According to the radical daily "Jomhouri Eslami" (Islamic Republic), which is owned by Mr. Khameneh'i, the leader decision was taken after he received an open letter from about 140 personalities, among them well-known and popular political, scholar, intellectual, economic, journalists and lawmakers figures, urging him to find out a solution to the conflict before it gets out of control.

Acting on orders from Mr. Khameneh'i himself, the court had imposed death sentence on Mr. Aqajari on charges of blaspheming Muslims prophet Mohammad and insulting the cleric corps, -- to which belongs most of the leaders of the Islamic regime, -- during a speech he had delivered in this western city three months ago.

In its 6 November sentence issued on 6 November, the court had also condemned Mr. Aqajari to an eight-year imprisonment in desert cities as well as 74 flogs and banned him from teaching for 10 years, without stating if these penalties would be applied to the victim before or after his execution.

The verdict triggered a wave of peaceful protests of Iranian students all over the country, prompting the leader to warn the authorities if they could not settle the conflict, he would "call in popular forces" to deal with the problems.

Several foreign governments, including American, Canadian and French, as well as the European Union and influential human rights organisations had also condemned the verdict

But ignoring his menaces, students, joined by university professors and the growing number of people, students continued with their protest movement, chanting slogans against the regime’s senior clerical rulers, including Heads of the Judiciary and Executive branches as well as the former president, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, reported to be behind the latest troubles.

Analysts who have access to Mr. Khameneh'i say he tries to emulate China’s former revolutionary leader Mao Tse Tung, who, in the last years of his life, would unleash students and popular forces to fight his possible enemies in the Chinese leadership, but the problem is that Mr. Khameneh’i lacks Mao’s charisma and popularity, and the world has changed ever since.

The Basijis, who Ayatollah Khameneh'i names "his children" and are recruited among the nation’s poorest and most illiterate classes, launched their attack in an auditorium at north Tehran's Allameh campus while a student activist was delivering a speech supporting Mr. Aqajari, and defending freedom of speech.

"The Basij group, who numbered around 300, began throwing chairs and smashing up tables inside the hall. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries", the French news agency AFP reported, adding that the clashes followed a tense two-hour standoff. Police did not immediately intervene.

Mr. Aqajari has refused to appeal and both his lawyer and the personalities to have signed the petition to Mr. Khameneh'i say the verdict is completely illegal and must be withdrawn unconditionally.

Mr. Saleh Nikbakht said he expects the Judiciary to annul the whole of the sentence and not merely revise the death verdict.