BRIEF ON IRAN No. 269 Tuesday, October 10, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Mullahs' Mobilize Agents to Further Restrictions on Women, Associated Press, October 9 TEHRAN, Iran - Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the Iranian capital demanding stricter enforcement of the Islamic dress code for women, the Akhbar newspaper reported Monday. The Farsi-language daily said demonstrators calling themselves "God's Helpers" demanded punishment for violators of the hejab, the Islamic dress code that requires women to be covered in head-to-toe chador robes in public. Violators of the dress code can be publicly flogged, jailed, or fined.... Sunday's demonstration, one of several such protests recently, hints at a new crackdown on women who do not strictly adhere to the dress code. "In an Islamic country, we do not want bad hejab," Akhbar quoted the protesters as chanting. They later gathered outside the offices of the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency and called for media coverage of their protest. China Nuke Deal On, Rafsanjani Says, The Washington Times, October 9 Rafsanjani insisted in Hanoi on Saturday that a deal to buy two Chinese nuclear reactors had not been canceled or suspended and that both sides were still negotiating over the price, method and timing of payment and the location of the plant. Reports in the U.S. media last month said Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen had told Secretary of State Warren Christopher that China would cancel the proposed sale of two nuclear reactors to Iran. Mr. Qian later said the controversial sale, which has soured relations between the United States and China, had been delayed because the Iranians had not yet found a suitable site for construction. Mullahs' Incompetence: Four Starved to Death on Iran Helicopter, Reuters, October 7 TEHRAN - An Iranian police helicopter which was missing for more than two months has been found in the desert with all four passengers aboard dead from starvation, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Keyhan newspaper said the helicopter had disappeared from radar screens about 75 days ago and was found on Thursday in the desert about 700 km (420 miles) south of Tehran with "insignificant damage'' but all the passengers starved to death. "The exact cause is not yet clear but probably technical problems had caused the emergency landing in the desert," the newspaper reported. It said two brigadiers, a colonel and a crewman died of dehydration and starvation.... What Do the Mullahs Fear? Since September 22, the mullahs' regime has staged a series of ceremonies and events on the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war, 1980-88. This repetitious annual event is an excuse for the regime to maintain a wartime atmosphere, establish a reign of terror, and strengthen its grips on the populace. This year, however, there was a "minor" difference. The war anniversary maneuvers began three months earlier across the country and in notable dimensions. In the capital, and in the northwestern and western provinces, on land and sea, on ground and in air, the regime staged some of its largest maneuvers, ever. Despite official exaggeration in numbers, the regime's constant occupation with this affair is noteworthy. What is it afraid of? There are some keywords in the news which give a clue. First, the objectives of the maneuvers: "to control" the main thoroughfares in the cities, "to encounter states of emergency and defend the country," to "provide security for Tehran," etc. Second are the types of troops involved: The Ashura Battalions, whose complete name is accompanied by the adjective "anti-riot." They were first formed in 1993, after several bloody riots broke out in some major Iranian cities. Third, is the fact that most of the maneuvers are urban. There are also some complementary pieces of information around. Just recently, in the "week of war", one army commander revealed that in the "reconstruction era", the Organization of Military Industry has manufactured all of the light and heavy parts needed by the army. Of course, the general was trying to pretend "self-sufficiency." But for millions of still-wandering war refugee families who have not been able to go back to their "reconstructed" towns and cities, this is a hint where their share of the budget was spent. While the country's factories and industries are going bankrupt, putting thousands upon thousands of workers out of work, we hear of the opening of new factories for the military industry. With a furious populace running out of patience with the illegitimate rulers, and the Resistance Army waiting in the wings, the mullahs are rightly sensing danger.