Iranian students defy security forces as anti-regime protests continue

Human rights groups extremely concerned' about violent repression of demonstrations in Tehran

Iranian students have stepped up their protests in defiance of a crackdown by security forces who allegedly cornered and shot 12 students at a prestigious university in Tehran on Sunday night.

Anti-government protests ignited by the death of a young woman in police custody in mid-September have spread around the country at various levels of intensity, revealing a cultural chasm between the country's educated youth and an elderly male religious establishment.