Protests driven by worsening economic conditions in Iran have spread to universities in several cities on Tuesday, with students chanting for freedom and clashing with the security forces near some campuses, according to local news media and videos posted on social media.
The student demonstrations added a youthful contingent to protests this week, which were initially led by merchants frustrated by sky-high inflation and the collapse of the national currency, which hit a record low over the weekend.
Six months after a 12-day war with Israel during which the United States joined in the bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran’s leaders are facing increasing domestic pressure over a sinking economy alongside mounting foreign threats.
After a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday, President Trump said that the United States would support new action against Iran if it tried to reconstitute its nuclear program.
“If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences and the consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time,” Mr. Trump said.
President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran responded on Tuesday with a threat of retaliatory strikes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to any tyrannical invasion will be severe and regret-inducing,” he wrote on X.
Students protested on Tuesday on at least six university campuses in the capital, Tehran, as well as in the cities of Isfahan and Yazd, according to local media reports and social media posts by student groups. The posts showed demonstrators chanting, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom” and “Don’t be afraid! We are all together.”
Clashes broke out between students and security forces near the University of Tehran, according to videos from the scene.
Iran has experienced waves of mass protests in recent years fueled by economic woes, restrictions on women and water issues. The government has often quashed them with deadly violence and arrests.
This time, the government so far seems to be trying a more conciliatory approach, because the economic pain is undeniable.
“Many Iranian leaders have finally understood that their failure to listen to and meet the demands of large parts of Iranian society has undermined their legitimacy and even their authority,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, the chief executive of the Bourse and Bazaar Foundation, a London think tank that focuses on Iran’s economy. “They are beginning to reckon with this fact in a haphazard and belated way.”
Mr. Pezeshkian wrote on social media late Monday that he had asked the interior minister to engage with the “legitimate demands” of the protesters. On Tuesday, he met with heads of guilds, unions, chambers of commerce and others to discuss the economic situation, according to IRNA, the state news agency.
“Your objections are understandable,” the agency quoted him as saying, adding that his government had inherited “the accumulated problems of the past years.”
On Tuesday, Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokeswoman for the government, told reporters that Tehran planned to establish a dialogue that would include protest organizers.
“We see how people these days are struggling intensely with their livelihoods,” she said. “We see, hear and recognize the protests, crises and constraints.”
Mr. Batmanghelidj said that the government had hesitated to engage in talks with protesters in the past.
“Dialogue gives legitimacy not just to the protesters’ demands but to the act of protesting itself, and it puts the government in a position where it has a duty to set things right,” he said.
But it was unclear what such conversations would look like, he said, because the protest movement is so diffuse and the government has little experience talking with civil society groups.
At the same time, other parts of the state were accusing the protesters of being in league with Iran’s enemies, usually meaning the United States and Israel. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency said on Tuesday that “Zionist media outlets and figures” were “aiming to divert the people’s demands and turn the protests into chaos and riots.”
The government also announced that universities, government offices and commercial centers would be closed in 18 of Iran’s 31 provinces on Wednesday. While such measures are officially intended to conserve energy and ensure safety in cold weather, some analysts suggested they also sought to stifle protests.
Economists say there is no fast way for Iran’s leaders to turn the economy around and assuage people’s concerns.
“Inflation and the increase in prices is impacting all of our decisions as consumers,” said Saeed, a 37-year-old business owner in Tehran, who gave only his first name fearing government reprisals. “I have stopped thinking about buying a house, a car or anything else.”
Volatility in the currency kept merchants from selling goods like gold, cars and electronics, he said, and depreciation forced people to cut items from their budgets.
“You start prioritizing what to spend on,” he said. “First you cut costs from travel and fun, then from education, then from health, to be able to buy something to eat and feed your family.”
Ben Hubbard is the Istanbul bureau chief, covering Turkey and the surrounding region.
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