Nationwide protests across Iran, the uprising entered a decisive new phase marked by an increasingly visible convergence between popular street demonstrations and the student movement. On Wednesday night, December 31, 2025, security forces launched coordinated crackdowns targeting female students in Tehran and women protesters in Isfahan, underscoring the authorities’ growing alarm over women’s central role in the protests.
Late Wednesday evening, plainclothes agents and security forces raided the women’s dormitory at Shahid Beheshti University (also known as Melli University) in Tehran. According to multiple reports, the raid took place around 11:15 p.m., following a nighttime gathering and protest by female students inside the dormitory compound. During the operation, at least three female students were arrested, though witnesses believe the actual number may be higher.
The raid immediately triggered outrage among students. Large numbers of male and female students gathered outside the dormitory, chanting slogans such as “Death to the dictator” and “Shameless, shameless,” confronting security forces and demanding the release of their detained classmates. The protest continued for hours despite the heavy presence of security personnel, highlighting the students’ determination to resist intimidation.
At the same time, arrests extended beyond Beheshti University. Sarira Karimi, Secretary of the Student Union Council at the Faculty of Law and Political Science and a member of the Central Student Union Council at University of Tehran, was arrested on Wednesday as part of an escalating wave of detentions targeting student activists nationwide. Her arrest further fueled anger among students, who view universities as frontline spaces of resistance.
Meanwhile, in Isfahan, security forces violently confronted women protesters in Naqsh-e Jahan Square, one of Iran’s most prominent public spaces. On Wednesday afternoon, women who were peacefully sitting on the ground in protest were attacked and pepper sprayed by security forces. Videos circulating on social media show women coughing, screaming, and fleeing as officers dispersed the gathering with force.
The violent crackdown in Isfahan, combined with the arrests of female students in Tehran, once again highlighted the pivotal role women and female students are playing in the current uprising. Observers note that the authorities appear particularly alarmed by the growing linkage between student activism and broader public protests—a convergence that has historically played a decisive role in past revolutionary movements in Iran.
Across the country, the fourth day of protests was marked by widespread market shutdowns, street demonstrations, open anti-dictatorship slogans, and direct confrontations with security forces. Protests and clashes were reported in Tehran, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Lorestan, and Hamedan, as well as attacks on government centers in several cities.
As repression intensifies, women—especially young women and students—continue to stand at the forefront of the movement, transforming universities and public squares into powerful symbols of resistance.