TEHRAN First Vice Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Behzad Nabavi here Wednesday termed as "highly outstanding" the role university students played in the May 23, 1997 epic and congratulated them on the Student Day.

December 6 marks the Student Day in Iran that commemorates the massive protest of university students in 1953 against the visit to Iran of the then U.S. vice president Richard Nixon.

Addressing the open session of Majlis, Nabavi said 47 years ago following the defeat of the movement for nationalization of oil industry by the "disgraceful August 19, 1953 coup, the subservient dictatorial regime regained its domination over the country after a brief elapse."

He said that the vigilant, committed people, especially the students who have always pioneered political struggles and popular movements, stood against such an illegal domination.

This resistance and steadfastness reached its peak with the resumption of ties between Iran and Britain and on the threshold of the visit to Iran of Nixon on December 6, 1953, he further added.

Nabavi said that as a result of the assault of the forces of the former monarchical regime on the technical faculty of the Tehran University, three committed students were martyred and a large number of others were injured.

However, he stressed, such a brutal act not only could not halt the reformist and freedom-seeking movement of the Iranian people, especially students, but also turned the movement into one of the most popular anti-dictatorial revolutions in the world which became triumphant with the slogan Independence, Freedom, Islamic Republic'.

The Majlis first vice speaker also underlined the role that students played in various scenes, especially in the eight-year (1980-1988 Iraqi) imposed war and said through their bravery they could create the epic of sacred defense'.

Pointing to the progress that universities made in the post-revolution era, both in terms of quality and quantity, Nabavi said today about 1.4 million students are attending courses in universities throughout the country.

He said today the students are expected to be in the vanguard of defense for Independence, Freedom and Islamic Republic' as well as the reform movement of the people of the country.