On Monday, February 23, 2026, a massive wave of anti-regime protests swept through Iranian universities for the third consecutive day. Students across the country’s most prominent academic institutions boycotted classes and transformed their campuses into scenes of direct resistance against the ruling theocracy.

Demonstrations spanned major universities in the capital, including Tehran University, Al-Zahra, Sharif University of Technology, Amir Kabir, National (Beheshti), Science and Technology, Khajeh Nasir, and Science and Culture, as well as Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) and Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities in Mashhad. The core message of the youth was a categorical rejection of the regime’s tyranny, echoing through chants of “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator.”

Escalation and Direct Confrontation on Campuses

The third day of protests saw intensified, direct confrontations between unarmed students and the regime’s suppressive forces. At Al-Zahra University in Tehran, students gathered outside the Art Faculty at 11:00 AM, adhering to a pre-planned call to protest. When government Basij forces attempted to aggressively push through the crowd to disrupt the rally, the students stood their ground, pushing back and repeatedly chanting, “Dishonorable, dishonorable” at the agents.

Similar clashes erupted at Sharif University, where students rallied........

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