BRIEF ON IRAN Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran No. 496 Thursday, September 12, 1996 3421 M Street NW #1032, Washington, DC 20007 Inflation Soars in Rural Areas and Nationally, Radio Israel, September 10 Official figures on the annual inflation rate in Iran, published by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic, indicate that inflation rate in rural areas during the last Persian year [which ended on March 20] increased by 53.6%. According to the figures, the inflation rate in the rural areas for the previous year was 43.7%. These rates indicate that the price of general necessities, food, clothing, household items, transportation and communications, miscellaneous services and housing in the rural areas has doubled since two years ago. According to the Central Bank figures published last June, the wholesale price index for commodities in the entire country was increased by 31% compared to the previous year. German Oil Imports from Iran Decreased, Iran Zamin News Agency, September 10 According to the state-run News agency, IRNA, Germany's oil imports from Iran has decreased by more than 50% compared to last year. The regime's agency did not provide any reason for the reduction. According to the report, Germany's purchase of Iran's oil in July was 4 million Deutch marks less than that of June. Iran-S. Africa Oil Depot Deal Not Ready For Signing, Reuters, September 11 Iran's President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will discuss plans to store Iranian crude oil in South Africa during a state visit this week, but nothing will be signed yet, officials said on Wednesday. "No deals or agreements will be signed during the visit," said South African foreign ministry spokesman Enrico Kemp. Rafsanjani, on a tour of African states, arrives on Thursday. The proposal to store at least 15 million barrels of Iranian oil at the Central Energy Fund's (CEF) 45-million barrel depot at Saldanha Bay, north of Cape Town, has been delayed for an environmental impact study.... But Rafsanjani's six-nation swing through Africa, which also aims to win support for the Iranian government in the face of repeated U.S. accusations that Tehran is sponsoring terrorism, is expected to be frowned on by Washington.... Washington has made it clear on several occasions that it disapproves of the warming relations between Pretoria and Tehran since the election of President Nelson Mandela in 1994.... Iran Is Up To No Good While the World Sleeps, The Washington Times, George Zarycky, September 11 International focus on crisis in Iraq should alert the West to a long-ignored and far-reaching regional development. Since the Gulf War, Iran has quietly launched a multi-faceted offensive to expand its political and economic influence in the Caucuses and Central Asia, poising a direct challenge to Western policy interests. In northern Iraq ... Iran's secret service, Italaat, established several offices in Iraqi Kurdistan, assassinating over a dozen Iranian opposition figures. It is believed responsible for a series of bombings, including a U.S. disaster- assistance office. Thousands of Iranian Revolutionary Guards infiltrated northern Iraq.... Tehran's diplomatic and commercial initiatives have sought to soften its pariah image, spur European investment, divide the Atlantic alliance, and enhance its regional clout. Several European allies, as well as U.S. and foreign oil companies, have bristled at the administration's decision to impose sanctions on countries making new investments in Iran's energy infrastructure....But Turkey's Islamicist government inked a $23 billion gas pipeline deal with Iran, much to Washington's consternation. With Russia beset by internal problems, Iran has moved to assume the mantle of regional leadership in what was Soviet Asia. Kazakhstan, with Caspian offshore oil reserves estimated 10 billion metric tons and offshore reserves of over 1 billion tons, last month signed a pipeline agreement with Iranian officials giving it access to ports in the Persian Gulf. Iran will refine the oil and use some for domestic consumption.... In May, Tehran and natural gas rich Turkmenistan opened a strategic rail link, making Iran for the first time a key hub for European and Middle East-bound trade.... Iran has signed bilateral economic and regional cooperation agreements with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In June, Iran's state radio began programs in the Kazakh language and announced it would broadcast daily in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, a clear attempt by Tehran to propagate its political agenda.... [To Be Continued]