BRIEF ON IRAN No. 316 Tuesday, December 19, 1995 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Iran Is Main Backer of the Guerrillas in Lebanon, The New York Times, December 18 KAFR RUMMAN, Lebanon - Road signs here display posters of the Party of God's Islamic martyrs, but even so, people whisper with resentment about both sides in the conflict that has left southern Lebanon the last fighting front in the Arab-Israeli wars.... While the gunfire has quieted elsewhere in the Middle East, the clashes in this country's south continue almost every day, leaving villagers caught in the middle when the guerrillas open fire and the Israelis fire back.... But while Palestinian and Shiite Muslim militants have all had a large hand in the fighting, it is the more secretive Iranian-backed Party of God, formed after the Israeli invasion of 1982, that has emerged as by far the most formidable force.... As it has been since the early 1980's, Iran remains the main source of training and guidance of the guerrillas, although its base in the Bekaa, which once housed thousands of Revolutionary Guards, is now staffed by between two dozen and two hundred. Iran's financial aid to the Party of God has diminished, dropping from as much as $150 million a year to about $65 million a year.... Even as it[Syria] has expressed greater interest in peace with Israel, two Western diplomats said, Syria has continued to allow a limited number of Iranian military transport planes to land at Damascus International Airport with Katyusha rockets, anti-tank weapons and other arms intended for the guerrillas.... UAE Criticizes Iran Over Disputed Islands, Reuters, December 17 ABU DHABI - The United Arab Emirates on Sunday criticized what it termed Iranian war threats in their dispute over three strategic Gulf islands. "When we raise the voice of peace, Iran raises the voice of war and threats," UAE Foreign Minister Rashid Abdullah al-Nuaimi said in remarks carried by the official WAM news agency.... "Every time the UAE calls for a peaceful solution, Iran responds with threats and is disturbed" with such calls. "It responded by saying it fought eight years (against Iraq) and can fight for 80 years" over the islands, the minister said. He was referring to remarks earlier this month by the Iranian deputy navy commander, Admiral Abbas Mohtaj.... Tehran Supports Groups to Overthrow Gulf's Arab Sheikdoms, Radio Israel, December 17 Daily Okaz, published in Riyadh, that reflects the views of Saudi Arabia, in response to Sheihk-ol-Eslam [deputy foreign minister of Iran], who says Islamic republic is willing to sign a non-aggression treaty with the Gulf's sheikdom, wrote Iranian government apparently speaks sweet and desirable words that are contradictory to its deeds. Okaz added that such actions will not only cause mistrust but they will increase the suspicion and hesitance about true intentions of Tehran's government... Meanwhile, it supplies assistance to those groups who wish to overthrow existing regimes in the Arab sheikdoms, concurrently produces the weapons of mass destruction, and endangers the security and tranquillity of the region... Okaz wrote if the Islamic Republic is truthful and wants to build a bridge of friendship and trust, it should abandon all these tactics... Iran Arrests 40 for Illegal Currency Dealings, Reuters, December 17 TEHRAN - Iranian intelligence ministry officers arrested 40 people for illegal hard currency dealings in Tehran, newspapers said on Sunday. The suspects arrested over three days, were charged with "intending to disrupt and cause fluctuations in currency markets," Ettelaat daily quoted a ministry statement as saying. In May, free market hard currency dealings were banned and all such transactions were ordered to go through state banks. The intelligence ministry was empowered to deal with violators. An official rate of 3,000 rials to the dollar was introduced for importers. Last week, the rial dropped about 10 percent on the illegal market in an apparent reaction to tougher sanctions approved on Tuesday against Iran by the U.S. Senate's banking committee. The rate exceeded 4,000 rials on Wednesday and reached 4,080 on Thursday when the crackdown started. The black market rate was little changed on Sunday.