Riot police clashed with pro-democracy students in Tehran yesterday as Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sought to curb rising student anger and President Mohammad Khatami also appealed for calm.
At least 12 demonstrators were injured and 20 arrested as policemen clashed with stone-throwing protesters in a central Tehran square on the fifth day of unrest which has rocked the Iranian capital and spread to other cities.
The authorities also announced that a theology student had been shot dead during clashes on Sunday between students and the security forces in the north-western city of Tabriz.
IRNA reported that student protests had spread to more cities, notably Yazd in the centre of the country, the western cities of Khorramabad and Hamadan, and the northern city of Shahrud.
In a demonstration outside Tehran University, hundreds of local residents and passers-by joined forces with thousands of students during a clash with antiriot police, witnesses said.
Several hundred university students remained barricaded inside the campus, the gates of which have been shut. Flames from a large fire could be seen from outside.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 demonstrators had gathered at the university yesterday morning to protest at police violence and call for democratic reform. Most had managed to leave the campus before the police surrounded it.
Ayatollah Khamenei condemned as "unacceptable" last week's use of force by the police against protesters at Tehran University, in which at least one person was killed.
His speech was broadcast over a loudspeaker to a crowd of more than 10,000 demonstrators at Tehran University, and was met with boos.
The police raid on Tehran University student dormitories left one person dead and three injured, according to an official toll.
However, IRNA said yesterday that "dozens of students were injured and many others arrested by the law enforcement forces," and newspapers have spoken of up to five deaths.