Protests over rising costs of living in Iran spread to several universities on Tuesday, semi-official media reported, as students joined shopkeepers and merchants in expressing dissatisfaction at currency devaluation and the connected costs.
The Fars news agency reported that hundreds of students demonstrated at four universities in the capital Tehran on Tuesday; other outlets said seven sites were involved.
Protests also broke out at the technology university in the central city of Isfahan and institutions in the cities of Yazd and Zanjan, Ilna and state-run IRNA reported.
President pledges talks with protest leaders
President Masoud Pezeshkian had taken to social media late on Monday after major protests in Tehran to announce that he had asked his interior minister to arrange talks to discuss the "legitimate demands" of protesters and to work on a government response.
"We have fundamental actions on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and preserve the purchasing power of the people," Pezeshkian said, after Iran's rial currency has lost almost half its value against the US dollar during the course of 2025.
Inflation hit 42.5% in December amid the pressure of US and European sanctions and the potential threat of further Israeli strikes in the aftermath of the brief conflict in June.
Iranian media quoted government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani as saying on Tuesday that authorities "recognize" the protesters.
"We hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people's livelihoods," she said.
Meanwhile, the government also gathered a large crowd of its flag-waving supporters in the capital on Tuesday for one of its regular demonstrations in support of the regime.
First major show of dissent since conflict with Israel
The demonstrations are the first major show of public dissent since June's brief war with Israel, which had prompted widespread public expressions of patriotic solidarity.
Iran's economy had been struggling for years following the reimposition of US sanctions in 2018. UN sanctions coming back into force, after the failure of efforts to restart nuclear disarmament talks, in September added further pressure.
