BRIEF ON IRAN
No. 351
Friday, February 16, 1996

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


Mullahs' Caught Planning Attacks on NATO, CBS News, February 15

        More trouble and heightened alert tonight in Bosnia.  CBS News
has been told by a source, that we believe would be a good authority,
that French troops raided a military camp and seized Iranians in
military uniforms along with evidence that they were planning an
attack against NATO led peacekeeping troops.
        Iranian fighters have been in Bosnia helping the Muslim led
Bosnian government.  But under the Dayton peace agreement they
were supposed to get out.


U.S. Condemns Death Sentence on Iranian Bahai, Reuters, February 15

        The United States on Thursday condemned a death sentence
passed upon a member of the Bahai faith in Iran and called on the
Tehran government to release him.
        The French branch of the faith said on Sunday that an Islamic
revolutionary court in Iran had passed the sentence on Zabihullah
Mahrami, 49, on charges of apostasy - returning to his original faith
after converting to Islam.
        "The United States government strongly condemns the conviction
and the sentence and calls upon the Iranian government to repudiate
them, to release Mr. Mahrami, and to take all steps necessary to
ensure his safety," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said....


Persecuted Christians, Associated Press, February 15

        The United States should pressure communist and Islamic
countries to halt the torture and intimidation of Christians, lawmakers
and human rights officials said Thursday.
        Witnesses testifying before a House subcommittee recounted
dozens of abuses, including killings, beatings, imprisonment, denial of
medical treatment and harassment....
        In the case of fundamentalist Islamic societies, witnesses said,
any religious difference, by definition, cannot be tolerated.
        "While some Iranian Christians have lost their lives, others have
found no choice but to worship in small underground house churches,"
said Abe Ghaffari, executive director of Iranian Christians
International. "A small percentage, about 1 percent, find ways to flee
Iran."


Iranian Newspaper Says Rushdie Shall Be Killed, Reuters, February 15

[On Thursday the European Union passed a resolution demanding the
clerics' government to revoke Rushdie's death edict.  The following are
some of the state-run papers' responses to this call]

        TEHRAN - An Iranian newspaper said on Thursday British author
Salman Rushdie would certainly be killed....
        "This ruling is like an arrow that has left the bow and will
certainly hit the target," the daily Jomhuri Eslami said....
        "The Islamic ruling against Salman Rushdie... is still valid and no
one, no official, can revoke it at any time," it said in reaction to a call
by the European Union on Iran to... drop the seven-year-old death
sentence....
        The daily Iran News said the Rushdie case was a British ploy to
hurt Iran-EU ties....
        "If Europe is concerned with its future global power-sharing
requirements, it must understand the crucial and significant role Iran
plays in world affairs and in the Persian Gulf region," the newspaper
said in an editorial comment entitled "The Insignificance of the
Apostate Rushdie."...
        ... " The fatwa is a religious edict which must be heeded by
Moslems of all denominations."...


Iran's Foreign Minister Warns the U.N. Envoy, Agence France Presse,
February 14

        On Tuesday evening, Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran's Foreign Minister,
in a meeting with Maurice Capithorne criticized the "superpowers'
influence" on the United Nations regarding human rights.
        The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoting Velayati said:
"Iranian people believe that the United Nations is under the influence
of superpowers and operates in their interest."...


D'Amato Criticizes Germany Over Iran, United Press International,
February 15

        Senate Banking Chairman Alfonse D'Amato has accused Germany
of rescheduling Iran's $5.6 billion debt, and called the move "a
dangerous act" that nets Iran an "unwarranted subsidy" to finance
terrorists or buy nuclear weapons....
        D'Amato said he had information indicating Germany had
rescheduled Iran's debt at from 5 percent to 7 percent rather than
charging the 12 percent risk premium prescribed by Iran's credit
rating....