Neda, symbol of Iran's struggle

Neda Soltan, 26, has become a symbol of the struggle for reform since a 40-second clip showed her with blood streaming from her mouth after she was shot in the chest while caught up in a battle with police in Tehran.

The philosophy student has been named the "Angel of Iran" with protesters holding pictures of her and signs saying "I am Neda" in Iran and outside Iranian embassies across the world.

There has been no mention of Miss Soltan's death on Saturday on Iran's state controlled media. But the footage taken on a mobile phone has been widely seen after being posted on YouTube, Facebook and other websites.

Her poster has started to appear on walls around the capital in defiance of the authorities, who ensured the student was buried quickly and in a heavily guarded cemetery.

Miss Soltan's fiance, Caspian Makan, said she was not connected to any political party. She had gone into Tehran with her professor and was shot when she got out of the car when it became stuck in traffic because of the protests.

He said: "She only ever said that she wanted one thing, she wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran."

The video clip shows Miss Soltan losing consciousness as a white-haired man stands next to her telling her: "Don't be afraid Neda dear, don't be afraid."

In Tehran yesterday, security forces used tear gas and fired live bullets in the air to break up a group of about 200 protesters trying to hold a vigil for her in Hafte Tir Square.

In a statement on its website, the Revolutionary Guard ordered demonstrators to "end the sabotage and rioting", calling the protests a "conspiracy" against Iran. The guards' threat of "revolutionary confrontation" if the protests persist was another signal the regime is taking a zero-tolerance approach to Iran's worst civil unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Opposition supporters, who allege widespread vote rigging, have demanded a new election and have staged near-daily protests challenging the claim that hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election by a landslide. At least 17 people have died in the protests.

Britain yesterday evacuated the families of all embassy staff from Tehran and the Foreign Office warned against all non-essential visits to the country.

In New York, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged an "immediate stop to the arrests, threats and use of force".