7 December 2009, Tehran, Iran.

Security forces and militiamen clashed with thousands of protesters shouting “death to the dictator” outside Tehran University on Monday, beating them with batons and firing tear gas on a day of nationwide student on demonstration, witness said.

The protest were the largest in the month, as university students- a bedrock of support for the pro-reform movement- sought to energize the opposition with rallies at the campuses across the country. The opposition has been reeling under a fierce crackdown since turmoil erupted over the disputed presidential election in June. Thousands of riot police, revolutionary guard forces and pro-government basij militiamen flooded the area around Tehran University since the morning, vowing to prevent any unrest from spilling out into the street. Banners and signs bearing the slogans from the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali khamenei blanketed the tall campus fence, hiding whatever took place inside.

Cell phone networks around the university were shutdown, and police and members of the elite revolutionary guard surrounded all the university entrance and were checking IDs of anyone entering the campus, witness said. The heavy clampdown raised fears of an escalation of violence during Monday’s clashes. Clashes erupted when thousands of protesters massed in the streets outside Tehran in support of the students.