BRIEF ON IRAN No. 193 Tuesday, June 20, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 The Divided Front Against Iran, The Boston Globe, June 16 President Clinton's April ban on purchases of Iranian oil by subsidiaries of US companies is beginning to have ripple effect not only on the clerical despots in Tehran but on governments in Europe, Russia and Japan. The mullahs' frantic efforts to escape diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions betray a well-founded anxiety about the future of their regime. Conversely, the policies of appeasement pursued by NATO members and Japan signify a dangerous lack of solidarity among the democracies... Most ominous of all is Boris Yeltsin's decision to proceed with a deal to rebuild a nuclear reactor in Iran originally begun by a German company... Thanks to their own corruption and incompetence, the mullahs have burdened Iran with tremendous debt, and they have become dependent for the rescheduling of their debts on the good will of major creditors such as Germany. US allies have it in their power to leave the mullahs incapable of paying for a nuclear weapons infrastructure. In their posturing on the world stage, Ayatollah Khomeini's successors invariably take a triumphalist line. Lately, however, they have displayed an unmistakably fear of seeing their creditors and trading partners cooperate with Clinton in imposing economic sanctions on their regime... In one breath the regime's foreign minister tells the BBC, "Our government is not going to dispatch anybody, any commandos, to kill anybody in Europe." (Needless to say, the many Iranian exiles assassinated in Europe don't count in the minister's definition of "anybody.") In the next breath, the Europeans are told that Khomeini's original fatwa, or religious edict, remains irrevocable... If the Europeans fall for this insulting bargain, it will be because they prefer being duped to losing a few commercial opportunities. Just this week, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government acquiesced to pressure from Tehran and canceled a rally of Iranian exiles in the city of Dortmund. The rally had been organized by the National Council of Resistance, the largest Iranian opposition group. Its purpose was to ask European governments to emulate Clinton's sanctions. At this weekend's summit meeting of the Group of Seven, Clinton will ask his fellow leaders to help thwart Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. For their own security interests, they should do what the mullahs most fear: join the economic embargo. If the Europeans and Japan allow themselves to be divided from Washington by the tyrants of Tehran, they will demonstrate how much the structures of collective security are in need of repair.... Iran Pleased with the Ban on Mrs. Rajavi's Trip, Frankfurter Allgemeine, June 16 According to a newspaper, Iran is pleased from the ban for trip of Maryam Rajavi, an opposition politician. The English language [state-run] Tehran Times reported the authorities in Iran could guess "the opposition with terrorist activities" of Bonn. In a commentary the newspaper said, the Iranian nation recognizes Bonn's decision as a gesture of good will... Mullahs Respond to U.S. Congress Initiative, Ressalat, June 12 [The following is excerpted from an article by the state-run daily Ressalat, entitled: "The Shameful Response."] After imposing Clinton's trade sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its failure... the U.S. government and Congress resorted to other ploys that are generally considered a response to this failure... One of these attempts is the letter by nearly half of U.S. Representatives to Bill Clinton... 202 U.S. Representatives have mentioned in this letter that they are convinced that the policy of appeasing Iran's regime would not be constructive... When Clinton's policy of sanctions was ignored internationally,... and practically failed, the consequent measures of U.S. policy organs, including the efforts of the Representatives are more one of rhetoric from a point of weakness... This approach of U.S. Representatives and authorities is all the more surprising. Since they interpret the Iranian nation's cry of "Death to America" as a way to obtain democracy and U.S.'s support in this regard... Finally, one wonders why these representatives, who always bring up the excuse of Islamic Republic's Terrorism, have now themselves resorted to terrorism. The initiative of support for the Mojahedin and nominal substitution of the legitimate Islamic Republic with it [the Mojahedin] is another shameful response of Washington for the recent failures of its foreign policy...