On the cusp of Student Day, celebrated annually on December 7, Resistance Units, the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside the country, has launched a nationwide campaign of anti-regime activities. These Resistance Units are reaffirming the student movement’s historic commitment to freedom and sending a clear message: the struggle to overthrow the clerical regime is intensifying, with universities at the very forefront of the battle for a democratic Iran.
A continuous struggle: from the shah to the mullahs
The significance of Student Day is rooted in the murder of three student activists by the Shah’s regime at Tehran University on December 7, 1953. That event, which occurred just months after a coup against the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh, became an enduring symbol of resistance.
The university is always at the forefront and in the 70s and 80s, it stood against the shah and the mullahs. It was a battlefield that delivered many martyrs. pic.twitter.com/womtZ9EL9H
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 5, 2025
Today, PMOI Resistance Units are explicitly connecting that seven-decade-long struggle against monarchical dictatorship to the current fight against religious tyranny. In cities like Zahedan and Isfahan, their placards declared, “University is the bastion of freedom against the mullahs and the shah from December 7, 1953, until today,” highlighting an unbroken legacy of defiance.
The nationwide call to action: “every university a center of rebellion”
The Resistance Units’ campaign has spread across major cities, including Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Zahedan. Their message is unified and direct, with placards in multiple locations carrying the slogan, “Every university must become a center of rebellion and revolution.”
Tehran
The protests of students in different universities is the nightmare of the mullahs' regime pic.twitter.com/vFeAj68xHi— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 5, 2025
This call to action taps into the regime’s deepest fears, as placards in Tehran and Zahedan noted that student protests are the “nightmare of the mullahs’ regime.” The ultimate objective of this nationwide mobilization is unambiguous. As a placard in Shiraz proclaimed, students will rise “to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and establish democracy and the people’s sovereignty.”
Honoring sacrifice and exposing regime weakness
This year’s activities not only look to the future but also honor the immense sacrifices of the past. A placard in Zahedan recalled that many students were among the 30,000 political prisoners massacred by the regime in 1988, proving their pivotal role in the fight for freedom.
Shiraz
Students will rise to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and establish democracy and the people’s sovereignty pic.twitter.com/ipdU1AuIfn— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 5, 2025
This genuine tribute stands in stark contrast to the regime’s failed attempts to co-opt Student Day. In recent years, students have consistently disrupted staged events, humiliating visiting officials and forcing them off campus. The Resistance Units’ campaign reclaims the day’s true spirit, confirming, as a placard in Shiraz declared, that “Iran’s children will not be intimidated by the savagery of the IRGC.”
The bold actions of the PMOI Resistance Units ahead of Student Day demonstrate that Iran’s universities remain vibrant centers of struggle against tyranny. The spirit of December 7, 1953, is not just a historical memory; it is a living, breathing force inspiring a new generation to complete the journey toward a free and democratic Iran.