Tehran police arrest suspect in student murder that sparked protests

Tehran police have arrested the main suspect in the murder of a University of Tehran student killed during a mugging, along with an accomplice and three others accused of trading stolen goods, authorities said on Tuesday.

Tehran police chief Abbasali Mohammadian said the arrests took place early on Tuesday, and that both the main suspect and his accomplice had confessed to their crimes.

Amir Mohammad Khaleghi, an undergraduate in business management at the University of Tehran, was fatally attacked by robbers with a cold weapon near the university dormitory last Thursday. The victim died from his wounds in hospital.

The prosecutor's office identified the main suspect as a 23-year-old man named only as Ahmad, who was riding as a passenger on a motorcycle, while the driver, named only as Amir, was also involved in the robbery.

Mohammadian said that disclosing the suspects' full identities requires judicial approval. Iranian media outlets published pixelated images and videos of the two suspects with their eyes covered, describing them as showing their "transfer to their interrogation session."

Mohammad Shahriari, head of the criminal prosecutor’s office, said the suspects confessed during initial investigations to robbing and killing Khaleghi.

He said investigations revealed that the suspects killed him with the intent of robbery. Tehran police chief Abbasali Mohammadian confirmed this, adding that further details would be released after a crime scene reconstruction.

Iranian media reported that both suspects "explicitly confessed" during interrogations, detailing how the robbery escalated into murder.

One of the suspects was quoted as saying: "We spotted the victim in a deserted area and attempted to rob him. After taking his phone and bag, I stabbed him two or three times and immediately got on the motorcycle and left."

He said he only realized two days later, on Saturday, that Khaleghi had died.

Khaleghi's death sparked student protests at The University of Tehran, accusing university officials of failing to ensure their safety, with students staging sit-ins and demanding accountability.

The demonstrations continued for four consecutive days, with tensions escalating after security forces and plainclothes officers surrounded the campus and briefly detained several students.