BRIEF ON IRAN	 
	No. 493	
	Monday, September 9, 1996 
 
	Representative Office of 
	The National Council of Resistance of Iran           	 
	3421 M Street NW #1032
	Washington, DC 20007
 
Egyptian Militant Claims Iran Link, United Press International, September 8 
 
	CAIRO - A jailed Egyptian Muslim extremist revealed in an interview published 
Sunday that his group has been receiving funds and support from Iran. 
	Rashid Mohamed Rashid, a leading member of the hard-line el-Jihad, or Holy 
War group, which was allegedly involved in the assassination of Egyptian
President 
Anwar Sadat in 1981, said Muslim activists told him  "Iran is ready to back
up any 
terrorist activity in Egypt." 
	He told the government-owned al-Ahram newspaper that leaders of el-Jihad sent 
envoys to Iran seeking financial support... 
	Egypt on Friday for the first time accused Iran of involvement in last year's 
attempt on the life of President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia... 
	El-Jihad, along with el-Gamaa el-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, are the most 
extreme and violent insurgent organizations in Egypt. 
 
 
Growing Dangers, The Wall Street Journal, September 6 
 
	... Central Intelligence Agency Director Deutch's congressional testimony
focused 
on Iran's growing arsenal but ignored the virtual strategic cooperation
between Syria and 
Iran in developing biological and chemical weapons.  The two countries
shared the costs of 
setting up domestic plants to produce North Korean Scud-C missiles and
apparently 
chemical warheads, according to Dany Shoham, a former Israeli intelligence
officer who 
now studies unconventional warfare at the Beas Center for Strategic Studies
at Bar-Ilan 
University in Tel Aviv. 
	Syria and Iran ship and exchange missile parts, transfer information on new 
technology, and are believed to exchange technicians and specialists in
unconventional 
weapons, according to Mr. Shoham and U.S. military analysts.  They are also
believed to 
be helping finance the development of North Korea's long-range Nodong-1
missile, which 
both Mideastern countries are interested in acquiring. 


Overview 
 
Iranian Missiles in Persian Gulf 
Associated Press, September 5 
 
	LONDON - Iranian missile sites along the Persian Gulf are far more likely
to be 
targeting nations on the Arabian peninsula than Israel, according to Jane's
Intelligence 
Review. 
	In a report in its October issue, the magazine said the missile sites can
be used for 
Iran's existing anti-ship and Scud missiles as well as the longer-range
Nodong-1 missile 
that Tehran is trying to buy from North Korea. 
	The best missile site to target Israel would be along the Iran-Iraq border
near 
Bakhtaran, but the best location to threaten the Arabian peninsula is Qeshm
Island, which 
controls the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report made available
Wednesday. 
	An analysis of Russian satellite imagery of Qeshm Island showed several
military 
installations, including one near Ra's-e Khargu that controls the narrowest
point of the 
strait and is a classic spot for choking ship traffic, Jane's said.... 
	Author Harold Hough, an American military writer, said many oil fields and 
military bases also are vulnerable. Bases in Oman and Qatar used by the
United States to 
store military equipment could be reached, he said. 
	Iran's Scud-Cs now come with conventional explosive warheads but have the 
potential to carry nuclear or chemical warheads. They have a 310-mile range.
The most 
prominent feature on Qeshm is an anti-ship missile site along its east
coast. The pattern of 
roads and bunkers indicates Chinese C-802 missiles are located there,
according to Jane's. 
	Satellite photos also show two areas under construction between the port
and the 
C-802 missile site where Scud missiles could be launched, it said. Two
tunnel entrances 
are visible at one of the sites. 
	When these missile sites on Qeshm are combined with missile sites on two other 
islands, Sirri and Abu Musa, "Iran has the ability to close the strait to
commercial 
shipping and even saturate the defenses of a small naval flotilla," the
magazine said.... 
	But Qeshm's "most important role is forcing the neighboring nations to
hesitate 
when confronted by Iranian actions," Jane's said. 
	Gen. Binford Peay, commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command, told Jane's 
Defense Weekly in May that the United States had evidence Iran was building
tunnels near 
its southern coast capable of housing long-range ballistic missiles such as
the Nodong-1. 
	Peay said the eventual result would be that Iran could have missiles
capable of 
targeting Europe. Central Europe is about 1,500 miles from the nearest part
of Iran. 
	If Iran deploys the Nodong missile on Qeshm, Jane's said other targets
would be 
threatened including the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, the eastern city of
Dhahran and 
several Saudi oil fields. Bahrain and the Omani island of Masirah could also
be targeted, it 
said....