BRIEF ON IRAN
        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran              No. 423
        Thursday, May 30, 1996



        3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007


Iran Paper Warns Britain Against Following U.S., Reuters, May 29

        NICOSIA - An Iranian newspaper on Tuesday warned Britain against
following the United States' anti-Iran policy saying it would not be in
London's interest.
        Commenting on remarks by British armed forces minister Nicholas
Soames during a visit to the Gulf, the English-language Tehran Times said
that historically Britain had not been very friendly with Iran.
        Soames told a news conference in the United Arab Emirates on Monday
Iran was a "brooding force in Middle Eastern affairs" and, with Iraq,
continued to pose a threat....
        Although Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors do not publicly call it an
enemy, some closely watch its ambitious rearmament program and consider it
a potential threat, Gulf officials say.
        Britain had better not follow the U.S. path because adopting a
hostile attitude was not in London's interest, said the daily, adding: "The
U.S. is a good example if British politicians are wise enough to take a
lesson."


Former Official Assassinated in Paris, United Press International, May 28

        PARIS - A former Iranian Cabinet minister and opponent of the
Tehran government was found dead Tuesday at his home near Paris, apparantly
victim of a shooting attack, police sources said.
        Reza Mazlouman, 60, had been shot twice in the chest and once in
the head, police said....
        [In an statement issued on Wednesday, the NCR stated that it
"condemns this assassination and calls on the relevant officials to pursue
and arrest the murderers. It is none other than the religious, terrorist
dictatorship ruling Iran  which - unable to resolve its internal crises and
incapable of countering the Iranian people's just, nationwide resistance -
resorts to such criminal actions to conceal its difficulties."]


Lebanon Worries about Tehran's Continued Shipment of Arms, Radio Israel, May 28

        According to Lebanese weekly Magazine, the Beirut government is
worried about continued shipment of armaments for the Hizbollah by the
Islamic government in Iran.
        The Lebanese press reported that after Beirut's request from
foreign governments to distribute their assistance to those wounded in
recent confrontations solely throught the central government, Mohammad
Khansari, the Islamic government's envoy to Beirut, left Lebanon in
displeasure and anger.
        [Reuters reported Wednesday that: A row between Lebanon's Prime
Minister Rafik al-Hariri and Hizbollah (Party of God) burst into the open
on Wednesday when Hariri angrily accused the pro-Iranian movement of trying
to weaken the Lebanese state.]


Iran Building Port on Strategic Abu Musa, The Washington Times, May 29

        Iran says it is building a port on the disputed Persian Gulf island
of Abu Musa, which it has been fortifying for some time. The announcement
is certain to intensify Iran's quarrel with the United Arab Emirates, which
also claims sovereignty over Abu Musa.
        The official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Mohammad Madad,
managing director of the state-run Ports and Shipping Organization, as
saying the facilities are scheduled for completion by March 20, 1997....
        The island already has a small port, and Mr. Madad offered no
explanation for why added facilities are needed. But as the island
dominates the western approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, the only way in
and out of the Gulf, such facilities clearly have military importance....
        Iran opened an airport on the island this March. Several thousand
Islamic Revolutionary Guards are now based on the island with tanks,
artillery and Hawk surface-to-air missile batteries. Chemical weapons were
reported on Abu Musa last year.


Mullahs Says Self-propelled Gun Tested, Associated Press, May 29

        TEHRAN - Iran has test-fired a self-propelled 122-mm gun built by
the state-owned arms industry, the Jomhuri Islami daily reported Wednesday.
        It said the gun, named "Thunder-1," was successfully tested Sunday....
        The government claims that Iran is almost self-sufficient in
weapons, even though purchases over the past few years have included
missiles, several squadrons of fighter jets and at least three submarines
from Russia.
        Washington accuses Iran of engaging in an arms modernization
program that threatens the stability of the region.