What's New from FDI

and The Iran Brief

Come here to get a listing of the latest additions to ourWebsite.

June 13, 2000: Join FDI Executive Director Kenneth R.Timmerman on Pars TV in Los Angeles, commenting on the deathof Syrian President Hafez al Assad and the situation in Iran. Thislive call-in show begins at 5-6PM Pacific time. Studio line:818-708-6666.

May 20, 2000: FDI Executive Director Timmerssman explainshis proposed "Iran Asset Recovery Act"to a conference in Los Angeles on Human Rights Violations inIran, sponsored by MEHR Iran (Mission for the Establishment of HumanRights in Iran).

April 24, 2000: Pressclosures and arrests show limits of Khatami reforms. See also thecommentary by FDI Director and former U.S. Senate candidate KennethTimmerman on Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent openingtoward the Islamic Republic that appeared in theApril 14 edition of The Forward.

January 16, 2000: Selections from theDecember issue of The Iran Brief are now available on-line.Highlights: An analysis of contradictory moves by the U.S., asPresident Clinton seeks to open relations with the Islamic Republicas part of his "legacy" as president; new information on the 1998"serial murders" of Iranian dissidents; Europe takes the lead incriticizing Tehrarednew.gifn for jailingreformist cleric Abdallah Nouri; evidence of recent Iraniangovernment terrorism; and a blocked shipment of weapons productiongear from China.

January 10, 2000: The Foundation for Democracy in Iran isin mourning over the death yesterday in Paris of boardmember Mehdi Rouhani, from pancreatic cancer. Ayatollah Rouhani,the leader of the Shiite Muslim community in Europe and an outspokenopponent of the Tehran regime, was 67. He died at home, surrounded byhis immediate family.Over his long and distinguished career, Dr.Rouhani constantly emphasized religious tolerance, and sought tobuild bridges among the world's great Monotheistic religions.

Dec. 9, 1999: Selections from theNovember issue of The Iran Brief are now available on-line.Highlights: President Khatami's deal-signing trip to France; U.S.Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk's critical speech of Iranto the Asia Society, and U.S. intelligence reports on new Russian andSouth African nuclear sales to Iran

Nov. 21, 1999: Today we commemorate a sad day in Iranianhistory, with the first anniversary of the brutal murders of the mostprominent leaders of the secular opposition in Iran, Parvaneh andDarioush Forouhar. FDIurges all lovers of freedom, regardless of their creed, to say aprayer today for the Forouhars and their quest for freedom in Iran.We pray that their deaths may have not been in vain, but will servethe great cause of freedom and democracy for all Iranians.

Nov 11, 1999: Selections from the October issue of The IranBrief are now available on-line. Our top story: U.S.talks to Iran. A senior U.S. official has held talks with an"authorized representative" of the government of Iran; and so far,news of the meetings has failed to set off a firestorm in Tehran. Wealso cover the arrest of Hamas leaders in Jordan, the visit of theGreek defense minister to Iran, and the cancellation by Canada of thesale of a fusion reactor,only days after the proposed sale was revealed by The Iran Brief.

Oct. 7, 1999: Posted written testimonybefore the House International Relations Committee on how topU.S. government officials allowed Russia to help build Iran's missileprograms. At the same time, links to earlier articles on StrobeTalbott, and in the Wall Street Journal, were added.

Oct. 5, 1999: Selections from the September issue of TheIran Brief are now available on-line. Our top story: Iranto buy nuclear fusion plant from Canada.: Why is Iranspending close to $50 million to buy a research reactor that has nocommercial use? We also detail back-room negotiations by an IranianJewish intermediary in London, Hamid Sabi ("PlotThickens around Iranian Jews"),and more. Also check outour Books &Articles section for new articles on China, and U.S.export control policy.

Sept. 20, 1999: Just four days later the EuropeanParliament calls for the suspension of all high-level visits toprotest the death sentences against pro-democracy students andagainst Iranian Jews, Austrian president Thomas Klestilarrives in Tehran to sign new commercial contracts with theregime.(Iran Brief subscribers will find more in our Oct. 1999issue.)

Sept. 13, 1999: Forty-nine persons were convicted in asecret trial for their role in the student riots that rocked Tehranin July, and four of them were sentenced to death, the head of theRevolutionary Court said in a statement released to the hard-lineJomhouri-e Eslami daily on Sept. 13.

Sept. 9, 1999: Selectionsfrom the August issue of The Iran Brief are now availableon-line. Our top story is a round-up of the latest news: Regimecracks down on pro-democracy protests. See also excerpts fromour report on U.S.-Russianuclear talks, and our prediction, published in early August,that Vladimir Putin would become President Yeltsin's latest PrimeMinister (He was appointed less than one week later).

August 9, 1999: Fom the Julyissue of The Iran Brief. We carried an exclusiveinvestigation exposing Mujahedin fund-raising in Holland, andrecent MEK campaign to buy influence in the U.S. Congress. Wecontinued coverage of the Forouhar murders with a report on the deathof Saed Emami: Forouharassassin gets suicided (Emami shod shahid vajebi).

August 5, 1999: Writing in today'sWall Street Journal Europe, FDI Executive Director KennethTimmerman tells the astonishing story of how President Khatamiabandoned the very people who voted for him, putting survival of theregime of absolute clerical rule ahead of freedom.

July 23, 1999: FDI has issued an ActionMemorandum, calling on the Islamic Republic authorities toimmediately and unconditionally release student leaders ManouchehrMohammadi and Gholamreza Mohajeri-Nezhad and all others arrestedduring the recent protests. FDI believes that without coordinatedinternational pressure the regime will be encouraged to arrest morestudent leaders, and calls on freedom-loving people everywhere tounite in protesting these arrests.

July 19, 1999: Keyhan newspaper in Tehran revealed today a"secret" petition signed by top IRGC commanders that was sentto President Khatami on July 12, warning him to back off on hisreform program "before it is too late," Reuters reported. "Ourpatience is at an end. We do not feel it is our duty to show any moretolerance," the officers wrote. Among the 24 signatories were thecommanders of the Revolutionary Guards Corp land, sea and air forces."Mr. President, if you don't take a revolutionary decision today, andfail to abide by your Islamic and nationalistic duty, tomorrow willbe too late and the damage done will be irreparable and beyondimagination," Kayhan quoted the letter as saying. Khatami respondedpublicly by denouncing the student protestors (seeJuly 14, 1999 entry), and calling for them to end theprotests.

July 18, 1999: The Intelligence Minister announced onSunday that it had arrested student leaders Manouchehr Mohammadiand Gholamreza Mohajeri-Nezhad today, and accused them ofconspiring with "with the help of the counter-revolution and of theso-called human rights circles" to plan the recent student protests.Relatives of both men expressed fear that they could be executedunder Iran's tough 1996 espionage law. Seyyed Javad Emami and HasanZare'zadeh Ardeshir, of the Central Committee of the Student'sIslamic Association, and Mohammad Salamati, the secretary of theStudent's United Front , were also reportedly arrested according tothe Paris-based Iran Press Service.

July 17, 1999: Overseas Iranians, under the umbrella of theAlliance for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran, plan to protesttoday in Washington, DC and march to the White House. A similarprotest will be held in Bonn, Germany. Clickhere for scheduled times and places and contact numbers

July 16, 1999: Protests against the regime attempt tosuppress pro-democracy demonstrations are being planned for today andtomorrow by overseas Iranians around the world. Clickhere for scheduled times and places and contact numbers. Also seean oped from theWashington Times urging Congress to take action against theRussian Space Agency for its assistance to Iran's long-range missileprograms.

July 15, 1999: FDI Director Kenneth R. Timmerman says thepro-democracy protests are "the beginning of the beginning of theend" of absolute clerical rule in Iran in today's WashingtonTimes Read the slogansof the Iranian students. In the Washington Post, former TehranUniversity professor AzarNafisi explains to an American audience why President Khatami isno friend of the pro-democracy movement, and has joined forces withSupreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene'i against the students. Meanwhile,in a new statement from London AmnestyInternational calls on the Tehran authorities to "guaranteefundamental rights" of all Iranians, and to "investigate fully andpartially" the killing of students by pro-regime militias and lawenforcement forces.HumanRights Watch has also written to Ayatollah Khamene'i,condemning the assault on Iranian students.

July 14, 1999: In testimonybefore the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee of the House ScienceCommittee, Kenneth R. Timmerman reveals the existence of Iran'slatest missile, the multi-stage, nuclear-capable Kosar, whichcould give Iran the capability of reaching the continental UnitedStates for the first time. Read the WashingtonTimes and the Reutersreports on the Kosar missile.

July 13, 1999: Because of the pace of events inside Iran, wehave created a specialpage to track the pro-democracy protests and the regimecrack-down against the student movement.

July 9, 1999: Tehranuses PKK to split Iraqi opposition. Exclusive: Iranhas stepped up its support for the PKK, and now hosts an estimated6,000 to0 10,000 PKK fighters. Iraqi opposition groups say Iran isusing the PKK to attack their positions inside Iraq. From theJune 1999 issueof The Iran Brief.

July 8, 1999: TheBBC reported last night from Tehran that hard-liners in Tehranhave closed Salam newspaper, a leading supporter of the reformmovement. Earlier in the day, the Majlis passed on first reading asweeping new law which would legalize the crackdown on the reformistpress that has been underway for the past few months. A court orderedSalam to cease publication after a complaint from the IntelligenceMinistry over the printing of a secret ministry report about analleged hardline plot to muzzle the country's pro-reform press, theBBC reported.

July 6, 1999: The Iranian Student Movement for Democracy(formerly known as the Islamic Student Movement) called ademonstration beginning at 2PM local time today in front of theUnited Nations office in Tehran, to protest the arrest ofHeshmatollah Tabarzadi and Hossein Kashani. They also condemned thecrackdown on the press and the failure of President Khatami to opposeit. Read the AmnestyInternational appeal regarding the Tabarzadi and Kashani arresthere. According to a fax received from the group in Tehran, three ofthe demonstration leaders were immediately arrested by theauthorities and taken to an unknown location. They were identifiedas: Mohamad Massod Salamati, Seyed Djavad Emamil, and Parviz Safari.Reports indicated that several other students, as well as a reportertrying to take pictures of the arrests, were also seized.

Tabarzadi's former newsletter, Payam-e Daneshjou, earned the ireof IRI leaders by exposing some of the regime's dirtiest secrets. See"Rulers ofRafsanjan," from The June 1996 issue of The Iran Brief.

June 7, 1999: U.S.partially lifts sanctions. The State Department announced itwas exempting food and medicine from the Iran trade embargo, but onthe same day denied a license to Mobil to carry out oil swaps. Whileseeking to loosen trade restrictions, the Clinton administration iscarefully weighing its overtures to Tehran. Note: Iran Brief postingson this site are delayed by 30 days, since the newsletter is reservedfor commercial subscribers.See also "IsIran-Saudi Détente Underway," from the Wall StreetJournal, May 20, 1999.

May 14, 1999: Uploaded Changein Iran and Challenges for U.S. policy makers, a presentation atthe Library of Congress, January 8, 199; May 5, 1999 article onIran's newsea-launch missiles from the Washington Times; April 18, 1999article on formerDefense Secretary William Perry and his dubious ties to theChinese communist government.

May 11, 1999: Uploaded FloridaSplendid China, from the March 1999 issue of The AmericanSpectator, and "DestroyHis Weapons, Then Oust Saddam," Boston Globe, Nov. 14, 1998.

May 6, 1999: In addition to posting RedStar Over Washington on the Chinese spying scandal, we haveupdated our archive of ActionMemoranda in the Human Rights section, which had been wiped outby hackers last year. Those interested can now access the earliestFDI warnings of persecution of Kurds, Bahai's, Balouchis, andopposition Shiite clerics.

April 5, 1999: Mujahedinvisa fraud ring. Exclusive: court documents filed inLos Angeles expose a massive alien smuggling ring and a documentforgery shop apparently run by the opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq.Computer records seized at the MEK's document shop showed they hadbrought in 22,000 Iranians since 1983.

March 8, 1999 Showdownin Tehran: Khatami plays his cards. Exclusive IranBrief sources reveal the inside workings of Khatami's sweepingvictory in the Feb. 26 local council elections, and the ongoingshowdown with hard-liners.

Feb. 23, 1999: "UnlimitedOffense: Iran's Response to the Missile Threat," paper presentedat Military Strategy in the Age of Ballistic Missiles, Washington,DC, Feb. 23, 1999

Feb. 8, 1999: Khatamiwarned to back off: Exclusive sources frominside Iran report on the tumultuous meetings between top regimepower-brokers and President Khatami, in which they warned him to drophis investigation into the murder of dissident writers andpoliticians, or face arrest and trial.

Dec. 24, 1998: A fire at our Internet provider wiped outour server. We are gradually restoring current files and archivalmaterial.

Dec. 12, 1998: Some 300 Iranian-Americans gathered inWashington, DC today to protest the murder of Iranian dissidentsinside Iran. Organized by the Alliance for Human Rights in Iran, anadhoc group formed after the murder of Darioush and ParvarnehForouhar, the group marched through Saturday late afternoon trafficsome two miles from Georgetown University to the downtownheadquarters of the United Nations to present petitions calling for aimpartial, international investigation into the Forouhar murders.

Dec. 11, 1998: FDI's Executive Director writes about therecent attacks against American businessmen in Tehran in theWall StreetJournal.

Dec. 9, 1998: 220 Members of the U.S. Congress appear tohave signed on to a letter supporting the People's Mujahedin of Iran.But how many of them are aware of the group's long track record ofanti-U.S. terrorism and support from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein?FDI has sent anappeal to Congress to reconsider support for a group that willonly divide Iran and bring further bloodshed.

Dec. 7, 1998: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty began itsFarsi-language broadcasts to Iran on October 31. But instead ofpromoting democracy in Iran the new radio, run by a U.S. governmentintelligence analyst, has become a champion of Iranian presidentHojjat-ol eslam Mohammad Khatami.Read an analysis of the Radio's recent broadcasts in the most recentissue of the Iran Brief.

Nov. 22, 1998: LeadingIranian opposition leader brutally murdered in Tehran. The regimeclaims it has opened an investigation to find the killers, but thestyle of killing is identical to the execution of otherdissidents.FDI calls on the international community to rethink itsrelations to Tehraan.

Nov. 12, 1998: FDIwrites to President Clinton, asking him to intervene with theGovernment of France to seek the release of an Iranian oppositionactivist imprisoned in France at the demand of Tehran.

Nov. 3, 1998: FDIresponds again to pro-Mujahedin propaganda in the WashingtonTimes, recounting Massoud Radjavi's alliance with AyatollahKhomeini and exposing his "anti-Americanism-cum-Marxist Third Worldliberation theory that would make Josef Stalin and Patrice Lumumbaproud."

Oct. 9, 1998: the French government has imprisonedan Iranian opposition activist in Paris, allegedly on libelcharges filed by the Islamic Republic of Iran's French embassy and bythe Paris resident of the Iranian intelligence service. TheFoundation has sent official inquiries to the Government of France,which until now have remained without a reply, as to the actualcharges against Mr. Fahimi. Unofficially, the French say the activistfrom the Iranian People's Fedayeen Guerrillas, has been jailed forterrorist activities. While not supporting the Fedayeen (or any otheropposition group, FDI has protested the French action as incompatiblewith France's historic support for huma rights. Today, the Fedayeenheld a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Brussels, andare planning a series of similar actions i Berlin, Frankfurt,Hamburg, and Madrid in the coming days.

Oct. 6, 1998: Despite President Khatami's repeated pledgesto promote free speech and to respect the rights of Iranianminorities, recent actions by the Islamic Republic have sentdisturbing signs that either Khatami has been disingenuous, or thathe is powerless. The Iran Brief reports in its October 1998 issue ona series of attacksagainst Iranian journalists, and the recent spate ofarrests of Iranian Baha'is.

August 13, 1998: WashingtonTimes editorialby FDI Director,exposing the pro-regime political views of the new director ofRadio Free Iran, the freedom radio funded by the U.S. Congress thatbegins broadcasting in Farsi from Prague in October.

June 22, 1998: FDI director Kenneth R. Timmerman warns in aWashington Timeseditorial that U.S. decision not to impose sanctions on Total andGazprom for pumping investment into Iran's natural gas industry willhave disastrous consequences for U.S. credibility, and will shore upthe most radical elements in the Iranian regime. June1998 issue of The Iran Brief posted for subscribers.

June 3, 1998: Link to TheIran Brief.

May 28, 1998: FDI has been hacked and all our filesdeleted. We have informed the FBI, which is now conducting aninvestigation. We invite visitors to judge for themselves who mighthave been responsible for this criminal action. Our positions infavor of democratic change in Iran and against totalitarian groups iswell-known and evident from our public statements. We will bere-posting material from our site as soon as possible. Please comeback frequently as we make new material available.

May 22, 1998: FDI Director Kenneth R. Timmerman writes onthe Mujahedin's ties to Saddam Hussein in TheWashington Times.

May 5, 1998:  We've uploaded sections from the StateDepartment's April 1998 annual report on terrorism relating toIran.Patternsof Global Terrorism 1997: Overview of State-sponsoredterrorism(April 1998 report).TheGroup profiles section includesinformation on Iranian-government backed groups, and on theopposition People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, aka theMujahedin-e Khalq.

May 2, 1998: FDI Board member AyatollahMehdi Rouhani welcomes Khatami, but warns U.S. government analystsof rushing into relations with the Tehran regime.

Jan. 12, 1998: We've updated the files in the Governmentof Iran section. Here you will find a complete list ofKhatami's cabinet, members of the NationalSecurity Council, as well as the official and ex officio powersbehind the throne who sit on Rafsanjani's Councilof Expediency and Discernment. Also included are the members ofthe Judicialbranch and a complete listing of Majlismembers.

Jan. 9, 1998: Khatamiseeks end to sanctions, not dialogue. FDI's reaction to PresidentMohammad Khatami's speech on CNN. See also the latest UnitedNations report on the human rights situation in Iran, which hasnot improved in any significant manner since Khatami assumed power inAugust 1997.

Dec. 9, 1997: Iran'sSparring Ayatollahs. Op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal byFDI Executive editor Kenneth R. Timmerman, on the recent attacks onand arrest of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, and the growing oppositionto the regime from the traditional clergy.

Dec. 4, 1997: Attacksagainst senior clerics are only the beginning. Grand AyatollahsMontazeri and Azari-Qomi may be put on trial for treason, but theywill only be the first as an open schism erupts inside Iran'sclergy.

July 30, 1997: Inmemorium: Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Rouhani. FDI mourns the deathof one of Iran's most senior Shiite clerics, whose brother claims hewas murdered by the regime because he failed to endorse clericalrule.

July 28, 1997:"Writer's fate tests Iran and Europe," editorial from the WallStreet Journal Europe by FDI Executive Director on the jailing ofIranian writer Faraj Sarkuhi and Khatemi's responsibility for hisfate.

July 23, 1997: FDIWarns Congressmen about Iranian Mujahidin,a statement about the latest Congressional letter in support ofthe MEK. See also the fulltext of FDI's letter to Congressional signatories.

July 7, 1997: Secretdocument from May 1984, revealing Mohammad Khatemi's role in theIslamic Republic's international terrorism networks.

June 30, 1997: Newswire50

Iranian writer Faraj Sarkuhi put on trial for espionage; regimereleases new figures on prison population; Khatemi's cabinet; andmore....

June 16, 1997:

June 6, 1997:"Vox Populi in Iran," Washington Post

June 3, 1997:

May 29, 1997:Newswire 48 and HumanRights Watch report on Iranian elections

May 29, 1997: Re-posted back issues of the FDINewswire.

May 27, 1997: "Iran'sVote: A Good Start, Nothing More,"Wall Street Journal-Europe (op-ed page), May 27, 1997,by KennethR. Timmerman

May 25, 1997: FDIstatement on the Iranian presidential elections.

May 22, 1997:

May 19, 1997: Newswire47

May 6, 1997: Created page with Newson FDI Activities, and reformatted and posted back material,including:

May 5, 1997: "IslamicRepublic of Iran Interest Section in Washington, DC, TheIranBrief, May 5, 1997, and FDI Newswire45

April 24, 1997: FDIcalls on Europe to reduce Iranian government intelligence presence.and Newswire44

April 17, 1997:Newswire 43

April 10, 1997: Mykonosverdict confirms Tehran's terror

March 21, 1997: FDI statementon U.S. sanctions