BRIEF ON IRAN No. 348 Tuesday, February 13, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Mullahs Incite Violence in Bahrain, Associated Press, February 12 MANAMA, Bahrain - Guests at the seafront hotel heard a deafening blast, then were showered with glass and ceiling tiles as the lobby filled with smoke. A bomb went off Sunday night in the lobby of the 15-story Diplomat Hotel, injuring four people in the most serious act of violence since a wave of anti-government unrest began in Bahrain several weeks ago.... A man claiming to speak for the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, a Shiite group believed to be backed by Iran, claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press.... Bahraini authorities accuse Iran of inciting the violence, which has largely involved the emirate's Shiite majority.... GCC Urges Iran to Stop "Meddling" in Gulf States, Reuters, February 12 ABU DHABI - The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday urged Iran to stop "interfering" in the affairs of Gulf Arab states and expressed its concern over unrest in Bahrain, the official WAM news agency reported Outgoing GCC secretary-general Fahim bin-Sultan al-Qassimi called on Iran to "respect the sovereignty of all the states in the region and to refrain from interfering in the affairs of other countries...," WAM said.... Qassimi expressed concern over the "continuing interference by foreign parties in Bahrain's internal affairs with the aim of provoking sedition among the Bahraini people and disrupting their economic achievements...," WAM said. He added that the "foreign parties" aimed to "shake security and stability in the Gulf Arab region." Clerics Set Rules for U.N. Envoy's Findings, Voice of America, February 10 The week-long trip to Iran by Maurice Capithorne, a Canadian, marks the first time Iran has allowed a United Nations' human rights investigator into the country since 1991. Mr. Capithorne's exact itinerary has not been publicized.... ... While promising cooperation, the Iranian government has also asked Mr. Capithorne to keep in mind the country's cultural and religious values, apparently meaning that what Westerners might consider violations of human rights could be seen in Iran as fair Justice. Mr. Capithorne's visit comes as international human rights groups and Iran's political opponents have recently claimed an increase in human rights violations in Iran. Some reports said the government has stepped up its campaign against rival religious leaders, putting them under house arrest, closing their theological schools and arresting their followers.... Iran Sunni Cleric Dead After Arrest, Reuters, February 9 The body of an Iranian Sunni Moslem cleric accused of having ties with Saudi Arabia has been found in southern Iran days after he was held by security officials, relatives and opposition sources said on Friday. "Molavi Ahmad Sayyad was arrested at the Bandar Abbas airport on January 28 and we are told his body was found outside the city five days later," said Ali Akbar Mollazadeh, an Iranian Sunni activist living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).... In 1990, Sayyad was jailed for five years upon his return after 17 years of Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia, Mollazadeh said.... In 1994, police in the mostly-Sunnite city of Zahedan clashed with armed demonstrators who were protesting the demolition of Sunnite mosque. Bahai Gets Death Sentence in Iran, Reuters, February 11 PARIS - An Islamic revolutionary court in Iran has sentenced to death a 49-year-old Bahai for apostasy, returning to his original faith after converting to Islam, the French branch of the Bahai faith said on Sunday. Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, an Agriculture Department employee in Yazd province, will also have all his possessions confiscated according to the court's ruling handed down in the past few days, a Bahai spokeswoman said. Mahrami, born a Bahai, was accused of converting to Islam in 1981 to avoid being fired from his government job but returned to the Bahai faith seven years later, according to translations of court documents provided by the French Bahais. "The Bahais of France fear that this verdict marks a resumption of open persecution against our co-religionists in Iran."...