BRIEF ON IRAN No. 211 Tuesday, July 18, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Iran's Population Growth Dangerous: Iranian Government Deceitful to Get Foreign Loans, Israeli Radio, July 16 According to the Iran's state-run radio, population experts who spoke last week at an international seminar in Tehran, warned that the population of Iran will double in next 25 years and Iran must do its utmost effort to prevent this prediction. This is announced at a time when the rulers of Islamic government say that they have accomplished great achievements in reducing the rate of population growth, claiming they have been able to reduce the annual rate of 3.9 percent, which is one of the largest and most dangerous ones in the world, to 1.7 percent. Some experts doubt the accuracy of this record released by the Islamic government and say announcement of such incorrect records are aimed at pleasing international circles and attracting monetary assistance from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In the last week's seminar it was reported that in Iran an infant is born every seven seconds and that in the next 30 years, 75 percent of Iranian population will move to urban areas. In this seminar it was also revealed that more than one million children are deprived of going to school and getting education. Iran Trying to Challenge U.S. Resolve, Reuters, July 17 Iran, quickly following up its success in sidestepping a U.S. economic embargo, will invite foreign oil companies to bid to develop 10 big projects, a senior official said on Monday. "We are going to have an international tender for 10 other projects in the coming weeks," Seyed Mehdi Husseini, head of oil exploration and international agreements at state owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) told Reuters in further defiance of U.S. President Bill Clinton's bid to isolate Islamic Iran... Foreign investment is crucial to the future of Iran's oil industry, which will have to bring new offshore oilfields on stream over the next five years if it is to retain its position as the world's second largest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabia... Iran Getting Arms From Belarus, The Washington Times, July 15 MINSK, Belarus - Iran and the former Soviet republic of Belarus signed a military cooperation agreement this week that would give the Islamic republic supply of conventional weapons, Iranian First Vice President Hasan Habibi said. He gave no details on the volume or type of arms Iran intended to buy... Belarussian officials said Iran was interested in transport vehicles for missiles and optical equipment for Soviet-produced aircraft used by Iran's armed forces... Iran Seeks up to $4 billion Repayment of Israeli Debt, Reuters, July 16 Iran is seeking to collect at least $4 billion in debt owed to it by Israel partly for oil sales since before the 1979 Islamic revolution, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Sunday. It quoted parliament member Hojatoleslam Hussein Sobhanian as saying in a newspaper interview that the parliament's foreign affairs commission was seeking to recoup the debt also owed from defence purchases and a pipeline project in Aqaba port... ... It was not immediately clear whether the figure was part of the $8 billion which commission member Hassan Qashqavi said in May that Iran was trying to recoup from Israel for investments made by Tehran before the revolution. Iranian Regime's Hit Squads, Iran Zamin News Agency, July 16 One of the human rights organization in the United Kingdom revealed in a parliamentarian hearing that the last year's murders of three Iranian priests was carried out by the order of Iranian regime. The Jubilee Campaign along with the Middle East Concern by publishing a report entitled "Iran 1994: Year of Terrors," revealed that the killing of Iranian priests were carried out by a terrorist squad that received its order directly from the highest level of Iranian authorities. This organization conforms the existence of hit squads in Iranian regime's current security infrastructure and says that this network of death squads apparently have the power to utilize other organizations of the Iranian government. This report confirms the existence of "a death list," including famous Christians in Iran.