BRIEF ON IRAN No. 362 Tuesday, March 5, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Iranian Resistance Strongly Condemns Criminal Explosion in Tel Aviv, from statement by NCR, MArch 4 The National Council of Resistance of Iran strongly condemns today's explosion in Tel Aviv, which left many innocent people dead or wounded, and offers its condolences to the bereaved families of the victims of this terrorist crime.... These terrorist crimes are only desirable by the religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran, the principal enemy of peace in the Middle East. For the export of terrorism and fundamentalism as well as arming and strengthening terrorist currents, especially in the Middle East and the Islamic countries, is the primary foreign policy objective of the mullahs' medieval dictatorship. It is worthy of note that last Wednesday, in meetings with the leaders of those groups in the region who are the enemy of peace, Hassan Habibi, Rafsanjani's first deputy and Ali Akbar Velayati, the mullahs' foreign minister, had reiterated their support for those groups and such terrorist activities.... Iran Says Tel Aviv Bomb "Divine Retribution," Reuters, March 4 TEHRAN - Iran's official news agency IRNA said Monday's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and one in Jerusalem the previous day were "divine retribution" that heralded the beginning of the end for Israel. "Israel, the only state in the world to be created by terrorism and brutal use of force, is now tasting its own medicine. The divine retribution on those who spread corruption and injustice on the earth will be severe," the agency's English-language service said.... IRNA said: "The massive bomb blasts have not only shattered the "Rambo' image of Israeli secret services...but they herald the beginning of the end of Israel.... Iran Supporting Hamas, Associated Press, March 4 JERUSALEM - The latest suicide attacks in Israel have laid open divisions among Muslim militants over whether to accept the Palestinians' accord with Israel or try to destroy it.... Menachem Klein, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University, said radicals used the killing of Ayyash [AKA Engineer] as an excuse to continue attacks... "This radical stream preferred to build a coalition with Hezbollah and seek backing from Iran rather than seeking an agreement with Arafat," Klein said, referring to Iranian-backed guerrillas in Lebanon.... Israel Ambassador Blames Iran, United Press International, March 4 UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council Monday condemned the recent spate of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel, and vowed that those "vile acts" would not destroy the peace process in the Middle East.... Yaacobi [Israel's ambassador to U.N.] singled out Iran as the main financial and military support for Hamas. He also said some of the resources for the terrorists came from a group, which he did not identify, operating in the United States and some Western European countries. "But Iran is one of the main supporters...that is supplying and giving training facilities, arms and political support" to the terrorist groups, he said.... Candidates Campaign in Iran Elections, United Press International, March 4 More than 3,000 candidates competing for 270 seats in the Iranian Parliament have been campaigning for the past three days under the watchful eye of a clerical council, the official Iranian media said Monday.... The state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency and Tehran radio, monitored in Athens, said the campaigning began officially last Friday, the Iranian Sabbath, but there was no word of platforms adopted by groups of candidates, or individuals.... Also absent in the official media was any attempt at analysis of issues discussed by groups or individual candidates.... A stern statement from the office of Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "Rivals or opponents of certain candidates whose credentials have been rejected have spread rumors that their candidacy had been turned down on the order of the leader." This was a reference to the Guardian Council's decision last week to reject the applications of more than 2,000 hopefuls.... An element of political controversy was provided by the Iran Freedom Movement, a tolerated opposition group which boycotted the elections....