DUBAI: Iranian authorities have ordered an investigation into the fatal stabbing of a university student during a robbery, state media reported on Saturday, as the incident sparked protests at Tehran University.

Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, a 19-year-old business student, was killed by robbers on Wednesday near the university’s dormitory, according to media reports. The incident has grabbed the nation’s attention and sparked outrage and protests, with students demanding better security on campus.

“Suspects have been arrested in this case, and investigations are ongoing,” Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said on Saturday, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.

Salehi added that authorities are working to apprehend “the perpetrator of this crime as quickly as possible and bring him to justice”.

Protests on Friday attracted several university students demanding better security in university campus areas, according to videos posted on social media, some of which showed tense scenes of confrontation with plainclothes security men.

Iranian news websites said four students were detained and one suffered a broken nose in the unrest but Science Minister Hossein Simaei Sarraf said just one student was briefly detained, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA.

President Masoud Pezes­hkian asked the science minister to “rapidly follow up the case and the ensuing protests so that protests do not spread beyond the university”, ISNA reported. Pezeshkian also said “rogue forces” should be prevented from entering Tehran Uni­versity, in an apparent reference to hardline plainclothes security forces.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2025