Two symbolic dates in Iran spurred anti-regime demonstrations across the country in the past five weeks. The most recent of these protests occurred this Monday on National Students Day–Iran’s commemoration of the death of three students who protested against the 1953 visit of then-U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon to Tehran. This year saw thousands of demonstrators in the streets protesting the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic itself, overshadowing state-sponsored activities in the process and emphasizing the ongoing tensions within the country. Most importantly, the protests showed that nearly six months after the disputed presidential elections, a segment of the Iranian population remains willing to confront the regime despite the threats of violence by security forces, restrictions on communication, arrests and detentions, and political intimidation.