Tehran’s post-election demonstrations have been remarkable for both their scale and their fury. Young Iranians have been out on the streets of the capital and other main cities to vent their fury at what they say are their “stolen” votes, after Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the firebrand incumbent, was declared presidential victor. Many young Iranians had pinned their hopes for greater freedoms on Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s rival, the moderate Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who the government said lost by a large margin.

During Monday’s march along Revolution Street in Tehran, the Financial Times asked some of the protesters why they were marching. Given the climate of fear that now exists here, none would agree to have their faces photographed, so scared are they that authorities will hunt them down or their job prospects will be ruined. So they covered their faces and asked for their names to be changed.