Students’ Day in Iran Date in the current year: November 4, 2024

The first event was a student demonstration against the Pahlavi dynasty. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a proponent of the policy of Westernization and reform. Although his reforms did contribute significantly to the modernization of Iran, they gained little support among more conservative population.

On November 4, 1977, a group of Tehran students gathered in front of the University of Tehran to protest against the Shah’s policy. Soon, they were joined by other people. To break up the demonstration, the police used tear gas and then guns. As a result, 56 protesters died and over a hundred were injured.

In 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution. He left for the United States, and the U.S. government permitted him to stay in the country for medical treatment from cancer. On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students loyal to the new Iranian government occupied the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 53 American diplomats and citizens hostage, demanding that Mohammad Reza return to Iran for trial and execution.

Taking into account the importance of both events for the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the government of Iran declared November 4 as Students’ Day.