Student protests spread to half-a-dozen Iranian cities yesterday as the authorities announced that the delayed second round of parliamentary voting will take place on May 5th.
The reformists, led by the President, Mr Muhammad Khatami, won a majority of seats in the first round on February 18th.
Thousands of students in Hamedan, Bandar Abbas, Kashan, Shiraz and Yazd, as well as Tehran, rallied in support of 13 progressive newspapers closed down on Monday and of three journalists jailed in the past few days.
Liberal leaders warned students to keep the peace and deny hardliners a pretext to use violence or stage a coup against the President.
Apparently unfazed by popular discontent with the hardline policies of the conservatives, a media court judge warned Mr Muhammad Reza Khatami, the President's brother and head of the largest reform faction, that his newspaper, Moshaekat, would be closed down if it continues to carry material deemed "offensive to Islam" by conservatives who previously had a majority in parliament and feel threatened by the reformist landslide. Only three liberal papers continue to publish.
Tension between the two camps has been building ahead of the second round of voting, with the conservatives struggling against extinction. They have used three dominant clerical institutions to curb the reformists, transforming a factional fight into a battle between the institutions of Islam and the state.
The Islamic institutions involved are the office of the Supreme Guide, currently held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate arbiter of policy, who controls the armed forces, judiciary and public bodies; the Council of Guardians, empowered to vet laws, policies and candidates for office; and the Expediency Council, which harmonises state practice to Islamic ideology.
The state institutions, which come below those of Islam in the hierarchy, are the presidency, the ministries and parliament.
The first prong of the conservative campaign is the offensive against free speech, waged by closing popular reformist newspapers. The conservatives' aim is to deny the reformists the means to reach the populace.
The objective of the second prong is to reduce the number of seats won by reformist candidates in the first round. Last week the Guardian Council deprived 12 reformists of their seats and stalled the formal announcement of results in Tehran, where liberal candidates took 29 of the 30 seats. It is expected these results will be proclaimed in the next few days.
The third prong is an assault on parliament's powers aimed at depriving the reformists of the means to implement their programme. Last week the Expediency Council voted to deny parliament the authority to investigate the military, the official media and the wealthy foundations which control 20 per cent of the economic activities in the country.
These conservative-run bodies, independent and unaudited, reject all interference in their affairs.
Aware that the conservative campaign could produce a popular backlash which could topple the clerical regime, Ayatollah Khamenei has attempted to moderate the excesses of both sides.
On the one hand, he has made it clear to the military that a coup is out of the question; on the other, he has warned reformists that change must be gradual and within the Islamic context.
AFP adds: Ayatollah Khamenei yesterday proclaimed his full support for beleaguered reformist President Muhammad Khatami, state radio reported. But he again attacked the pro-reform press and other allies of the president.