BRIEF  ON  IRAN
No. 284
Tuesday, October 31, 1995

Representative Office of
The National Council of Resistance of Iran
3421 M Street NW #1032
Washington, DC 20007


Mrs. Rajavi Visits Central Church of Oslo, Iran Zamin News Agency,
October 30

        On Sundry, October 29, Mrs. Rajavi, the President-elect of the
Iranian  Resistance, attended the mass by Bishop Lyfe Otteshen in
central church of Oslo.  She met Bishop Otteshen, who is one of the
most important Christian leaders in Norway.
        After arrival of Mrs. Rajavi, Father Otteshen in his homily
prayed for the establishment of freedom and democracy in Iran.  At
the end of the sermon, Bishop Otteshen welcomed Mrs. Rajavi and
expressed his pleasure from her presence.
        Mrs. Rajavi expressed her appreciation to the Bishop and said:
"I come from a land that is occupied by deceitful clerics.  They
violate the laws of God, which are forgiveness and peace, to impose
their rule... But the people of Iran are struggling for justice and
peace and for freedom and kindness.  We are certain that God is
with us and that Jesus is with us, because we seek peace, freedom
and justice."...
        Bishop Otteshen thanked Mrs. Rajavi and said: "In today's
homily I prayed for freedom in Iran.  I see your success in your
face that illuminates courage, optimism and sincerity."....


Iran Ayatollah Slams Moslem Reformers as Traitors, Reuters,
October 27

        TEHRAN - A senior Iranian cleric denounced Islamic reformers
on Friday as traitors for sowing discord when internal unity was
needed to confront the United States.
        Iran "stands face to face with America now, and its need for
unity is greater than its need for drinking water and other vital
means," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a prayer sermon broadcast
on state-run Tehran radio.
        Without naming any group, he denounced as traitors critics,
led by a reformist Islamic philosopher, who oppose the Moslem
clergy's monopoly on power since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
        "Under the present circumstances, bringing up issues of any
kind that cause rifts... that are exploited by the enemy, and feed
foreign propaganda, this is truly treason," Jannati told the mass
Friday prayer meeting in Tehran.
        The United States regards Iran as a "terrorist" state... and has
imposed a trade and investment ban in June....
        Jannati, a member of the Guardian Council which has veto
rights over parliament, accused the critics of seeking the separation
of church and state in Iran to please  unnamed circles abroad....


Sanctions Hurting Iran's Economy, Reuters, October 27

        AMMAN - A senior World Bank official said on Friday that a
U.S. trade ban, foreign debts and weak oil prices had hurt Iran's
economy.
        "In the last two years, under the impact of falling oil prices,
and because of the bunching of short-term debt maturities, and
most recently, because of the sanctions, the economy faced a much
more difficult environment," said Caio Koch-Weser, World Bank
vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa.
        "As a result of that, the last year has been more difficult,"
Koch-Weser told Reuters in an interview in Amman.
        Tehran's fiscal deficit widened, inflation went up and its
currency depreciated, he added. He gave no figures....
        Iran is due to repay about $3 billion in the current Iranian
year on its foreign debt totaling $20 billion to $30 billion, incurred
mostly when the country went on a major  shopping spree from
1990 to 1992, with imports peaking at $28 billion in 1992....


Iran Limits Imports of Oil Products, Reuters, October 25

        DUBAI - Iran is reducing its imports of refined oil products in
a move that will save the Islamic republic valuable hard currency
expenditure, Iranian energy officials and Gulf traders said on
Wednesday.
        Hard currency savings are vital to Iran which faces annual
debt repayments of up to $5 billion, an obligation that has led the
government to clamp down on imports in order to build up foreign
exchange reserves.
        Although Iran is the world's biggest oil exporter after Saudi
Arabia, its own refineries are unable to meet domestic demand for
all oil products, making it dependent on imports of some heating
and transport fuels to bridge the supply gap....