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 22

Sept. 30, 1996

 

CONTENTS:

 

Paris court sentences IRI agents

Rushdie fatwa still valid...

Pasdaran commander threatens U.S.

A new army of... 1.4 million

Silk road reopens

Opposition group score against Velayati

"We can make all kinds of planes," says AF commander

Rev. Guards, stay alert! says Nateq-Nouri

Rafiq-doust likes Russian planes

Sharp increase in divorce rate

Rafsanjani decries U.S. 'dirty tricks' in Africa

Public Hospitals short of funds

Rafsanjani U now "completely" segretated

Women must dress properly! says Besharati

Beware caterers and wedding parties

130 Iranians deported from the UAE

Regime poisons opposition Kurds

 

Paris court sentences IRI agents

 

A Paris terrorism court sentenced two Iranian government agents oncharges of conspiring to assassinate four opposition leaders on Sept.27, and will now try the pair on murder charges.

The two Iranians - Hossein Yasand-Sete, and Mojtaba Mashadi - weresentenced to three years and seven years respectively for havingconspired to murder Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, Dr. Manoucher Gandji,former President Bani Sadr, and a fourth dissident living in theParis area. They were apprehended by French police while casing theapartment of a fifth Iranian exile in December 1993, and have beenheld ever since.

Under interrogation by French counter-terrorism judge Jean-LouisBruguière, the two admitted they were working for Iran'sForeign Intelligence service, VAJA.

Now they face charges for the murder of Gandji deputy Cyrus Elahi,who was gunned down in front of his Paris residence in October 1990.[Iran Brief, 10/1]

 

Rushdie fatwa still valid...

 

Although the Islamic Republic has yet again tried to convince theEuropean Union that it would not assassinate British novelist SalmanRushdie because it doesn't like what he wrote, a conservative dailyowned by Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i has given the lie tothe overture.

Only two days before the Foreign Ministry published the text ofits Rushdie letter to the EU, Jomhouri-e Eslami warned that it wasmeaningless, and that "no official would make such a mistake" as toseriously pledge to rescind a so-called binding religious edict. (Infact, according to Ayatollah Mehdi Rouhani, leader of the Shiitecommunity in Europe and a recognized mujtahed who is capable ofinterpreting Islamic texts, "fatwas" such as the Khomeini decreeagainst Rushdie are only valid during the lifetime of the cleric whoissued them. "From a purely Islamic point of view, the Rushdie fatwano longer exists," Rouhani says. Unless, of course, it has been"reissued" by Khomeini's successor as Supreme Leader, Ayatollah AliKhamene'i)

Jomhouri-e Eslami argued it was "inadmissible" for the Europeansto demand such a pledge from the Islamic Republic, and that "anycommitment from Tehran is invalid." Today, the Islamic Republic"enjoys such credibility and authority both inside and outside thecountry that it should insist on these principals more than before."

Velayati had been hoping that his written pledge to the EU, thatthe Islamic Republic would not send killers after Rushdie, would"open the doors to full cooperation between Iran and the EU."[Jomhouri-e Eslami 9/24]

 

Pasdaran commander threatens U.S.

 

Maj Gen Mohsen Rezai has escalated the war of words with the U.S.,warning on Sept. 24 that if the United States "continues its plotsagainst the Islamic Republic, we will strike against the U.S. in theregion with all conventional and unconventional means. We will notobserve any type of law or moderation in our operations against theAmericans," he said.

"As for the Israelis, they have only one option for attackingIran: their Air Force. If they do so, the Pasdaran will carry outoperations against Israel that will amaze the world." [TehranTimes 9/24]

 

A new army of... 1.4 million

 

Rev. Guards Brig, Javad Karimi, Basij commander in Khorrassanprovince, has announced the creation of a new internal repressiveorganization, the Revolutionary Organization of the Basij force[Sazemaneh enghelabi nirou-e basij]. The new force is tostart its activities in the next two months, and will have 1,368,000troops organized in 3,800 "hezbollah batallions."

The main duty of the new army is to "support the values of therevolution" and to stop behavior that "is against the laws ofreligion," Karimi said. Hezbollah batallions for the new force havealready been organized in factories and schools. [Jomhouri-eEslami, 9/24]

And what about Ayatollah Khomeini's "Army of 20 million" that wassupposed to sweep away corruption and U.S. influence from the MiddleEast?? Reduced by a factor of twenty? Call it revolutionary"downsizing" - Thermidor style.

 

Russian silk road reopens

 

After meeting with the Russian minister of Railways in Moscow,Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Safari, announced that the twocountries had agreed to reopen the Moscow-Tehran rail link throughthe Caucuses, which has been closed for five years because of theAzeri-Armenian war.

The ambassador said Iran was ready to transport Russian goods tothe Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean using the Sarakhs railway ineastern Iran. [Kayhan 9/25]

 

Opposition group score against Velayati

 

An Iranian opposition group, which previously has limited itselfto human rights appeals and statements denouncing the Tehran regime,took to the streets of New York City on Sept. 26, and claims to haveblocked a scheduled speech by Foreign Minister Ali AkbarVelayati.

"This has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams," said KhosrowAkmal, Secretary General of the Constitutionalists Movement of Iran,the group which coordinated the demonstration.

At the urging of pro-Tehran lobbyists, Velayati had been invitedto address a forum on the Caspian Sea, organized by Richard Bullietof the Middle East Institute of Columbia University. Velayati was inNew York for the UN General Assembly's annual meeting.

In a letter protesting the invitation to Columbia President Dr.George Rupp, the CMI reminded him that Mr. Velayati "has approved theIslamic Republic's terrorist activities and the attacks againstIranian dissidents. He also supports Khomeini's death sentenceagainst Salman Rushdie... Clearly the participation of the terroristVelayati at the Symposium will reflect adversely on ColumbiaUniversity."

Dr. Rupp did not respond to the letter. However, a streetdemonstration before Columbia University's Casa Italiana, organizedby CMI on Thursday afternoon, appears to have rattled Velayati enoughto have canceled his appearance at the last minute. Instead, hedispatched Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Maleki to deliver his speechoutlining Iran's policy toward the Caspian Sea.

Another scheduled participant, Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi, who hasorganized similar sanctions-bashing fora in the past, also failed toshow at the last minute.

A spokesman for Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nationssaid that Velayati "had a last minute change of schedule" thatprevented him from going to Columbia," involving a "bilateralmeeting" at the UN.

Gary Sick, who has worked tirelessly publicly and behind thescenes to promote a "dialogue" between the Tehran regime and theU.S., told the Columbia forum that the invitation of Velayatisignaled a change of heart in Washington. "He's dead wrong," a StateDepartment official replied. "We are not happy about the invitationto Velayati, but had no legal grounds to bar him" because of the UNmeeting. [Iran Brief 10/1]

 

"We can make all kinds of planes," says AF commander

 

"Iran now has the capability of designing and manufacturing allkinds of aircraft," Air Force commander Brig. Gen. Habib Baqaeiboasted recently.

Baqaei said the Air Force has employed "Western and Eastern[ie, Soviet-standard] systems" in manufacturing the newplanes. The first of the locally-made planes, a training aircraft,will be flown during the yearly commemoration of the Islamic Republicin February, he said.

Gen. Baqaei shed no light on who would be making the new plane, orhow the Islamic Republic has succeeded in manufacturing aircraft whenthe only locally-produced car - the Paykan - is based on a 30-yearold design and was recently criticized in the Majlis becauseconsumers have complained of no fewer than 300 design failures.

Over the past ten years, the Islamic Republic authorities haveperiodically claimed to be manufacturing various types of aircraft,after having dismantled the aircraft repair facilities built by theShah with the help of U.S. companies shortly after the 1979revolution. With the exception of a glider recently unveiled by theIRGC (Pasdaran), none of these claims has become a reality. It mayjust be a coincidence, of course, but the authorities announced withgreat bravado only one month prior to Baqaie's claim that the Frenchgovernment had thumbed its nose at the U.S. embargo - by deliveringtrainer aircraft to the Islamic Republic.

Brig. Gen. Baqaei also claimed that the Air Force has recentlybuilt "high-precision laser-guided bombs which have been testedsuccessfully," and that they expected mass production to startsoon.

Saddam Hussein was also looking at laser-guided weaponry in thelate 1980s - after he had tested the very capable products suppliedhim by Aerospatiale of France (the AS30L, used repeatedly to attackthe T and H jetties at Kharg island, fired from French-suppliedMirage F1s).

The Air Force is also now "producing" Varian tubes, Baqaei said.These are essential to the operation of U.S. supplied HAWK airdefense systems, and other systems. (Wonder where those camefrom....).

"The Air Force has completed the design of radar units and airtraffic control systems, which are now ready for export...[T]he Air Force is ready to share its experience andtechnological know-how with states friendly to Iran," Baqaei said.[IRNA 9/23; Ettelaat Int'l, 9/25]

 

Rev. Guards, stay alert!

 

Majlis speaker Hojjat-ol eslam Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri has commendedthe Rev. Guard and Basij forces "to remain alert to foil new plots byGlobal Arrogance," the Islamic Republic's code-name for the U.S.

In an address to the ninth nationwide gathering of Rev. Guardscommanders, held at the commemoration of the start of the Iran-Iraqwar, Nateq-Nouri said that as long as the Islamic Republic remainsthe center of the Muslim world and the Revolution remains Islamic inthe "strictest sense of the word," then "Washington and the Zionistswill continue their attacks" against the Islamic Republic.[Kayhan Int'l, 9/18]

 

Rafiq-doust likes Russian planes

 

Mohsen Rafiq-doust, ex Pasdaran Minister and head of the Bonyad-eMostazafan va Janbazan (Foundation for the Oppressed and Disabled),has just signed a contract with a Russian firm to lease for 10Antonov-12 cargo aircraft. They will be flown by Bonyad Airline, alsoknown as Bon Air, a Mostazafan subsidiary.

Bon Air will use the planes for its own purposes, such as overseasprocurement, and will also lease them for a tidy sum to state-ownedaviation companies. [Kayhan Intl' 9/18]

 

Sharp increase in divorce rate

 

Suicide and prostitution are not the only social problems on therise under the Islamic Republic (although suicide statistics remain aclosely-guarded secret). Now, according to the official Iran daily,published by IRNA, the divorce rate is also on the rise.

Quoting a "local authority" in the southern port city of Busheir,Iran daily says there has been a 35% increase in the number ofdivorce cases over the past five months, as compared to the sameperiod last year. The "local authority" attributed the increase to arise in family disputes, and the "lack of understanding" amonghusbands and wives. [Indeed, Iranian women, miffed at theprospects of marrying men who already have one or several wives, havestarted a computerized marriage registry, so unwed women and theirfamilies can verify the claims of future husbands].

Official propaganda has previously claimed that the divorce ratehas plunged since the revolution, because of "Islamic" family valuesand the suppression of Western behavior. For it to rise sodramatically in Busheir, which has a reputation as a traditional andconservative city, suggests that the problem could be even morewidespread on a national level. [Iran, 9/18]

 

Rafsanjani decries U.S. 'dirty tricks' in Africa

 

Upon returning to Tehran after his whirlwind African safari (seelast week's Newswire), President Hashemi-Rafsanjani alleged that theU.S. had used a 'dirty tricks' campaign to sabotage his diplomatic"successes."

"The Americans did something immature and it was beneath the U.S.administration to embark on such cheap and primitive methods tohamper this tour," Rafsanjani told an IRNA correspondent in Tehran[9/16].

Rafsanjani said the Iranian delegation had succeeded in foilingthis vile attempt by "making the African states familiar with Iran'sachievements in the areas of reconstruction and development."

The only tangible result of Rafsanjani's trip, however - besidesthe slap in the face he received in South Africa, as we reported lastweek - appeared to be business deals for the Rafsanjani clan, whichowns Iran's largest private university. "We will set up branches ofIslamic Azad University in several African states," Rafsanjani toldIRNA. [Hamshahri 9/17; Tehran Times 9/17]

 

Public Hospitals short of funds

 

While the Islamic Republic prides itself on subsidizing hospitalson behalf of Islamic movements around the world, from Bosnia toLebanon and from Tanzania to Tajikstan, Iranian public hospital facea shortfall this year of $800 million, a top Parliamentarian hascharged.

Dr. Omidvar Rezai, deputy from Masjed-Soleiman and a member of theparliamentary health committee, criticized the government for cuttingsubsidies to the public health system last year, a decision "whichhas left all hospital and health centers around the country in aprecarious state," he told Resalat.

The government was unable to implement the Public Health Insurancebill passed by the Majlis last year, he said, because of a lack offunds.

"The high expense of medical services in public hospitals has ledto a reduction in referrals, which in turn has cut revenues of publichospitals" from the budgetted $650 million to approximately $480million this year, he said. He estimated that public hospitals andclinics faced a shortfall of "more than $800 million for the currentyear." [Resalat 9/19]

 

Rafsanjani U now "completely" segretated

 

Islamic Azad University - otherwise known as "Rafsanjani U" sinceit is owned primarily by the Rafsanjani clan - has decided the leadthe way when it comes to the regime's new policy of "Islamicizing"the universities. Recently the head of the University's Roudehancampus near Tehran, Mehdi Hosseini, declared his campus "completelysegregated" according to sex.

Thanks to a new building complex, Hosseini said, 15,000 male andfemale students at the campus now had the "priviledge" of beingtotally separated and could study at different parts of the campus.Despite the segregation, female students will be obliged to wear ablack veil when they enter the University ground, he said. "Girlswill be transported [from Tehran to Roudehan and back] by theuniversity's special all-female buses," Hosseini added.

He warned that students who do not obey strict Islamic orders andstandards "will have no place in this University."

Roudehan campus has been the center of heated debates betweenUniversity officials and Hezbollahi circles in recent months. TheHezbollahis had accused Roudehan students of "outrageous" mixingamong the sexes and of "anti-Islamic" behavior, although classes werealready sexually segregated.

When "Islamization" of the universities became a hot politicalsubject this spring, Islamic Azad University ["Free IslamicUniversity"] acquisced as did all other univeersity authorities.[Resalat 9/17]

For more on the Rafsanjani financial interest in Islamic AzadUniversity, see our July 1st newswire.

 

Women must dress properly!

 

Interior Minister Ali Mohammad Besharati has his eye on Iranianwomen - and protests that he sees too much!

In a speech to the Interior Ministry's "Anti-Corruption Committee"recently, he insisted that "the violation of the Islamic dress codeby some women should be severely dealt with. The current situation ofwomen incompletely covering themselves is not tolerable. We need tofind a fundamental solution" to the problem, Besharati said.

Besharati took particular umbrage at the dress code currentlypractised among female hospital workers. He promised to "urgently"draft a guideline for the regime's "anti-corruption" agents to"Islamicize" the hospitals.

He also urged law enforcement agents to crack down on theproducers and sellers of "un-Islamic" clothing for women and foryoung people in general. [Kayhan 9/17]

 

Beware caterers and wedding parties

 

In an effort to impose so-called Islamic law on privategatherings, the commander of Tehran's Law Enforcement Force, Rev.Guards Geneal Abolfathi, warned the owners of private gardens in theTehran suburbs not to organize "unauthorized" wedding parties and to"respect the norms and values of an Islamic country."

The LEF had identified twenty owners of such gardens, who will be"punished according to law," he said.

Abolfathi also warned catering companies who advertize theirservices to party organizers, since they were "promoting unlawfulevents." He said fifteen caterers had been identified whose caseswould be sent to the courts. [Kayhan 9/17]

To organize a private gathering such as a wedding party, one mustget a permit from the LEF. This usually entails a bribe to local LEFagents to tolerate music at such gatherings. A higher bribe must bepaid if alcohol is to be served.

 

130 Iranians deported from the UAE

 

130 Iranian nationals were recently deported from the United ArabEmirates (UAE), the New China News Agency reported from Dubai.[9/22]

Iranian nationals who had previously entered the UAE port city ofDubai without valid visas or passports were arrested and shipped backto Iran. The report said that those who had been arrested were sentback to the city of Shiraz.

The UAE authorities have become increasingly sensitive to"infiltration" by Iranian government agents posing as economicrefugees from the Islamic Republic. UAE police have had gun battleswith armed Pasdaran infiltrators on isolated beaches over the pasttwo years, diplomats in Dubai said. [Iran Brief 4/3/95].

 

Regime poisons opposition Kurds

 

An agent of the Islamic Republic has poisoned three leaders of theopposition KDPI, a statement released in Paris by the Partyalleges.

The incident occurred on Aug. 22, when an Iranian Kurd known toKurdish leaders in Saqez presented a box of poisoned biscuits to theKDPI Committee in charge of the affairs of the Saqez, Afshar, andDiwandareh regions, in the southern part of Iranian Kurdistan. Inorder to fool the KDPI officials, the infiltrator ate one of thebiscuits himself, then left. A few hours later, all three KDPIofficials were rushed to the hospital with symptoms of poisoning. AtaReazapur died on Sept. 3, while Saleh Charifi died on Sept. 13 as aresult of the poisoning. The third victim is still in hospital incritical condition. [KDPI statement 9/23]