Vigilantes accuse dissidents of undermining regime Conservatives threaten to drive out democracy, campaigners after confrontations triggered by death sentence on popular professor TEHRAN: Hard-line vigilantes, best known for disrupting reformist gatherings and beating up students, declared a “holy war” Wednesday to rid Iran of reformers who promote democracy and challenge the country’s supreme leader. The declaration in the weekly newspaper of the hard-line group Ansar-e-Hizbullah, the chief organization of the vigilante movement, appeared to be a direct challenge to Iran’s reformist president, Mohammad Khatami. Masoud Dehnamaki, a vigilante ideologue, also said Wednesday that Iranians who try to appease Iran’s enemies...