FDI's Weekly Newswire

The life and [troubled] times of the Islamic Republic of Iran

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FDI WEEKLY NEWSWIRE NO 6

May 27, 1996

On Friday evening, 145 of the newly-elected members of Parliament gathered at the residence of Ayatollah Khomeini in the north of Tehran, to declare their support to Rafsanjani. Mohammad Hashemi, the President's brother, and Abdallah Nouri, a former Interior Minister condemned Nateq Nouri and his followers, saying that "people who accuse the Rafsanjani faction of being "liberal" are mistaken.

Mohammad Reyshari, a former Intelligence Minister and long-considered a "radical" cleric, also made speech in support of Rafsanjani. "If anybody makes an attack against Rafsanjani, this is also an attack against the Revolution. The person and character of Rafsanjani should be defended by all revolutionaries."

The meeting was reported in the ultra-conservative Jomhouri-e Eslami daily, which is owned by Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i, suggesting that Rafsanjani has found a new ally. Reyshari serves as a senior advisor to Khamene'i and favored strong anti-Western policies in the 1980s, including of Westerners in Lebanon and terrorist attacks against the United States. [5/24].

Unprecedented clashes between LEF and Ansar-e Hezbollah

In a statement issued in Tehran Friday, May 24, the opposition Iran Nation's Party reported that "unprecedented physical clashes" had occurred during the week between the LEF and Ansar-e Hezbollah.

The clashes began on Wednesday, when Ansar-e Hezbollah elements staged an anti-Karbaschi demonstration in front of the Tehran municipality offices and were dispersed by the LEF. A second clash occurred on Thursday, when LEF units intervened after an attack by Ansar-e Hezbollah units on the Azadi theater in downtown Tehran.

Ansar-e Hezbollah is a unit of the Rev. Guards Land Force, which reports to Ayatollah Jannati and is allied with Nateq Nouri, while the LEF is controlled by the Ministry of Interior. The clashes between these two government security forces would appear to be yet another example of the serious nature of the infighting between the ruling factions of the IRI.

The INP reported "at least" ten AH personnel were injured in the clashes, although no shots were fired. [INP statement 5/24]s

Radical Weekly Banned After Attack on Corruption

The radical weekly "Payam-e Daneshjou" ("The Message of Basiji Student") was closed last week, following accusations that it was "scattering the seeds of sedition and hypocrisy." [Iran Daily/5/12]. It was the second time in 8 months the weekly, which publishes investigative pieces, was closed.

In recent issues, Payam-e Daneshjou has targeted corruption inside the Bonyad-e Mostazafan, the huge multi-billion dollar conglomerate created out of the former Pahlavi Foundation and the assets seized for Iranian expatriates [5/1 issue]. The weekly has also run a scathing attack on President Rafsanjani, called "The rulers of Rafsanjan," accusing him and his family of taking multi-million dollar commissions from U.S. and other companies for their pistachio business [5/14 issue]

In its last issue [5/21], the weekly asked Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene'i questions which may have further contributed to its demise, including these: "How many clerics were killed in [the Iran-Iraq] war? How many of them are among the hundreds of thousands of war invalids? And how many of them, now occupy key positions of power in our country?"

Students Protest In Balouchistan, Gilan and Isfahan Universities

Students in the faculties of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Humanities of Sistan va Balouchistan University in Zahedan have protested on-campus conditions, and asked for greater representation on the University Council and various disciplinary committees.

Meanwhile, students at Gilan University in Rasht, have also staged a protest, demanding the removal of the University president. [Iran Daily 5/2, 5/12]

And at Isfahan University, students reportedly clashed with Ansar-e Hezbollah elements last week, after the students had protested the closure of the radically weekly Payam-e Daneshjou. [Jomhouri-e Eslami, 5/24].

Campus unrest has gotten the attention of the authorities, who apparently fear a "hot summer" this year. In a recent speech, Ayatollah Khamene'i has threatened to remove "liberal" and "counter-revolutionary" faculty members, not only at the secular universities but at the Qom seminaries, as we reported in last week's newswire ["Major demonstrations in Tabriz lead to security crackdown"]

"There are rumors in the universities about defending freedoms, social and individual rights, and opening to Western culture and civilization," said a representative of Azad university, a private college owned by the Rafsanjani clan. ":But for us, freedom is only acceptable in the framework of Islam," he hastened to add. [Resalat, 5/9]

Bribing Basijis

A special bank was opened in south Tehran which will award interest- free loans to Basijis, the para- military groups used as an auxiliary force to impose Islamic laws on the country.

Rev. Guards Brig. General Alireza Afshar, commander of the Basij Force, said the establishment of the bank was voted last winter by the government, but must now be approved by the Majlis. [Ettelaat 5/11]

Creation of the Basij Bank is just one of the many privileges recently was granted to the Basijis. In Tehran alone, the government has estimated there are currently 230.000 Basijis, who in theory at least are part of the "20 Million-strong Army" of Islamic Revolutionaries.

The Rev. Guards and the Basijis have been upping the ante in recent months, asking for more privileges. Rev. Guards commander Mohsen Rezai criticized government "liberals" at a May Day gathering of Basiji factory workers in Tehran for failing to take care of the Basijis. "Long ago, the fourth Majlis voted a bill to distribute a part of the shares of factories to Hezbollahis. But one and a half years later, there is no significant action in this direction."

"If Hezbollahi forces become the actors in the scene of country's affairs, the fake inflation will disappear and the countries construction will accelerate ten times," Rezai claimed.

Rezai asked all Basijis to follow the Supreme Leader in the fight with World Arrogance [the U.S.] and liberals [Rafsanjani]. [Kayhan 4/30]

Rezai is said to still bear a grudge against the President for his role in ending the war with Iraq in 1988.

Nateq Nouri, candidate

For the first time a major conservative paper has referred to "Ayatollah" Nateq Nouri, Rafsanjani's main rival, as the best candidate for president of the Islamic Republic.

Until recently, Nateq Nouri has been referred to as a Hojjat-ol eslam, a lower rank in the clerical pecking order.

Resalat, which reflects the ideas of the influential conservative circles, including wealthy Bazaar merchants, quoted Mr. Nasr Esfahani, the Secretary General of the Fars province Students Islamic Community, as saying: "We have reached the conclusion that Hojjat-ol eslam [sic] Nateq Nouri, has all necessary credentials to be President of Republic and can be the promoter of many reforms."

Speaking in the National Students Islamic Communities in Shiraz, Nasr Esfahani said he felt Nateq Nouri's best qualification to be president was "his total obedience to The Leader, and his eagerness to consult with Islamic experts."

In a clear reference to Rafsanjani, he said: "Hojjat-ol eslam Nateq Nouri's record as the Majlis Speaker is excellent. If he had relied solely on government experts and had not taken into account the Leader's guidance, inflation would be twice what it is today," Nasr Esfahani said. [Resalat 4/30]

Next year's presidential campaign has already begun...

Basij Military ranks based on ideology

The military ranks of Basiji militia members will be based on their "ideological commitment," said Hojjat-ol eslam Abbas Baba'ian, the Ideological-Political Deputy of the Basij Force in Mazandaran Province.

"Last year in Mazandaran province, 200,000 Basijis attended ideological and political programs with the Revolutionary Guards Corps," Baba'ian said.

Of these, some 32,600 Basijis were selected for promotion on the basis of their ideological commitment and religious background," Baba'ian added. [Kayhan5/6]

New Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The Islamic Republic has appointed a new "Extraordinary Ambassador" to Saudi Arabia, Hojjat-ol eslam Mohamad Reza Nouri-e Shahroudi. The new ambassador to Saudi had been serving as Iran's top envoy to Libya for the past six years. [Jomhouri-e Eslami, 5/9]

Scarcely a week after his arrival in Riyadh, the U.S. State Department statement, warned Americans in Saudi Arabia to "exercise caution" and "keep a low profile." The statement said the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, "has received an anonymous phone call threatening retaliation against Americans in Saudi Arabia if four Saudi citizens charged in a car bombing six month ago are punished." [Associated Press, 5/17]

A powerful car bomb at a U.S. run training facility in Riyadh killed five Americans and two Indians in November.

The State Department warning coincided with a public warning by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati that "the ruling dynasty in Saudi Arabia will soon be toppled by an Islamic Revolution." [see last week's Newswire]

University Professor Fired Following Newspaper Attack

A university professor was fired after he was attacked in the radical Sobh weekly, in an anonymous article from a "Group of Students." The professor, referred to as "Dr. Ahmad Z.,", was teaching at the College of Communication of Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University.

Sobh gloated after his dismissal that he had been fired "following publication of an article in our paper exposing his repeated assaults on religious values." [Sobh 5/7]

More Executions

Two men, identified only as "Gholamali" and "Jome'e," were executed recently in Birjand on charge of drug smuggling, according to a brief announcement in the "accidents" column of the daily Hamshahri

A local revolutionary court in Birjand sentenced the pair to death, then their sentences were approved by the Supreme Court in Tehran. No other information on the conditions of their trial, their right to legal defense, or the exact date of executions, were provided. [Hamshahri 5/11]

On May 10, a man identified as Abbas Mahmoudi was hanged in Kerman, after being convicted of homicide. The parents of the victim were reportedly present at the hanging. the papers employed the same formula frequently used to announce the execution of non-political prisoners, saying Mahmoudi had been "hanged after being sentenced by court, and following the approval of the Supreme Court." [Iran Daily 5/13]

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year, the regime has announced the execution of 17 men, on charges of homicide, drug smuggling, rape, and for political reasons (the five hanged in Tabriz on May 14 during the demonstrations we reported in last week's Newswire). Eight others were reportedly killed "during clashes" with the Law Enforcement Forces (see related item below). Last year, the regime announced it had executed 307 persons on various charges, including "belonging to an outlawed political organization," "espionnage," and "anti-government activities." [FDI data base].

Four Killed In Clash With Revolutionary Guards

Four "armed bandits" were killed in a clash with Revolutionary Guards troops in mountains of near Kerman in southern Iran, while two others were reportedly injured. The men were accused of "several acts of armed robbery and killings," Hamshahri alleged, although it provided no other source that newspaper's local reporter in Kerman. Interestingly, the paper reported that "arms, communications equipment, cars and other items" were confiscated from the "bandits," suggesting that the group may have been more than common criminals. [Hamshahri 5/14]

Adding to these suspicions was the fact the clash reportedly occurred with Pasdaran troops, and not with Law Enforcement Forces. The regime has been fighting a low level insurgency in the southern and eastern provinces for several years, against Balouch and other tribal elements.

Hanged man, revived, faces renewed prosecution

A hanged man was pardoned by the parents of the victim , two minutes after he was hanged for murder. He was taken to hospital, and brought back to life. But judiciary authorities said he will be prosecuted again after recovery.

Gholam Sakhi was arrested by the LEF in Varamin (south of Tehran) for the murder of Hassan Heydari, and condemned to death. But when relatives of the victim saw him hang, they decided to forgive him. "The relatives and the killer hugged each other when the man was brought down" from the scaffold, said the local Justice Department deputy, identified as Mr. Bashiri. Sakhi was immediately taken to the prison hospital and brought back to life. "But despite the pardon of the victim's parents, the killer will be prosecuted for homicide according to the rule of law," Bashiri added.

In a similar case, a man was recently executed for raping his secretary, even after she had publicly pardoned him. [Ettelaat, 5/11]

IRI furious with new VOA transmitter

The Islamic Republic has reacted angrily to inauguration of a new 600 KW medium-wave transmitter in Kuwait by the Voice of America, which will be used for the Farsi-language service.

The new transmitter is believed to be powerful enough to reach taxi radios in Iran's eastern and southern provinces. Inaugurating the new transmitter at a ceremony in Washington, DC on May 17, VOA Director Geoffrey Cowan said: "Information is a powerful weapon. So if getting information to people in Iran about democracy and human rights and about what's happening inside their country and in the world makes a difference politically, then this will be a transmitter of tremendous importance."

The official reaction in Tehran was furious.

Majlis speaker Nateq Nouri railed: "We cannot tolerate that the U.S. use this transmitter against us, and we are sure the Kuwaiti authorities won't tolerate these kind of acts, which damage our good relations," Tehran radio reported [5/20]

Nateq Nouri had the tact to address these words to his Kuwaiti counterpart as he was leaving Iran after a three day official visit.

When asked why Kuwait was allowing the U.S. to set up the new transmitter, the Kuwaiti parliament speaker, Ahmed Abdul-Aziz al-Sadoun, said that "Radio Kuwait accorded the transmitter to the Americans through a bilateral agreement signed several years ago," Tehran radio reported. "But I don't have any idea about the contents of the programs of VOA," al-Sadoun added.

Prior to al-Sadoun's departure, the radical Jomhouri-e Eslami daily attacked Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah for allowing VOA to operate from his country. In an article titled "Emir's Ungratefulness," the paper said: "The least thing we can do now, is to install a radio station in southern Iran, and let the Emir's opponents run it. Sheikh Jabir's behavior is a sign of his continued hostility toward our revolution and the Islamic Republic order." [5/20]

Meanwhile, IRNA reported that the Islamic Republic did not really wait for al-Sadoun's departure from Iran to launch the counterattack. On May 17, the Voice of the Islamic Republic began broadcasting from a new transmitter located in Sirjan, in the south of Iran, which IRNA called "the most powerful short wave radio transmitter in the world."

The new station uses five 500 KW transmitters, with rotating antennas, which enables the Voice of Islamic Republic to cover the globe entirely.

"As of May 20, the antenna of one of these transmitters will be aimed at the U.S., so the Voice of the Islamic Republic can be heard clearly in that country," IRNA added [5/20].

Top bank director changed after corruption scandal

The general manager of an important state-owned bank was dismissed just prior to the release of a Majlis investigation that alleged wide-scale embezzlement and fraud in Iran's state-owned banking sector. But it was unclear whether this and other changes were more than a shell game.

Minister of Economic and Financial affairs Morteza Mohamad Khan dismissed the Director General of Bank Sepah, Kazemi Namin, replacing him with Valiolah Seif, his counterpart at the Bank Saderat. The musical chairs appointment raised eyebrows with editors of the conservative daily Jomhouri-e Eslami, who called it "fishy" since "both banks have been famous for well-publicized embezzlement cases."

Replacing Seif at Bank Saderat was Mohammad Reza Moghadasi.

The intention of Economics Minister Khan may have been to avoid parliamentary questioning of his bank directors, since under current law a "former" bank director cannot be questioned by the Majlis.

Last week, the Majlis committee investigating the bank scandals released its report which alleged that 241 cases of embezzlement costing the bank a total of $19.9 million had occurred at the Bank Melli Iran in the seven year period ending last November. Other cases were uncovered at Bank Saderat and Bank Sepah. [Iran daily, 5/13]

Kayhan attacks The Iran Brief

Kayhan daily, which is published by the Ministry of Information and Security (MOIS), recently published an item criticizing The Iran Brief, a Washington based monthly investigative newsletter. The newsletter had carried an item alleging that Iranian intelligence agents were carrying out surveillance in the Washington, DC area, to spot potential targets for a terrorist attack. "The Iran Brief continues that for several months, Iranian intelligence agents who live near Washington, were busy watching strategic Air Forces near Washington," Kayhan wrote. "Now it is clear how the famous $20 million budget that U.S. government has allocated to fight the Islamic Republic is being spent. But probably the U.S. government should spend this budget to buy drugs to calm the nervousness of the anti- revolutionaries they have gathered around themselves." [Kayhan 5/14/96]

Iran Brief story on Iranian surveillance

Here is the full text of the article that appeared in The Iran Brief, as quoted by Kayhan (see above).

The following material first appeared in The Iran Brief

Issue Number 21, dated 4/1/96

Available by e-mail at medp@erols.com

Serial 2117

Iran preparing new terrorist attacks

An Argentinean counter-terrorist expert, Julio Cirino, said last week he believes that Iran has a whole series of terrorist "attacks on the shelf," which can be activated on short notice "once the political decision has been taken."

Intelligence networks operating out of Iranian embassies overseas, and through local cultural and social organizations with ties to Iran, have done all the preliminary work, he said. "The primary and secondary targets are already designated, to reduce the time needed to execute them once the political decision is taken." Previously, most intelligence analysts have worked under the assumption that successful terrorist attacks require extensive planning and time. With this unique strategy of contingency attacks, Iran can respond much more quickly and catch counter-intelligence services unawares.

Cirino's discoveries come from a detailed analysis of the way in which Iran used its embassy in Buenos Aires and contacts in the Iranian community in Argentina (especially, among Buenos Aires taxi drivers) to plot the bombings of the Israeli embassy and the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires. Cirino is one of his nation's top counter-terrorism analysts.

He notes that while Iran tends to use a large number of "expendable assets" locally for the execution of terrorist attacks, the attacks themselves "are quite professionally planned and executed." This is because Iran uses "two levels of operatives," Cirino contends: the expendable local assets, and a cadre of well-trained professionals. "Iran maintains more than 30 training camps in Iran," Cirino said, "and has achieved a high degree of specialization inside these camps that produces very good specialists in different terrorist techniques."

Iran's penetration of Islamic communities worldwide and its use of seemingly-innocuous religious and social institutions in countries as far apart as Japan and the United States, shows "a long term buildup in capabilities, making Iran capable of operating simultaneously all over the world, with a well-established support structure" in various countries.

Cirino warned that just because Iran has not launched terrorist attacks in the United States does not mean they do not have plans to do so or the means to carry them out.

The Iran Brief has learned from intelligence sources that an Iranian reconnaissance team has been casing out U.S. Air Force bases in the Washington, DC area in recent months, possibility in preparation for a terrorist attack. As in the cases evoked by Cirino, the reconnaissance work has been done by local residents, responsible for determining which sites are most vulnerable to attack. In the event Iran decides to actually launch an attack, a special hit team will come in at the last moment to actually carry out the attack. In addition to surveillance of the targets, the local support network is also responsible for preparing safe houses, transportation, and escape plans for the professional hit team, making it highly unlikely they will get caught.

The FBI has several Washington, DC coffee houses and restaurants currently under surveillance which are known hang-outs for individuals believed to be working with Iranian intelligence agents operating out of the Interests Section in Washington and Iran's UN Mission in New York.

Swan song of the 4th Majlis

The outgoing Majlis passed a flurry of new legislation and held often controversial debates in its final days, which are likely to set the tone for the new legislature when it takes office on June 1. The debates focused attention on corruption scandals, and were often highly critical of President Rafsanjani. We present a running chronicle below.

April 23. Only three days after the second round of the parliamentary elections, 30 deputies of the outgoing Majlis presented a "most urgent" bill to change the electoral law. New restrictions would make it more difficult to run for office. "The candidate should have a good reputation in his electoral district, and should be known to be obedient to the Supreme Leader." [Salam 4/24]

April 24: A deputy from Damavand and Firooz-Kooh, Ahmad Rasuli-Nejad, told Resalat daily: "Now it is clear that the Tehran Town Hall has been the main culprit in election fraud. The people ask that the Tehran mayor... be dealt with severely." [Resalat 4/25].

April 30: A bill was passed changing the status of employees of the Islamic Propagation Organization, making them full-fledged civil servants. [Hamshahri, 5/1]. As a result, their salaries and benefits will be improved. Before the change, they were considered a "revolutionary" organization, similar to the para-statal foundations, which receive funds from the government but are not directly under government control.

May 4: A deputy from Damavand and Firooz-Kooh, Ahmad Rasuli-Nejad, criticized Rafsanjani for "nepotism, putting incompetent officials and relatives in key positions, inviting industrial tycoons from the Shah's era, and distancing himself from the poor." He asked Rafsanjani: "Have you ever punished or dismissed a corrupt official, or denounced a fraud or a plunder?" He denounced the government for "liberalism", and claimed that some of its members believe in the separation of religion from politics. (Ettelaat, 5/4)

May 5: 13 deputies officially asked for the interpellation of Interior Minister, Ali Mohammed Besharati, on the charge of election irregularities. On the same day, Minister of Post and Communications Mohammad Gharazi was criticized for secretly seeking an illegal loan of DM 1 Billion from the German company Siemens and the BHE bank fourteen months ago. At the same session, the Ministers of Industry and Interior were questioned about alleged wrongdoings. by some deputies on their wrongdoings.

A female deputy from Tabriz, Mrs. Fatemeh Homayoun Moghadam, praised south Tehran dwellers for beating the Tehran Mayor recently, when he wanted to address some of his supporters in a mosque.

Abolfazle Ardakani, a deputy from Sepidan, threatened to investigate the Bonyad-e Mostazafan. "I seriously ask the Majlis investigation commission to investigate the thieves of the Foundation, and report their shameless scandals and great treasons to the Majlis and the people." [Salam, 5/6]

Also on May 5, the Majlis urgently added an article to the Islamic Punishments Law, which sets the capital punishment for those who reveal classified information to foreigners and Iranian opposition groups. [Jomhouri-e Eslami, 5/6]

May 6: The results of the Majlis investigation into alleged fraud at the state-owned Bank Markazi, Bank Saderat, Bank Melli, and Bank Sepah, were released. The main personality accused by the Majlis in the fraud schemes of the Central Bank was the Central Bank director, Mr. Hossein Adeli, the architect of the free market policy and economic opening to the west. [Resalat, 5/6]

May 7: The Commission of Economic and Financial Affairs of Majlis, revealed the results of its investigation on the sale of government cars. Tens of millions of dollars were lost to mismanagement and corruption by government agencies, the report concluded. [Resalat, 5/8]

May 8: Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi, Tehran's Mayor, asked Nateq Nouri to let him answer repeated criticisms from Majlis deputies. Karbaschi sent copies of his letter to newspapers and some Majlis Deputies. [Salam, 5/8] [Nateq-Nouri never replied].

As we reported in last week's Newswire [Eternal' Advantages For Majlis Deputies], deputies voted a "most urgent" procedure to consider a bill that would preserve their "rights" - defined as salaries plus immunity from civil prosecution - for the rest of their lives. [Salam, Jomhouri-e Eslami, 5/9]

May 9: In an editorial on the government car sale fiasco, Salam wrote: "In less than one year, at least 24,000 cars belonging to government were sold to high ranking officials in Ministries and government offices on credit, for one fourth of their real value. These cars were then sold on the market. In many cases, the government leased the same cars back from its directors, at higher than the monthly payments paid by their owners. Then because of a shortage of government vehicles, the government had to buy new cars. Many government branches and revolutionary foundations did not follow legal procedures and rules of selling government properties." [Salam 5/9]

May 12: Several articles of the Islamic Punishment Law were changed to increase punishment (up to the death penalty) for those who insult "Islamic holy concepts." Women who do not observe full "Islamic dress" in public places will be punished by "ten days to two months imprisonment, and a fine up to 500,000 Rials.

May 14: The fourth Majlis is scheduled to close on May 26, and with the 5th Majlis starting its legislative term on June 9 [Kayhan 5/14].

May 15: The results of an investigation into the finances of the Tehran municipality was submitted to the Majlis, alleging widespread corruption involving Tehran Mayor Karbaschi.

May 25: Majlis speaker Nateq Nouri was criticized by Jomhouri-e Eslami for failing to release to the public a 215 page Majlis investigation into corruption at the largest para-statal foundation, the Bonyad-e Mostazafan, run by Khamene'i crony, Mohsen Rafic-doust.[Jomhouri-e Eslami 5/25]

FDI's Weekly Newswire

FDI WEEKLY NEWSWIRE NO 6

May 27, 1996

CONTENTS: