Is the curtain starting down in Iran? Well, that's far from certain, but there are signs that the Iranian people are starting to bubble over. Iranian students are taking to the streets, protesting mandatory hijabs and the crashing economy, and what's left of the regime has responded by stepping up security patrols and establishing mandatory checkpoints. That's generally not a good sign for a nation that's being hit as hard, economically and militarily, as Iran.

Iranian security forces have stepped up their presence in Tehran and other cities, with motorcycle patrols, checkpoints and forces positioned across major urban areas as authorities brace for possible unrest, multiple sources inside Iran told Fox News Digital.

The security buildup comes as university students have returned to the streets in Tehran, protesting compulsory hijab rules, rising education costs and political repression, videos published in Iran International show.

Sources inside Iran confirmed to Fox News Digital that motorcycle units have been operating across Tehran and other cities during events surrounding Iran’s annual "Sacred Defense Week," while members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij and law enforcement have been positioned at major squares and other locations.

 A frequent tipping point in matters like these often involves the same security forces and the military suddenly taking a hard look at their options, and deciding that their bread isn't buttered on the side they thought it was. Sometimes they hesitate at the notion of oppressing or even firing on their own people. Sometimes they just realize they are on the losing side and turn to bite the hands that were feeding them.

That doesn't appear to be happening in Iran; at least, not yet. 

The sources also said security personnel have stopped pedestrians, searched some individuals and examined mobile phones, including material authorities consider ‘anti-regime’.

One source in Tehran told Fox News Digital that the heightened security presence extends beyond what is visible on the streets.

"Motorcyclists taking photos of shops, and prisoners being threatened and forced to tell their families not to physically participate in any protests that might arise," the source said.

At least one protest has already happened, with Iranian university students protesting mandatory hijabs and Iran's "morality police."

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Students at Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran held a protest gathering Monday, chanting against compulsory hijab, the morality police and political repression, according to videos received by Iran International. 

The students chanted, “Unemployment, exploitation; compulsory hijab for women,” and “Death to tyranny, hijab and the morality police.” Another slogan accused authorities of preaching dialogue while confronting students with force: “Their slogan is dialogue, their guns are pointed at us.” 

A separate video from the protest showed students chanting, “The streets are drenched in blood, our professors remain silent.”

An Iranian resistance website for an organization called the National Council of Resistance of Iran recently claimed that the military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and local security forces have been placed on 100 percent alert, with all leaves canceled.

So, what conclusions can we, should we draw from these? Relatively few. Iranian students and the Iranian people have taken to the streets before, and the government's forces have put the protests down, sometimes brutally. It's hard for protestors armed with signs to take on government thugs with AK-47s. It's even harder when the government thugs are more than willing to use those AK-47s, and when the government behind them is willing to execute dissidents. 

Still, the Iranian economy is in a shambles, the military and the IRGC have taken a historic beating, and it's not unimaginable that a plurality, if not a majority, of the Iranian people have just decided that they have nothing left to lose. But they will still have a long, hard road of bones to walk to take their country back. 

That is, unless some of the military and security forces switch sides. Today, there's no indication of this. But tomorrow? How solid the army's loyalty when they aren't being paid — or fed?

Things may be about to get spicy in Iran's cities. Stay tuned.