FDI's Weekly Newswire

The life and [troubled] times of the IslamicRepublic of Iran

Available on the Internet or by e-mail for a $25 per yeartax-deductible contribution at http://www.iran.org/ Tel: 1+ (301)946-2910. Fax: 1+(310) 942-5341

FDI WEEKLY NEWSWIRE NO 4

May 13, 1996

Dr. Abdelkarim Soroush, an Islamic scholar who has attracted awide following, was attempting to address the Islamic Students Unionat the University, despite a ban on the meeting by the Universitypresident, when members of the radical Ansar-e Hezbollah burst intothe auditorium and physically assaulted students in the audience.

Eye-witnesses say that 15 students were injured during theclashes. Tehran's Law Enforcement Forces [LEF] intervened atthe same time as the Ansar-e Hezbollah, arresting several of thestudents but none of the Ansar-e Hezbollah members. The oppositionIran Nation's Party, in a statement issued in Tehran on Sundayevening, accused the LEF of "clearly cooperating" with Ansar-eHezbollah "in suppressing a voice of dissidence." Five students werearrested.

Ansar-e Hezbollah ("Hezbollah's Helpers" has attacked movietheaters and women wearing Western clothing repeatedly in recentweeks, and is closely allied to Parliament speaker Nateq-Nouri. Thegroup is said to report directly to Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a seniorfigure in the Tehran regime.

Earlier in the week, Ansar-e Hezbollah published statements inconservative and radical Tehran dailies, warning Dr. Soroush not tospeak. On Saturday, Kayhan daily accused Dr. Soroush of being a"foreign agent." The Iranian parliament recently passed tough newanti-espionage laws that call for the death penalty for individualsconvicted of collaborating with a foreign power in any way.

Dr. Soroush frequently travels overseas, and was in Europe and theUnited States in November
and December.

It was the third time a lecture by Dr. Soroush has been broken upby Ansar-e Hezbollah thugs over the past year. [Iranfax,5/12/96]

Washington, DC cleric on Iranian mission

Sheik Mohammad Al-Aasi, who is commonly presented in the Tehranpress as the "Imam [prayer leader] of the Washington, DCmosque," was in Pretoria, South Africa last month, on a missionsponsored by the Tehran-based Islamic Cultural CommunicationOrganization, which is financed by the Islamic Republic.

Al-Aasi presented lectures on "the need for a supreme leader inIslamic societies" and "leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran"before a religious conference in Pretoria, according to theultra-conservative Jomhouri-e Eslami daily.

According to the Tehran daily, the conference in South Africa wassponsored by the Tehran-based Islamic Culture and CommunicationOrganization [ICCO] and had for theme "The Establishment ofThe New Islamic Civilization."

Al-Aasi also traveled to Cape Town, where he met local Islamicclerics and Muslim groups, as well as the ICCO's own branch in SouthAfrica, The Silk Road Publishing House.

Preaching at Cape Town's Qods [Jerusalem] Mosque, Al-Aasicalled on his listeners to "fight oppression by any means," the papersaid, emphasizing the need of supporting Palestinian, Kashmiri, andChechen Muslims in their struggles. He left Cape Town after two daysand went back to U.S., the paper added. [Jomhouri-e Eslami4/23]

Sheikh Al-Aasi has in fact never preached at the Washington, DCmosque, as the Iranian papers claim. For many years, he has been aregular feature on the sidewalk across the street from the mosque,protesting his exclusion from the mosque after he gave a politicalspeech in favor of the Islamic Republic there a few years ago.Al-Aasi has made several trips to Iran in recent years to take partin international conferences, and he is widely quoted in the Iranianpress as an official ambassador for the regime in its effort tospread the message of Ayatollah Khomeini throughout the world.

In a speech before an Islamic group in Chicago in the fall of1990, Al-Aasi threatened the U.S. government for its engagementagainst Saddam Hussein. "If the Americans are placing their forces inthe Persian Gulf, we should be creating another war front for theAmericans in the Muslim world - And specifically where Americaninterests are concentrated. In Egypt, in Turkey, in the Indiansubcontinent, just to mention a few. Strike against Americaninterests there."

In an interview with Steve Emerson in 1994 ["Jihad inAmerica"], Al-Aasi said the White House "is also under a cloud ofZionist - a Zionist umbrella." When asked if he believed in the useof violence, he hemmed and hawed, finally saying that "the Koranteaches us that sometimes the use of arms is inevitable. Wein orderfor justice to be done this is the only recourse we have."

Executions, Killings reported

A Microbiology student, Asghar Rostami Zadeh, was hanged in Vali-eAsr Square in Shiraz in April, after having been convicted ofmurdering a man last winter. No information was released by theauthorities on the case, the date of his trial, or the convictedman's access to defense. The date of his hanging was notpublished.

Hamshahri also reported that two people were killed in Birjand ina clash with Law Enforcement Forces, who claimed the two were "drugsmugglers" and "thugs" in possession of large amounts of arms andammunition. No other details were provided in the published account.
[Hamshahri 4/20]

The Foundation for Democracy in Iran has expressed concern thatthe Iranian government "is using accusations of drug smuggling as acover to arrest and execute political opponents of the regime."[Action Memorandum 005, 12/12/95].

Prosecutor General Ayatollah Moghtada'i told reporters from the"Iran" daily published on April 17 that two "capitalists," whom heidentified as Mohammad Dabiri and Iraj Jahan Bin, had been condemnedrespectively to death and to 30 years imprisonment, on charge ofsmuggling cocaine into the country. Their belongings were alsoconfiscated. "Mohammad Dabiri, who owns a cabaret in a foreigncountry and is known to be a corrupt person, was sentenced to death,"Moghtada'i said.

The daily also reported that a man identified as Fath Ali Saberi,the manager of a technical company, was hanged in Tehran on charge ofraping his secretary. Despite a decision by the secretary to withdrawher complaint, "the court decided that he should be punished," thedaily reported.

The daily reported that another man, Hamda Bagheri was hanged inKaraj on April 22, on charge of homicide. [Iran 4/17,4/24].

Officials want "Special Labor Camps" for drug addicts

In a meeting with Islamic Revolutionary Courts judges in Tehran inApril, top IRI officials called for harsher measures against drugaddicts and drug pushers, which they claimed were motivated by "WorldArrogance" [the U.S.].

Prosecutor General Ayatollah Morteza Moghtada'i blamed the U.S.for "trying to harm Islamic Republic, by the weapon of drug addictionand cultural assault which they use on our youth."

Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, head of Judiciary Branch, claimed thatdrug distribution was "politically motivated," and that "drug pushersshould be regarded as the enemies of the sovereignty of the IslamicRepublic."

Majlis speaker Nateq-Nouri claimed that drug smugglers were notexporting drugs from Iran, but importing cocaine from Canada,Germany, the U.S., and the Netherlands, and that the Islamic Republicshould establish "special labor camps" for drug addicts.

Minister of Information and Security Ali Fallahian picked up thesame theme. "The objective of the drug trafficking bands is to weakenthe country politically through distribution of drugs." He called forthe creation of "special townships for drug addicts to live withtheir families," in order to curb spread of drugs among the generalpopulation.

Mohammad Fallah, the head of Rafsanjani's " Headquarters of TheCounter- Narcotics Fight," acknowledged in a published interview that"the number of leisure drug users has grown over the past year."

"Fifty per cent of Iran's prison population was jailed for drugaddiction or dealing, while another 25% is drug-related," said anunidentified officer of the President's Headquarters of The Counter-Narcotics Fight. [Iran 4/1, 4/11, 4/23; Iran News 4/13]

Pregnant Woman Injured In Theater Attack

Following recent attacks of Hezbollahi groups on private parties,sporting clubs and public gardens in Tehran, the Ansar-e Hezbollahgroup ("Hezbollah's Helpers") attacked several
movie theaters in Tehran on May 5-6, breaking windows, wreckingseats, and beating movie-goers and staff.

On May 5, the group attacked the Astara cinema, protesting a scenein a comedy called "Indian Souvenir," which showed young girlsdancing at a wedding party. The Ministry of Culture agreed to cut the4 minute scene, but the group attacked a second cinema the next day,this time demanding that the film be banned entirely.

During the second attack, against the North Tehran Qods Cinema, apregnant woman was taken to hospital after Hezbollahi pushed her downa staircase. Although Law Enforcement agents are always present inIranian movie theaters, they did not intervene to stop theattack.

In a statement released on May 8, the Ministry of Cultureregretted the "material and human losses" incurred during theattacks. Instead of promising punishment for the attackers, thestatement simply regretted that such attacks "tarnish our IslamicRepublic's image in the world."

With public anger running high, Ansar-e Hezbollah took theunprecedented step of publishing a statement of apology for the Qodscinema attack in Jomhouri-e Eslami on May 9. But the group deniedhurting the pregnant woman and warned newspapers that had reported onher injuries that they would seek "revenge [when] the time isright."

Ansar-e Hezbollah is the latest of a long series of organized"Islamic" gangs, which have periodically appeared to harass ordinaryIranians for so-called Western or anti-revolutionary behavior. Thename Ansar-e Hezbollah first appeared last summer when the groupviolently broke up university lectures by Islamic scholar AbdelkarimSoroush. The group is believed to have been established, funded, anddirected by Ayatollah Ahmed Jannati, the head of Islamic PropagationOrganization and spokesman for the Council of Guardians.[Hamshahri 5/6, 5/8; Jomhouri-e Eslami 5/9]

Bread prices rise

The price of bread, a main staple of the Iranian diet, have risenby up to 50 percent in one week, Reuters reported from Tehran,quoting residents and newspapers. Residents said bakers raised pricesby 30 to 50 percent.

The government did not announce the bread price increases, andstayed silent when they rose. But after angry public reactions theCommerce Ministry, in a statement on May 6, confirmed increases ofabout 30 percent. The Ministry said the bread price increase wascaused by higher wages in bakeries, and higher energy prices.

Only days before the price rises, the head of the government'sGrain Office, Mahmoud Karimi Nouri, promised no increases in breadprices during current Iranian year (which started March 21). "Thisyear the government will pay a 500 billion Tumans (about $1.3billion) subsidy," he told a gathering of the provincial Grain Officeheads on April 25 . "So the whole nation will have subsidized andcheap bread this year." [Iran, 4/25; Salam 5/2; Reuters5/6].

Hezbollahis, Unite!

For the first time in the Islamic Republic of Iran, differentgroups generally known as "Hezbollah" gathered in a General Assemblyin Tehran, to coordinate their activities and "fight more efficientlyagainst the Western Cultural Assault," the conservative daily Resalatreported.

Hojat-ol Eslam Zargar, the head of notorious Anti-corruptionOrganization ( Amr-e Be Maarouf & Nahi Az Monkar), addressed theAssembly. He said all actions of Ansar-e Hezbollah & thegovernment's anti-corruption units was under the order of AyatollahAli Khamene'i, Supreme Leader and Vali-e Faghih.

"Hezbollah forces should have better and more calculated planingto fight against foreign
cultural assault," Zargar said.

Resalat said that the Hezbollahis were joined by families of"martyrs of the revolution" as well as by members of the bassijforces. [Resalat 5/8]

Karbaschi under fire

Gholam Hossein Karbaschi, the controversial Mayor of Tehran andthe leading figure in pro-Rafsanjani Majlis campaign (the G-6 group,AKA the "Servants of the Reconstruction"), is now under attack fromthe partisans of Nateq-Nouri, Rafsanjani's main rival. According toSobh weekly, Karbaschi was physically assaulted by Hezbollah gangs ina Tehran mosque on April 17 and had to flee, leaving his shoesbehind.

But even more dangerous threats have been coming from hostileMajlis deputies and the press.

A parliamentary investigation on his activities as Tehran Mayorwill be released soon, Resalat reported. According to one deputy,Karbaschi's "misdoings during the recent Majlis elections" will beseverely dealt with, and his record as Mayor will be subjected toclose scrutiny for potential corruption and mismanagement offunds.

Ahmad Hoseini, a Majlis deputy from Sirjan, severely attackedKarbaschi as "an incompetent," who had inflicted terrible sufferings"on the people of Tehran. "Why you don't try to do your job as Mayor,instead of putting your nose into things [i.e., theelections] that people don't want you to do?" He then askedRafsanjani to stop supporting Karbaschi.

For its part, the radical Kayhan daily accused Karbaschi ofturning Tehran's public gardens into places for sexual corruption, byallowing female cyclists to use bicycle tracks." [Sobh 4/23;Resalat 4/24, 4/25; Kayhan 4/25

"Dogs" considered counter-revolutionary

Barbie dulls are not the only anti-revolutionary element that"World Arrogance" has sent to destroy Islamic Republic. Iranianzealots have now designed dogs as a threat to the regime.

In an article called "Dog playing and the spread of unpleasantsocial behavior", the ultra-conservative daily Jomhouri-e Eslamiwarned the authorities that in the northern parts of Tehran, peoplecan be seen walking the streets with their dogs on a leash. "Whowould have imagined that one day, in our Islamic country, playingwith dogs would become an open act, with some people trying to spreadWestern behavior."

The daily then attacked newspaper ads by rare pet breeders,warning darkly that these people were "plotting against Islam."

"Unfortunately this problem is only one of the hundreds of aspectsof the Western cultural assault, which is aimed at penetrating oursociety with their values. Yesterday, [they brought] video,satellite TVs, Rap music... And today... pet-breeding anddog-keeping."

Jomhouri-e Eslami criticized the "negligence" of the authoritiesin dealing with "detested Western habits," and called on theparamilitary Bassijis to enter the scene and "eradicate" Westernized"corrupt" and "nonchalant" people, "in the same way as they foughtthe enemy during the eight years war [with Iraq] , anddefended the honor and prestige of this country." [Jomhouri-eEslami Daily 4/25/96]

Zionists On The Edge Of Our Borders

The radical daily "Salam" has condemned the Israeli-Turkishmilitary cooperation agreement, which gives Israel the right to useTurkish airspace for joint training flights with the Turkish AirForce.

"The official announcement of the presence of military personneland planes of the Zionist regime along our Northwestern and Westernborders, and North of Syria and Iraq, was a shock," Salam wrote in aneditorial.

The editorial also criticized Israel harshly for the recent tripof Prime Minister Shimon Peres to Oman and Qatar - "our closest[friends] in the region in recent years."

The Israeli-Turkish pact poses "a serious threat" to Iran'swestern borders, Salam said, and comes at an extremely sensitivetime, since the "Zionist regime's authorities repeatedly talk aboutattacking sensitive Iranian targets, including the Bushehr and Nekareactors."

(The Salam editorial was the first time a regime-sanctioned mediahas publicly referred to the Neka nuclear site near the Caspian Sea.Iranian opposition groups have alleged that Russian and Iraniannuclear experts were evaluating Neka and the neighboring town ofGorgan as potential sites for new nuclear power reactors. Both townslie along a fault line, in a zone of heavy earthquake activity; andsome specialists believe Neka may be the site of a clandestineweapons-related facility). [Salam 4/14; Iran Brief 5/6]

Russian Communist Party Leader Studies Koran

Guennadi Ziouganov, the leader of Russian Communist party and themain rival of president Yeltsin in June's presidential elections,says the Koran has opened his eyes to the "eternal and universalrules for progress and improvement of societies" - at least, if youbelieve an IRNA interview with the communist leader.

"Ziouganov confessed that by reading and studying Koran, he haddiscovered that the lack of attention to its sacred rules... willprevent humanity from achieving its elevated and spiritualcapacities," IRNA claimed.

According to IRNA, Ziouganov said he has read Koran twice in itsentirety. [Salam 4/18]

Taleban talks stir dispute

In a major policy shift, the Islamic Republic has begun talks withthe Afghan rebel group Taleban, after years of steady support for theRabbani government in Kabul. But the new policy has come under strongattack from the ultra-conservative daily Jomhouri-e Eslami, which isowned by Ayatollah Khamene'i.

On April 23, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced thata Taleban delegation had arrived in Mashad the day before to discussconditions for withdrawing Taleban forces from Kabul.

But a Taleban spokesman had initially announced from Ghandehar(Afghanistan) that their delegation had been received in Tehran. Thiswas firmly denied on the 24th by Deputy Foreign Minister Borujerdi,who was apparently bowing to extensive pressure from theultra-conservatives.

Two days earlier, Jomhouri-e Eslami called Taleban a " bloodthirsty American-installed group, which has not only killed theinnocent people of Afghanistan, but [has murdered] Hojat-olEslam Mazari the leader of the Islamic Unity Party [Hezb-eVahdat-e Eslami, a pro-Iranian Shiite party in Afghanistan].

The daily also claimed that the true aim of the recent visit U.S.Assistant Secretary of State Robin Rafael had been to "disruptrelations" between the Islamic Republic and the various Afghangroups. [Jomhouri-e Eslami 4/22, 4/23, 4/24; Salam 4/24].

Taleban accuses Iran

At the same time a Taleban delegation was talking to the Iraniansin Mashad, a Taleban spokesman accused the Islamic Republic ofsending arms and ammunition to the Rabbani government and itssupporters. Molavi Vakil Ahmad claimed that "different kinds ofweapons and ammunition are being transferred to Bagram military base,60 kilometers north of Kabul, by Iranian airplanes several times aday." The weapons included "different kinds of anti-tank andantipersonnel mines, which the Rabbani government uses in maintaininga security belt around Kabul," Vakil Ahmad reportedly said.[Jomhouri-e Eslami, 4/24]

Mujahidin called "terrorist" group by State Department

The State Department's latest terrorism report lists the People'sMujahidin Organization of Iran (PMOI) as a "terrorist" group. Thiswas first time an Iranian opposition group has ever figured among theState Department's list of terrorist organizations. The report,"Patterns of Global Terrorism 1995," was released on April 30,1996/

In the section on Iran, which we quoted in full in the FDINewswire for May 6, 1996, the PMOI was called "the regime's mainopposition group." But in an appendix entitled "BackgroundInformation on Major Groups Discussed in the Report," the StateDepartment lists the Mujahidin, noting that the PMOI "directs aworldwide campaign against the Iranian Government that stressespropaganda and occasionally uses terrorist violence."

The full text of the report's Appendix on the Mujahidinfollows:

Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO) a.k.a.: The NationalLiberation Army of Iran (NLA, the militant wing of the MEK), thePeople's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), National Council of Resistance(NCR), Muslim Iranian Student's Society (front organization used togarner financial support)

Description

Formed in the 1960s by the college-educated children of Iranianmerchants, the MEK sought to counter what is perceived as excessiveWestern influence in the Shah's regime. In the 1970s, the MEKconcluded that violence was the only way to bring about change inIran. Since then, the MEK has been following a philosophy that mixesMarxism and Islam, and has developed into the largest and most activearmed Iranian dissident group. Its history is studded withanti-Western activity, and, most recently, attacks on the interestsof the clerical regime in Iran and abroad.

Activities

The MEK directs a worldwide campaign against the IranianGovernment that stresses propaganda and occasionally uses terroristviolence. During the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks insideIran to destabilize and embarrass the Shah's regime; the group killedseveral US military personnel and civilians working on defenseprojects in Tehran. The group also supported the takeover in 1979 ofthe US Embassy in Tehran. In April 1992, the MEK carried out attackson Iranian embassies in 13 different countries, demonstrating thegroup's ability to mount large-scale operations overseas.

Strength

Several thousand fighters based in Iraq with an extensive overseassupport structure. Most of the fighters are organized in the MEK'sNational Liberation Army (NLA).

Location/Area of Operation

In the 1980s, the MEK's leaders were forced by Iranian securityforces to flee to France. Most resettled in Iraq by 1987. Since themid-1980s, the MEK has not mounted terrorist operations in Iran at alevel similar to its activities in the 1970s. Aside from the NationalLiberation Army's attacks into Iran toward the end of the Iran-Iraqwar, and occasional NLA cross-border incursions since, the MEK'sattacks on Iran have amounted to little more than harassment. The MEKhas had more success in confronting Iranian representatives overseasthrough propaganda and street demonstrations.

External Aid

Beyond support from Iraq, the MEK uses front organizations tosolicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.

"Prostitutes" Foundation Session In Washington

The respected Washington, DC Foundation for Iranian Studies willhold its seventh annual conference on June 15 at George WashingtonUniversity, around the theme of "Iranian Women and Human Rights."

This is how the meeting was reported in the official Tehranpress:

"During this event, some performers of Pahlavi reign era willstage their abilities, and participating in the event will cost$200." [Iran daily 4/30].

Jomhouri-e Eslami was more dismissive. "The Foundation, which someIranian prostitutes and fugitive women run, is paid for by theAmerican government." [4/30]

The Foundation is in fact directed by Mrs. Mahnaz Afkhami, awell-respected advocate of women's rights in Iran and a formerminister for women's affairs under the shah.

FDI's Weekly Newswire

FDI WEEKLY NEWSWIRE NO 4

May 13, 1996

CONTENTS: