BRIEF ON IRAN No. 475 Tuesday, August 13, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 Washington, DC 20007 Iran Threatens to Block Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Reuters, August 12 GENEVA - Iran threatened on Monday to block adoption of a treaty banning nuclear test blasts, lining up alongside India in opposing a draft text. "We have three concerns and if these are not addressed we cannot allow the text to go further," Hamid Baidi-Nejad, Iran's delegate to the international Conference on Disarmament, told reporters after a test ban negotiating session. Turkey O.K.'s Iran Gas Pact Despite U.S., The New York Times, August 12 TEHRAN - Turkey initiated a $20 billion natural gas agreement with Iran [on Sunday]... The 22-year agreement calls for oil- and gas-producing Iran to sell 140 billion cubic feet of gas a year to Turkey beginning 1998.... Turkish officials say the deal does not violate sanctions. "The sanctions ban investments in Iran." said Abdullah Gul, the Government spokesman. "We're not going to invest in Iran. This is only a trade agreement..." The Clinton Administration has sought to persuade Turkey, a United States ally and member of NATO, not to enter unto the gas accord. The case will put the Americans in an awkward position and test United States willingness to impose punitive measures on countries like Turkey.... Sanctions Inevitable for Europe, Iran Zamin News Agency, August 11 According to French daily, Le Monde, despite the initial opposition to sanctions against Iranian regime, "Europeans will ultimately discard or limit their projects in Iran." Le Monde, adds: "The bill signed by Clinton, has worried the Europeans, because they feel they have limited resources to confront it... Europe is in a trap: No matter what Europe says or does, there is no doubt that this bill has a real inhibiting role on development projects of European companies in the sanctioned countries..." In Europe's Court, The Washington Post, August 11 [The following is excerpts from a column by Jim Hoagland.] PARIS - France, like America, is preoccupied with terrorism and its terrible human cost. But arriving here from Washington is to step into a different, lower-voltage world where the focus is on living with man's cruelty and viciousness rather than on conquering it once and for all.... Even as France was leading the European Union in denouncing the United States for fighting terrorism with sanctions, the French nation was mourning the victims of a terrorist bombing in Algeria.... But France's officials and media have shown more a spirit of resignation than of mobilization... In contrast to impassioned American declarations that the nation will not give in to terrorism, the French concentrate on practical measures to avoid becoming targets while getting on with daily life... Despite its manifest flaws, the D'Amato bill is good power politics. It exposes an intellectual conceit held by the Europeans that has become an obstacle to effective joint action against terrorism. Now a powerful incentive is in place for the Europeans, to come up with measures that will be more effective than the D'Amato bill, which then can be repealed. The Conceit is that Europeans understand Third World countries and political movements better than Americans and should be left alone to reason with and persuade outlaw regimes to act responsibly. This is the central premise of Germany's "critical dialogue" with Iran... But understanding these countries is not the problem. Their promises of murder and incineration of others are too clear... Americans are told by Germans and others to be patient and not to take seriously Iran's threats of death to the Great Satan. But we must take these threats as they are made - in deadly and grim seriousness. ... But the ball is at the moment in the court of the Europeans, who must show that they are not ready to let the rogue regimes keep on getting away with murder. Mullahs' Camp for Lebanese Children, state-run television, August 10 The fourth camp for the distinguished Lebanese students began in Tehran's Beheshti camp, under the mantel of Khomeini's Aid Committee. In the opening ceremony of this camp which was held with 120 distinguished Lebanese students, Nayeri, the head of Khomeini's Aid Committee, advised these students to achieving science and dedication to Islamic values..." International Human Rights Federation Condemns Iran, Agence France Presse, August 9 PARIS - On Friday, the international Human Rights Federation, FIDH, condemned amputation of the right hands of six burglars in Tehran. In a statement, this organization noted: "The International Human Rights Federation categorically condemns humiliating amputation of individuals and reminds that this is a cruel, anti-human and humiliating punishment, banned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." "This federation is concerned about the severity of new punitive laws in Iran...," the statement added.