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Dozens of government agents on motorbikes today surrounded the Tehran office of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the Iranian opposition leader, while the country's chief prosecutor threatened to arrest him.

The moves came just one day after tens of thousands of students across the country staged the latest in a long series of demonstrations against a government the so-called "Green" movement regards as illegitimate.

Mr Mousavi, the former Prime Minister, has become the rallying point of anti-government protesters since he was defeated by President Ahmadinejad in an allegedly fraudulent election in June. The regime appears to be stepping up the pressure on him to call off the six months of protests and civil disobedience.

Violence on the streets of Tehran continued today with supporters of Mr Mousavi clashing with hardliners at the prestigious Tehran University.

The official government news agency described skirmishes on the campus. IRNA reported “rioters wearing green wristbands” gathered from early in the day in front of the university’s engineering college to protest against yesterday’s crackdown on protesters.

A confrontation ensued between the protesters and what the news agency described as pro-government students, resulting in the “breaking of glass and firing of tear gas”.

Earlier 30 to 40 plain-clothed motorcyclists, almost certainly members of the hard-line basiji militia, surrounded ... >>>