BRIEF ON IRAN No. 250 Tuesday, September 12, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Democratic Islam: Answer to Islamic Fundamentalism, From Statement by NCR Committee on the Rights and Freedoms of Women - Beijing, September 10 Members of the Iranian Resistance's delegation in Beijing have met with abundant support by women from all over the world. In the final days of the NGO Forum, their presence and activities were prominent and conspicuous... FWCW observers have welcomed the documents and arguments of the Resistance's delegation and believe that the Iranian Resistance has noteworthy discourses including on women's rights in Islam and the mullahs' crimes against women under the guise of the religion... The Iranian Resistance advocates equality and freedom for women, including the right to occupy any governmental or public post, particularly judgeship, the right to elect and be elected in all referendums including the right to be elected as President, and the freedom to choose one's clothing. On the eve of the Beijing conference, the NCR Foreign Affairs Committee published a book, "Women, Islam and Equality", dedicating it to "all the oppressed women of the world, particularly those in Islamic countries." Russian Agents Teach Iranians How to Spy, The Washington Times, September 11 Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service has forged new ties with Iran's secret police and began training Iranian agents in modern spying last month, according to U.S. intelligence officials... U.S. intelligence officials said recent Russian efforts to develop an intelligence relationship with Iran are the work of Yevgeni Primakov, a Middle East specialist and Communist hard-liner during the Soviet period who is now director of the Russian spy agency, known by the acronym SVR... Some officials fear that the secret U.S. information will be passed to Iranian intelligence, which could use it to expose or compromise CIA sources. The Moscow-Tehran spy relationship was hammered out during meeting in July involving Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan, Mr. Primakov and other Russian officials in Moscow, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity... The SVR, successor to the Soviet KGB's foreign spying operations, took the lead in arranging for five "internal security" officials of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) to be trained in the latest methods of intelligence collection, the officials said... The Iranian ministry directs both foreign spying and internal security. The spy training began last month under the direction of the Russian Interior Ministry and is expected to last three months. A senior U.S. intelligence official said Iran's spy agency is emerging as one of the most dangerous intelligence services in the post-Soviet era. The official said Iranian intelligence operatives specialize in acquiring embargoed technology that can be used in weapons programs. And Western security services have directly linked Iranian intelligence to assassination attempts against Iranian emigrants and others perceived as threats to the Tehran government. "If you look for one intelligence service that is really into mischief all over the world and is thoroughly motivated to cause as much trouble as possible, it's the MOIS, the Iranians," the senior official said. "They are involved in funding most of the Islamic extremist movements." Iranian intelligence agents provide guidance and training and help organize terrorist attacks, including targeting, the official said. Agents pose as businessmen and diplomats, the official said... J. Michael Waller, an author and specialist on Moscow's spy services, said the Russian intelligence ties with Iran are in character with Mr. Primakov's role in providing Soviet backing to anti-Israel, pro-terrorist regimes in the Middle East... Iran Demands More Blackmail from Britain, Reuters, September 10 A senior Iranian parliamentarian told former British prime minister Edward Heath on Sunday that Britain had not taken any serious steps to improve relations with the Islamic republic. Hassan Rowhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told Heath: "London has taken no serious steps to normalize its relations with Tehran and the activities of certain terrorist groups in Britain contradicted with the anti-terrorist statements of British officials."... An Iranian newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, said in an editorial on Sunday that Britain should end its support for British author Salman Rushdie, one of the obstacles to improving relations. "With its support for Salman Rushdie, the British government is damaging the newly-established relations between the two countries. Under present circumstances London should stop insulting sanctities and end its support for Salman Rushdie," the newspaper said...