Tara Benyamin: Should we face the guns or let our protests die?

Today, an unnatural calm pervades the capital. The usually bustling metropolis where a fifth of Iran's population resides is traffic-free, quiet. The skies – as if mirroring the events on the ground – are overcast.

Ordinary life has slowed to a crawl, as a nightmarish reality sinks in for the millions who voted for change. Our votes were not counted and will not be counted. The quasi-democratic "republic" we have lived with for 30 years has disappeared to be replaced by the choking of iron grips.

The whispers in the street have re-christened our country the Islamic Dictatorship of Iran.

Was it really just the other day that crowds of us, clad in the green of Mousavi, dominated the streets, mocking the Ahmadinejad supporters with biting satirical slogans? That we ranted against the widely-despised Basijis, those thugs who are famously given free meals in exchange for their services in stamping out dissent?

No one dreamt that the public euphoria – seen not just in the capital, but in Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, and other cities across the country – for our Obamaesque candidate of "hope" and "change" would evaporate as martial law descended to safeguard Ahmadinejad's electoral coup.

The cries we hear nightly from the rooftops now – "Death to the Dictator!" – no longer target our pseudo-President, but the Supreme Leader himself.

Every Iranian is aware that as the sole commander of the armed forces, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei personally issued the order for the crackdown on protesters.

Today, the Revolutionary Guard – or Sepah in Farsi – entered the fray. The word Sepah strikes fear into Iranian hearts the way al-Qa'ida terrifies Americans.

The guards are known to work hand-in-hand with Iran's Intelligence Ministry, which monitors phone lines and IP addresses to arbitrarily arrest suspect citizens on charges of "espionage".

Everyone is frightened and everyone is confused. By cutting off our means of communication, the government has cut off our means of mass mobilisation, so no one knows what to do. Should we go out and face the guns, or stay home and let protests die?

We have never seen the Revolutionary Guards out on the streets like this – and it has succeeded in dampening the appetite for revolt. For now, at least.

We are living in a vacuum of stifled protests.

In coming days, we must wait to see whether mass courage or brute force prevails. The fate of Iran rests on this question.