FROM a country where only 32 per cent of people felt moved to exercise their vote in the last election, the scenes from Tehran make almost thrilling watching.

Thousands of brave Iranian people have taken to the streets, risking their lives to protest that their votes have been stolen from them.

This uprising is one of the first to be fought on the internet. The mobile phone, videoing scenes of repression, and the bloggers’ laptop are now just as crucial weapons as the stones and Molotov cocktails that protestors traditionally hurl.

We wish them luck, but we fear for them. The Iranian regime may be hideously out of touch, but it is extremely dangerous – particularly to its own dissenters.