Leading Iranian reformists warned students that powerful...

Leading Iranian reformists warned students that powerful conservatives planned to impose emergency rule if university demonstrations against a dissident's death sentence got out of hand. The warning was issued after two weeks of the largest pro-reform protests in the Islamic Republic for more than three years and large hardline counter-demonstrations, including a rally by 15,000 Basij militiamen denouncing the students as well as the United States and Israel. "The students should avoid chaos in the country because the other side are prepared to put the country under emergency rule," leading reformist theoretician Saeed Hajjarian told a news conference. The protests to support history lecturer Hashem Aghajari were largely peaceful, buth sporadic clashes took place between students and hardliners. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attempted to calm tension by ordering a judicial review of Aghajari's sentence, but the judiciary has defended the sentence and not begun a review. "An immediate review of the sentence is beneficial for the country, but it seems the judiciary is ignoring the leader's order," Mohammad Reza Khatami, head of Iran's main reform party and younger brother of the president, told the news conference.