BRIEF  ON  IRAN, No. 234
        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran
        Friday, August 18, 1995



        3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007


Seven-day Session of NCR Committees, From a statement
by NCR  Secretariat - Paris, August 17

        The committees of the National Council of Resistance
of Iran met for seven days from August 4 to 10 in one of
the Iranian Resistance's headquarters in Baghdad. Mr.
Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of
Resistance, chaired the session.
        The NCR committees form the bases of the future
transitional coalition government which according to the
Council's ratified decisions will undertake the country's
administration for no longer than six months after the
mullahs' overthrow and will hold a free election to form
the National Legislative and Constituent Assembly....
        The NCR session concluded that its most important
political initiative and its most effective strategic weapon
against the Khomeini regime which brought about the
elevation of the Resistance's position in the political, social
and international scenes was the election of Mrs. Maryam
Rajavi as President for the transitional period after the
overthrow of the mullahs' regime....
        Referring to the extensive outpour of popular
support in the country and abroad for the Iranian
Resistance and its President-elect, the escalation of
popular protests and uprisings, and the failure of the
mullahs' political maneuvers and conspiracies against the
Iranian Resistance, including in the regime's relations with
the government of Iraq, the NCR session concluded that
the prospects for the overthrow of the religious terrorist
dictatorship ruling Iran is brighter than ever and the
passage of time is strongly in favor of the Iranian
Resistance.
        The session also reviewed the two-year activities of
the NCR committees and made decisions to expand and
attract further cooperation of freedom-loving Iranian
experts and professionals inside and outside Iran. It was
decided that the expansion of the NCR and the processing
of new applications for membership be placed on the
Council's agenda.
        In the conclusion, Mr. Rajavi expressed pleasure at
the achievements made in the session and emphasized:
Today, after 14 years, there is no doubts that the National
Council of Resistance is the most lasting political coalition
of Iran's contemporary history which owes its success and
endurance to the loyalty of its members to the principles
of democracy and tolerance of differing beliefs and views,
the things that herald and guarantee pluralism and
national sovereignty in tomorrow's Iran....


Widespread Corruption of Mullahs' Regime Officials,
Reuters, August 17

        TEHRAN - ...The Kayhan daily said the head of a
municipality district was among officials held for
misappropriating unspecified sums from the Navvab
project, which has a budget of about $167 million....
        Iranian media said earlier this week five employees
of the Sarcheshmeh copper complex in southeastern Iran
were jailed for up to 20 years for misappropriating an
estimated 1.77 billion rials ($590,000) by selling off some
of the plant's heavy machinery.
        The cases follow several bank fraud cases that have
been recently brought to trial.
        The verdict is due in this week in the largest case, at
state-run Bank Saderat, which has led to a major scandal
because of accusations by some of the defendants that
high officials may be involved. Eight men are charged
with defrauding the bank of 1.23 trillion rials ($400
million)....


Iran Says Saudi Arabia Refuses Visas to Pilgrims, Reuters,
August 17

        NICOSIA - ...   The Tehran newspaper Kayhan on
Wednesday quoted Iranian officials as saying Saudi
Arabia had refused to issue flight permits to aircraft due
to carry 3,000 pilgrims per week to the kingdom.
        Saudi Arabia and Iran have been at odds about the
nature of haj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca which
attracts up to two million Moslems from around the world.
        While Riyadh says that the pilgrimage is a religious
affair that should not be politicized, Tehran insists that
rallies denouncing what it calls enemies of Islam -- the
United States and Israel -- should be held during haj....


Mandela Rejects U.S. Pressure over Iran Ties, Reuters,
August 17

        CAPE TOWN - President Nelson Mandela had talks
with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati on
Thursday and said afterwards South Africa would not
allow U.S. pressure to jeopardize improved relations with
Tehran....
        The U.S. ambassador to Pretoria has said Washington
has "a problem" with a deal under which Iran will store
15 million barrels of oil in South African tanks, but
Mandela said he was not aware of any formal U.S. protest
about relations with Iran....