Emergency in Universities: IRGC Plans to Suffocate Protests Before They Spread

Well-informed Iranian opposition sources revealed to "Erem News" a security plan devised by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to deal quickly with any wave of student or labor protests that may expand in the coming period, amid authorities' fears that limited movements will spread to universities and major cities and turn into broader protests difficult to contain.

According to the sources, the IRGC leadership issued instructions to its branches in provinces hosting major universities, to be on alert for any protest movements, with particular focus on Tehran University, Shahid Beheshti University, Sharif University of Technology, Amirkabir University, Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, as well as universities in Tabriz, Shiraz, and Isfahan.

The sources said the instructions include moving quickly to disperse any gatherings that may go beyond the framework of student demands, and pursuing prominent activists whom security agencies believe are behind organizing the protests, following information reportedly gathered by Basij-affiliated devices regarding communications and movements among student groups preparing to organize large-scale gatherings.

Workers Enter the Circle of Concern

According to the sources, concerns are not limited to the academic community, as security agencies are also monitoring labor movements in several cities and industrial areas, including Mashhad, Tabriz, Kerman, and Arak, amid complaints about delayed wage payments in some companies, factories, and mines for long periods.

The sources believe that the coincidence of student protests with labor movements poses a greater concern for the authorities, as it could open the door for demands to shift from limited academic and livelihood issues to a broader state of protest encompassing other social and professional sectors.

These developments come at a time when Allameh Tabataba'i University in Tehran witnessed student protests against increased tuition fees, university housing conditions, and catering services, along with objections to restrictions related to mandatory hijab, before slogans criticizing repression and government policies were raised during the gathering.

The university is one of the academic institutions that has seen notable student activity during previous waves of protest, while a number of Iranian university students have faced disciplinary measures and expulsion decisions in recent months due to their participation in protests.

Student-Labor Coordination

An informed source in the Iranian opposition, aware of security developments, stated that circulating information among opposition parties indicates contacts between activists in student and labor circles aimed at coordinating protest movements in the next phase.

The source clarified to "Erem News" that the motives for student movements are linked, according to his assessment, to tightened restrictions within universities, security interventions in student activities, and measures taken against some students, while economic pressures, rising prices, and delayed wages push segments of workers to protest.

He added that the authorities fear that the expansion of student and labor protests will encourage other segments to join them, including merchants, bazaar owners, and retirees, in addition to the possibility of wide female participation that brings files of personal freedoms, hijab, and social restrictions back to the forefront of the domestic scene.

According to the source, the goal of early security moves is to prevent the formation of a "protest bloc" combining political, economic, and social demands, which would make it difficult for security agencies to contain if it expands geographically.

The Obsession with Universities

The Iranian opposition source believes that the authorities view universities with special sensitivity due to the historical role of the student movement in political transformations inside Iran, recalling the protests that preceded the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and the role of universities at that time in expanding the scope of opposition to the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

He added that allowing student gatherings to expand without early intervention could allow them to become a focal point for other social groups, which explains, according to his estimate, the increase in security surveillance within universities.

He also considered that the outbreak of widespread protests in the current stage could double internal pressures on Iranian authorities coinciding with external pressures and open negotiation files with the United States.

"Fire Under the Ashes"

For his part, Taher Abu Nidal, a leader in the Popular Democratic Front of Ahwaz, said that universities represent one of the most capable environments for keeping protests ongoing, considering that their expansion could impose increasing pressure on security agencies if movements transfer from one university to another.

Abu Nidal added to "Erem News" that the tension within the academic community is not only related to political files, but is intertwined with demands concerning educational services, housing, catering, and fees, as well as objections to restrictions imposed on student activity and personal freedoms.

He pointed out that security and judicial measures taken against participants in previous protests created what he described as "fire under the ashes" inside universities, and that any new incident could reignite anger among students.

Abu Nidal believes that deteriorating living conditions increase the sensitivity of the scene, noting that economic pressures are now directly reflected on broad sectors of Iranian society, making student and labor demands more likely to intersect.

These developments coincide with increasing economic pressures suffered by Iranians, amid rising cost of living, declining purchasing power, and disruption in several productive sectors.

Abu Nidal said that indicators of the economic crisis, from his perspective, make the authorities more fearful of any limited protest turning into a broader livelihood-based movement, especially if student demands meet worker and retiree complaints about rising prices.