BRIEF ON IRAN No. 335 Thursday, January 25, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Persecution of Christian by Mullahs, Associated Press, January 23 WASHINGTON - A coalition of politically influential Christian groups is urging President Clinton to confront what they consider pervasive persecution of Christians around the world... A statement released Tuesday by the National Association of Evangelicals said three leaders of Iran's 80,000-strong Christian community were murdered last year, one after a religious edict known as a fatwa was issued calling for his death... Mullahs' Recruiting of Terrorists in U.S., 20/20, ABC Television, January 19 Barbara Walters: The story you are about to hear has never been told before. It involves one of this country's staunchest enemies, and an insidious plot to turn young Americans into international assassins. Unbelievably, the plot worked. Tonight, for the first, time, you will hear the extraordinary account of a man born and raised right here in America, wanted now around the world as a hit man for Iran.... Tom Jerrolds: It was a political assassination in the heart of the nation's capital. The murder made headlines worldwide, because it involved Iran, a country in turmoil, that under the leadership of the radical Ayatollah Khomeini, was holding Americans hostage. In Washington, former Iranian embassy official, Ali Tabatabai, was the leading opponent of Khomeini.... He was frequently on television, advocating Washington's point of view: the Ayatollah should be overthrown. That ended in 1980, when Tabatabai was gunned down, in cold blood, at the front door of his home. The assassin has eluded capture for more than 15 years, and never spoken about the notorious case, until we found him and asked him about the murder.... Jerrolds: The police knew David Bellfield, who had taken the Islamic name Daoud Salaoudin, was the killer, but they never got their man. The assassin vanished into the mysterious and complex world of the Middle East, working with the radical government that was still holding American embassy officials hostage.... Authorities now believe that other young, black American men were recruited by Iran, from colleges or prisons, and they all went through the same transformation. They adopted the Islamic faith, and through religious radicals, were persuaded that if necessary, it was a duty to kill for their spiritual leader, the Imam.... Salaoudin fled to Iran, the country which he says had provided the money and orders for the assassination. Salaoudin was only one of several such operatives. According to these police intelligence reports, obtained by 20/20. The supporters of the ayatollah had established a training and recruiting program within the U.S. for home-grown terrorists.... Jerrolds: Is that possible? Iran ordering crimes in the U.S. Listen to Salaoudin's description of the death order on Tabatabai. Q: How was the decision made, then, to carry it out? Salaoudin: I assumed that the decision came from what was the Revolutionary Council in Iran, in Tehran. That's my assumption. Q: Who told you that this man needed to be killed. Was he one of several people on a list? Salaoudin: No, there was an Iranian friend of mine, who told me about this order. He just said "order from the Imam." And that Mr. Tabatabai had been chosen. I was presented with other names too.... Jerrolds: And authorities are convinced that while he's been on the run, Salaoudin has closely collaborated not only with his Iranian handlers on the Revolutionary Council, but plotted acts of terror with other young American men who have fled to Iran and other Islamic countries.... Tehran's Revolutionary Guards A Threat to Peace in Bosnia, Washington Post, January 24 The United Sates yesterday threatened to halt military and financial aid to the Muslim-led Bosnian government unless it releases all Serb prisoners and expels Iranian guerrilla fighters who have remained in the country in violation of the Dayton agreement. ...Some U.S. officials are accusing Muslim leaders of playing a "double game" by attempting to continue a military relationship with Iran even as they receive support from the United States.... U.S. officials insist they will not permit radical states such as Iran, Algeria or Libya to play any role in the [training] program. One well-place U.S. official said some Bosnian government leaders, who could be "on the Iranian payroll," appeared to think they could get arms from both Iran and the United States. [The New York Times reported that American forces in Bosnia have heightened security after intelligence reports suggested that the militant Muslim groups were planning attacks against American targets in Bosnia. [The reports said the attacks were intended as retaliation for the life sentence given to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman by a Federal judge in New York this month.]