BRIEF  ON  IRAN,  No. 181
        Friday, June 2, 1995
        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran



        3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007


Amnesty Says Iran Continues Abuses, United Press
International, May 31

        LONDON - Human rights monitor Amnesty
International said Wednesday that Iran has continued to
fix trials, execute political opponents and imprison political
foes in appalling conditions.
        It said violations have continued 16 years after the
establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran.
        "Despite official secrecy, where Iranian authorities
try to hide their appalling human rights record from
outside scrutiny, Amnesty International has found a
persistent pattern of imprisonment, political execution and
suspected extrajudicial killing,"  the London-based
organization said.
        The Amnesty report documented cases of long-term
political prisoners held without trial or after trials it
described as unfair.
        "Access to lawyers is almost always denied and
political detainees have spent up to 10 years behind bars
before their relatives knew where they were,"  it said.
        "People are not told why they have been arrested
and the procedures for political arrests, detention and
trials are rarely made public."...
        The report included the names of political prisoners
who have been in jail and repeatedly subjected to torture.
Some were charged with espionage and others with
affiliation to political organizations....


Iran Cement Plants Late, Open March 97 - Official,
Reuters, May 1

        TEHRAN - Financial problems have delayed 16 new
cement plants from starting production by one year, an
Iranian official was quoted on Thursday as saying.
          Of 20 new cement plants, with a capacity of 12
million tons, which were due to open by March 1996, only
four were on schedule, Assadollah Abedi, an adviser at the
Ministry of Industries was quoted by Hamshahri
newspaper as saying.
          The remaining 16 were expected to begin
production by March 1997, said Abedi, who is in charge of
Iran's cement projects.
          Abedi said the government's failure to provide rial
and hard cash funds was one of the problems facing the
projects, the newspaper said. Another problem was caused
by weak managers who could not determine the financial
needs of their projects and find ways to fulfill them.
          The total cost of building the 20 plants is expected
to be $900 million in hard cash and up to 1,400 billion
rials ($467 at the official exchange rate), of which already
$747 million dollars and 780 billion rials ($260 million)
has been used, he said.
           "Providing the additional rial and hard currency
budget of the projects would prevent the amounts already
invested going to waste,"  he said.


Iran Says Deals Worth $2 Billion Signed with China,
Reuters, May 31

        NICOSIA - Iran's Vice President Hamid Mirzadeh
said on Wednesday that economic agreements worth more
than $2 billion were signed during his visit to China this
week.
        Tehran radio quoted Mirzadeh as saying the accords
included a subway contract for $586 million, oil deals for
$425 million, and cement, glass, zinc and copper plants for
$120 million.
        He said other projects included a hydroelectric plant
for $264 million, ship-building for $100 million, fisheries
projects for $100 million and a steel plant project for $269
million....
        Under the agreements, China would import Iranian-
made buses and other non-oil products and Iran would set
up permanent showrooms and stores in China, Mirzadeh
told the cabinet.


Iran Wants Oil, Gas Coordination with Russia, Reuters, May
31

        NICOSIA - Iranian President Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani said Iran wants to coordinate oil and gas
policies with Russia, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on
Wednesday....
        "Another topic about which we are concerned is how
to agree on mutual policies and cooperation in gas and oil
considering the fact that both countries are major
exporters of those items," Rafsanjani said in remarks
quoted by IRNA.
        No date has been set for Yeltsin to visit Iran, but
such a trip would follow his decision not to yield to U.S.
pressure and to honor a multi-billion-dollar, oil-for-arms
deals forged between Iran and the former Soviet Union.
        U.S. officials say that a policy of "constructive
engagement" with Iran would not bring about a desired
change in what they see as hardline policies by Tehran
and the White House is pushing ahead with moves to
contain Iran....