TEHRAN When Iran's 2,000-year-old monarchy was toppled in 1979, it was largely the work of revolutionary university students.

Nearly 20 years later, in 1997, a new generation of students rallied behind a little-known, middle-ranking cleric because he promised reform and social freedom. Their support secured Mohammad Khatami the presidency, with a landslide vote of more than 70 percent.

"Reform is dead. We no longer believe the system has the capacity to change from within", says Akbar Atri, a 28 year-old student leader and former president of the Office for Fostering Student Unity, an umbrella organization for Islamic student unions across the country.

If history is an example, when Iranian students talk, one should take notice, observers say.

"We call the students 'the third force", said Ghasem Sho’leh Sa’adi, a former member of parliament and a prominent lawyer who used to defend Iran in international courts. "It is this force that can shape Iran's transformation. You can neither deny nor ignore their existence. They have always played a major political role in our history".

The latest student movement began two weeks ago when the hard-line judiciary issued a death sentence for Hashem Aqajari, a history professor who said Muslims should not follow their religious leaders blindly. The verdict quickly became a platform for students and others to vent their grievances.

But where will the unrest lead this time? Will it erupt in increasingly widespread public protests? Or will it fizzle out once Aqajari's verdict is overturned and authorities crack down on the students?

Neither, say the students.

"We want these demonstrations to remain peaceful and contained with focused goals," said a prominent student leader who went to jail last summer for insulting the clergy and asked not to be named. "It is not in our interest to let things get out of control, because a lot is at stake. The authorities are waiting for one wrong move from us and we will all be behind bars".

The clerical government's first brush with student unrest occurred in July 1999, when vigilantes raided the dormitory of Tehran University in the middle of the night. They killed five students, beat dozens of others and vandalized their belongings. The students' crime was staging peaceful demonstrations in defense of freedom of the press.

The students took to the streets and massive anti-government protests broke out. The divided government of reformists and conservatives each reacted in a way that disappointed and distanced the students.

The conservatives unleashed their plainclothes militia forces, known as Basij, to attack and arrest students. The reformists, including Khatami, remained silent. They did not support the students, nor did they condemn the violence.

Khatami himself has repeatedly said his efforts at reform are blocked at every turn by Iran's form of parallel government, where appointed religious authorities supervise elected bodies.

He recently introduced two bills to the parliament that, if passed, would curb the vetoing powers of the Guardian Council for parliamentary and presidential candidates and give him more power as president.

It remains unclear whether those bills will be approved. In any case, the students claim it will be too little too late.

"The student movement evaluates Khatami's presidency in terms of what he accomplished," said Mas’oud Safiri, the executive editor of the reformist newspaper Hambastegi. "During his tenure, 80 reformist publications were closed, many intellectuals were imprisoned and people are more hopeless than ever.

Editor’s note: The Star-Ledger published the above article on its 24 November issue.