BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 305 Monday, December 4, 1995 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 Inviting U.N. Special Representative, Ploy to Evade International Condemnation, from a statement by the NCR, December 2 Mullah Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the regime's Judiciary, announced that the Khomeini regime has agreed with the visit to Iran by the new Special Representative of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, appointed following the resignation of Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, the previous Special Representative. This decision, after the regime's adamant opposition to repeated requests by Mr. Galindo Pohl to visit Iran, is merely a desperate ploy to evade another U.N. condemnation of the regime's violation of the most rudimentary rights of the Iranian people. As the experience of previous trips has demonstrated, the mullahs will not spare any ploy and stage-managing to misguide representatives of international organizations. During Mr. Galindo Pohl's first visit, they transferred prisoners and posed their torturers and prison guards as political prisoners to cover up their medieval crimes and tortures against political prisoners from the view of international inspectors. The Iranian Resistance, therefore, earnestly demands that its representatives accompany the Special Representative in his upcoming visit to Iran so as to deny the regime the possibility of preventing the Special Representative from obtaining the facts about the appalling conditions of political prisoners in Iran. Social Protests and Strikes in Iran, Israeli Radio, Dec. 1 Today, for the 12th consecutive day, in protest to decisions by the regional officials, business owners in a street in south Tehran continued to close their stores. Although this strike is entering its 12th day in one of Tehran's heavily populated areas, the Jomhuri Eslami daily announced the news just today.... Also, the strikes in Qa'emshahr's textile factory [northern Iran] continues.... Iran-e Emrooz daily wrote: ...For several months, in the two textile factories in Qa'emshahr, a series of major unrests, demonstrations and strikes have continued.... Rushdie Death Edict Still Valid-Iranian Speaker, Reuters, December 3 TEHRAN - The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death decree against author Salman Rushdie remains valid but Iran does not intend to send commandos to kill him, the country's parliamentary speaker said.... The death edict was issued by Khomeini in 1989 for blasphemy against Islam in Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses." Iran says it can only be lifted by Khomeini, who died in 1989. Nateq-Nouri, tipped to become Iran's next president after Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani steps down in 1997, said an organization which had offered a reward for killing the British writer was a "non-governmental charity foundation."... Israel Concerned about Russia's Nuclear Reactor for Tehran, Associated Press, December 3 RAMAT DAVID AIR BASE, Israel - Russia's Defense Minister, promoting closer ties with a former adversary, inspected some of Israel's most advanced weaponry Sunday. Gen. Pavel Grachev said he hoped relations between the two countries would continue to improve.... In his talks with Grachev, Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Israel is concerned over Russia's planned construction of a nuclear reactor in Iran. Peres charges that Iran, an Israeli foe, aspires to produce nuclear weapons.... [Israeli Radio reported earlier that: Welcoming Russia's Defense Minister, Prime Minister Peres stated that the world's principal problem does not lie in the relations between the U.S. and Russia anymore. The important issues include perfusion of unconventional weapons by irresponsible sources, spread of fundamentalist movements and increase of poverty and hunger in the world. Peres expressed concern about efforts by fundamentalists that are inspired by Iran and intend to dominate the Arab world. He described existence of nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran's Islamic government a grave danger for Arab countries and their future.]