BRIEF ON IRAN No. 497 Friday, September 13, 1996 Representative Office of The National Council of Resistance of Iran 3421 M Street NW #1032 German Court Says Iran Obstructing Murder Trial, Reuters, September 12 BERLIN - A Berlin court trying four men suspected of carrying out a political assassination on Iran's orders said on Thursday that Tehran was obstructing the trial. The case has hurt bilateral ties since German prosecutors issued an arrest warrant in March for Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan on suspicion of ordering the killings. Presiding judge Frithjof Kubsch said the court had tried to take evidence from a witness in Tehran last month, but that he has failed to turn up because of an "obvious delaying tactic" by Iran and would not now be heard. "The court refuses to cooperate with an attempt by a third party to influence the course of the trial," Kubsch said.... Faculty Expulsion in New Academic Year, Radio Israel, September 11 At the outset of new academic year in Iran's universities, a group of members of Islamic Association [regime's social arms] in Beheshti (previously known as Melli) university called for expulsion of some medical faculties, who, according to these students, offended female students wearing Hijab [the government imposed dress code for women]. [In the past, physicians and medical faculties have complained that the state's dress code for women in the hospitals prevents them from proper performance of their duties, particularly in emergency situations.] Music Training Only Under State Guidelines, Iran Zamin News Agency, September 12 The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance announced that music training activities must take place only by those institutions authorized by this ministry. A deputy of the ministry, describing this matter, said that acting outside the framework of these guidelines would be considered as violation of law and punished accordingly. Fearful of People?, Radio Israel, September 11 The daily Salam, quoting one of its readers, reported that when the security motorcade carrying official figures passes through streets, the security agents insult people and treat them violently. This reader questions that "Why people must tolerate these abuses just because an official is going to his job?... Our nation is hurting so much to protect Islamic values. Is this behavior proper in an Islamic country?..." Iran is Up to No Good While the World Sleeps, The Washington Times, George Zarycky, September 11 (continued) ... Iran's assertive foreign policy is indeed a worrisome development. While some U.S. government analysts view Iran's expanding regional contacts as a means of moderating Tehran's behavior, others maintain that the extra revenues earned for Iran and the possibility of long-term, anti-Western political influence pose a serious threat. Iran may have tempered its rhetoric to entice investment and improve its image. But it remains an anti-democratic, fundamentalist theocracy committed to terrorism, the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and exporting revolutionary Islam. This year, Iranian hit squads have murdered scores of opposition figures in Iraq, France, Pakistan, and Turkey. Tehran has spent more than $100 million supporting Islamic terrorist groups world-wide... Iranian operatives continue to foment religious unrest among their neighbors. While Washington seeks to isolate Iran, Tehran's ruling mullahs have widened their sphere of influence in a strategically vital region stretching from the Turkish border to China, from Russia's frontier to the Indian Ocean. Geography, history and Western neglect may militate against the United States slowing or reversing this troubling trend. But policy makers must take advantage of regional fears of Muslim fundamentalism to promote democratic development along with economic and business ties in post-Soviet Asia. The Western allies should redouble efforts to mediate disputes in the Caucasus and Afghanistan. The alternative is the very real prospect of Iranian hegemony.