BRIEF ON IRAN No. 243 Thursday, August 31, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Kohl Pressures Yeltsin to End Nuclear Cooperation with Iran, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 30 According to the British newspaper, Times, Helmut Kohl, the German Chancellor, in his visit, next month, from Moscow, will try to convince Yeltsin to end Russians' nuclear cooperation with the Iranian regime. Times added that there was no doubt Germany was reviewing the special considerations it has so far accorded the Iranian regime. And it seems that Bonn government is getting more in the line with other western nations, such as Britain and U.S., that have only maintained minimum and extremely critical contacts with the regime. Bonn's Mixed Signals to Tehran, Reuters, August 29 BONN - Bonn and Tehran broke their official silence on Tuesday and said two Iranian diplomats had recently left Germany at the end of their regular tour of duty, contrary to press reports they had been expelled... Bonn has sent mixed signals about its ties with Iran of late, acknowledging that Tehran was gathering intelligence in Germany but refusing to join U.S. calls to slash Tehran's ties with the West. The latest annual report by Germany's BfV counter-intelligence agency says Iran uses a network of agents to gather information on exile Iranians and glean knowhow or technology it needs to develop weapons. "Germany is still an important area of operations for Iranian intelligence agencies," the report said. "Their activities centre on observing and gathering intelligence on some 100,000 Iranians living in Germany..." Iran Trying to Save Face, Reuters, August 29 Iran on Tuesday confirmed reports that two of its diplomats had left Germany but denied they were expelled or that Tehran had retaliated by throwing out two German diplomats. The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying: "Recently two Iranian diplomats have returned home from Germany because their term of office had come to an end." He did not name them. IRNA said the spokesman also denied media reports that Iran had expelled two German diplomats. The Iranian newspaper Kayhan reported on Saturday Germany had given two Iranian diplomats two days to leave the country, and the Tehran daily Jomhuri Eslami said on Sunday Iran had ordered out two German diplomats in retaliation. Iranian opposition sources in Europe said the Iranian diplomats were expelled for spying on opposition members abroad, but Tehran had chosen not to make the affair public in order not to hurt its ties with Bonn... 12 International Organizations Request Full Sanction of Mullahs' Regime, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 30 12 international organizations, which have consulting statures in the United Nations, have issued a statement requesting the implementation of a full oil and arms embargo against the clerical regime. This statement was issued as a formal U.N. document in the session of Sub-committee on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Rights of Minorities. The statement was distributed among representatives of member countries and human rights experts and observers. U.S. Gulf Moves are Clinton Re-election Ploy - Iran, Reuters, August 29 Iran said on Tuesday the United States' military moves in the Gulf were a ploy by President Bill Clinton to boost his 1996 re-election chances. "Clinton, who has failed to apply a successful domestic policy despite his election promises...is trying to give the appearance of having a powerful (foreign) policy by a show of force," state-run Tehran radio said in a commentary on the U.S. buildup. "With U.S. elections drawing near...every candidate is trying to score a success with the American public opinion."... S. Africa, Iran to Sign Conditional Oil Deal, United Press International, August 30 JOHANNESBURG - The general manager of the South African Central Energy Fund has traveled to Iran to sign a conditional deal regarding the storage of 15 million barrels of Iranian oil in South African depots. A South African government spokesman says (Wednesday) the deal is subject to an environmental impact report on the area surrounding the storage tanks, which are situated on South Africa's west coast.