He repeated things he had said many times before, as to be patient, that reforms take a long time to produce results, that the reform process is inevitable and his conservative opponents must understand that if they continue to block reforms, there could be public unrest.

"As long as American politicians act under the influence of certain lobbies, harming even the interests of American companies, and hinder the Iranian economy by sanctions and embargoes, there will be no change," he told a Tehran press conference.

When asked about the recent TV confession of Mr. Ali Afshari, a students leader and the letter of "repentance" published in a hard-line daily and attributed to veteran journalist and politician Ezzatollah Sahhabi, Mr. Khatami however corrected a little bit, saying that such confessions "must be held in an open court and in the presence of the jury to become legally-recognised"

Mr. Ali Afshari, an influential member of the Office for Consolidating Unity (OCU), Iranian students largest organisation, who had dared to question the position, powers and mandate of the leader, and had been arrested for that "crime" appeared two weeks ago on the Iranian Television to tell viewers about his "mistakes" and informed the public that the OCU, in co-operation and close collaboration of Islamist-nationalists and Iran Freedom Movement, were studying ways and means to topple the Islamic Republic and replace it by a secular state.

Afshari, held in solitary confinement for over five months, had earlier been shown on state television, cleanly shaved, apologising to the Great Leader Ayatollah Khameneh’i for his "mistakes".

"Can anyone deny that efforts by myself and others like me to turn the government into a non-religious one conform with the desires of the United States?" the revolutionary court quoted Sahabi as saying in a letter from his prison cell", Mr. Sahhabi said in his letter.

(There are wide spread rumours that Mr. Sahhabi might have been died in prison, even though a hard-line judge to had interrogated him has said that he was well and healthy).

Mr. Khatami also rejected calls by some of his supporters that Friday's presidential elections should be tuned into a "referendum" on reforms.

The leftist Islamic Revolution Mojahedeen Organisation, an influential member of the Second Khordad Coalition that backs Mr. Khatami, has pressed for such an exercise, causing an uproar among the ruling conservative clerical establishment, with a group of senior clerics in the holy city of Qom describing the proposal as a "deviationist" move used by certain figures for political gain".

"Today, reforms are accepted by all and everyone calls for reforms and Islamic democracy", Mr. Khatami again repeated, without explaining what is exactly Islamic democracy in a regime where all powers are concentrated in the hands with a single man said to be God’s representative on earth?

Many respected Iranian commentators pointed that Mr. Khatami’s weakest point had been that he always confused democracy with theocracy, two irreconcilable systems of government.

Hojjatoleslam Khatami who swept to office on May 1979 with 70 percent of votes, this time faces nine challengers, who, according to all analysts and polls, have no chance against him but to take votes away from him.

In the two-hours long press conference, Mr. Khatami repeated that Iran belongs to all Iranian "without exception". "The Islamic Republic we want is one where all Iranians are part of the country, where all citizen are considered as its citizens, where Jew, Christian and members of other religions have their rights", he said, as, under Islamic laws, non MUslims are considered as second class citizen having not equal rights with Muslims.

Because of imposed restrictions on members of other recognised faiths, hundreds of thousands of Iranian Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, not being able to find decent works, have left the country.

Elsewhere, Mr. Khatami said the process of reform in Iranian society was "irreversible", but did not explain why he had always failed to raise his voice when so many journalists, politicians, clerics and other dissidents are jailed on totally fabricated charges or tens of independent newspapers are shut.

But he called on those eager for change to exercise patience and moderation, despite the fact that entrenched conservatives has blocked his reform programme.

As usual, he warned the conservatives that if they continued to stop reforms and resorted to violence, society would fall into such a chaos that even they would not be able to impose their will.

If he won a second term, he said, he would focus on institutionalising the freedoms, which are one of the main demands of a huge new generation of young Iranians.

Meanwhile, sporadic violent opposition to the mid-ranking cleric also appeared to be stepping up with just four days to go before the landmark elections.

The daily "Iran" that is published by the pro-Government official news agency IRNA reported that an office of Khatami's reformist coalition in Qom had been set ablaze by attackers, the latest in a string of violent attacks by hardline vigilantes.

The pro-reform "Norouz" (New Day) said the office of a pro-Khatami student group in northwestern Zanjan was also attacked, while other reports have said Khatami campaign posters were torn down in various cities.

In a separate incident, former deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, a close ally of Khatami who was banned by the Judiciary of all public activities for five years, was reportedly attacked by vigilante "pressure groups" who blocked him from holding a speech in a city near the Caspian Sea.

The campaign officially ends at 9:00 am (0430 GMT) on Thursday, 24 hours before the polls open.

He even drew a laugh when, mopping his forehead, he said he was not crying. ENDS KHATAMI PRESS 5601