BRIEF ON IRAN
No. 424
Friday, May 31, 1996

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


Tehran Suspected in Ex-Minister's Murder - Iranian Arrested in Bonn,
Associated Press, May 30

        BONN, Germany - An Iranian was arrested Thursday for
questioning in the Paris murder of an opponent of Iran's Islamic
rulers, the Cologne prosecutor's office said....
        He was the seventh opponent of the Iranian regime to be
assassinated in France since 1979, the year the Shah was overthrown
by Islamic militants.
        French police have suspected Iran's involvement in the
assassinations....
        Iranian resistance leaders contend the attacks have been
coordinated by security officials at the Iranian Embassy in Bonn. The
embassy denies the accusation....


Europe Council Condemns Women-only Sports Events, Reuters, May 30

        STRASBOURG, France - The 39-nation Council of Europe assembly
has criticized women-only sports events staged by some Islamic
countries and urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to
firmly condemn sex discrimination in sports....
        It cited insults and rock-throwing attacks at home against
Algerian 1,500-meter star Hassiba Boulmerka, and Iran's ban on
women taking part in sports that cannot be played wearing the
Islamic veil....
        Iran plays host to the Islamic Countries' Women Sports Solidarity
Council which organized the first games for Moslem women in Tehran
in 1993 in which 400 athletes from 11 countries competed in eight
different events.


Iran Factions Face Showdown in New Parliament, Reuters, May 30

        TEHRAN - Iran's newly-elected parliament will meet for the first
time on Saturday...
        The conservatives who dominated the outgoing Majlis, and the
new force of technocrats close to Rafsanjani, both claim to hold a
majority. The vote for speaker of the Majlis within the week will show
which side is right....
        Unlike previous elections, the powerful Revolutionary Guards
publicly took sides, with one of their commanders vowing to stop "the
infiltration of Western agents and liberals."
        Attacked as liberal by opponents, the pro-Rafsanjani Bahman
weekly has ceased publication.
        Another moderate publication, the daily Akhbar, has halved the
number of its pages to four, saying conservative officials had cut its
quota of state-subsidized newsprint....


Election Results in Three More Cities Rejected, Tehran Radio, May 29

        The Council of Guardians [of the Constitution] reviewed the case
of second round of elections for the fifth Majlis [parliament] in the
Salmas [southern Iran], Natanz [central Iran] and Ramhormouz
[southern Iran] and did not confirm the accuracy of elections in these
regions.


Mullahs' Intervention in Lebanon's Affairs, Agence France Presse, May
29

        On Wednesday, Lebanese authorities used a tough language on
Hezbollah and Iran....
        Elias Haravi, the President of Lebanon, in an interview with daily
Al-Nahar, citing the "tension" in the relations between Lebanon and
Iran, expressed his displeasure with the recent ten-day visit of
Mohammad Kazem Khansari, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister from
Lebanon.
        Haravi expressed his "displeasure" from Khansari's meetings
with "various groups, particularly, fundamentalist groups."...
        Hariri [Prime Minister, in a statement] pointed out "The relation
of this party [Hezbollah with Iran] and its political campaigns are
considered an undermining element of government's power."...