BRIEF  ON  IRAN, No. 267
        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran

        Thursday, October 5, 1995



        3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007

Christopher on Iran's Terrorist Threat, Editorial, Voice Of
America, October 4

        In his recent speech to the United Nations General
Assembly, U.S. Secretary Of State Warren Christopher
stressed the need for coordinated action against
international terrorism and the states that sponsor it. He
pointed especially to Iran, which is the leading state
sponsor of terrorism today. Iran has attempted to derail
the Middle East peace process through the arming,
training and financing of such terrorist groups as
Hizballah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Moreover, the Iranian-backed Hizballah is now the major
international terrorist threat in Latin America. Among
other things, Hizballah is thought to have been
responsible for bombings in Buenos Aires in 1992 and
1994 which together killed more than a hundred
people....
        The Iranian threat was discussed by leaders of the
Group of Seven industrialized democracies and Russia at
their June summit in Halifax, Canada....
        As Secretary of State Christopher said, "states that
sponsor terrorists should feel the full weight of sanctions
that can be imposed by the international community."


Iran Music Classes Halted for Corrupting Youth, Reuters,
October 4

        TEHRAN - Iran's largest public cultural center has
canceled all music classes a month after supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted music for corrupting
youth, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
        The daily Jomhuri Eslami quoted the manager of
Bahman Cultural Center, a sprawling complex run by
Tehran's municipality, as saying in a letter to Khamenei
that music classes for youngsters were stopped in
accordance with the leader's fatwa, or religious ruling....
        In his answer to a written question from the imam
(cleric) of a local mosque, Khamenei had also said: "In
general, the promotion of music is incompatible with the
high ideals of the Islamic system (of government)."...


Iran Jails Interpreter for Foreign Links, Reuters, October
4

        TEHRAN - Iran has jailed an Iranian foreign
ministry interpreter for three years for giving
unauthorized information to foreigners, a judicial official
said on Wednesday.
        Head of Tehran Islamic Court Gholamhossein
Rahbarpour, quoted by Kayhan newspaper, said more
serious charges of "membership in (foreign) spy
organizations and services and being paid," could not be
proved against interpreter Mohammad Hossein Vaqar
who was arrested in June 1994. He did not elaborate.
        Vaqar had not appealed against his three-year
prison sentence, Rahbarpour said.
        Iran said last year Vaqar was arrested on suspicion
of spying for the United States.


UAE Urges Negotiations with Iran over Islands, Reuters,
October 4

        UNITED NATIONS - United Arab Emirates Foreign
Minister Rashid Abdullah Al-Nuaimi issued a new call on
Wednesday for unconditional negotiations with Iran "to
end its military occupation since 1971" of three disputed
Gulf islands.
        "In the event that this is not possible, then my
country renews its initiative...calling for a referral of the
dispute to the International Court of Justice," he said in a
speech to the General Assembly....


Rushdie Urges Europe's Firmness against Tehran's Edict,
Agence France Presse, October 3

        Salman Rushdie said Tuesday that "Italy will have
an important role as the head of the European Union,
beginning 1996, and I ask the government of Italy to
force Iran to include cancelation of the religious fatwa
against me as one of its goals."
        Rushdie indicated that last month, in Paris, he had
met with President Jaques Chirac and Premier Alain
Juppe and received their commitment in this regard.  He
said: "Iran must understand that there is a firm decision
for cancelation of the edict on the part of all European
countries."