The streets of Tehran returned to normal yesterday after a night of sporadic violence during which Islamic vigilantes, some armed with assault rifles, delivered a tough response to a spate of pro-democracy protests.
In the rush-hour morning traffic at the start of Iran's working week there were no signs of the hardline militiamen who had attacked protesters with impunity just hours before, hauling women out of their cars and beating young men with chains.
The violence in the early hours yesterday, although confined to a small area of the capital, was the most serious since the US-applauded demonstrations began four days ago.
Diplomats said the tough clampdown by the vigilantes, who wear no uniforms and are fiercely loyal to Iran's conservative clerical leaders, was probably aimed at intimidating protesters.
"They want to send a clear message that the new protests have crossed their line of tolerance," a diplomat in Tehran said. "It's hard to say whether it will have the desired effect or not. It could even backfire and make many people more angry."
Clerical leaders have accused the US of stirring up unrest in Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters, said this week the authorities would show no mercy for "mercenaries of the enemy."
Washington, which accuses Iran of building nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism, has hailed the protests which drew up to 3,000 people on previous nights.
While venting most of their anger at unelected clerics who wield ultimate power in Iran, the protesters have also lambasted moderate President Mohammad Khatami. They accuse him of failing to deliver promised reforms after six years in power.
In the early hours yesterday a Reuters correspondent saw more than 100 of the vigilantes swoop on a group of a few dozen youngsters chanting "Death to Khamenei" around a bonfire in a side street not far from the university campus.
Most were armed with batons and chains but a few carried Kalashnikovs.
"I heard three single shots and then a burst of automatic gunfire, but I couldn't see where it was coming from or what it was aimed at," the correspondent said.
Another Reuters correspondent saw one young man, his face bloodied, being led away in handcuffs. A minibus stood in a nearby street full of people detained by the militiamen.
In a tense atmosphere in central Tehran, Islamic militiamen probably from the Basij volunteer force tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, manned checkpoints and looked carefully into vehicles in the streets around the normally quiet university campus.
Police stood by, apparently powerless to act, as the vigilantes -- easily identifiable with their beards, short hair and untucked shirts -- randomly roared around on motorbikes brandishing batons, sticks and thick chains.
"They pulled some people out of their cars and beat them with their fists and sticks. Even young girls were beaten," a photographer at the scene said. "I've seen at least 10 injured people. One man had a knife wound," he added.
But by yesterday morning, the only sign of the previous night's unrest was a burned patch of ground along one side of the university campus which was apparently set on fire deliberately.
The protests had appeared to be building towards a probable crescendo on July 9 -- the anniversary of a violent attack on students in the Tehran University dormitory by hardline vigilantes in 1999.
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