BRIEF ON IRAN
        No. 340
        Thursday, February 1, 1996


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


Mullahs' Spy Caught, Associated Press, January 31

        JERUSALEM - A Palestinian academic from the West Bank
has been arrested on suspicion he spied for Iran, Israel's Shin
Bet security service said today.
        Mohammed Rajib Salameh Mohammed, 44, who holds a
doctorate in philosophy, is suspected of having relayed to Iran
maps of Israel marked with the locations of security
installations and government ministries, the Shin Bet said in a
statement.
        Mohammed, a resident of the West Bank village of Beit
Jalla, told his interrogators that he was recruited by an official
at the Iranian Embassy in Jordan, the statement said.
        Mohammed said he was also ordered to collect information
on Jordan, said the Shin Bet statement, released by the army
spokesman's office.
        Mohammed had started photographing different sites in
Israel when he was captured, the statement said without
elaborating....


Tougher EU Stance Urged, Fedre Lands Venn, Jan. 28

        Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Norwegian foreign minister
and the Christian Party's Parliamentary Group Leader, said that
there's a consensus in the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs
Commission about the need to initiate greater and tougher
economic punishments against Iran.
        Norway's stance vis-à-vis the Iran regime is clearly
defined, he said. The human rights abuses are condemned and
deplored. I do not rule out the possibility of international
sanctions against the Tehran regime.


Rift Among Mullahs, Iran Zamin News Agency, Jan. 20

        According to government controlled daily Salaam the
infighting among regime's factions has reached streets of Iran.
Supporters of Militant Clergy Association have splashed paint
over wall-mounted signs and banners supporting Rafsanjani,
and have written new slogans against him, including "Death to
Rafsanjani."


In Iran, Inflation Reaches 120%, Radio France, Jan. 24

        An economics professor at Paris University said while the
Iranian regime has put the inflation rate at 70%, the real figure
based on various economic indices is between 100 to 120%.
        He added: The Iranian regime has tried to increase the
share of taxes in the budget. Of course low income people carry
the major burden of the taxes. Four percent of the Iranian
population hold more than 40% of the country's revenues.


High Prices, Voice of Mojahed, January 25

        Prices of basic commodities continue to rise. In Tehran, the
price of potatoes rose 10%, beets 20%, white bread 100% and
baked bread 75%.
        In the port city of Anzali, one small white fish sells for
$10. In Zanjan, the price of potatoes rose by 25%.


Nuclear Accident Reported in Iran's Central City, Radio Israel,
January 30

        In its latest issue, the French weekly Le Point reported
about a major fire on January 2nd in Isfahan's nuclear center.
        Le Point reported that due to the fire, Isfahan's skies were
closed to air traffic.  The weekly wrote that radioactive clouds,
resulting from the nuclear fire, covered Isfahan's skies.
        The Islamic government has not reacted to this report yet.
On the day of reportedaccident the Islamic government's radio
and television announced that Isfahan Airport was closed due to
severe air pollution in the city....


Rising Divorce Rate, Government controlled Ressalat daily,
January 28

        The director of the central province's identification
registration organization said that divorce rate in the first six
months of this year rose three-fold relative to last year. He
quoted Judicial officials as blaming economic problems and the
resultant psychological pressures, cultural and age differences
as the primary reasons for the increase in the divorce rate.