Students at three of Tehran's most prominent universities spent a third consecutive day defying authorities this week, chanting anti-government slogans and burning flags in scenes that recalled the mass unrest of January, which security forces ultimately crushed with lethal force. The protests have emerged at a moment of acute international tension, as Iran and the United States prepare for a fresh round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Switzerland.
Iran's foreign ministry left little ambiguity about its position. Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that any US military strike, even a limited one, would be treated as an act of aggression. "Any state would react to an act of aggression ferociously, so that's what we would do," he said. The warning followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who last week said he was considering a targeted strike if Iran failed to reach a nuclear agreement.
State media reported protests at Tehran University, the all-women al-Zahra University, and Amir Kabir University. Reuters verified footage showing students at al-Zahra University chanting "we'll reclaim Iran", though the exact timing of the recording could not be confirmed. The demonstrations revive slogans from protests that peaked in early January and were met with extraordinary violence.
The human cost of that January crackdown remains deeply contested. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency recorded more than 7,000 killings and warned the true toll could be higher still. Iranian authorities acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths but attribute the violence to what they describe as "terrorist acts" backed by the United States and Israel. The gap between those accounts is itself a measure of how difficult it is to assess conditions inside Iran from the outside.
Negotiations under pressure
Despite the charged rhetoric, diplomacy has not collapsed. A second round of indirect talks concluded in Switzerland last week under Omani mediation, and Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi described the resumption of negotiations as "a new window of opportunity". Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the talks had "yielded encouraging signals". Tehran has indicated it will deliver a draft proposal on its nuclear programme to mediators within days.
Trump gave Iran a public deadline of roughly 15 days to reach an agreement. His negotiator Steve Witkoff, in a Fox News interview broadcast over the weekend, questioned openly why Iran had not already "capitulated" given the scale of US military deployments in the region. Baqaei pushed back firmly, noting that Iranians had not capitulated at any point in their history.
The two sides remain some distance apart on scope. Iran insists its nuclear programme serves only civilian purposes and has refused to allow Iran's missile capabilities or its support for regional militant groups onto the negotiating agenda. The United States wants both issues addressed. That gap is not trivial, and bridging it within any short timeframe would require significant concessions from at least one party.
Australia among nations urging citizens to leave
Australia joined India, Sweden, Serbia, and Poland on Monday in urging its nationals to leave Iran, a precautionary step that reflects the genuine and growing fear of miscalculation in the region. The United States separately ordered non-emergency staff to withdraw from its embassy in Lebanon, where Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah maintains a strong presence.
China added its voice to calls for restraint at a disarmament conference in Switzerland on Monday. Chinese ambassador Shen Jian said Beijing opposed "unilateral bullying and the use of force in international relations", a pointed comment directed at Washington's posture. For Australian readers, China's involvement as a counterweight to US pressure adds another layer of complexity to an already fraught situation, particularly given Australia's own alliance commitments and trade relationships across the Indo-Pacific.
A senior White House official told Reuters last week that there was still no unified support within the Trump administration for a military strike. That internal division may be the most significant brake on escalation right now. The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to monitor Iran's nuclear activities, and its findings will bear heavily on how international opinion shifts if talks fail.
The situation presents no easy answers. From a sovereignty standpoint, Iran's insistence on the right to enrich uranium has a certain internal logic, even if the West's proliferation concerns are equally legitimate. The student protests are a reminder that Iran's domestic politics cannot be separated from its international behaviour. Economic sanctions have plainly contributed to the unrest. Whether pressure produces compliance or entrenches resistance is a question with a long and complicated history in this region. What is clear is that both sides have strong reasons to talk, and both carry real risks if those talks collapse. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be watching closely, as should anyone with an interest in a stable international order.