TEHRAN — Hundreds of students and others joined a protest at Tehran University on Saturday amid a wave of economic protests sweeping major cities in Iran. Witnesses said they saw a mass of riot police at the gates of the university Saturday. Police officers had blocked off some streets around the university. The economic protests began Wednesday in Mashhad and have spread elsewhere in the country. Some 4,000 people took part in a pro-government rally in Tehran amid a series of economic protests in Iran. Activists on social media shared videos and photos of protesters who gathered and walked in Enqelab Street in central Tehran and chanted to fellow Iranians to support them and join their protests. Dozens of students at the University of Tehran also gathered in front of the university’s entrance and chanted: “The reformists’ and fundamentalists’ game is over.” Some social media pages and Telegram channels that are reporting protests in Iran said dozens protested in Karaj, south of Tehran. Other videos shared on social media showed people protesting in Isfahan, in Shahr-e-Kord, in central Iran, and in Kermanshah, in west Iran. US President Donald Trump on Friday condemned the arrest of protesters in Iran, telling Tehran that «the world is watching» as officials reported fresh demonstrations over the country›s struggling economy. “Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime›s corruption & its squandering of the nation›s wealth to fund terrorism abroad,” Trump tweeted. “Iranian govt should respect their people›s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests.” Nonetheless, officials warned against dismissing the public anger seen in recent days. “The country is facing serious challenges with unemployment, high prices, corruption, lack of water, social gap, unbalanced distribution of budget,” wrote Hesamoddin Ashena, cultural adviser to President Hassan Rohani, on Twitter. “People have the right for their voice to be heard.” — Agencies