government has imposed tight Web restrictions, significantly on cellphone networks. Iran’s telecommunications minister Saturday confirmed that Instagram and WhatsApp had been blocked as a consequence of their alleged refusal to simply accept Iranian guidelines. 4 years in the past, Iran justified the censoring of Telegram by saying the app didn’t settle for Iran’s necessities to use for permission to function within the nation, observe Iran’s privateness laws and transfer some servers to Iran to course of Iranian customers’ information contained in the nation.

As the federal government has sought to suppress the rebellion with deadly drive, the variety of recognized youngsters killed in clashes is rising, including gasoline to public anger and rising the variety of faces the protest motion is now rallying round.

Earlier within the week the protests discovered new impetus when phrase unfold on social media {that a} 16-year-old scholar, Nika Shahkarami, had died after collaborating in a ladies’s rights rally, and that authorities had taken her physique to stop her household from giving her a correct burial.

A lawyer in Tehran posted on Twitter what he stated was the burial certificates of a 14-year-old boy killed by a bullet to the pinnacle through the protests. “Don’t announce tomorrow that he dedicated suicide or [died] as a consequence of earlier sickness,” the lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh, stated. The Iranian authorities has claimed that Ms. Shahkarimi fell from a roof, and that Ms. Amini died of sickness.

One other teenager, Sarina Esmailzadeh, died whereas taking part in protests, in keeping with social-media posts and rights group Amnesty Worldwide. Amnesty stated she died after being severely crushed within the head with batons. Iranian authorities say Ms. Esmailzadeh additionally died after falling from a roof.

—Aresu Eqbali and Benoit Faucon contributed to this text.

Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at sune.rasmussen@wsj.com