The UC Santa Barbara Persian Student Group held a rally for Iran at the Arbor on Jan. 14, and continued demonstrations throughout the week. Around 60 students and community members attended, calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been in power for nearly 47 years.
Student protestors raised a flag of Iran featuring a lion and a sun, symbols that predate the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Noura Elkhatib / Daily Nexus
The demonstration echoes the anti-government protests that erupted on the streets of Iran since Dec. 28, 2025, as a result of record economic inflation. On Jan. 8, the regime enacted a full internet blackout against Iranian citizens. Between 12,000 and 20,000 protestors in Iran have been killed by the regime.
“The entire nation has been taken hostage,” Persian Student Group treasurer and fourth-year financial mathematics and statistics major Sahand Ahmadi said. “It’s a repressive security apparatus that is indiscriminately killing the people of a nation.”
Religious studies professor Aazam Feiz, who teaches Persian language and literature, stressed the importance of her presence during this time to provide emotional support for students with family in Iran, whom they cannot reach because of the internet blackout.
“They have shut down all of the telephone lines. We cannot call them. They could not call each other,” Feiz said.
Student organizers gathered near the Arbor, carrying signs and flags. Noura Elkhatib / Daily Nexus
Organizers shared a petition requesting UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis to issue a statement supporting students who are currently experiencing distress because of the ongoing unrest in Iran. Feiz emphasized how these gatherings offer emotional support for students of Iranian heritage and an opportunity to uplift their voices.
“This is a time for my students to be together and to be proud of their heritage and to be the voice of the Iranian people. It is my duty to support my students. Emotionally, they need me at this minute,” Feiz said.
Student protestors raised a flag of Iran featuring a lion and a sun, symbols that predate the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
“The Iranian people and the Iranian regime could not be more different,” Ahmadi said when asked about the difference in flags.
The lion and sun symbols have appeared on the Iranian flag as early as the 15th century. They have become symbols of opposition to the current regime, and a representation of the people of Iran, Ahmadi explained.
These student demonstrations are not unprecedented. In 2022, UCSB students joined in solidarity with the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement, protesting the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Iranian Regime for allegedly violating the Regime’s strict public morality laws.
Feiz emphasized that the protests are not held solely because of economic concerns or religious extremism, but rather aim to call for a full regime change and the fall of the current state.
“We are not against Islam. This is not Islamophobia,” Feiz said. “It is not only for inflation. It is not only for hijab. They want regime change.”
While this isn’t the first time that students have protested since the regime took power, Feiz noted that this time, protestors are calling for the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to come into power.
“It’s not a protest anymore, this is a revolution,” Feiz said.
During the rally on Wednesday, student protestors chanted “Javid Shah,” which Feiz translated to “long live the king,” calling for the Pahlavi to return to Iran to rule.
“We believe that it is a moral responsibility on the people of the world to stand with and support the Iranian people,” Ahmadi said. “I think what UCSB students can do is raise as much awareness as possible about what’s going on, and to urge their political representatives and government officials to take action.”
