BRIEF  ON  IRAN
No. 207
Wednesday, July 12, 1995


Representative Office of
The National Council of Resistance of Iran
3421 M Street NW #1032
Washington, DC 20007


Statement of the National Council of Resistance of Iran Regarding Mr.
Clinton's Meeting with Deposed Shah's Son, Paris, July 11

        The spokeswoman for the White House stipulated that the brief
meeting between the U.S. President and the son of the dead shah was
a chance meeting in a restaurant. Had there been any prior planning
or political intention involved, it would have demonstrated the
absurdity of the heir to the former dictatorship and would only earn
shame and disgrace for the government of the United States for
betting on a dead horse. Such a meeting would be a ploy, particularly
in the hands of the mullahs, to prove the enmity of the United States
to the Iranian people's revolution and consensus against the
monarchic dictatorship, and illegitimately and deceptively claim
innocence and legitimacy, and cover up their crimes in and out of
Iran.
        The Iranian people demonstrated in packed, solid ranks of
millions and swept away the shah's regime as the embodiment of
dependency and dictatorship. Any form of support and
rapprochement with the remnants of the shah's regime blatantly
contradicts democracy and is considered an obvious enmity to the
consensus, practice and will of the Iranian nation, in continuation of
the 1953 coup against the nationalist government of Dr. Mohammad
Mossadeq and the Irangate scandal, which are strongly condemned
by the Iranian people and Resistance.


The Rift Widens

Rafsanjani's Interview with CNN Backfires, BBC Radio, July 10

        Rafsanjani is criticized for his interview with U.S.'s CNN by a
number of Tehran's newspapers.
        In his interview, Rafsanjani has said that Iran's doors are open
to U.S. for economic and cultural relations...
        This kind of criticism is new, since it is directly aimed at the
President...
        These criticisms from president are the most clear to date.
Also, the lack of response by U.S. to Rafsanjani's interview weakened
Rafsanjani's position more than ever.
        The papers' criticism from Rafsanjani and his statements in
CNN's interview demonstrates another stage of his diminishing power
as the president.


Iranian Cleric Resigns from Key Association, Reuters, July 10

        TEHRAN - The leader of Iran's most influential clerical
organization has confirmed his resignation in an internal political
dispute, a newspaper said on Sunday.
        Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani was quoted by
Resalat newspaper as saying in London, where he is being treated for
an unspecified illness, that he had resigned as head of the Militant
Clergy Association (MCA), which groups most of Iran's important
leaders.
        He said his resignation was not due to illness "as some had
attributed it...It's an in-family dispute."...
        Kani, who was prime minister and interior minister in the early
1980s, has held the post of MCA chairman since the early years of
Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.


Iranian Police Blame State Agencies for Smuggling, Reuters, July 11

        TEHRAN - Iran's top policeman in charge of battling smuggling
has blamed state agencies and Tehran capitalists for illegally
bringing consumer goods worth billions of dollars into the country,
the Salam daily newspaper said on Tuesday...
        It quoted Brigadier-General Mehdi Ayoubi as saying state
agencies have a "very effective" role in trafficking networks and that
some use government resources to smuggle the goods.
        "Tehran capitalists are the main agents of the traffic of goods,
so that over 80 percent of smuggled goods entering the country is
brought to (the Tehran region)," it quoted Ayoubi as saying...
        Iranian officials have estimated the size of the economy's
"black sector," mainly active in consumer goods smuggling and hard
currency speculation, at up to $6 billion...


Rally to Protest Iranian Regime's Terrorist Attack Against Three
Mojahedin Members, From Statement by the Press Office of PMI -
Washington, DC, July 11

        At 12:00 noon, on Wednesday, July 12, a rally and march will
be held in Lafayette Park across from the White House to protest the
Khomeini regime's terrorist attack that killed three Mojahedin
members on July 10, in Baghdad...
        The Monday attack was the 35th terrors attack by the Iranian
regime against the members and activists of the Iranian Resistance...