BRIEF ON IRAN
        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran
        No. 369 Thursday, March 14, 1996



        3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007


Mullahs Will Not Change Their Behavior, CBS Evening
News, March 13

        Tom Fenton [from Tehran]: The Iranian leadership
expected tough words from Israel.  What worried them
was that that kind of emotion would swing the summit
against them.  They were concerned that the Israelis and
the Americans would rally the European countries into
joining economic sanctions against Iran.... The barometer
of popular discontent would rise further if other countries
joined in the sanctions. That would be a serious blow to an
Iranian government that has already lost the support of
much of the population. As it was, Iran got off lightly with
only Israel singling it out for blame at the summit. The
Iranian government will be relieved.
        Dan Rather: Tom, what are the chances that Iran will
change its attitudes toward terrorism?
        Fenton: I guess the chances is close to zero now and
even if Iran did turn its back on Hamas and Hezbollah,
that might not change things much. The epicenter of
Islamic fundamentalism here at the tomb of Ayatollah
Khomeini and the forces he unleashed seventeen years
ago are still having an impact on the Islamic world. Now
that he's dead, the Iranian government can't cancel his
message of martyrdom.


Peres Singles Out Iran at Terror Summit, United Press
International, March 13

        SHARM EL SHEIKH - Israeli Prime Minister Shimon
Peres pointed a finger at Iran, telling world leaders
Wednesday at the "Summit of the Peacemakers" steps had
to be taken to stop that country's support of terrorism....
        Peres called on his audience to root out terrorist
groups in their countries and help isolate Iran in an effort
to stop that country's funding of terror groups.
        "This terrorism is not anonymous," Peres said. "It has
a name, it has an address. It has a bank account, it has an
infrastructure, it has networks camouflaged as charity
organizations. It is spearheaded by a country -- Iran."
        U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, told Israel
Radio the U.S. would continue to impose sanctions on Iran.
        "The United States is very much aware of the role
that Iran plays in terms of supporting, financing and
training a global network of terrorism and there is no lack
of resolve on our part and on the part of President Clinton
to point that out and fight against it," Indyk said....


Iran Suspends Radical Weekly after Three Issues, Reuters,
March 13

        TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have suspended a
radical weekly less than a month after it started its
publication, the daily Kayhan International said on
Wednesday....
        A Tehran court in January sentenced Abbas Maroufi,
a leading author and magazine editor, to 35 lashes and six
months in jail after convicting him of publishing lies and
insulting the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei....


Turkey's Ciller Demands Iran Clear Hitman Claim, Reuters,
March 13

        ANKARA - Turkish conservative leader Tansu Ciller
on Tuesday demanded Iran prove it had no hand in
training an Islamist hitman involved in attacks in Turkey
or face Ankara's wrath as a "terrorist" collaborator.
        "What we want from the Iranian administration is to
follow the clues, and if there are links (between groups in
Iran and the attacks) they should bring them to light,"
Ciller, who last week stepped down as prime minister, told
reporters....
        The semi-official Anatolian news agency this week
quoted a senior policeman as saying Irfan Cagirici, a Turk
detained for the murder of a journalist six years ago, had
often gone to Iran in the 1980s for training. He is
suspected of involvement in attacks on journalists,
businessmen and Iranian dissidents.
        Newspapers named an official from Iran's consulate
in Istanbul as directly involved in organizing attacks in
Turkey....
        An Iranian opposition group welcomed the
allegations and demanded Turkey expel Iran's "terrorist-
diplomats."
        "The religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran has
turned Turkey into a hunting ground for its terrorist
activities and murder of its opponents," the Paris-based
National Council of Resistance of Iran, linked to the Iraq-
based Mujahideen Khalq armed opposition group, said in a
statement.
        Anatolian said Cagirici's group had cooperated with
Iranians in Turkey to seize the dissidents but did not say
whether Tehran had played a role in the killings.


Bonn Denies Hushing Up Clues Iran Backed Guerrillas,
Reuters, March 13

        BONN - Germany's Foreign Ministry denied
accusations on Wednesday that it had hushed up detailed
information from Israel that two Arab guerrillas had
trained in Iran to conduct missions for Islamic militant
groups.
        The charge was made by Karsten Voigt, an deputy
for the opposition Social Democrats. The government says
it has no proof that Iran was involved in guerrilla attacks
and it will maintain its controversial ties with Tehran.
        Voigt told German radio that the government
apparently withheld tips it received from Israel three
weeks ago about two men believed to have trained as
guerrillas in Iran.
        One worked for Hamas and the other for the
Hizbollah group, Voigt said, citing information he got from
Israeli authorities....
        "These accusations must be pursued aggressively.
We need direct answers from the Iranian government,"
Voigt said, calling for a radical change in German policy of
"critical dialogue" with Iran should the accusations turn
out to be true....