Iranian security forces have rounded up dozens of students in recent days in a move reformist MPs say would exacerbate tension in the wake of a spate of recent pro-democracy protests.

Reformist newspapers today report the arrests were carried out by officials wearing plainclothes and the whereabouts of many of the detained students is unknown.

Analysts say the round-up may be aimed at intimidating students to deter them from staging mass rallies to commemorate the violent attack on a Tehran University dormitory by hardline Islamic vigilantes on July 9, 1999.

Students have been at the centre of recent demonstrations against clerical rule, which started in Tehran and spread to other cities.

The protests lasted for 10 consecutive nights but there were no reports of major gatherings on Friday night.

The protests have been lauded as a cry for freedom by the United States, which also accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran denies any ambition to build atomic arms and has accused US officials of blatant interference in its internal affairs.

The liberal Yas-e No newspaper reports 32 students from Tehran University alone have been detained in the past few days.

While some were held by the Intelligence Ministry, the whereabouts of others is unknown, the paper reports.

"Such methods might have some influence for a short period of time and in some limited cases," the paper said in an editorial.

"But...the history of the student movement in the country has shown that the policy of threat and crackdown has failed to restore calm to the universities and on the contrary has led to exacerbating the atmosphere of unrest and tension."