Students have split press opinion

The student protests in Iran have drawn condemnation from the country's conservative press, while pro-reform papers take a cautious line and urge the students to tread carefully.

The reformist Tose'eh calls on the student demonstrators to "use their wisdom and awareness", adding that the protests only play into the hands of the anti-reformist lobby.

"They should not give an opportunity to the opponents of the reforms, and more importantly the enemy, to exploit their legitimate demands," it warns.

Reformism will not succeed through blind and disruptive behaviour Mardom Salari

Mardom Salari similarly urges caution and asks whether it is not possible for the students "to discuss their demands in a calm atmosphere".

"We should not forget that reformist action should take place only within a context of law and order," it says.

"This is because reformism will not succeed through blind and disruptive behaviour."

And Aftab-e Yazd suggests the reform movement should investigate the reasons behind student "dissatisfaction".

"Students were among the supporters of the pro-reform movement in the past two presidential and Majlis elections. Why is it then that they feel they are not united with their elected representatives?"

It is necessary that the movement "should at least investigate the views of this group as of today and find the reasons for their dissatisfaction."

'Cheered from overseas'

The demonstrators are being cheered on from overseas Resalat

The protests have drawn a predictable reaction from Iran's conservative press.

Resalat asks the interior minister how he is going to tackle what it sees as " social chaos". It urges the authorities to observe their "duty to respect and implement the law".

And it also points the blame for the protests on outside influence, suggesting "the demonstrators are being cheered on from overseas."

The hardline Jomhuri-ye Eslami, a supporter of Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, continues the same theme

It accuses "foreign radios and western news agencies" of engaging in misleading reporting by linking the protests against the privatisation of universities to an attack on the government.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.