The Lord turned away Israel's enemies, the reading from the Book of Zephaniah this Sunday tells us. Even though Iranian officials turned away foreign journalists, slowed Internet service to a crawl, and took other measures to suppress coverage of student protests Monday, footage of violent clashes with authorities quickly flooded the Web. Government news agencies, which initially didn't mention the protests, were forced to acknowledge them by Monday afternoon.

Violence erupted at and around university campuses across Iran as demonstrators took to the streets during the regime-sanctioned Student Day, but used the occasion to press their months-long protest against the government.

Students chanted "death to the dictator" and anti-regime slogans and set fire to pictures of Iran's Islamic leaders and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, according to eyewitness accounts and videos posted on the Internet.

The opposition planned what they called a "green traffic" tactic for 5 p.m. today, at the height of rush hour in Tehran. Supporters were asked to bring their cars to a standstill, making it difficult for security forces to navigate through the city.

Iran's leadership, however, has been striking back across national borders. In an effort to stamp out dissent worldwide, authorities have threatened to punish relatives of Iranians living abroad who protest the regime. Part of the effort involves tracking the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube activity of Iranians around the world and sending threatening e-mails to anyone who expresses dissent.

As protests were reported online Monday, Iranian state TV was broadcasting a round-table discussion about how loyal students are to the system.

Source: Articles by Farnaz Fassihi for the Wall Street Journal, Hannah Allam for McClatchy Newspapers,
and BBC News