BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 454 Monday, July 15, 1996 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 American Officials Suspect Tehran in Saudi Bombing, Associated Press, July 13 WASHINGTON ...faced with new warnings of terrorist attacks, U.S. officials are planning to take the offensive to protect American forces in Saudi Arabia.... ABC News said Saudi and U.S. investigators disagree over where the bombers might have gotten outside help. American officials say Iran tops the list of suspects; the Saudis say their early evidence points to Syria, the network said. But Prince Bandar said on ABC last weekend that Syria was "definitely not" involved in the most recent attack or a car-bombing last November.... Mullahs Threaten of Further Attacks, Urge More Money for Terrorists, Radio Israel, July 13 Today, a Tehran daily threatened that positions taken by Israeli Prime Minister vis-à-vis Arabs will intensify violent clashes in the region, and those, described by the newspaper as militant Muslims, will use their military operations to threaten the interests of the United States in the region. The English language Iran News, usually expressing views of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic government, wrote that the Arab Muslim countries must unite and give more financial support to Muslim militants so that they can bring Zionists and Americans to their knees. Cleric Urges Holy War on Israel, Reuters, July 12 A senior Iranian cleric on Friday denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "madman" and urged for Holy War against the Jewish state. "...You see how this madman who has recently become prime minister in Israel thinks and what he is doing," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a mass prayer sermon broadcast on state-run Tehran radio. "We should not forget the Jihad (Holy War) in God's way. And God is with us and will help us," Jannati, a member of the powerful Guardian Council, told worshippers who responded by chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." In a speech to the United States Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu singled out Iran as the main danger in the Middle East, saying Tehran seeked to develop nuclear arms.... Iran says Israel has no right to exist and strongly opposes the Middle East peace process... Ansar-e Hezbollah Demonstrations, Iran Zamin News Agency, July 12 The Ansar-e Hezbollah group announced that it will held a demonstration tomorrow in support of Khamenei's recent orders for Islamicization of Iranian universities. One of the leaders of the group [which enjoys government's implicit support] said last week that the group is god's representative on earth. Leaders of Ansar-e Hezbollah consider themselves above the law and, in many occasions, their zealot agents have burned bookstores, attacked innocent pedestrians in streets and have stopped operation of some movie theaters after attacking the movie goers. News Overview Arab States Discuss Terrorism, Peace Reuters, July 13 MUSCAT Foreign ministers of Egypt, Syria and the six Gulf Arab states opened talks in Oman on Saturday by underlining the threat of terrorism. Oman's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah called on the countries to take steps to prevent attacks such as the June bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans and focused attention on security in the oil-producing region. "Such an act is a criminal act which our society is not used to," he said in a speech opening the two-day meeting. "We have to fight such acts and stand firm against terrorism which aims at destabilizing the security and stability of our states. "The terrorism phenomenon is one of the most dangerous phenomena in our recent history and we have...no other choice but to cooperate in wiping it out," Abdullah said. The foreign ministers said terrorism would be high on the agenda during the talks between Damascus Declaration states that formed the Arab backbone of the U.S.-led alliance that drove Iraq out of Kuwait in 1991.... Diplomats said the meeting would also discuss Syria's efforts to mend Iran's ties with Bahrain and Egypt. Bahrain accuses the Islamic republic of being behind an alleged plot to topple its government.... Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain have demanded that Iran stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs....