BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 472 Thursday, August 8, 1996 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 Terrorism Warrants Strong Sanctions, USA Today, August 7 Is Iran behind the recent terrorist bombing of a U.S. military complex in Saudi Arabia? Defense Secretary William Perry seems to think so. In a radio interview, he indicated that Iran could be tied to the June bombing that killed 19 Americans. Add to that a batch of classified U.S. intelligence documents made available to USA TODAY. They report the presence of 11 training camps in Iran - four in and around the capital of Tehran - where 5,000 neophyte terrorists perfect arts such as suicide bombing. Evidence, verified by independent experts, links violence spawned by these camps directly to Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani.... ...President Clinton and Congress took the right step this week by imposing penalties on foreign firms that make large energy investments in Iran or Libya, suspected of complicity in the downing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. U.S. allies that do business with Iran are howling and threatening economic retaliation. But they're playing to doubly-deaf ears.... France and Germany, among others, would prefer that the U.S. simply look the other way, as they do.... The narrow sanctions signed by Clinton Monday will not stop terrorism or bankrupt Iran. The law prohibits only future contracts of more than $40 million investment in energy projects. It does not touch less expensive deals or punish previous investments.... What this can do is put Iran on notice that spreading terror will not be ignored. And it lets our allies know that complicity, even indirect, will not go unpunished. Mullahs Delighted by Europe's Opposition to Sanctions, Iran News, August 6 Iranians are really delighted to see the European reactions against the law signed by ... President Bill Clinton... to punish foreign companies for investing in Iran's oil and gas industries. The Clinton administration's move infuriated European countries and for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Europe with one voice refused to accept the dictated policies of the United States.... It is really a source of utmost pleasure to see that Europe is no longer prepared to go along with Washington's political machinations. We suggest that Iran, Europe and certain other countries set up an international conference to study terrorism in all its dimensions.... Iran-Vice Watch, Associated Press, August 4 Authorities in Tehran closed nearly 250 health clubs and beauty salons.... The capital's internal security forces inspected 1,000 clubs and salons, the Farsi- language Kayhan newspaper reported. Security chief Brig. Gen. Yussef Abolfathhi said 243 were "shut down and sealed" for violating Islamic codes of conduct.... Iranian forces regularly launch anti-vice campaigns in which violators are given fines, whippings or jail sentences.... Iran's clerical government also bans Western music and movies, which are rented or sold under the counter. Iranian women are not allowed to wear makeup in public and must be covered from head to foot in the presence of men not immediately related to them. Iran Enhances Ability To Block Gulf, Says Jane's, Reuters, August 6 Iran is building up its naval strength and firepower around the mouth of the Gulf, increasing its capability of shutting off a fifth of the world's oil supply, Jane's Intelligence Review said. Recent developments on two tiny islands near the mouth of the Gulf and acquisitions of fast attack craft, missiles (FAC-M) and a new submarine have underlined Iran's drive to become the dominant power in the Gulf region, Jane's says. They also present a challenge to the U.S. military presence in the Gulf at a time when the temperature between Iran and the United States has been rising following recent U.S. charges of Tehran's alleged support of terrorism.... A new civilian airport on the tiny island of Abu Musa, near the mouth of the Gulf, could be used by military craft, the article in September's edition of the Review says. Iran is building up its naval strength, and military installations on Abu Musa include HAWK and SA-6 air defense missiles as well as upgraded "Silkworm' surface-to-surface missiles capable of targeting ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.... "These recent developments on the two islands...underline Iran's persistent efforts to become the dominant power in the Gulf, challenging the U.S. military presence in the region and the dependence of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on the West for its defense," the article says.... Iran has intensified naval exercises over the past two to three years and included several scenarios focusing on closing the Strait of Hormuz, sabotaging ports and storming oil platforms and coastal targets, Jane's says.... With anti-ship missile systems deployed along Iran's coast and on the islands, "the Iranians' ability to close the Strait -- if they chose to do so and risk confrontation -- is considerably enhanced, with the entire width of the southern Gulf covered," the Review said.