BRIEF ON IRAN, No. 231 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran Tuesday, August 15, 1995 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 Washington Uneasy over Iran-South Africa Ties, Reuters, August 14 JOHANNESBURG - South Africa rolls out the red carpet on Tuesday for Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, whose visit highlights Pretoria-Tehran ties that the United States says are becoming too close for comfort. Velayati's arrival follows a deal for South Africa to store and market up to 15 million barrels of Iranian oil, in effect helping Tehran sidestep trade and investment sanctions imposed by Washington on the Islamic republic. Washington, which accuses Iran of backing international terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction, has openly criticized the South African-Iran deal.... Russian Delegation To Visit Iran for Nuclear Talks, Reuters, August 14 MOSCOW - A Russian delegation will visit Tehran on Thursday for talks on a controversial deal to build a nuclear power station in Iran, Interfax news agency said on Monday. The delegation, headed by Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Reshetnikov, will sign a document on additions to the contract, it quoted a ministry source as saying. The most important addition to the text concerns deliveries of nuclear fuel from Russia to the planned Iranian station at Bushehr, located on the Gulf coast 750 km (470 miles) south of Tehran, it said.... The United States has expressed concern that Iran could use the technology involved in the light-water reactors to make nuclear weapons.... Peres Fears Islamic Bomb, The European, August 3-9 Europe is in danger of being held to ransom by Islamic fundamentalists armed with nuclear weapons, according to the Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. In an exclusive interview with The European, Peres predicts that fundamentalists could acquire a nuclear capability "in four or five years", and warned : "Time is running out." "The fundamentalists could take over the oil wells," said Peres. "They could play with the European economy like a toy. This could happen anywhere in the Gulf, and I include Saudi Arabia. It's not the first time in history we have faced an evil movement, but it's the first time in history an evil movement has had the chance to acquire nuclear weapons." Peres said that only a radical overhaul of international institutions could tackle "the Mafia character of our present world." He said: "We are empty-handed in the face of new dangers. The United Nations is organized on old foundations, and there is not the necessary daring or vision to get the responsible world to organize itself responsibly." The Noble peace prize-winner singled out Iran for special attack, and bitterly criticized the United States for engaging in "controlled dialogue" with Tehran. "Wherever there is terror you find an Iranian finger," he said. "They are cheating. They are lying. What sort of dialogue are we talking about?"... Iran Reverses Two Privatizations after Protests, Reuters, August 14 TEHRAN - ...The daily Jomhuri Eslami quoted Majid Akhoundzadeh, the top official in charge of industries in the northern Gilan province, as saying the government had fired the managements of the big Asalem lumber plant and the Nazpoush textile factory in Anzali. The newspaper, quoting informed sources, added that the firms, sold to the private sector two years ago, were returned to state control after about 500 Asalem workers a few weeks ago blocked traffic on a highway and the textile workers held a protest march. The workers complained they were not paid, saying management was selling off the plants' assets before closing them down, the hardline daily added.... Iranian President Appoints Brother, United Press International, August 14 ATHENS - Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani appointed his brother to a top cabinet post Monday, making him vice president for executive affairs the official Islamic Republic News Agency said.....