Iran students stage first anti-government protests since deadly crackdown

Students at several universities in Iran have staged anti-government protests - the first such rallies on this scale since last month's deadly crackdown by the authorities.

The BBC has verified footage of students marching at the Sharif University of Technology in the capital Tehran at the start of a new semester on Saturday. A similar rally is reported to have taken place in the north-eastern city of Mashhad.

The protesters were honouring thousands of those killed when nationwide mass protests were put down.

The US and its European allies suspect that Iran is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something Iran has always denied.

US and Iranian officials meet in Switzerland on Tuesday and said progress had been made in talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme.

But despite the reported progress, Trump said afterwards that the world would find out "over the next, probably, 10 days" whether a deal would be reached with Iran or the US would take military action.

The US leader has supported protesters in the past - at one stage appearing to encourage them with a promise that "help is on its way".

Footage verified by the BBC shows hundreds of protesters peacefully marching and chanting on a street near the Sharif University of Technology on Saturday.

Students were also calling for more rallies on Sunday.

Unverified footage has also emerged purportedly showing a peaceful sit-in protest at the capital's Beheshti University.

Sizeable protests in other locations were also reported later in the day.

Unverified videos posted online also show clashes between pro- and anti-government groups in one university in Tehran.

It is not immediately clear whether any demonstrators have been arrested.

In late January, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had confirmed the killing of at least 6,159 people since the unrest began, including 5,804 protesters, 92 children and 214 people affiliated with the government.

Hrana also said it was investigating 17,000 more reported deaths.

Iranian authorities said late last month that more than 3,100 people had been killed - but that the majority were security personnel or bystanders attacked by "rioters".

Saturday's protests come as the Iranian authorities are preparing for a possible war with the US.

The exiled opposition is adamantly calling on President Trump to make good on his threats and strike, hoping for a quick downfall of the current hardline government.

But other opposition groups are opposed to outside intervention.

The opposing sides have been involved in disinformation campaigns of social media, trying to maximise their conflicting narratives of what Iranian people want.