Tens of thousands of students took to the streets of Tehran today, hurling stones and clashing with riot police in a long-anticipated protest rallies for Students’ Day.
Protesters were chanting “Death to Khamenei” and likening the Supreme Leader to the Shah, who was ousted in the Iranian Revolution. The police were out in force from the moment the protests began, though the extent of the clashes was not immediately apparent.
The Iranian government has barred foreign news agencies from directly covering the clashes and its own state media has not exactly been forthcoming with details from the ground, making only vague references about rioters clashing with police.
Iran has been increasingly trying to tighten its control on information coming out of the nation, announcing today that it has banned a long-standing Reformist newspaper for “working outside the regulations.”